Aug 6, 2025
Author and historian Jay Feldman joins host Alan Lowe to
discuss When the Mississippi Ran Backwards, his gripping account of
the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes. Alan and Feldman explore the
quakes’ massive impact, including over 2,000 tremors felt across
1.5 million square miles, and the deep historical context behind
them. He explains the ancient origins of the Reelfoot Rift,
Tecumseh’s eerie quake prophecy, and how early steamboat travel
intersected with disaster. Feldman also recounts a horrific crime
against an enslaved teenager, exposed by the quakes, and touches on
ongoing seismic risk today. He also discusses reflections from his
new memoir.
Guest Bio
Jay Feldman is an author, historian, and storyteller with a
uniquely diverse background. Before turning to writing full-time,
he worked as a musician and ran a music store specializing in
vintage stringed instruments. He also founded Baseball for Peace,
an organization promoting international understanding through
sports, and has written for both television and the stage. Feldman
is the author of Manufacturing Hysteria: A History of Scapegoating,
Surveillance, and Secrecy in Modern America and When the
Mississippi Ran Backwards: Empire, Intrigue, Murder, and the New
Madrid Earthquakes, which explores one of the most powerful and
overlooked natural disasters in U.S. history.
Show Highlights
- (4:32) When the earthquakes occurred and how many there were
- (9:23) The creation of the Reelfoot Rift and how it became the source of the quakes
- (12:38) What makes intraplate earthquakes different from other kinds
- (13:57) Why the Mississippi River ran backwards at the height of the quake
- (16:11) The creation of Reelfoot Lake
- (17:54) The legend of Tecumseh’s prophecy about the earthquakes
- (21:55) How the Roosevelt family was involved with the event
- (27:55) The crime that was revealed in the wreckage of the earthquakes
- (32:44) Seismic activity in the area today
Links Referenced
- Manufacturing Hysteria: A History of Scapegoating, Surveillance, and Secrecy in Modern America: https://www.amazon.com/Manufacturing-Hysteria-History-Scapegoating-Surveillance/dp/0307388239
- When the Mississippi Ran Backwards: Empire, Intrigue, Murder, and the New Madrid Earthquakes: https://www.amazon.com/When-Mississippi-Ran-Backwards-Earthquakes/dp/0743242793