Caroline Peyton, "Radioactive Dixie: A Nuclear History of the American South" (U Georgia Press, 2025)

Jan 17, 2026

Caroline Peyton, an associate professor at the University of Memphis, dives deep into the American South's nuclear history in her new book. She explores how the region's culture and politics shaped its development of nuclear energy. From the iconic Oak Ridge and Savannah River sites to the nuclear safety concerns in local communities, Peyton highlights both the economic gains and risks of this atomic legacy. The discussion also touches on the role of Southern governors and the influence of notable figures like Jimmy Carter in shaping nuclear policy. Plus, a sneak peek at her next project on tornado history!

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INSIGHT

Nuclear Roots And Southern Boosterism

Oak Ridge and WWII weapons sites seeded a broader Southern push to become a nuclear region through universities, politicians, and industry.
Southern boosterism framed nuclear projects as modernization and economic equalizers for the New South.

INSIGHT

1960s As The Commercial Turning Point

The 1960s were pivotal as commercial nuclear power and waste disposal plans accelerated across the South.
Geographic factors like low seismicity and abundant water made the region attractive for reactor siting.

ANECDOTE

Local Fears at Grand Gulf And Waterford

Grand Gulf (Mississippi) and Waterford (Louisiana) show local worries about regulation, safety, and natural disasters near plants.
Investigative journalism and community scrutiny amplified public concern during construction in the 1970s–80s.

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How and why did the South’s history, culture, and politics shape the region’s nuclear and energy industries? And how is that history linked to broader developments in the nuclear and energy industries—nationally and globally? Radioactive Dixie: A Nuclear History of the American South (U Georgia Press, 2025) by Dr. Caroline Peyton answers those questions as it traces the origins of the U.S. South’s love affair with the atom.
The South contains more nuclear reactors than any other region in the United States and much of the nation’s radioactive waste. This book shows how the South’s atomic footprint resulted from a decades-long effort by Southern politicians, industry figures, universities, and government officials to transform the American South into a nuclear-oriented region. Waving the atomic talisman, the nuclear industry served as one pivotal part in a larger project of regional modernization—a process that began in the nineteenth century and lasted more than a century. From this perspective, bomb plants and nuclear reactors promised to expand the South’s economy and to cast its identity as a center of modern industry, science, and engineering and as a producer of cheap, limitless energy. Radioactive Dixie is the first book to chronicle this regional story that had national implications. Southern history informed national siting decisions, regulatory oversight, and attitudes toward the various nuclear projects that proliferated in the post–World War II period.

This interview was conducted by Dr. Miranda Melcher whose book focuses on post-conflict military integration, understanding treaty negotiation and implementation in civil war contexts, with qualitative analysis of the Angolan and Mozambican civil wars. You can find Miranda’s interviews on New Books with Miranda Melcher, wherever you get your podcasts.

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