Georgia Today Podcast – January 5, 2026

Episode Summary

Main Theme:
Today's episode reports on major national and local news, including Georgia political reactions to the US military’s capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation, an unusually severe flu season in Georgia, fallout from the 2024 Conyers Biolab fire, right whale calving updates, and a reflective interview with Southern food writer John T. Edge.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Georgia Reactions to the Capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro

[00:29–01:48]

• Georgia politicians responded along party lines to the US military-backed capture of President Maduro.
  • Sen. Raphael Warnock (Democrat): Voiced concern that US intervention could fuel more violence and instability in Venezuela.
  • Rep. Buddy Carter (Republican): Applauded the capture, labeling Maduro as an “illegitimate leader.”
• Venezuelan Americans in Georgia showed mixed reactions:
  • Israel Mendina, Venezuelan expat: “Maduro’s arrest felt like a new Independence Day.” ([01:19])
  • Some Venezuelan Americans and local protesters raised concerns about the legality and morality of the operation.

2. Marjorie Taylor Greene Steps Down from Congress

[01:48–02:34]

• Greene resigned in her third term after five years representing Northwest Georgia.
• Noted for her polarizing presence and frequent propagation of conspiracy theories.
• Community remains divided:
  • Strongest supporters back her "fighter" persona.
  • Others criticize her for headline-generating tactics that had little tangible benefit for constituents.

3. Georgia’s 2026 Flu Season Surpasses Past Years

[02:34–03:23]

• Flu fatalities: Seven deaths in Georgia over the last week of December, raising the season total to 29 (from zero at this time last year).
• Dominant strain: Subclade K causing typical flu symptoms but with increased severity.
• Hospital impact:
  • Dr. Christopher Hogan, ER Medical Director, Piedmont Macon Medical Center:

    “We see anywhere between 120 and 150 patients on normal days. Instead of tapering down, we just are more consistent across the entire week.” ([02:58])

• Covid and RSV cases remain relatively low.
• Georgia leads nationally in flu-related hospitalizations.

4. 2024 Conyers Biolab Fire: Environmental Oversight Lapses

[03:23–04:54]

• Ash samples detected chromium after the Biolab fire.
• Emails reveal Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division (EPD) worried that the fire could convert chromium into carcinogenic hexavalent chromium.
• Despite warnings, cleanup tests (approved by EPD) omitted hexavalent chromium, with contractors claiming it was “highly unlikely.”
• Dr. Ted Schettler (Environmental Health Network):

  “You almost should be assuming that a lot of that would be chromium 6 because there was a fire there and because it was that kind of fire with all these oxidizing chemicals.” ([04:27])

• Neither BioLab nor EPD provided comments after requests from GPB.

5. Right Whale Calving Season: Encouraging but Insufficient Numbers

[04:54–06:19]

• 15 right whale calves born off the Georgia coast this season, exceeding last year’s total of 11.
• According to NOAA, at least 50 calves per season are needed to halt species decline.
• Only ~70 reproductively active females now exist in a population below 400.
• Main threats include entanglement, vessel strikes, and climate-driven changes in prey.

6. Interview: John T. Edge on Memoir House of Smoke and Foodways

[06:19–14:06]

Motivation for Memoir

• Edge explains his pivot from food stories to personal memoir:

  “I had a responsibility to reveal my own story to others. That’s part of what drove me.” ([06:25])

• On the generosity of memoir:

  “I used to think about memoir as kind of an act of selfishness...but people came up to me and said things like, ‘I grew up in Texas and my mother’s drug of choice was barbiturates. But I understand your story. I can see some of my own story in your story.’ And that convinced me that maybe this memoir I might write wouldn’t be selfish but might be generous.” ([07:38])

The Southern Foodways Alliance Mission

• Inspired by John Edgerton, Edge says:

  “We at the Southern Foodways Alliance took it as our larger mission to tell the stories of people whose stories had gone untold—the cooks, farmers, and servers who fed the South—to kind of pay down debts of pleasure owed to previous generations.” ([09:04])

• On food’s cultural role:

  "Food is an elemental expression of people and place...by studying food, we can get at all of those things. We can get at race, class, ethnicity, identity." ([10:44])

On Race, Class, and Food

• Edge discusses using food as an entry point to explore complex Southern histories:

  “If you focus upon working-class food, the food that sustains the great majority of us...my interest was in paying attention to those working-class cooks and less in the recipe writing and more in the documentation of lives.” ([10:44])

The Tumultuous End at Southern Foodways Alliance

• 2020 was a turning point for Edge after his public comments about “this troubled American moment.”

  “I exposed my own hubris and made me the story instead of the deeper story that was there.” ([12:05]) “Did it—was it an appropriate moment for me to leave? Yes. I’d been in my job 20 plus years...I lacked a vision in that moment and I paid for it.” ([12:05])

7. Sports: Atlanta Falcons Leadership Shakeup

[15:01–15:45]

• Coach Raheem Morris and GM Terry Fontenot fired after the team’s eighth consecutive losing season.
• Owner Arthur Blank signals this is just the beginning of a broader leadership overhaul.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

| Time | Speaker | Quote / Moment Highlight | |---------|-----------------|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:19 | Israel Mendina | “Maduro’s arrest felt like a new Independence Day.” | | 02:58 | Dr. Hogan | “We see anywhere between 120 and 150 patients on normal days..." | | 04:27 | Dr. Schettler | “You almost should be assuming that a lot of that would be chromium 6..." | | 06:25 | John T. Edge | “I had a responsibility to reveal my own story to others. That’s part of what drove me.” | | 07:38 | John T. Edge | “I used to think about memoir as kind of an act of selfishness...but...that convinced me that maybe this memoir...might be generous.” | | 09:04 | John T. Edge | “...to tell the stories of people whose stories had gone untold—the cooks, farmers, and servers who fed the South...” | | 10:44 | John T. Edge | "Food is an elemental expression of people and place..." | | 12:05 | John T. Edge | “I exposed my own hubris and made me the story instead of the deeper story...” |

Memorable Moments

• The divided and emotional response of local Venezuelan-Americans to the US’s unprecedented intervention.
• Personal reflection from John T. Edge on choosing authenticity—and humility—amid national reckonings and professional change.
• Edge’s observations on the power of food to express the South’s tangled legacies of race, class, and resilience.

Resources / References

• For further details: gpb.org/news
• For John T. Edge’s feature: GPB’s Narrative Edge Podcast and YouTube series

This summary presents the essential content and spirit of the Georgia Today episode for those who missed it, highlighting both pressing news and deeper cultural conversations.