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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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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 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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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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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 know just as much for her compassion and care.  

Host: Demetria Kalodimos

Producers: Andrea Tudhope and Steve Haruch

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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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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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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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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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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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