

Gone South
Audacy Podcasts
For years, Gone South has been a podcast about crime in the American South. But in Season 5, we’re widening the lens.
Through deeply reported, narrative-driven stories—and conversations with journalists, historians, musicians, and people who’ve lived these stories firsthand—we’re digging into the myths, scandals, and power structures that still shape the South… and, in many ways, the country itself.
From re-examining the cultural meaning of the Alamo to tracing the family history of Alex Murdaugh to investigating the federal indictment of New Orleans’s former mayor, each episode stands alone. Together, they paint a picture of what this region really is and how it came to be.
Gone South is a show for people who want to understand how history lingers and why it still matters now.
Written and hosted by award-winning journalist Jed Lipinski, Gone South is the recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Award for Outstanding Achievement in Journalism.
Previous serialized seasons include:
Season 1: Who Killed Margaret Coon?
Season 2: The Dixie Mafia
Season 3: The Sign Cutter
Follow Gone South to get new episodes every week.
Through deeply reported, narrative-driven stories—and conversations with journalists, historians, musicians, and people who’ve lived these stories firsthand—we’re digging into the myths, scandals, and power structures that still shape the South… and, in many ways, the country itself.
From re-examining the cultural meaning of the Alamo to tracing the family history of Alex Murdaugh to investigating the federal indictment of New Orleans’s former mayor, each episode stands alone. Together, they paint a picture of what this region really is and how it came to be.
Gone South is a show for people who want to understand how history lingers and why it still matters now.
Written and hosted by award-winning journalist Jed Lipinski, Gone South is the recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Award for Outstanding Achievement in Journalism.
Previous serialized seasons include:
Season 1: Who Killed Margaret Coon?
Season 2: The Dixie Mafia
Season 3: The Sign Cutter
Follow Gone South to get new episodes every week.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 5, 2025 • 41min
BONUS: The Real Buford Pusser | Part 3
In 1967, Sheriff Buford Pusser said gunmen ambushed his car, killing his wife Pauline and inspiring the Walking Tall legend. Nearly six decades later, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation exhumed Pauline’s body after learning no autopsy was ever done. Reporter Jed Lipinski travels to Adamsville, Tennessee, where new witnesses and old secrets threaten to upend the myth of Buford Pusser.
Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our newsletter, Gone South with Jed Lipinski. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jul 23, 2025 • 32min
S4|E40: An Interview with Jed Lipinski
In the 40th and final episode of Season 4, Jed Lipinski answers questions about the making of Gone South.
Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our newsletter, Gone South with Jed Lipinski. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jul 16, 2025 • 36min
S4|E39: Operation Sideswipe | Part 2
After a federal witness is gunned down on his mother‘s doorstep, investigators began unraveling a murder conspiracy at the heart of operation sideswipe. In this episode, Reporter Mike Perlstein walks us through a dramatic bond hearing and the shocking details that finally brought two key players to justice.
Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our newsletter, Gone South with Jed Lipinski. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jul 9, 2025 • 30min
S4|E38: Operation Sideswipe | Part 1
Dozens of fake car crashes. Millions in bogus injury claims. And a murder that stunned federal investigators. This episode tells the story of ‘Operation Sideswipe’, the federal probe that uncovered a widespread fraud ring operating on Louisiana highways. Part one of a new two-part series.
Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our newsletter, Gone South with Jed Lipinski. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jul 2, 2025 • 34min
S4|E37: The Combo Plate King | Part 2
In Part 2, Greg Leon faces trial for the Valentine’s Day shooting. As new attorneys take over, and witness tampering allegations surface, a once-sympathetic defendant watches his case - and his fate - slip out of his hands.
Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our newsletter, Gone South with Jed Lipinski. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 25, 2025 • 33min
S4|E36: The Combo Plate King | Part 1
Greg Leon, a prominent Mexican restaurant owner in South Carolina, became a federal informant in a local corruption probe. This episode traces his rise, his ties to law enforcement, and the events that unfolded after he discovered his wife with another man on Valentine’s Day.
Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our newsletter, Gone South with Jed Lipinski. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 18, 2025 • 31min
S4|E35: The New Orleans Prison Break
10 inmates escape from Orleans Parish Prison, located in the heart New Orleans. At the time this episode was released, two are still at large, and one has taken to social media to plead his innocence.
Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our newsletter, Gone South with Jed Lipinski. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 11, 2025 • 35min
S4|E34: Dick Harpootlian
Dick Harpootlian has defended and prosecuted some of South Carolina’s most high-profile cases. But none left a deeper mark than the murder trial of serial killer PeeWee Gaskins. From prison phone taps to a homemade bomb, Harpootlian recounts the case that still haunts him, and helped define his career.
Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our newsletter, Gone South with Jed Lipinski. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jun 4, 2025 • 32min
S4|E33: Defending Len Davis
When corrupt New Orleans cop Len Davis tried to reject a presidential commutation, his longtime attorney Pat Fanning wasn’t surprised. In this episode, Fanning recalls their unlikely relationship, how he came to defend a man already on Death Row, and what it revealed about the city, the system, and the man behind the headlines.
Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our newsletter, Gone South with Jed Lipinski. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

May 28, 2025 • 35min
S4|E32: The Cemetery Detective
When valuable sculptures begin disappearing from iconic New Orleans cemeteries, a rookie detective is put on the case. His investigation would uncover a bizarre underworld of heroin addicts and antique dealers.
Find us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. You can also subscribe to our newsletter, Gone South with Jed Lipinski. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices


