Banner & Company

Bonus: 2026 State of Metro Analysis and Yes, He's Running

Thu, 30 Apr 2026 21:42:00 -0000

Banner reporters Steven Hale and Stephen Elliott sit down to talk about the 2026 State of Metro. They discuss the speeches they've attended in the past with memorable musical guests before getting into the details of Mayor Freddie O’Connell’s speech. Among them: affordability, transit, the East Bank and He’s Running.

Produced by Andrea Tudhope

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Michael Shane Neal: President Biden Portrait Artist

Sun, 26 Apr 2026 11:00:00 -0000

Michael Shane Neal knew from an early age he wanted to be an artist. But there were no artists in his family, so he wasn't sure how he'd turn that into a career. After taking classes in the basement of a dormitory at Lipscomb University, he had a chance meeting with someone who knew the famed portrait artist Raymond Kinstler. And after a trip to New York, a mentorship was born.

Shane credits Kinstler with showing him the way to an artist's life. And since then, he's painted everyone from John Lewis to Sandra Day O'Connor, Morgan Freeman to former Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen — and most recently, former president Joe Biden. It's painstaking work, sometimes taking months of sittings, sketches and many, many conversations. It's in that process that, Shane says, he gets to know the essence of a person in order to convey it on canvas.

This episode was originally broadcast in April 2025.

Guest: Michael Shane Neal, portrait artist

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Bonus: 2026 Legislative Session Recap

Fri, 24 Apr 2026 16:06:00 -0000

Banner reporters Steven Hale and Sarah Grace Taylor sit down to discuss the state legislative session, which came to a whirlwind end on Thursday night. Sarah Grace talks about some of the main themes of the session, including state intervention in local governments, immigration, and anti-LGBTQ+ policies. They also discuss proposals related to artificial intelligence, prediction markets and their approaches to managing their inboxes.

Produced by Andrea Tudhope

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Jordan Ritter Conn: Writer and Author, 'American Men'

Sun, 19 Apr 2026 11:00:00 -0000

In his new book, writer Jordan Ritter Conn delves into the lives of four men, from very different backgrounds, living in disparate parts of the country. All of them are reckoning, in their own ways, with how their lives — and their sense of self-worth — have been shaped by ideas around masculinity. American Men, published April 21, is a deeply reported, empathetic look at male identity, warts and all: "There's some rough stuff in here," he says.

The Nashville native and staff writer at The Ringer spent the better part of six years visiting and interviewing the four men whose narratives interweave over the course of the book. And for Jordan, the project is also personal — bringing to the surface questions he has been asking about his own experiences growing up and giving space to explore them honestly and without judgment.

Guest: Jordan Ritter Conn, senior writer at The Ringer, author of American Men and The Road From Raqqa

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Adam Dread: Attorney, Comedian and Former Metro Councilmember

Sun, 12 Apr 2026 11:00:00 -0000

Adam Dread didn't mean to become an attorney. For a time, he tried his hand at stand-up comedy, touring the country one club at a time. But he studied law, he says, to become a better politician — understanding laws in order to write them. That's what he did for a time as a Metro Councilmember. He also spent time on the radio and shot a reality show that involved wearing judge's robes.

All that to say Adam has led an interesting life — one that could have ended when he lost consciousness behind the wheel, waking from a coma days later to learn he had the genetic markers for a rare blood disorder. These days, he's still practicing law as he splits his time between Nashville and Nantucket.

Guest: Adam Dread, attorney

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Bonus: The Latest From Metro Council and the East Bank, Plus Shadow Politics

Fri, 10 Apr 2026 11:00:00 -0000

Banner reporters Steven Hale and Stephen Elliott sit down to talk about Tuesday's Metro Council meeting. Stephen explains the council's debates about nominees to boards and commissions, a proposed water bill credit and the East Bank. Steven asks him about why he loves the Mamma Mia franchise and they discuss the role shadows play in local politics. Steven also shares his favorite tweet of all time that he felt never got proper recognition. Listen to the episode to hear it fall flat for both Stephen and Andrea, and to hear Steven sing "Voices Carry" while desperately trying to explain himself.

P.S. Donate to support the Banner so we can keep producing this podcast!

Produced by Andrea Tudhope

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Morgxn: 'Make It Out Alive' Singer, Songwriter and Advocate

Sun, 05 Apr 2026 11:00:00 -0000

Back in his hometown after stints in New York and Los Angeles, Morgxn has a new album, Heartland, and will be performing at Freely Fest — a celebration of the First Amendment featuring The Killers, Janelle Monae and more — on April 8. He's honored to use his music to stand up for free speech. It's something he deeply believes in, as his regular presence at the state legislature goes to show.

A third-generation Nashvillian, Morgxn — né Morgan Karr — says he always wanted to create a refuge. And he's made his dream come true with a place called Fruity Farm. It's literally a fruit farm but has also served as an impromptu Pride Festival venue — and we've got some exclusive news about that in this episode. He also talks about his experience with bullying and the Nashville high school that helped him believe in his own story.

Guest: Morgxn, singer and songwriter

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Bonus: Cooperative Housing and Community at Drakes Creek

Fri, 03 Apr 2026 11:00:00 -0000

Banner reporters Steven Hale and Eden Turner sit down to talk about Eden's reporting on the Cottages at Drakes Creek, Nashville's first publicly funded housing co-op. They discuss what makes a housing cooperative unique as a response to the affordable housing crisis and the tight community that has formed as Drakes Creek tries to establish one. Eden also talks about her latest story on Vanderbilt University Medical Center's decision to stop performing gender-affirming surgeries for adults. Finally, they briefly share their thoughts on Netflix's K-Pop Demon Hunters and the movie-themed Happy Meals they had for lunch.

Produced by Andrea Tudhope.

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Robert Churchwell Jr.: Son of 'The Jackie Robinson of Journalism'

Sun, 29 Mar 2026 11:00:00 -0000

Robert Churchwell Sr. made history when he joined the original Nashville Banner as the city's first African American reporter. The paper's owner at the time, James Stahlman, opposed integration, but Churchwell made a name for himself anyway — even if he didn't have a desk in the newsroom at first. Last week, a historical marker commemorating his accomplishments was unveiled outside the North Nashville magnet school that bears his name.

In this special episode, Robert Churchwell Jr. shares his memories of his trailblazing father's career and life outside of work — where "he was always dad." This interview was originally recorded as part of our premier episode.

Guest: Robert Churchwell Jr., son of Robert Churchwell Sr., Nashville's first African American staff reporter

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Andrea Tudhope

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Dr. Sekou Franklin: Executive Director, John Lewis Center for Social Justice

Sun, 22 Mar 2026 11:00:00 -0000

When he took over as executive director Fisk University's John Lewis Center for Social Justice last year, Dr. Sekou Franklin knew he was stepping into a big role, and one steeped in history. "He has demonstrated a deep commitment to social justice, education and community — values deeply ingrained in Fisk's mission and legacy," the university's president, Agenia Clark, said when he was hired in July 2025.

The longtime political science professor hopes to carry forward that legacy as he works to connect students, faculty and Nashvillians from across the city. A veteran of social justice activism, including a key role in getting a community oversight board on the ballot in Nashville, Sekou says he is impressed every day by the talent he sees in the students on campus, and young people around the city.

Guest: Sekou Franklin, executive director, John Lewis Center for Social Justice at Fisk University

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Bonus: The Case of Estefany Rodríguez

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 23:37:00 -0000

Banner reporters Steven Hale and Mikeie Honda Reiland sit down to talk about Mikeie's reporting on the case of Estefany Rodríguez, the Nashville Noticias reporter who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on March 5. After our recording, Estefany was released on bond on Thursday, March 19. In this episode, we talk about her background as an immigrant and a reporter as well as the disputed circumstances surrounding her arrest and detention. Mikeie shares his experience visiting her home to talk to her husband and what we've learned about the mass deportation regime by following her case closely.

Produced by Andrea Tudhope

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Mo Sabri: Muslim Country Musician

Sun, 15 Mar 2026 11:00:00 -0000

Growing up in Johnson City, Tenn., Mo Sabri could look out the window of his parents' house and see cows. He grew up listening to Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers. He played baseball and football. It was an all-American childhood in many ways. Add a guitar, and all of this sounds like the perfect backstory for a country music singer — except for a detail or two.

Mo's parents immigrated from Pakistan, and he grew up Muslim. Neither of those facts can take away his love for country music, or his pride in being raised just down the road from the hallowed ground of Bristol. Still, after nearly a decade in Nashville and an international following, Mo still finds that for many, just being Muslim is, as he describes it, "radioactive." But that's not stopping him from writing songs or finding new connections between the traditions he embodies.

And now, those connections are coming to the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, where Mo will perform a special Eid concert on May 31 with musicians of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra, combining Appalachian country with South Asian qawwali.

This episode was first broadcast in April 2025.

Guest: Mo Sabri, musician

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Bonus: Soccer Stadium CBA Update, Plus a Brief History of the Fairgrounds

Fri, 13 Mar 2026 11:00:00 -0000

Banner reporters Steven Hale and Stephen Elliott sit down to talk about the fairgrounds, the property's fascinating role in Nashville politics over the past 15 years and Stephen's story about the latest tensions surrounding its development. They also discuss last week's Metro Council meeting and Oscar-nominated movies.

Produced by Andrea Tudhope

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Rev. Margie Quinn: Senior Minister, Vine Street Christian Church

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 11:00:00 -0000

"Is God really a boy?" That's a question that the Rev. Margie Quinn says she found written in her very first diary. Growing up in Nashville — and eventually taking up Ultimate Frisbee, which she still plays seriously — it took many years before she began to see herself as pastor material. But early questions like this showed her eagerness to wrestle with the messy workings of the world and search for deeper truths within.

Vine Street Christian Church is more than 200 years old. Recently, the congregation voted to call Rev. Quinn to be their senior minister. At 35, she is young for the position, but the vote was unanimous. Being installed as a pastor in her hometown was a moment she once could not have imagined — having fled the South for nonprofit work on the West Coast — but also the kind of homecoming she later came to realize she needed.

Guest: Rev. Margie Quinn, senior minister, Vine Street Christian Church

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Bonus: Immigration Bills at the Tennessee Legislature — Undocumented Students and More

Fri, 06 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0000

Banner reporter Steven Hale sits down with statehouse reporter Sarah Grace Taylor to talk about several immigration-related bills currently under debate at the state legislature. They discuss the proposed policies, including one that would require schools and other public entities to track and report immigration status, and how they might play out in the context of the Trump administration's ongoing mass deportation efforts. Sarah Grace explains why she's not sure when the legislative session will end and Steven wonders what the prediction markets would say.

Produced by Andrea Tudhope

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Andrée LeQuire: Gallerist and Arts Advocate

Sun, 01 Mar 2026 12:00:00 -0000

From the beginning, Musica — the massive ring of dancing figures that towers nearly 40 feet above Buddy Killen Circle just off Music Row — was meant to be more than a sculpture: It was also supposed to be a fountain. Few know the original vision for Musica better than Andrée LeQuire, whose husband Alan LeQuire created the piece. Now, she's helping bring that vision to life, finally, with the help of some friends and the city.

A Nashville native who left for five years to explore the world before returning to her hometown, Andrée has worked in real estate and as a gallerist, served on the Planning Commission and, just once modeled for her sculptor husband. Now, she's got designs in hand to turn Musica into the water- and light-filled creation it was always intended to be.

Guest: Andrée LeQuire, gallerist and planner

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Special Episode: How Banner Reporters Reviewed 50-Plus Hours of THP-ICE Video

Sun, 22 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0000

In May 2025, Tennessee Highway Patrol teamed up with ICE for a sweeping joint operation that resulted in more than 600 traffic stops, largely in immigrant communities around the city. The Banner reviewed more than 50 hours of body and dashboard camera footage and found that agents routinely profiled people before pulling them over, treated drivers differently once it was clear they were not immigrants, competed with each other for the most people arrested, and both treated and talked about people in demeaning ways once they were in custody. In this special episode, Banner reporters discuss how they analyzed the video and what they observed.

Guests: Araceli Crescencio, Banner multimedia reporter; Stephen Elliott, Banner metro reporter; Sarah Grace Taylor, Banner state government reporter

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Andrea Tudhope

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Sai Clayton: Artist and Curator

Sun, 15 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0000

Growing up with two artistically minded parents, Sai Clayton never wanted for something to fill her time — using her imagination wasn't just encouraged, it was expected. Creativity runs in the family, and it permeated her early life. That included many days spent at the Frist Art Museum, exploring the galleries and, in her childhood years, hanging out in the ArtQuest area.

Life has come full circle for Sai, who was selected as the Frist's inaugural curatorial fellow and now, has co-curated the new exhibit In Her Place, which showcases the works of numerous women artists who have helped shape the art scene in Nashville. For Sai, it's a balancing act, living in her home town as both a curator and a practicing artist, but it's one she wouldn't trade for anything.

Guest: Sai Clayton, artist and curator

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Bonus: Education Bills at the Tennessee State Legislature, Including Ten Commandments and Communism

Fri, 13 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0000

Banner reporter Steven Hale sits down with education reporter Lillian Avedian to talk about the education-related bills she's following at the state legislature, from vouchers to curriculum about communism. Lillian explains the policy debates and reflects on her first week on the hill. Steven catches her up on the various romance-related storylines at the Winter Olympics.

Produced by Andrea Tudhope

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Lonnell Matthews Jr.: Juvenile Court Clerk

Sun, 08 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0000

In his role as Davidson County Juvenile Court Clerk, Lonnell Matthews Jr. sees his share of the kind of youth we have become accustomed to calling "troubled," Often they've come through life without the kind of guidance and support that can keep them on a better path. Lonnell understands all too well what the stakes are, because his own life was profoundly changed by violence: His younger brother was shot and killed in a drug deal gone bad.

It is, as Lonnell tells it, a tale of two brothers — siblings and best friends with identical upbringings but very different outcomes. Continuing the work that has defined his public life, Lonnell was recently named co-chair of a new Community Safety Task Force, bringing together leaders and community members from across the city. He's also working on a book he never expected to write.

Guest: Lonnell Matthews Jr., Davidson County Juvenile Court Clerk, co-chair of Community Safety Task Force

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Bonus: First Post-Winter Storm Metro Council Meeting Yields Budget Talk, Limited Public Feedback

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 12:00:00 -0000

The Banner's Steven Hale sits down with Metro reporter Stephen Elliott to talk about Tuesday's Metro Council meeting and the various upcoming reviews of Nashville's winter storm response. Stephen talks about an unusually muted night for the council and the issues that came up in the meeting's brief public hearing about the budget, and Steven asks how he and councilmembers interpret the public feedback they receive. Both Stev/phens offer up some television recommendations, and producer Andrea is glad she happened to have a doctor's appointment during the recording, thusly missing the special occasion of having All Four Banner Steves alone in a room.

Produced by Andrea Tudhope

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Bonus: Nashville Power Outages, Other Ice Storm Effects — and Dangers — Linger

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0000

The Banner’s Steven Hale and Araceli Crescencio talk about Nashville's historic winter storm, power outages and their personal slip-and-fall counts. Araceli shares what she's heard from Spanish-speaking Nashvillians trying to access Metro resources and Steven encourages her to watch Sister Act and Sister Act 2.

Produced by Andrea Tudhope

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Jonathan Bernstein: Writer, Justin Townes Earle Biography

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0000

Working as a fact-checker is great training for any writer. But especially so when one's subject is a notorious teller of tall tales. This was the case for Jonathan Bernstein, who was tasked with writing a biography of the late Justin Townes Earle. Known for his soul-searching songs and keen delivery of them, Earle also lived his short life negotiating the shadow of his father Steve's legend, as well as that of his middle namesake Townes Van Zandt.

In the new book What Do You Do When You're Lonesome, written with the blessing of widow Jenn Marie Earle, Jonathan tracks the life of this talented musician — from rough and tumble beginnings in the notorious "Chicken Shack" in a Green Hills backyard, to acclaim in New York City and beyond, to unraveling sobriety and a tragic end. Along the way, he also paints a picture of Nashville and other up-and-coming contemporaries of Earle's who helped shape the city, and Americana music, indelibly.

Guest: Jonathan Bernstein, author, What Do You Do When You're Lonesome: The Authorized Biography of Justin Townes Earle

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Bonus: Metro Council Is Back, Plus Downtown Safety, Buchanan Street and Mayoral Race

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0000

The Banner’s Steven Hale and Stephen Elliott talk about the first Metro Council meeting of the year. It was a late and action-packed night for our Metro reporter. The council discussed how to use a $15 million state grant for downtown safety, and deferred legislation to add a commercial compatibility overlay along Buchanan Street in North Nashville — a proposal that triggered ferocious debate at a planning commission meeting last week. All that, and the Steph/vens reveal how much they love talking about Nashville's mayoral races as far out from an election as possible. And with Joy Styles entering the race, now they get to!

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Anas Saba: Creator, Nashville Hidden Gems

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0000

Before Nashville Hidden Gems was a hit Instagram page, it began as a food tour, taking a small group of guests through a series of creator Anas Saba's favorite local spots. The audience is much larger now — more than 130,000 followers as of this writing — and many of those beloved eateries less "hidden" than they once were.

One thing that's remained constant through it all is his dedication to local businesses, especially those run and frequented by immigrants. But regardless of who's working the kitchen or front of house, what matters to Anas is an experience with passion and intention behind it. That same idea is pushing him to think beyond being "the food guy" in town and using his storytelling skills in new ways.

Guest: Anas Saba, creator, Nashville Hidden Gems

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Bonus: Discussing the Opening of the 2026 Tennessee State Legislative Session

Fri, 16 Jan 2026 19:36:00 -0000

The Banner’s Steven Hale and Sarah Grace Taylor talk about the return of the Tennessee legislature, what they've done so far and what to expect in the coming months. Sarah Grace discusses bills related to immigration policy, some newly proposed and others carried over from last year. She also highlights a likely debate over expanding vouchers and proposals targeting LGBTQ+ rights. Steven wonders what this year’s “chemtrails bill" will be.

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Craig Havighurst: Author, Musicality for Modern Humans

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0000

Craig Havighurst's new book Musicality for Modern Humans: How to Listen Like an Artist aims to talk about music theory in a non-theoretical way — to get at how and why music affects us, and to help foster a deeper appreciation for its many forms. That includes experimental, instrumental and orchestral works, which move beyond the familiar verses and choruses that make up the vast majority of streamed music.

As a journalist, Craig has written extensively about music, and as editorial director for WMOT Roots Radio 89.5 FM, he hosts the a weekly show on culture and American music. He was also senior producer and co-host of Music City Roots from 2009-2018.

Guest: Craig Havighurst

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Brian Mansfield: Nashville Musical History Tour

Sun, 04 Jan 2026 12:00:00 -0000

Although Nashville is known as Music City, some of the most important history — songwriting sessions, recordings, rehearsals — took place in either nondescript houses you'd never think were remarkable in any way, or in buildings that were demolished long ago. That can make piecing together the many stories a bit of a detective game.

Enter Brian Mansfield and his page, Nashville Musical History Tour, connecting the dots between ordinary-looking places and extraordinary moments in Nashville's musical history. A longtime journalist and collector, Brian takes his audience along for the ride as he bridges lore and location, turning up legends at every turn.

Guest: Brian Mansfield, journalist and Nashville music history aficionado

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Special Episode: 'The Final Question'

Sun, 28 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0000

At the end of every Banner & Company episode — the very end, after the credits have rolled and the theme music fades out — there's a little hidden feature that regular listeners are likely familiar with. We call it "the final question," and it's when we ask our guest to pull a slip of paper from a fish bowl (fish not included) and read what it says. On that paper is a question, left by a previous guest on the show. It's a little bit random, but also an intentional way to connect all of our guests to each other.

So just for fun, for the last episode of the year we present a few of these "final questions" in sequence, from asker to answerer, in a way you can't usually hear them.

Guests (in order of appearance):

Ellen Angelico, musician
Steven Womack, writer and former Watkins professor
Major Jackson, poet and teacher
Phil Bredesen, former Tennessee governor and Nashville mayor
Michael Shane Neal, portrait artist
Giancarlo Guerrero, former music director, Nashville Symphony
Willie Steele, writer and aspiring knuckleballer
Rebecca Haw Allensworth, author of The Licensing Racket
Rev. Matt Steinhauer, pastor and advocate

Plus, Kelley Sirko of the Nashville Public Library tells us about what it's like fielding semi-random questions as part of your job.

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Best of 2025: Stephen Bargatze: Magician, Comedian and Father of Nate

Sun, 21 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0000

Growing up, Stephen Bargatze got into plenty of trouble. He wasn't a very good student. His home life was rocky at best, and he had a terrible relationship with his mother. But with some help from family, he got a chance to turn his life around. And when he found he had some skill at magic tricks, his world brightened a bit. Then he discovered that with clown make-up on, "talking funny" was actually an asset.

These days, Stephen is still dazzling audiences with his sleight-of-hand and enjoying the outsize fame of his son, comedian Nate Bargatze. (His parents still think of him as Nathaniel.) He'll soon be recording his first special with his family's production company — one of the many doors that Nate's success has opened for the family.

This episode was originally broadcast in October.

Guest: Stephen Bargatze, magician and comedian

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Bonus: Shedrich Webster and the Santas of Color Coalition

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0000

This bonus content was created in partnership with the podcast Niche to meet you.

Shedrich Webster is Middle Tennessee’s premiere Black Santa. For three years in a row, he has done the annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony at the National Museum of African American Music. But he also travels all around the country. And along the way he’s learned that there’s great need for Santas like him, for kids and adults alike. It’s for that reason he helped found the Santas of Color Coalition, a first-of-its-kind organization centered around training and supporting Black Mr. and Mrs. Clauses.

Produced by Leslie Thompson

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Best of 2025: Cathy Carillo: Co-Founder, The ReMIX TN

Sun, 14 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0000

What started as an ordinary ride home from a track meet changed Cathy Carillo's life. When Metro Police stopped her father for a broken taillight in 2009, they arrested him, and he was later deported. Cathy, who was 14 years old at the time, was left stranded on the side of the road and wondering: “Is this really home?”

That night set Cathy on a 15-year path that recently led to helping found The ReMIX Tennessee, a grassroots Latino community organization. As more families are torn apart by separation due to ICE arrests like those that took place during May's joint-federal state immigration sweep through Nashville’s Latino neighborhoods, Cathy spoke to Banner & Company about starting the anonymous hotline Music City Migra Watch for people to report ICE sightings and The ReMIX Tennessee’s urgent and evolving work.

This episode was originally broadcast in August.

Guest: Cathy Carillo, co-founder, The ReMIX TN

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Lilly Sabella and Steve Haruch

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Jasmine Ledsinger: Program Director at The Store

Sun, 07 Dec 2025 12:00:00 -0000

Before The Store opened, Jasmine Ledsinger would drive by and wonder what this new business was going to be. When she learned it would be a place for those in need to shop for free food, she quickly became interested — and before she knew it she was the first employee hired by founders Brad Paisley and Kimberly Williams-Paisley.

Today, Jasmine is The Store's program director. It's not exactly where the Nashville native saw herself after studying social work at MTSU, but it's a job she knew right away was meant for her. In just a few years, The Store's mission has grown as need has grown. Even so, they have an extensive waiting list despite serving hundreds of families across the city. Early next year they'll expand their operation with a second, much larger facility.

Guest: Jasmine Ledsinger, program director, The Store

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

-more episodes at nashvillebanner.com

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Best of 2025: Joe West: Musician and Nashville Airport House Band

Sun, 30 Nov 2025 12:00:00 -0000

A familiar face to many, Joe West is the "house band" at Nashville International Airport. In this role, he performs regularly for ever-changing crowds as they arrive in the city for the first time, or return home from far-flung travels. His regular gigs at the airport have also earned him high-profile spots on other stages in Nashville and beyond.

Joe comes from a musical lineage. His parents, Sarge and Shirley West of Fayetteville, Ark., formed the first African American country music duo, and toured together and broke barriers with every performance. Today, Joe's daughter Rebecca often joins him onstage. And after a recent health scare involving a ruptured aorta — he's fully recovered now — Joe is more grateful than ever for the chance to make music.

This episode was originally broadcast in January.

Guest: Joe West, musician

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Jim Cooper: Former Tennessee Congressman

Sun, 23 Nov 2025 12:00:00 -0000

From 2003-2023, Jim Cooper represented Tennessee in Congress — most recently from the reliably Democratic District 5, which included Nashville. But when the Tennessee legislature redrew the congressional maps, splitting Nashville across three new heavily Republican districts, it didn't take him long to do the math, and he did not seek re-election.

Born into a political family in Nashville and raised in nearby Shelbyville, Jim has always kept busy. And he still keeps his ear to the ground politically. The race to fill one of the seats carved out of his old district is a surprisingly close one, and it will come as no surprise whose campaign he donated to — but some of his other ideas might raise an eyebrow. Hint: They include changing Nashville's borders again.

Guest: Jim Cooper, former Tennessee congressman

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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John Day: Attorney, President, American College of Trial Lawyers

Sun, 16 Nov 2025 12:00:00 -0000

For Nashville attorney John Day, there is no overstating how important the rule of law is to our everyday lives — not just when it comes to our personal freedoms, but also in making the economy work in a predictable fashion. He compares it to oxygen: You don't notice it until it starts to go way. John was recently named president of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a nationwide group that has advocated to preserve the rule of law under increasing pressure.

He had always planned to study and practice law with his father in Wisconsin, but a college professor suggested John see some of the world first: North Carolina first, for law school, then Nashville for an internship. The law community at the time was much smaller than comparable Southern cities, and he felt like could fit in. He's been practicing here ever since.

Guest: John Day, attorney

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Mark Deutschmann: Real Estate Entrepreneur, Juggler

Sun, 09 Nov 2025 12:00:00 -0000

Throughout his career, Mark Deutschmann has tried to balance preservation — he worked to develop the historick Werthan Mills complex into lofts — with progress. He's a big advocate for the development of the city's greenway system, and hopes for more ways to build attainable (rather than "affordable") housing.

Mark had a winding path to Music City — one that included working with orcas, nearly getting lost at sea, and winding up on an island with only two inhabitants. Once here, he managed to take up juggling (peaking at seven balls at a time) and start his own real estate company, Village, in 1996. He was recently inducted into the Nashville Entrepreneur Center's hall of fame.

Guest: Mark Deutschmann, developer, founder, Village Real Estate

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Sharon K. Roberson: President and CEO, YWCA Nashville

Sun, 02 Nov 2025 12:00:00 -0000

Raised in a military family and a graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, Sharon K. Roberson has drawn on years in the corporate world to lead the YWCA of Nashville & Middle Tennessee (not to be confused with a similarly named but unrelated organization that you might associate with workout equipment). Moving in to the nonprofit world was an adjustment, but in a way she's returned to her roots in service to others.

The YWCA has an ambitious mission: "eliminating racism, empowering women, and promoting peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all." That might sound like a tall order, but for Sharon, it's a calling that brings all her years of professional experience to bear on making the world a better place. With domestic violence a persistent problem and hunger on the rise, it's more urgent work than ever.

Guest: Sharon K. Roberson, president and CEO, YWCA Nashville & Middle Tennessee

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

- More local news at nashvillebanner.com

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Steve Norris: Former Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner

Sun, 26 Oct 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Steve Norris had never set foot inside a prison when became commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction. And he had only been on the job three months when he was suddenly thrust into one of the biggest crises in the state's history: an inmate uprising, including a "full on riot," across multiple prisons. Five correction officers were taken hostage. Inmates were allowed to give a live press conference. "I thought about turning it down,'' Steve says, " but ultimately concluded that it was in everybody's interest that the media be allowed in and everybody could see what we were dealing with."

Looking back at those 36 hours in the summer of 1985, Steve says it was a turning point. And around the same time, an upstart company called Corrections Corporation of American — now known as CoreCivic — was just beginning. Today, it operates several Tennessee prisons, including the troubled Trousdale Turner Correctional Facility. Steve says he has no special knowledge of what's going on there, but he does have some ideas about how to turn the situation around.

Guest: Steve Norris, former commissioner, Tennessee Department of Correction

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Barry Mazor: Music Writer, Author of Everly Brothers Book 'Blood Harmony'

Sun, 19 Oct 2025 11:00:00 -0000

For a long time, Barry Mazor (along with fellow music writers) puzzled over what struck them as a glaring omission: There was no dependable, carefully sourced book on one of music's most important groups, The Everly Brothers. Eventually, Barry's agent asked a question that seems somewhat obvious in hindsight: "Why don't you write it?" That is the origin story of Blood Harmony: The Everly Brothers Story.

Barry's painstakingly researched new book captures not only the story of the duo's music and lasting influence, but also dives into Don and Phil Everly's close and sometimes fraught relationship. As for himself, Barry knows a bit about having performers in the family — some of his relatives were vaudevillians — and as both one of the country's top music writers and a lifelong Everlys fan, he knows his way around the legend and the lore.

Guest: music writer, author of Blood Harmony: The Everly Brothers Story

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Bob Bernstein: Owner, Bongo Java and Fido

Sun, 12 Oct 2025 11:00:00 -0000

This week, Bob Bernstein announced that beloved Hillsboro Village coffee shop Fido will be closing — three years from now, on June 1, 2028. In the announcement, which was posted below a digital countdown clock, he wrote: "As leases expired, many of those who put their savings and dreams into their small businesses and created the look, feel and taste of Nashville became victims of their own success." The news sparked conversations around the changing character of the city.

Bob didn't intend to open one of Nashville's most beloved coffee shops. In fact, he first moved here to be a journalist. But hearing about plans for growing the city, he bought into the idea that something special was happening in Music City. He opened a coffee house — even though he didn't drink coffee at the time — because he loved the culture. Bongo Java, intended to be a gathering place for Nashvillians of all stripes, opened on Belmont Boulevard with a line out the door on its very first day.

Guest: Bob Bernstein, owner, Bongo Java and Fido

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Stephen Bargatze: Magician, Comedian and Father of Nate

Sun, 05 Oct 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Guest: Stephen Bargatze, magician and comedian

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Liz McLaurin: President and CEO, The Land Trust for Tennessee

Sun, 28 Sep 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Liz McLaurin looks at the landscape a little different than the rest of us. As the head of the nonprofit Land Trust for Tennessee, she works with landowners who want to set aside some (or all) of their property for conservation. So when she sees forests and farmlands, she's not just thinking about what's there now; she's also thinking about what that land might look like decades or even centuries from now. Will it be protected and left unspoiled?

In her line of work, the answer is often yes. The Land Trust helps owners make arrangements for their land, to make sure it doesn't get paved over or covered in condos. Hers was an indirect path to this work, starting with years as a working actor. In the years since, she's come to know that people who've lived on land know that land and the stories it holds — and her job is to listen for how to sustain those stories for the future.

Guest: Liz McLaurin, president and CEO, The Land Trust for Tennessee

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Shane Caldwell: Comedian

Sun, 21 Sep 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Shane Caldwell got his start on public access television as "kind of a goof," after watching a comedy show and thinking he and his fellow bartender friends could do much better. What they came up with, The Sylvan Brothers, became an underground sensation. That led to a local sketch comedy show called Cuts that aired right after Saturday Night Live. The first musical guest? Vince Gill.

The child of performers, Shane hails from Savannah, Tenn. — fishing worm capital of the world — where some of the off-kilter residents he observed growing up informed the characters he eventually created for his shows. Clips of one of those characters, the indelible "Rehab Guy," still get shared on social media. Since those days, Shane has worked with a long roster of collaborators, including Jeff Foxworthy and professional wrestler Dusty "The American Dream" Rhodes.

Guest: Shane Caldwell, comedian

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Jim McGuire: Photographer, Nashville Portraits

Sun, 14 Sep 2025 11:00:00 -0000

You should never meet your heroes, the old saying goes. But for Jim McGuire, it has turned out pretty well. Jim grew up listening to country radio, and then — after a roundabout path took him to an Army base in Oklahoma, then to Vietnam and eventually to Nashville — he made a career capturing photos of some of the stars he had once only known through their music.

He started out in an old grocery store that he converted into a photo studio — he slept in the back — but it wasn't long before his skill behind the camera drew a steady stream of notable subjects: The Nashville Portraits include legends like Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Doc Watson, Earl Monroe and Dolly Parton, to name but a few. He doesn't often give interviews, so this is a rare chance to hear his story firsthand.

Guest: Jim "Senor" McGuire, photographer

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Tamara Saviano: Author, Poets and Dreamers: My Life in Americana Music

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Tamara Saviano has worked in radio, been a publicist — Kris Kristofferson was a client — served as president of the Americana Music Association (the first woman to do so), and produced albums and award shows at the Ryman Auditorium. All of this has given her an inside view of the Americana scene from the very start. If that sounds like a singularly winding career path, you can now read about it in her new memoir.

This week, Tamara sits down with Demetria to talk about that book, as well as her path from Wisconsin to Music City, what she loves about working with musicians, and what it's been like wearing so many hats over the years while staying true to herself along the way.

Guest: Tamara Saviano, writer, author, Poets and Dreamers: My Life in Americana Music

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Shauna Reynolds and Steve Haruch

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Serina K. Gilbert and Dr. Learotha Williams Jr.: From the Fiery Furnace to the Promise Land

Sun, 31 Aug 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Shortly after the end of the Civil War, formerly enslaved African Americans established and settled Promise Land in Dickson County. They came from farms around Charlotte, Tennessee, and from Cumberland Furnace, the nearby ironworks town. Some of the first settlers, like Ed Vanleer and John Nesbitt served with the United States Colored Troops during the war. The town remained independent, and actually flourished through the Jim Crow Era.

Serina Gilbert is a descendant of those original inhabitants, and with the Promise Land Heritage Association, helps keep the stories of this historic community alive. And she is co-author of the book From the Fiery Furnace to the Promise Land: Stories of a Tennessee Reconstruction Community, which collects many of these tales, handed down through the generations. Her collaborator is esteemed historian and TSU professor Dr. Learotha Williams Jr., who joins her in conversation with Demetria.

Plus, after the interview, an audio story featuring sounds and voices from the annual Promise Land festival — essentially a big family reunion — produced by Banner managing editor Andrea Tudhope, which originally aired on WPLN.

Guests:

Serina K. Gilbert, longtime Promise Land resident and co-author of From the Fiery Furnace to the Promise Land
Dr. Learotha Williams Jr., Professor of African American and Public History at Tennessee State University, co-author of From the Fiery Furnace to the Promise Land

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Aaron Gray: Father, Survivor and Podcaster

Sun, 24 Aug 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Aaron Gray found peace after enduring the unthinkable. His 5-month-old son Joel died in August 2012 after Gray’s then wife accidentally left the baby in the back seat of the family car. But Gray didn’t allow Joel’s death to shatter his life forever — he found peace in nature as he learned to untangle and release his trauma.

Gray used the worst moment in his life as a catalyst to help him help others. Through his podcast, Guys Dealings With Feelings, he seeks to connect with men and help them find their own paths to healing. These paths include holistic wellness and realizing the connections between the mind and body. Along with his therapist co-host, Gray tries to normalize men identifying and discussing their emotions: "I’m living life today to make sure there’s no more regrets."

Guest: Aaron Gray, host, Guys Dealings With Feelings

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Shauna Reynolds

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Becca Andrews: Journalist and Cohost of American Shrapnel

Sun, 17 Aug 2025 11:00:00 -0000

From the time she job-shadowed at the Jackson Sun in 8th grade, Becca Andrews knew she wanted to be a journalist. This aspiration took her from Tennessee to California and back again as she began an award-winning career as an investigative reporter. Andrews’ extensive coverage of reproductive healthcare and right-wing extremism prepared her for her latest project, American Shrapnel.

As co-writer and cohost, Andrews retraces the violent crimes of serial bomber Eric Robert Rudolph, explores the past that filled him with hate and aggression and describes the manhunt that put the elusive perpetrator in prison. It’s a story that took Andrews, her cohost and their producer three years to research and report, now unfolding one disturbing podcast episode at a time.

Guest: Becca Andrews, journalist, co-host, American Shrapnel

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Shauna Reynolds

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Exploring the Unusual Execution of Byron Black

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 11:00:00 -0000

On Tuesday, the state of Tennessee executed Byron Black, who was convicted and sentenced to death in 1989 for the murders of his then-girlfriend Angela Clay and her two daughters, nine-year-old Latoya and six-year-old Lakeisha. Black, who was intellectually disabled, had an implanted defibrillator that his attorney argued could cause undue suffering if it attempted to shock his heart as execution drugs took effect. Ultimately, after a series of legal challenges, the execution was allowed to proceed without intervention from either the Tennessee State Supreme Court or Gov. Bill Lee. As he was injected with a lethal dose of the barbiturate pentobarbital on Tuesday morning, Black was observed by media witnesses, including Banner editor Steve Cavendish, to groan, "Oh, it's hurting so bad."

Black was pronounced dead at 10:43 a.m. Afterward, attorney Kelley Henry said her client had been "tortured." A statement from the victims' family read, in part, "I thank God for this day, a day that was a long time coming." While initial data indicated that the defibrillator did not activate during the execution, an autopsy will take 8-12 weeks; in the meantime, Henry said in an emailed statement, "Make no mistake, we all saw with our own eyes that the pentobarbital did not work like the State's expert testified that it would. Mr. Black suffered."

Guests: Steve Cavendish, editor-in-chief, official media witness; Steven Hale, criminal justice reporter and author of Death Row Welcomes You

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Lilly Sabella and Steve Haruch

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Cathy Carillo: Co-Founder, The ReMIX TN

Sun, 03 Aug 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Guest: Cathy Carillo, co-founder, The ReMIX TN

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Lilly Sabella

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Ron Brice: Owner, Third & Lindsley

Sun, 27 Jul 2025 11:00:00 -0000

When he first arrived in Nashville sight unseen, Ron Brice was just here for a job — running a video arcade. So how did a Michigander with no background in music aside from being a fan end up owning one of the city's most important independent venues? That story involves a gym, a professional wrestler, a Mexican restaurant and a whole lot of sweat equity.

The club Ron eventually opened up, Third & Lindsley, has hosted some of the city's best musicians for three decades, with some updates to the sound system and floor plan along the way. In a changing Music City, it's one of the last indie venues standing. And with a brand new lease, they will keep that tradition going for at least a few more years.

Guest: Ron Brice

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Shauna Reynolds

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Alan Stoker: Former Archivist at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

Sun, 20 Jul 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Not many people have held Hank Williams demo recordings with his handwriting on them. But Alan Stoker has. He recently retired from the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, where he worked for 50 years, much of it spent preserving and archiving rare — and sometimes fragile — recordings. He was there long enough that some of the recordings he archived he returned to a second time in order to digitize.

Alan was born into a musical family; his father was Gordon Stoker, a member of the Jordanaires, one of music history's most storied vocal groups — working with Elvis Presley, Patsy Cline, Johnny Cash and countless others over a decades-long career. Alan's father gave him his first tape recorder, which set him on the path to audio engineering. He's pretty good behind a drum kit, too.

Guest: Alan Stoker, musician and audio archivist

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Lilly Sabella

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Wendy Murray: Artist Drawing Every Building on Gallatin Pike

Sun, 13 Jul 2025 11:00:00 -0000

"I guess I'm a completist," artist Wendy Murray says of herself. And right now she has an appropriately ambitious project under way: drawing every building on Gallatin Pike. Or, as she likes to say, "the Gallatin Pike" (an homage to Ed Ruscha's Every Building on the Sunset Strip). Maybe you've seen her out with pens and museum board, sketching that day's subject.

Originally from New Zealand, Wendy has taught art at Sydney University in Australia and completed an internship here at Hatch Show Print — where the commute back and forth sparked her interest in the busy East Nashville thoroughfare — making posters, zines and all manner of artwork along the way.

Guest: Wendy Murray

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Lilly Sabella

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Leon Alligood on the Scopes Trial, 100 Years Later

Sun, 06 Jul 2025 11:00:00 -0000

This month marks 100 years since the Scopes "monkey" trial in Dayton, Tenn. The simple version is that a 24-year-old teacher had been charged with breaking a state law forbidding the teaching of evolution. But as national press descended on this small Tennessee town — at least 150 reporters and photographers in all — it soon became clear that this was bigger than a simple criminal trial. It was as if science itself stood accused.

Writer, former Banner reporter and MTSU professor Leon Alligood has long been obsessed with the Scopes trial. This week, he has written a deep dive on its lasting importance for the Banner. Among the questions the trial raised: What is the role of government in education? What should children taught or not taught? Can science be trusted? The parallels a century later are striking.

Guest: Leon Alligood

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Maryam Abolfazli on the Human Consequences of Iran Conflict

Sun, 29 Jun 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Maryam Abolfazli was born and raised in Nashville, into what she describes as a "a big and loving Iranian family." Some members of that family still live in Iran, where, already contending with a repressive government, they have also lived in a time of war and now, lingering uncertainty.

All of this hits close to home for Maryam, who has worked in the Middle East and retains close ties with her extended family. As a fragile ceasefire appears to hold, we asked her what it's been like to follow the news from Nashville, knowing loved ones potentially remain in harm's way.

Guest: Maryam Abolfazli, activist and Iranian American

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Dr. Paul Kwami: Fisk Jubilee Singers Music Director, 1994-2022

Sun, 22 Jun 2025 11:00:00 -0000

The late Dr. Paul Kwami was the music director of the Fisk Jubilee Singers for 28 years. He passed away in September 2022. Before his death, Dr. Kwami recorded an interview for a documentary project about Nashville music venues, which has not been heard until now. This week's episode, drawn from Banner Executive Producer Demetria Kalodimos' archives, also features the Fisk Jubilee Singers in their first-ever performance at the Bluebird Cafe.

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Paul Collins: Painter and (Part Time) Courtroom Sketch Artist

Sun, 15 Jun 2025 11:00:00 -0000

When the Banner needed someone to sketch the recent trial of Glen Casada and Cade Cothren in federal court — where no cameras or digital devices of any kind are allowed — we turned to artist Paul Collins. His courtroom sketches, created on paper with pencil, marker and other dry materials, brought the trial to life for our coverage, along with several other Nashville outlets.

Paul knew from a young age that he wanted to be an artist, but his parents didn't necessarily agree with that choice. Still, he found a way into a career, eventually combining his love of art with something else he'd always wanted to do: teach. Paul's recent work has been increasingly public, including free "vote" signs and a large-scale art book project called the Unbannable Library.

Guest: Paul Collins

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Phil Bredesen: Former Tennessee Governor and Nashville Mayor

Sun, 08 Jun 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Phil Bredesen is a big believer in the public good. As mayor of Nashville, he pushed to create more public spaces, like the downtown public library. He also sought to invigorate the core of the city, in part by bringing big-time sports to town. (Wait until you hear the story of how he got to the final handshake on an NFL franchise.) As governor of Tennessee, Phil worked to acquire and preserving public land.

These days, fishing and grandchildren occupy more of his time than they once did, but he keeps his ear to the ground. And while he doesn't always like what he hears, he's still interested in finding common ground among folks who might otherwise disagree. His podcast with former Republican governor Bill Haslam is indicative of the centrist thinking that got Phil elected as a Democrat in a red state.

Guest: Phil Bredesen

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Don Cusic: Writer, Author of Chet Atkins Biography

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Music historian Don Cusic has played many roles — songwriter, producer, novelist, professor. (Not to mention putting in a stint at a newspaper in Cookeville many years ago.) Decades ago, he pulled into Nashville in an old VW bus that doubled as his home until he found his footing writing about music.

Since then, Don has written 28 books, ranging from a biography of Roger Miller to an encyclopedia of cowboys. His latest delves into the life of one of Nashville's most influential figures. Chet Atkins: Mr. Guitar took Don more than a decade to write, and is informed by both research and his personal proximity to the late songwriter, producer and instrumentalist.

Guest: Don Cusic

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Steven Womack: Writer, Former Watkins Film School Instructor

Sun, 25 May 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Five years ago this week, Watkins School of Art, Design & Film held a socially distanced commencement ceremony amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It would the last in the school's 185-year history, as it later merged with Belmont University. Steven Womack taught at Watkins for 25 years, and he details his time there — and the school's demise — in a memoir titled Death of a College.

Before he ever stepped into a college classroom, Steven was a writer (inspired first by Robert Penn Warren) of multiple novels, beginning with Murphy's Fault and including many mysteries after, including a Nashville-set series featuring the detective Harry James Denton, and the newly released stand-alone, Blood Plot.

Guest: Steven Womack

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Kelley Henry, Federal Public Defender

Sun, 18 May 2025 11:00:00 -0000

With the state of Tennessee set to restart executions this month, federal public defender Kelley Henry is even more busy than usual. Her client Oscar Smith is the first man scheduled to be killed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Her team has exhausted its legal options, and Smith is set to be executed on May 22. He will spend 14 days on death watch, instead of the customary three.

The drug that will be used to carry out that execution, pentobarbital, is not without controversy, and the state has not disclosed where or how it obtained its supply. Henry has pressed for transparency, claiming that the state should not be able to hide the identity or identities of whoever supplied the drug. Whatever the outcome, Henry is determined to keep fighting for the rights of "her guys" — a fight she has promised herself to continue as long as she lives.

Guest: Kelley Henry, supervising assistant federal public defender

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Bonus Episode: 'The High Cost of Low Wages in Nashville'

Fri, 16 May 2025 14:06:00 -0000

This week, the Metropolitan Social Services department released a report based on its annual community needs evaluation. The title of this year's report: "The High Cost of Low Wages in Nashville." Coinciding with the release of the report, the department hosted a community gathering at West End Community Church, featuring a panel discussion on the report's findings and possible solutions.

Guests

Stephanie Coleman, Nashville Chamber of Commerce CEO
Courtney Johnston, District 26 Councilmember
Harold Love Jr., District 58 State Representative

Credits

Host: Demetria Kalodimos
Producer: Steve Haruch

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Digging Into the Sweeping ICE Operation in Nashville

Sun, 11 May 2025 11:00:00 -0000

This week, Tennessee Highway Patrol said it made close to 500 traffic stops — coordinating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a sweeping effort to find undocumented immigrants along state roads. Troopers made 12 arrests, and 94 people were detained for reasons related to immigration. The enforcement actions created anxiety and uncertainty in Nashville's Latino communities and raised questions about what Nashville officials knew, and when.

Banner reporters have spent the week talking to people affected, attending community meetings, accompanying lawmakers and observing activity outside the Nashville ICE field office. In this special episode, state government reporter Sarah Grace Taylor, metro reporter Stephen Elliott and criminal justice reporter Steven Hale talk about what they've seen and heard, and what we still don't know.

Major Jackson: Poet and Teacher

Sun, 04 May 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Major Jackson is the author of six poetry collections, including, most recently, Razzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems. He is a professor at Vanderbilt University and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Coming to Nashville to teach was a homecoming of sorts — he spent many summers here as a child.

For two years, spanning 443 episodes, Major was the host of the podcast The Slowdown, which gave him the space to introduce new poems and poets to a devoted audience on a daily basis. He recently stepped down from that role, and joined Demetria to talk about his career, his inspirations and what comes next.

Guest: Major Jackson, poet, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Chair in the Humanities at Vanderbilt University

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Michael Shane Neal: Portrait Artist

Sun, 27 Apr 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Shane credits Kinstler with showing him the way to an artist's life. And since then, he's painted everyone from John Lewis to Sandra Day O'Connor, Morgan Freeman to former Tennessee governor Phil Bredesen. It's painstaking work — sometimes taking months of sittings, sketches and many, many conversations. It's in that process that, Shane says, he gets to know the essence of a person in order to convey it on canvas.

Guest: Michael Shane Neal

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Rev. Matt Steinhauer: Pastor and Advocate

Sun, 20 Apr 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Rev. Matt Steinhauer was among the dozen or so clergy who interrupted a House committee meeting earlier this week by reciting the Lord's Prayer. He was eventually escorted out by Tennessee State Troopers. What brought Matt to the Cordell Hull State Office Building that day was a belief that public education is for everyone, and that the bill under consideration — which would allow school districts to turn away or charge tuition to undocumented children — goes against the teachings of Jesus.

Matt is no stranger to state politics; his father, a polio survivor, served four terms in the General Assembly and passed on a legacy of working to help others. He took his father's example to heart, and even though he was nervous, at first, to voice his concerns in such a public way, he knew it was part of his calling.

Guest: Rev. Matt Steinhauer, interim pastor, Saint Andrew Lutheran Church

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Andrew Leeper and Will Minkoff of Nashville Severe Weather

Sun, 13 Apr 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Middle Tennessee weather can be unpredictable — and dangerous. When things get iffy, a trio of "suburban dads" keeps the information flowing. But once the watches turn to warnings, they really get serious: That's when they start livestreaming on YouTube, tracking storms in real time and letting their audience know when to shelter and when it's safe to carry on.

Nashville Severe Weather started as a Twitter account to keep locals informed of potential rainouts and worse. It's grown into a high-tech multi-platform operation with hundreds of thousands of followers. Two-thirds of the team joined Demetria to talk about their origins — which go back farther than one might think — and their advice for getting through a nasty weather event.

Guests: Andrew Leeper and Will Minkoff, Nashville Severe Weather

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Mo Sabri, Muslim Country Musician

Sun, 06 Apr 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Guest: Mo Sabri, musician

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Linda Rose: Immigration Attorney, Musician and Black Belt

Sun, 30 Mar 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Born to working-class parents in Massachusetts, Linda Rose came to Nashville in the 1990s — by way of Hawaii, where she first began working in immigration law. When she relocated to Tennessee for her then-husband's career, she didn't think there'd be much for her to do. But her practice took off.

These days, Linda's as busy as she's ever been, and the political climate has her anxious for her clients. To stay centered, she finds solace in her longtime karate practice — she's a third-degree black belt — and playing jazz vibraphone in a band that includes one of the lawyers in her firm.

Guest: Linda Rose, founder of Rose Immigration Law Firm

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Mike Bub: Bass Player and Bluegrass Stalwart

Sun, 23 Mar 2025 11:00:00 -0000

The banjo was Mike Bub's first love, but not long after arriving in Nashville he discovered he could find more work playing the bass. He found himself onstage at the Grand Ole Opry, on tour with the likes of Bill Monroe, and in studios across Nashville. He played in Del McCurry's band for years. He's got some stories.

Mike also became a regular at the Station Inn, what the calls the "last bastion" of the Music City he first encountered in the 1980s — full of legends and upstarts making a go at their craft as sunset began to fall on country music's golden age. He still plays a standing gig there on Monday nights, and if you can find it among the high-rises, you owe it to yourself to check out a show.

Guest: Mike Bub

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Jim Bartoo: Marketing Director, Nashville Zoo

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 11:00:00 -0000

When you can hear gibbons shouting out from treetops during office hours, you know your job is a bit off the beaten path. As marketing director for the Nashville Zoo, Jim Bartoo gets to spend a lot of time with the noisy, fuzzy, slimy — and just about everything in between — critters that call the South Nashville property home.

Maybe it's not too much of a stretch that Jim once worked in television news — or that his experience in the media helped him land one of his first zoo jobs. He's been at the helm of Nashville Zoo's publicity efforts for 25 years, and in that time he's developed an appreciation for everything from "snot otters" (aka hellbenders) to flamingoes. He's developed a pretty convincing gibbon call, too.

Guest: Jim Bartoo, director of marketing and public relations, Nashville Zoo

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Elliott Robinson: Keeper of the Nashville Public Library's Civil Rights Room

Sun, 09 Mar 2025 11:00:00 -0000

Sixty years ago this week, activists marched for civil rights in Selma, Ala., including many, like John Lewis and Diane Nash, who had trained in Nashville. In his role as overseer of the Civil Rights Room at the downtown Nashville Public Library, Elliott Robinson keeps watch over the history that was made here and reverberated across the country.

A "math kid" turned history major, Elliott has a gift for singing and a knack for the stage he discovered later in life than some. (He portrayed Joseph in a Christmas play at TSU at age 41.) He brings a warmth and approachability to his work at the library — telling stories of bravery for all who come to visit. He also has a close personal connection to that history.

Guest: Elliott Robinson, program specialist for the Civil Rights Room, Nashville Public Library

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Ellen Angelico: Musician, Writer and Host of 'Girl in a Hurry'

Sun, 02 Mar 2025 12:00:00 -0000

As a musician, Ellen Angelico plays many instruments well, but her first love is still her go-to: the guitar. You can hear her play on albums by Lola Kirke and Adeem the Artist. She's backed up the likes of Mickey Guyton and Brandy Clark. She writes her own music as Uncle Ellen, and writes a column for Premier Guitar magazine. In short, she's living the dream that started when she got her first real six-string at age 4.

It was the Music City dream that attracted both Ellen and one of her former bandmates, the talented singer Shelly Bush. In the new podcast Girl in a Hurry, Ellen tells Shelly's story, from a small town in Missouri to the honky tonks of Lower Broad — a life cut tragically short but lived to the absolute fullest.

Guest: Ellen Angelico, musician, writer and host of Girl in a Hurry

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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The murder of Marcia Trimble: a crime that shocked Nashville

Sun, 23 Feb 2025 12:00:00 -0000

Content warning: This episode contains references to sexual assault and murder.

Nine-year-old Marcia Trimble was delivering Girl Scout cookies in the affluent Green Hills neighborhood when she went missing on Feb. 25, 1975. Thirty-three days later, on Easter Sunday, her body was discovered not far from her family home. She had been sexually assaulted.

The early investigation focused on 15-year-old Jeffrey Womack, who lived near the Trimbles and was one of the last people to see Marcia alive. He was arrested and charged in 1979 but released the following year due to lack of evidence. Thirty-three years after Marcia's death, in 2008, Jerome Sydney Barrett was charged with first-degree murder. This special episode of Banner & Company looks back on the case that rocked the city.

Producer and Host: Demetria Kalodimos

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Rebecca Haw Allensworth: law professor, author of The Licensing Racket

Sun, 16 Feb 2025 12:00:00 -0000

The first time Rebecca Haw Allensworth attended a licensing board meeting, she could hardly believe what she was seeing: A physician with a long malpractice history, including sexual misconduct and giving drugs to patients off the books, was trying to get his medical license reinstated. And to Rebecca's disbelief, the Tennessee Medical Examiners Board did just that. And so the book she thought was writing changed instantly.

Now, several years and many, many public meetings later, that book has been published. The Licensing Racket takes a deep look at the ways licensing boards operate. These are bodies made up of professionals essentially policing themselves — often with little understanding of the actual statutes they're upholding and little training about how and why they render their judgments. And Rebecca asks whether public safety is really being served by this type of regulation.

Guest: Rebecca Haw Allensworth

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Willie Steele: writer, professor and aspiring knuckleballer

Sun, 09 Feb 2025 12:00:00 -0000

When the other kids wanted to watch Indiana Jones, Willie Steele took a chance on a baseball movie instead. He didn't know it at the time, but watching Field of Dreams by himself in 1989 would alter the trajectory of his life. He would go on to write his master's thesis about Shoeless Joe, the novel the film was based on, and then, in an unlikely turn, write the biography of that book's author, W.P. Kinsella.

These days, Willie is working on a new book about how Major League Baseball reacted to the events of 9/11, from the perspectives of the four teams that were closest to where the planes went down: The Mets, Yankees, Pirates and Orioles. And he's also learning how to throw a knuckleball — with some help from a few former big leaguers.

Guest: Willie Steele

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Dr. Agenia Clark: president, Fisk University

Sun, 02 Feb 2025 12:00:00 -0000

Dr. Agenia Clark's path to becoming president of Fisk University is not a typical one. She didn't come up through academia. She had led the Girl Scouts of Middle Tennessee; she had worked in the corporate world and even nearly launched a tech startup after getting her MBA. But her somewhat unusual path had also given her the tools she needed. And more importantly, she had a passion for this historic institution.

Growing up in Alabama, Agenia learned early on the importance of education. It was drummed into her by the women in her church and, yes, her own Girl Scout troop. And even though her experience as the only Black student at an elite prep school was trying and often lonely, it also taught her the power of perseverance.

Guest: Dr. Agenia Clark, president, Fisk University

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Giancarlo Guerrero: music director, Nashville Symphony

Sun, 26 Jan 2025 12:00:00 -0000

Giancarlo Guerrero has been the Nashville Symphony's music director since 2008. Under his direction, the symphony has risen in prominence and reputation, premiering important compositions and taking home 14 Grammy awards. Maestro Guerrero also helped guide the symphony through difficult times: The 2010 flood damaged the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, and the COVID-19 pandemic shut it down for an entire concert season.

Were it not for a revolution in his home country, Giancarlo's parents may have never moved the family to Costa Rica, where he joined a youth symphony that set him on a path that has taken him around the world many times over. When he leaves the Nashville Symphony at the end of the current season, his 17-year tenure will be the second-longest in the organization’s history. He plans to leave the orchestra in the best shape he possibly can.

Guest: Giancarlo Guerrero

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Marty Slutsky: audio pioneer and presidential debates producer

Sun, 19 Jan 2025 12:00:00 -0000

When you think of television, you probably think of the visual image first. But the sound quality — and the variety of sounds you're able to hear as you watch — can add a lot to the experience. Over a decades-long career, Marty Slutsky has been at the sound board for some of TV's biggest events: the Olympics, the Kentucky Derby and, for nearly 30 years, live presidential debates. During his time at ABC, there was an internal term for the multiple-microphone, catch-all sound recording approach: "Slutsky Audio."

As many Nashville stories do, Marty's begins with music. He performed with the folk-rock band McKendree, which released multiple albums and opened for the likes of Fleetwood Mac and Jimi Hendrix. And it was out on the road where he met his wife, fellow musician and audio wiz Sharon Ferrara, who was our first guest on Banner & Company.

Guest: Marty Slutsky, audio engineer and presidential debates producer

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Alisha Haddock: executive director, Neighbor 2 Neighbor

Sun, 12 Jan 2025 12:00:00 -0000

Alisha Haddock believes in the power of community. With a resume filled with service-oriented work, Alisha stays committed to the idea that Nashville can be better — if we all work together. That's what landed her at the helm of the community nonprofit Neighbor 2 Neighbor, and on Nashville's Community Review Board overseeing Metro police.

Alisha's Nashville roots run deep: There's a portrait of her grandmother Nora Ransom on display in Elizabeth Park. Ms. Ransom was a pillar of the community who brought people together and looked out for her neighbors. And today, her granddaughter Alisha carries that forward, crediting her upbringing in North Nashville and in the church for her commitment to service and her optimism about the power of ordinary people to make the world better.

Guest: Alisha Haddock, executive director, Neighbor 2 Neighbor

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Joe West: musician and Nashville airport house band

Sun, 05 Jan 2025 12:00:00 -0000

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Best of 2024: Books

Sun, 29 Dec 2024 12:00:00 -0000

As we wind down the year, we've been looking back at some of our best episodes, and we noticed one common thread between several of our favorite interviews: books. In 2024, those included: a cookbook brimming with both recipes and great stories from the South; a unique and kaleidoscopic look at a musical great; a dive into three still-unsolved integration-era bombings in Nashville; a firsthand account of visiting Tennessee's death row and the people there; a fight for justice in the wake of a historic environmental disaster; and an obsessive consideration of two legendary country music stars.

So this week we're bringing you a few highlights from our favorite author interviews of the year.

Guests

Anne Byrn, author of Baking in the American South
Ann Powers, author of Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell
Betsy Phillips, author of Dynamite Nashville (and of this unvarnished history of the Banner)
Steven Hale, author of Death Row Welcomes You
Jared Sullivan, author of Valley So Low
Tyler Mahon Coe, author of Cocaine & Rhinestones

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Best of 2024: Rose Palermo, divorce attorney to the stars

Sun, 22 Dec 2024 12:00:00 -0000

Attorney Rose Palermo still keeps an office on Music Row, where she got her start in the ’70s representing musicians. When some of those musicians started getting divorced, she took on that work, too. It helps to know the business, after all. Eventually there was so much divorce work she had to choose, and she chose divorce — though not for herself. (She and fellow attorney Denty Cheatham remain happily married, as they have been for 50-plus years.)

In the intervening decades, Rose has built a reputation as one of the toughest divorce attorneys in Music City. And her clients, including host Demetria Kalodimos, swear by her tenacity, sure — maybe you saw her come crashing into a lying huckster's office on an episode of 60 Minutes. But for the people she's guided through some of their hardest times, she's known just as much for her compassion and care.

This episode was first broadcast in July.

Guest: Rose Palermo, divorce attorney

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Best of 2024: Frankie Staton: singer, songwriter, Black Country Music Association co-founder

Sun, 15 Dec 2024 12:00:00 -0000

Long before Beyoncé's Cowboy Carter album re-ignited the conversation, Frankie Staton was booking showcases aimed at highlighting Nashville's Black country music talent, which remained hidden in the mix. "I knew that I was not the only Black person that was being treated the way I was being treated," she says.

A North Carolina native inspired to move to Music City by the likes of Loretta Lynn and Dolly Parton, Frankie has toiled in the shadows for decades, but not long ago she finally made it onto the stage at the Grand Ole Opry. And a new generation, inspired by her example, has both shined a light on her work and carried it on.

This episode was originally broadcast in May.

Guest

Frankie Staton, pianist, songwriter, performer; co-founder, Black Country Music Association

Credits

Host: Demetria Kalodimos
Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

Best of 2024: Elisheba Mrozik: tattooer, artist and organizer

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 12:00:00 -0000

Elisheba Mrozik is probably best known as a tattooer: She made an appearance on the TV show Inkmaster and owns her own shop in North Nashville. But she’s also a painter, muralist and textile artist who uses whatever medium she’s working in to explore community and cultural interconnectedness. And yes, some of that work involves fermenting mud.

An artist from an early age — including an elementary school-era side gig selling her drawings — Elisheba credits a trip to Japan for unlocking her potential and beginning her journey exploring her identity as a Black Southern woman.

This episode was originally broadcast in April.

Guest: Elisheba Mrozik, artist; owner, One Drop Ink Tattoo; president, North Nashville Arts Coalition

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Best of 2024: A Look Back at the Old Banner — From People Who Were There

Sun, 01 Dec 2024 12:00:00 -0000

For our premiere episode, we broke from our usual one-on-one format to bring you an abbreviated — but nonetheless colorful and complicated — history of the Nashville Banner: a look at the days of a two-newspaper city, from people who lived it, day in and day out, in the storied newsroom at 1100 Broadway.

This episode was first broadcast in April 2024.

Guests

Parker Toler, paperboy
Mary Hance, reporter aka Ms. Cheap
Kay West, writer aka Betty Banner
Robert Churchwell Jr., son of Robert Churchwell, the first Black reporter in Nashville
Tam Gordon, reporter
Bruce Dobie, reporter
Larry McCormack, photographer

Credits

Host: Demetria Kalodimos
Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Hal Cato: CEO, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 12:00:00 -0000

From a young age, Hal Cato knew he wanted to help others — from a chance encounter with a senior in an assisted living center to recruiting friends to help him deliver Meals on Wheels. That drive has brought him into leadership at some of Nashville's most prominent nonprofits — including Hands On Nashville, Oasis Center and Thistle Farms. And it brought him very close to a run for mayor.

"I'm still attracted to the underdog today, those who are marginalized and just sort of on the outskirts," Hal says. Today, he sits at the helm of the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee, which oversees more than 1,500 funds and hundreds millions of dollars to help those in need. How to best direct and coordinate those resources in a fast-changing city is a challenge Hal feels up for, even if it means changing

Disclosure: CFMT is a sponsor of Banner & Company. Sponsors do not influence coverage.

Guest: Hal Cato, CEO, Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Tessa Lemos Del Pino: executive director, Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors

Sun, 17 Nov 2024 12:00:00 -0000

President-elect Donald Trump has promised mass deportations, raising questions about the feasibility of such an operation and, at the same time, causing fear in immigrant communities across the country. Here in Nashville, local authorities have stayed away from strident rhetoric, but this week Tennessee lawmakers introduced two bills aimed at undocumented immigrants — one that would require law enforcement to transport them to "sanctuary cities" and another that would require state IDs to distinguish citizens from noncitizens.

Tessa Lemos Del Pino is the granddaughter of migrant farm workers who once associated with the United Farm Workers and Cesar Chavez. Today, she is the executive director of Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors, a nonprofit law office that helps people navigate the complex and time-consuming immigration system. Her office has been inundated with messages this week, as the specter of drastic enforcement measures hangs over undocumented Tennesseans and their families.

Guest: Tessa Lemos Del Pino, executive director, Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Nashville Election 2024: Analysis by Steve Cavendish, Stephen Elliott and Sarah Grace Taylor

Sun, 10 Nov 2024 12:00:00 -0000

The 2024 election in the books. At the city level, Mayor Freddie O'Connell's transit measure won big. What was different this time, as opposed to the failed 2018 plan? As expected, Republicans dominated statewide elections, but what comes next for Democrats, who eked out a must-win seat in the state legislature but made no significant gains?

And with a second Trump administration on the horizon, what could that mean for Tennessee politicians. Demetria sits down with three members of the Banner team to dissect the results and discuss key takeaways.

Guests

Steve Cavendish, president and editor
Stephen Elliott, metro reporter
Sarah Grace Taylor, state government reporter

Credits

Host: Demetria Kalodimos
Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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A Girl Has No President: anonymous Instagrammer

Sun, 03 Nov 2024 12:00:00 -0000

As of November 2024, the account A Girl Has No President has more than 820,000 followers on Instagram. That following includes scores of celebrities. But the creator of the account chooses to stay anonymous, in part because of threats against her and her family, and in part because she is not interested in notoriety. She also rarely grants interviews, but made an exception for this episode of Banner & Company.

She talks about why she created the account in 2016 out of "unadulterated anger," how growing up poor in Nashville has influenced the way she thinks, and how she and Demetria once crossed paths many years ago — well before there was any such thing as social media.

This episode was first broadcast in April 2024.

Guest: Anonymous, A Girl Has No President

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Rev. Charles Strobel, founder of Room In The Inn

Sun, 27 Oct 2024 11:00:00 -0000

On a cold night in 1985, the Rev. Charles Strobel, then pastor at Holy Name Catholic Church in East Nashville, invited the people who were trying to sleep in the parking lot to come inside. This gesture, which he already knew might alter the course of his life, eventually grew into a citywide program known as Room In The Inn, now comprising 200 congregations, offering shelter and warm meals to those in need. It has become a national model, and the city's first permanent supportive housing facility, Strobel House, bears his name.

Charlie, as most knew him, passed away in August 2023. Three years earlier, he sat down with his friend John Spragens for an interview. The Banner's Demetria Kalodimos was behind one of the cameras as Charlie shared some of the major influences on his life: an encampment of unhoused men who befriended him as a child; attending school in Washington, D.C., during the height of anti-war protests there; a professor who read the Sermon on the Mount every day. This special episode draws from that interview.

Guest: Rev. Charles Strobel, founder of Room In The Inn and author of the posthumously published memoir The Kingdom of the Poor

Producer and host: Demetria Kalodimos

Editor: Steve Haruch

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Tyler Mahan Coe, creator of Cocaine & Rhinestones

Sun, 20 Oct 2024 11:00:00 -0000

In some ways, his upbringing helped prepare Tyler Mahan Coe for creating the breakout country music history podcast Cocaine & Rhinestones. After all, his father is David Allan Coe, and Tyler spent more than a decade touring with him as a member of his band. He also has childhood memories of stars like George Jones, thanks to a connection with producer Billy Sherrill.

But even that kind of proximity to country music doesn't guarantee a gift for storytelling, or Tyler's maximalist approach to taking the genre's many crisscrossing storylines and turning them into wide-ranging, richly contextualized episodes. The podcast Cocaine & Rhinestones is the work of a true obsessive who not only cares deeply about the subject matter but also how it connects to other currents of history and culture. Tyler has adapted Season Two of the show into a new book focusing on George Jones and Tammy Wynette, with illustrations by former Nashvillian Wayne White.

Guest: Tyler Mahan Coe, host of Cocaine & Rhinestones and author of Cocaine & Rhinestones: A History of George Jones and Tammy Wynette

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Jared Sullivan, author of Valley So Low

Sun, 13 Oct 2024 11:00:00 -0000

A few days before Christmas in 2008, a six-story tall, 84-acre mound of coal ash — a byproduct of burning coal — collapsed at the Kingston Fossil Plant in Roane County, Tenn. The toxic sludge burst through a retaining embankment, knocked houses of their foundations and tossed cars around like toys. All in all, a billion gallons of toxic sludge filled the Emory River and 300 acres of the surrounding community of Kingston.

In his new book Valley So Low, writer Jared Sullivan examines the spill, the years long cleanup and its aftermath. Although TVA officials told the public the coal ash was not toxic, many of the workers who toiled to remove the waste from the area eventually became sick. The book focuses on one small-time attorney and the legal battle that ensued over whether TVA and Jacobs Engineering, the company it contracted to remediate the site, should be held responsible.

Guest: Jared Sullivan, writer and author of Valley So Low: One Lawyer's Fight for Justice in the Wake of America's Great Coal Catastrophe

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Anne Byrn, cookbook author

Sun, 06 Oct 2024 11:00:00 -0000

For Nashville native Anne Byrn, baking is an art, and everyone who mixes, measures and bakes is an artist in their own right — whether that means following a beloved recipe to the letter, or improvising to get the taste just right. Her own mother was an excellent home cook who only had to read a recipe to know what it would taste like. And she was an early influence on Anne, who is now a bestselling cookbook author.

Her latest book, Baking in the American South, is much more than a cookbook; it's also a story anthology, tracing the history of 200 recipes — everything from creamed chicken on egg bread to cantaloupe cream pie — through the diverse cultures and foodways of the region. For Anne, a former food editor at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (and onetime Banner intern), sometimes the story is just as sweet as the food.

Guest: Anne Byrn, cookbook author

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Hazel Joyner-Smith: founder and CEO, International Black Film Festival

Sun, 29 Sep 2024 11:00:00 -0000

With no budget and no blueprint, Hazel Joyner-Smith programmed her first film festival in just two weeks. It was a whirlwind experience, but she got it done. And she hasn't looked back since. The International Black Film Festival has been going strong here in Nashville for two decades, and this year's edition, which begins this week, showcases a range of films from features to shorts to documentaries — many of them produced in Tennessee.

Hazel grew up on a tobacco farm in North Carolina, and credits her father for instilling a tireless and exacting work ethic, which came in handy during her years as a classroom teacher and later as an educator at Fisk University. Through it all, she's maintained a sense of curiosity and desire for excellence that have made her a pillar of the city's film community.

Guest: Hazel Joyner-Smith, founder and CEO, International Black Film Festival

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Myles Maillie: painter and visual artist

Sun, 22 Sep 2024 11:00:00 -0000

With his brightly colored designs — everything from ears of corn to New York City skyscrapers — painter Myles Maillie has made a name for himself in Nashville's art scene. There's a good chance you've seen someone wearing one of his hand-painted shirts or aprons. The bold, pop-art style is hard to miss, as is Myles himself, whose flair for color extends to his wardrobe.

For decades, Myles kept at it, using inexpensive materials to create bold, joyful pieces — some wearable, some not. Though he's been compared to fellow Nashvillian (and fellow Hillsboro High alum) Red Grooms, Myles has an irrepressible style all his own, one that has lasted through many stages of his life, and of this city's.

Guest: Myles Maillie, painter and visual artist

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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MaryAnne MacKenzie: teacher at Hattie Cotton during 1957 bombing

Sun, 15 Sep 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Sept. 9, 1957 was MaryAnne MacKenzie's first day teaching sixth grade at Hattie Cotton School in East Nashville. It was also the first day of Nashville's desegregation of public schools. One Black girl showed up for class at Hattie Cotton that day, and for the anti-integration crowd, one Black student was one too many. In the dead of night, 99 someone detonated 99 sticks of dynamite, blowing apart the east end of the building and knocking it off its foundation. No one was hurt, but the culprits have never been caught.

Today, MaryAnne MacKenzie is the last living teacher who was working at Hattie Cotton at the time. Her husband, Stephen MacKenzie, has written a book describing the events of 1957 from her perspective, titled Hattie Cotton School: The last teacher's first-hand experiences of the 1957 bombing and aftermath. As you'll hear in this interview, the memories of that day, and what came afterward, are very much still with her.

Guest: MaryAnne MacKenzie, the last living teacher working at Hattie Cotton school when it was bombed in 1957

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Special Episode: We Are North Nashville

Sun, 08 Sep 2024 11:00:00 -0000

North Nashville is an important, historic area and home to some of the city's most significant institutions. But it's also a place that has seen disruption, unrest and neglect. Decades ago, the interstate cut the community in half — literally — displacing residents and shuttering businesses. But for those who have chosen to stay, North Nashville has always been a place that is more than the sum of its parts. That's why one resident has dedicated herself to lifting up the stories of people who live there.

This week, we're bringing you a special presentation of the independent podcast We Are North Nashville. It's about the lives of nine elders who call North Nashville home, and it tells their stories of this place. The podcast is part of a larger storytelling project led by artist and community organizer M. Simone Boyd, who also co-hosts. Before they started working at the Banner, audio producers Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch had already begun this project. (Note: The Banner is an in-kind partner.) To learn more, visit the project website.

Hosted by M. Simone Boyd and Andrea Tudhope
Produced, edited and mixed by Andrea Tudhope
Additional production by Steve Haruch

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Gerold Oliver: actor

Sun, 01 Sep 2024 11:00:00 -0000

When Smyrna native Gerold Oliver takes the stage, he has a way of winning over audiences. He's currently playing the role of Orlando in the Nashville Shakespeare Festival's production of As You Like It — which features plenty of music and Gerold on guitar. And soon, he'll also be starring in The Best School Year Ever at the Nashville Children's Theater, where he's artist in residence.

Gerold keeps busy, both because he loves acting and because he has a young son at home to support. (Yes, he and his son run lines together sometimes — even Shakespeare.) Although there's always the lure of the coastal entertainment hubs, where there might be more chances to find film roles, he's found a way to make it work here in Nashville, and our theater scene is all the better for it.

Guest: Gerold Oliver

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Morgan Price: Fisk University gymnast and first HBCU national champion

Sun, 25 Aug 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Five-star recruit Morgan Price made headlines in 2022 when she decided to de-commit from an SEC program in order to join Fisk University's brand-new gymnastics team — a first for a historically Black university or college. It was a fortuitous decision for the Lebanon, Tenn., native, who not only moved closer to her hometown after years pursuing the sport in Texas, but also fulfilled a lifelong wish to attend an HBCU.

In her second year, Morgan became the first gymnast from an HBCU to win a national collegiate all-around championship. It was a full-circle moment for her coach, Corrinne Tarver, who was the first African American woman to win an NCAA gymnastics all-around title. This year, expectations are high for the Fisk Gymdogs, but Morgan and the team are taking it all in stride, and in this episode she talks about her background, handling the pressure and how to come back from the twisties.

Guest: Morgan Price, Fisk University gymnast, first HBCU student to win a national title

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Amanda Little: journalist, professor, founder of Kidizenship

Sun, 18 Aug 2024 11:00:00 -0000

As a journalist and author, Amanda Little has written about the environment, energy, technology and the future of food production — traveling to far-flung locations, meeting people around the world and eating lab-created meat out of a bioreactor. As a professor, she's worked to pass along the skills she's learned along the way, by trial and error, of reporting and storytelling.

Her newest endeavor, a multi-media engagement platform called Kidizenship, began with a question from her daughter: "What does democracy look like?" That question has turned into a treasure trove of kid-created flags, anthems and presidential speeches, to name just a few of the contests that Kidizenship has run — with cash prizes — to get young people interested in civics.

Guest: Amanda Little

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Henry Martin: Nashville federal public defender

Sun, 11 Aug 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Henry Martin thought he might spend a few years as federal public defender, then return to private practice as a slightly older and much wiser attorney. That was almost 40 years ago. Today, he's the longest serving federal defender in the entire country, and over his long career, he's worked alongside some of Nashville's finest legal minds.

Henry has also had some fascinating clients — a list that almost included Timothy McVeigh — and has always worked to protect the rights of the accused. He's also argued in front of the U.S. Supreme Court, though that didn't work out too well for him. (It was a 7-2 decision, under Chief Justice William Rehnquist.) At the end of the day, he enjoys a good story as much as anyone.

Guest: Henry Martin, federal public defender

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Jeff Holmes: songwriter and frontman for The Floating Men

Sun, 04 Aug 2024 11:00:00 -0000

In the 1990s Jeff Holmes, and his college buddy Scot Evans started a band called The Floating Men, which quickly became one of Nashville’s most consistent live acts — blending rock, pop and jazzy interludes. As the crowds that came to see them grew, they garnered lots of of attention from big-time record labels, even if executives didn’t really know what to do with them.

As they watched talented peers get sucked into the industry machine only lose control of their own music, The Floating Men made a decision: If they couldn’t do it their way, they weren’t going to do it at all. So they got day jobs. Jeff found work in biodiversity conservation and traveled the world, leaving his guitar behind. But the fans, known as the Floatilla, would not let them give up. So now, decades later, Jeff and the band have found a way to make music their way.

Guest: Jeff Holmes, singer, songwriter and guitarist, The Floating Men

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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María Magdalena Campos-Pons: artist, professor and curator

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 11:00:00 -0000

María Magdalena Campos-Pons was born in Cuba, and spent her formative years in Matanzas, known as the "Athens of Cuba." It is perhaps fitting that her journey has brought her to Nashville, the "Athens of the South," where she teaches at Vanderbilt and makes art that is known around the world for its vivid storytelling around identity.

Her work appears around the world, and is part of more than 30 collections including the Smithsonian Institution, The Whitney, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Museum of Modern Art, New York, to name just a few. And last year, she added another feather to her cap: a MacArthur "genius" fellowship. That hasn't slowed her down one bit.

Guest: María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Art, Vanderbilt University

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Dr. Sophie Bjork-James: scholar of white nationalism

Sun, 21 Jul 2024 11:00:00 -0000

With neo-Nazis demonstrating around Nashville, including at a Metro Council meeting from which they were eventually expelled, the city has been on edge. It's the second such group in as many weeks to bring their racist messaging to the streets of downtown and beyond, and some Nashvillians have shown up to oppose them publicly.

Dr. Sophie Bjork-James is an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University and a cultural anthropologist who studies racism and white nationalist movements. In this episode, she talks about the historical context for these groups, what motivates them, and why they seem to be visiting Nashville more frequently as the election approaches.

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

Additional recording by Jaylan Sims

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Rose Palermo: divorce lawyer to the stars

Sun, 14 Jul 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Attorney Rose Palermo still keeps an office on Music Row, where she got her start in the ’70s representing musicians. When some of those musicians started getting divorced, she took on that work, too. It helps to know the business, after all. Eventually there was so much divorce work she had to choose, and she chose divorce — though not for herself. (She and fellow attorney Denty Cheatham remain happily married, as they have been for 50-plus years.)

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Betsy Phillips: author of Dynamite Nashville, on Civil Rights-era bombings

Sun, 07 Jul 2024 11:00:00 -0000

For the better part of a decade, historian Betsy Phillips has been trying to get the truth about three Civil Rights-era bombings in Nashville: Hattie Cotton school in September 1957; the Jewish Community Center in March 1958; and the home of attorney and councilmember Z. Alexander Looby in April 1960. It has been painstaking work involving archival searches, Freedom of Information Act requests for FBI files, and even a road trip to Alabama.

The result is her new book, Dynamite Nashville, and in the process of writing it, what Betsy uncovered was not necessarily to the truth of who is responsible for these terrorist acts, but a wider and perhaps even more disturbing set of truths — that these bombings are likely connected, not only to each other but also to a wider network that, to some degree, is still with us.

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Valerie Meece: retired MNPD assistant chief

Sun, 30 Jun 2024 11:00:00 -0000

In the early 1970s, the Metro Nashville Police Department had no women working patrol. Valerie Meece was one of the first two women to step into that work — even if there were no women's police uniforms available at the time. And while there were plenty of men on the force who didn't think women had any business doing police work, she was undeterred. And she found allies, working her way up and retiring as an assistant chief after a decades-long career.

This being Music City, maybe it's not too surprising that becoming a cop was not what initially drew Valerie and her sister to Nashville. They performed around the city for a few years as a country duo called The Meeces, and they didn't fare too badly. But as someone who grew up fascinated by police work, Valerie didn't need much convincing when a recruiter encouraged her to apply to join the MNPD. She definitely had some close calls, but very little in the way of regrets.

Guest: Valerie Meece, retired MNPD assistant chief, one of the first women to work patrol

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Macon Kimbrough: former Warehouse 28 manager

Sun, 23 Jun 2024 11:00:00 -0000

A historical marker commemorating the storied dance club Warehouse 28 was unveiled this month. The Warehouse began as a gay disco but was an inclusive environment that served as a refuge and hangout for Nashville's LGBTQ community starting in 1978 until its doors closed for good in 1995. It was also the place where Nashville CARES got its start, working to fight the AIDS epidemic.

Macon Kimbrough started hanging out at Warehouse 28, and with owners Steve Smith and Mike Wilson, he took a trip to Washington, D.C., in 1979 — 10 years after Stonewall — to march for gay rights. That began a political awakening, and when he got back to Nashville he started working at the Warehouse, eventually becoming a manager. It's a chapter of his life — and Nashville's history — he'll never forget.

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Phil Williams: investigative reporter

Sun, 16 Jun 2024 11:00:00 -0000

In 2023, Phil Williams became the first Nashville reporter to receive the John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism from Columbia University. It was yet another piece of hardware to add to his already crowded shelf of accolades, full of numerous Peabody Awards, including one for his coverage of Franklin mayoral candidate Gabrielle Hanson.

Investigative reporting is hard work, and it can rub people the wrong way, especially if they have something to hide. But if that's what it takes to get to the truth, then Phil Williams is OK with people not liking him. And there are plenty of people who don't like him. But for this veteran investigative reporter, it's never personal when it comes to the facts.

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Ann Powers: NPR music critic and author of new Joni Mitchell book

Sun, 09 Jun 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Acclaimed music critic Ann Powers wasn't always sure this was the career path for her. In fact, she wasn't sure there was a path to making a living as a music writer. But after falling in with the right crowd — first at Tower Records in San Francisco and later at the Village Voice in New York — she found her calling and her voice.

These days, Ann works for National Public Radio, but she calls Nashville home. Her new book, Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell, is a multifaceted look at a complex artist — chronological but not conventional. It was eight years in the making, as Ann balanced work, life, and parenthood with deep research and far-ranging interviews. She talks with Demetria about how she approached the book, how she listens to music, and what it's like as a critic in Music City.

Guest: Ann Powers, NPR music critic; author, Traveling: On the Path of Joni Mitchell

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Richard Courtney: cancer survivor, Beatles superfan and real estate agent

Sun, 02 Jun 2024 11:00:00 -0000

When Richard Courtney was growing up in Columbia, Tenn., he went to visit a friend whose sister put "I Want to Hold Your Hand" by The Beatles on the record player — a moment that changed his life. So much so, that all these years later he has a Beatles museum in the basement of his house in Nashville that houses more than 3,800 items, including obscure vinyl, autographs, rare artwork and even locks of the Fab Four members' hair. He's gotten to meet his favorite Beatle, and also struck up an unlikely friendship with a man many Beatles fans will never forgive.

A graduate of Columbia Military Academy and Sewanee, Richard is a real estate agent (with a column called "Realty Check," naturally) and also a two-time cancer survivor. His second bout with the disease resulted in having his nose amputated. The story of how he got a new nose is one you'll have to hear to believe.

Guest: Richard Courtney, real estate agent, two-time cancer survivor, Beatles superfan

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Frankie Staton: singer, songwriter, Black Country Music Association co-founder

Sat, 25 May 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Guest: Frankie Staton, pianist, songwriter, performer; co-founder, Black Country Music Association

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Dr. Jon Roebuck: preacher behind 'A Moment That Matters'

Sun, 19 May 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Dr. Jon Roebuck comes from a family of preachers, and for 17 years he was the pastor at Woodmont Christian Church. That experience laid the groundwork for what has become a staple on Nashville television: "A Moment That Matters." The one-minute bursts of inspiration air every Sunday and, while they're much shorter than the sermons he used to prepare every week, they've found a devoted audience.

In this episode, Jon talks about his background, his faith, and the challenges of keeping that faith — and staying in conversation with our neighbors — in polarized times.

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Eden Wilkinson: Romanian American adoptee

Sun, 12 May 2024 11:00:00 -0000

When Eden Wilkinson was less than two years old, she had a different name, and lived in an orphanage in Romania. At the time, the country, like many former Soviet satellite states, was struggling economically and, thanks to government policies mandating that women have at least 5 children, was filled with children whose families could not afford to raise them properly. It was estimated that 100,000 children were in need of homes.

In 1994, Demetria Kalodimos accompanied Tennessee Congressman Bart Gordon on a fact-finding mission to Romania. She visited several orphanages, including the one where baby Eden was living. When her segment aired, a family in Nashville was watching. Thirty years later, that child, now grown, reunited with the reporter she first met half a world away.

Guest: Eden Wilkinson

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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Mark Wynn: domestic violence survivor and former cop

Sun, 05 May 2024 11:00:00 -0000

Content warning: This episode contains discussion of intimate partner violence and child abuse.

Like other survivors of domestic violence, Mark Wynn has never forgotten what happened to his mother, his siblings and himself. In particular, he never forgot how the police who showed up at his house acted — or more importantly, how they didn't act.

After a long career in law enforcement, which included helping start the Domestic Violence Division at the Metro Nashville Police Department, Mark has dedicated his life to training others — especially other men — to recognize and prevent domestic violence.

Guest: Mark Wynn, domestic violence survivor and retired police lieutenant

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Elisheba Mrozik: tattooer, artist and organizer

Sun, 28 Apr 2024 12:00:00 -0000

Guest: Elisheba Mrozik, artist; owner, One Drop Ink Tattoo; president, North Nashville Arts Coalition

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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A Girl Has No President: anonymous Instagrammer speaks

Sun, 21 Apr 2024 12:00:00 -0000

As of April 2024, the account A Girl Has No President has more than 760,000 followers on Instagram. That following includes scores of celebrities. But the creator of the account chooses to stay anonymous, in part because of threats against her and her family, and in part because she is not interested in notoriety. She also rarely grants interviews, but made an exception for this episode of Banner & Company.

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Bonus Episode: Steven Hale on Death Row Welcomes You

Thu, 18 Apr 2024 11:00:00 -0000

In his new book Death Row Welcomes You: Visiting Hours in the Shadow of the Execution Chamber, Steven Hale details the time he's spent getting to know some of the men on Tennessee's death row. In this special episode, we're bringing you a live recording of the book release event at Parnassus Books last month, where Steven talked with host Demetria Kalodimos — herself a frequent death row visitor — about the experiences and friendships that led to his writing this book. (Read an excerpt here.)

You'll also hear from death row inmate Terry King — of whom Steven says, "This is a person I would let sleep in my house" — who joins the event by phone from Riverbend Maximum Security Institution.

Guest: Steven Hale, Nashville Banner criminal justice reporter

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Sharon Ferrara: audio pioneer, songwriter and musician

Sun, 14 Apr 2024 12:00:00 -0000

Sharon Ferrara has lived a full and wildly interesting life. From Long Island to Nashville — with many stops in Texas along the way — she's rubbed shoulders with the likes of Johnny Cash, backed David Allan Coe on tour, written an international hit and run sound for presidential inaugural balls. And that's not even the half of it. She's also still singing with a big band at age 79.

In this episode, Sharon takes us through some highlights of her winding career, including becoming the first woman in Nashville to own and operate her own sound production company, touring with young kids in tow and meeting the love of her life.

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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A Look Back at the Old Banner — From People Who Were There

Sun, 07 Apr 2024 12:00:00 -0000

For our premiere episode, we break from our one-on-one format to bring you an abbreviated — but nonetheless colorful and complicated — history of the Nashville Banner: a look back at the days of a two-newspaper city from people who lived it, day in and day out, in the storied newsroom at 1100 Broadway.

Guests:

Parker Toler, paperboy
Mary Hance, reporter aka Ms. Cheap
Kay West, writer aka Betty Banner
Robert Churchwell Jr., son of Robert Churchwell, the first Black reporter in Nashville
Tam Gordon, reporter
Bruce Dobie, reporter
Larry McCormack, photographer

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Trailer

Sun, 31 Mar 2024 17:54:07 -0000

Coming soon! Banner & Company is a weekly interview podcast from the Nashville Banner hosted by Nashville media legend Demetria Kalodimos. Fresh episodes will drop every Sunday.

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