Williamson County businessman Bill Lee and former Nashville Mayor Karl Dean will square off Tuesday at the University of Memphis for the first of three gubernatorial debates. 

This week, we will discuss the state of the governor's race with Republican strategist Tom Ingram, who has run numerous successful statewide campaigns, and prominent Democrat fundraiser Charles Robert Bone, a Nashville attorney and former mayoral candidate.

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tennessee, and Democratic former Gov. Phil Bredesen squared off Tuesday in a fiery debate at Cumberland University. 

In between barbs against one another, the candidates answered a host of questions, ranging from how to address the ongoing opioid epidemic to their views on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. 

We'll recap the highlights and lowlights from the first debate and whether either candidate came out a clear winner.

We discuss what to expect from both Bredesen and Blackburn, strategies each candidate may try to deploy and the impact of national news on the event. 

Plus, President Donald Trump comes back to Tennessee, allegations a gubernatorial candidate is ducking events and scrutinizing whether Bredesen or Blackburn can legally hunt in Tennessee.

U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, the Republican nominee in the race, joins the podcast to share her views on Russia, North Korea, Iran, presidential war powers and much more. We also share a few policy stances from the campaign of Democratic nominee Phil Bredesen. 

Plus, a look at a big new poll in the race, scrutiny over both candidates' personal properties, another debate that wasn't and a sneak peek of coverage coming soon from the Tennessean politics team.

National political analyst Kyle Kondik, managing editor of Sabato's Crystal Ball, also gives us a run down on what needs to happen for Republicans or Democrats to be successful in the gubernatorial and Senate races. 

Joel Ebert tracks Blackburn and Bredesen on the campaign trial, highlight the political strategies driving their campaigns. 

Plus, a look at a proposed new tax plan from Karl Dean, where the gubernatorial candidates differ on gun policy and an update on a bizarre Google ad blitz.

Can a political outsider run government like a business, or will that lack of experience prove too much to be effective? Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Lee wants Tennesseans to trust his vision, while Democratic candidate Karl Dean hopes his track record will sway voters.

Sarah Treul, an associate professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, joined the podcast to discuss the history of the political outsider. Plus, we discuss upcoming debates and dive into the weird world of online political advertisements. 

00:49 - Reporter Brett Kelman on a recent opioid forum
06:33 - Interview with Sarah Treul about political outsiders.
23:08 - Fake News in Tennessee and introducing Natalie Allison to the politics team

More than 3,000 Tennesseans died from overdoses in the last two years. 

That figure does not include the tens of thousands of non-fatal overdoses in the state in the last decade. 

Williamson County reporter Elaina Sauber discusses a recent interview she had with the parents of a man who died from his addiction last year. We also talk with Dr. Manny Sethi, an orthopedic trauma surgeon in Nashville and president of non-profit Healthy Tennessee, about the genesis of the epidemic, what proposals are working and what more politicians can do to help communities. 

Plus, we hear from both U.S. Senate candidates on their attempts to show they are not always tied to their respective parties, take a look at new ads and discuss possible future debates.

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02:58 - Excerpts from U.S. Senate candidates Phil Bredesen and Marsha Blackburn from a business forum at Lipscomb University
08:30 - Interview with Williamson County reporter Elaina Sauber
13:48 - Interview with Nashville orthopedic trauma surgeon Dr. Manny Sethi

Tennessee just executed its first inmate in nearly a decade. There are two more executions this year; one is scheduled for after the state elects a new governor. 

Will the return of the death penalty in Tennessee affect either race? Could either candidate, after his election, work with the state legislature to change death penalty laws? 

Christopher Slobogin, director of Vanderbilt Law School’s criminal justice program, joins the podcast to discuss policy questions and political realities surrounding the death penalty.

Over the weekend the vanquished Tennessee Republican gubernatorial candidates tried to grit their teeth and show support for Bill Lee, but didn't stick around long enough to answer media questions. 

At the same time, Democrat Karl Dean and his supporters must find answers for how they'll defeat an outsider with no political records. 

Both Lee and Dean join us on the podcast this week. Plus, we take a look at how each campaign could win, how Diane Black and Randy Boyd lost, and where the Senate campaign goes now that it's time for the General Election. 

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00:10 - Intro
02:26 - Interview with Bill Lee
05:01 - Interview with Karl Dean
11:51 - Interview with Tennessean Metro reporter Joey Garrison
24:05 - Interview with Governor Haslam