Lamar Alexander once walked more than 1,000 miles from one end of Tennessee to the other, won election as governor as a Republican when Democrats ruled the statehouse, and served in Congress in a period of relative bipartisanship. Throw in time served as U.S. secretary of education and president of the University of Tennessee and you've got the makings of a new memoir: The Education of a Senator.

Those with a longer memory might remember a slimmer volume by the same author: The Little Plaid Book: 311 Rules, Reminders, and Lessons About Running for Office and Making a Difference. Trading on Alexander's signature red-and-black plaid shirt, it's a compendium of truisms and, one might say, homespun wisdom.

Guest: Lamar Alexander, former U.S. senator and Tennessee governor

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Banner reporters Steven Hale and Stephen Elliott and intern Anna Blubaugh sit down to discuss — what else? — data centers. Anna and Stephen talk about what they saw and heard at this week’s Metro Council meeting, where hundreds of Nashvillians weighed in on legislation about the controversial facilities. Anna shares what she learned from conversations with people getting engaged in local politics for the first time because of the issue and Stephen breaks down the bills and the beef between Mayor Freddie O’Connell and DC Blox. They agree not to use the term “bio break.”

Produced by Andrea Tudhope

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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.

This episode was first broadcast in September 2025.

Guest: Shane Caldwell, comedian

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Former first lady Jill Biden's new book View From the East Wing looks back at her time in the White House and her relationship with former President Joe Biden — including the infamous debate night where, she says, she thought her husband was having a stroke. Dr. Biden discussed her book with the Banner's Demetria Kalodimos in front of a live audience at Vanderbilt University's Langford Auditorium on June 8. This is a lightly edited recording of that conversation.

Special thanks to Elyse Adler at Parnassus Books and Susan Grider at Vanderbilt University.

Guest: Jill Biden, author, View From the East Wing

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Even if everyone can't agree on what "affordable housing" means, one thing is for sure: Nashville needs more of it. Matt Wiltshire has been working on this problem for years (it was a big part of his campaign for mayor) and while he may not have all the answers, he has been part of one innovative solution: investing in housing that's affordable now and keeping it that way.

The $30 million Pathway Housing Fund that Matt manages recently made a big acquisition: the Mayflower apartments in Hillsboro Village. In making the purchase, Matt discovered a web of personal connections that, in his words, make for "the most Nashville story ever." With his experience in both investment banking and city government, he's hoping that the story of Nashville doesn't begin and end with an economic boom pushing working people out of the city.

Guest: , president, Pathway Housing Fund

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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Few Tennesseans have had the cultural impact of Alex Haley, whose landmark 1976 book and subsequent television mini-series Roots: The Saga of an American Family captivated readers and viewers like few other works before or since. Even so, Roots was recently banned by a Knoxville school district (a decision that was subsequently reversed) despite being an official state book.

In Revisiting Roots: How an American Classic Transformed the World, writer and former Associated Press reporter Lucas L. Johnson II marks the 50th anniversary of Haley's breakthrough epic with essays and interviews — including Levar Burton, who was not initally cast in the lead role — illuminating the enduring legacy of this landmark work.

Guest: Lucas L. Johnson II, author, Revisiting Roots: How an American Classic Transformed the World

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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reporters Steven Hale and Sarah Grace Taylor sit down to discuss data centers. Sarah Grace talks about her reporting on the data center planned for the Fisk University campus, which preceded the massive backlash to one planned next to the Nashville Zoo. They discuss the health and environmental concerns around data centers as well as why this issue has attracted much attention. Steven also asks about childhood zoo memories.

Produced by Andrea Tudhope

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A historical marker commemorating the storied dance club Warehouse 28 was unveiled two years ago 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.

This episode was first broadcast in June 2024.

Guest: Macon Kimbrough

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Steve Haruch and Andrea Tudhope

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Banner reporters Steven Hale and Stephen Elliott sit down to discuss Tuesday night's marathon Metro Council meeting. Stephen talks about the three-and-a-half-hour public hearing on the budget, some late night drama between councilmembers and difficulty leaving the courthouse parking garage after midnight. Steven fills him in on the story of a rescued kinkajou.

Produced by Andrea Tudhope

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When Margot McCormack bought the former gas station that eventually became her restaurant, East Nashville was not considered a culinary destination. More pressingly, there was a gaping hole in the roof. With a lot of elbow grease, Margot set to work building out the space for her concept: a new menu daily, in tune with the seasons, —combining classic cooking techniques, fresh local ingredients and her own personal touches.

Margot Cafe & Bar will be closing its doors 25 years to the day after opening its doors for the first time in 2001, serving soft shell crab, veal scallopini with polenta, tuna steak, pasta with white clam sauce, flourless chocolate cake, raspberry sorbet ... an assortment of her favorite crowd-pleasing dishes. It's been a good run, Margot says, and she wonders if she'd be able to do it if she were starting in today's Nashville — one whose food scene she helped shape. The final service will be June 5.

Guest: Margot McCormack, chef and restaurateur

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producer: Steve Haruch

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