Knox Pods

If you prefer a battle hymn to an elegy, listen to historian Elizabeth Catte provide the context of her book What You Are Getting Wrong About Appalachia. Catte explains how Appalachia is not what you may have thought it was, and Appalachia's future doesn't have to be one of depopulation and the desperation of those left behind:

Marshall Stair considers zoning and housing policy in his overview of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America by Richard Rothstein.

"As the City of Knoxville turns its attention to improving the zoning code, I thought it was important for the community to take an historical look at some of the negative consequences of government regulations, specifically attempts to increase segregation," Stair said. "I hope reading and discussing The Color of Law will give us a better understanding of these harmful policies as we modify our code to increase affordability and diversity."

Marshall Stair is a civil litigation attorney at the law firm of Lewis, Thomason, King, Krieg & Waldrop, P.C. and a member of City Council since 2011.

Presidential historian and Tennessean Jon Meacham discussed his book The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels with Senator Lamar Alexander on July 8 in an event sponsored by Friends of the Knox County Public Library and Union Ave Books.

In The Soul of America, Meacham helps us understand the present moment in American politics by looking back at critical times in our country’s history when hope overcame division. He tells us that what Abraham Lincoln called the­ “better angels of our nature” have found a way to prevail again and again during dark times throughout our country’s history.

Here are excerpts from that conversation.

Dr. Matt Harris discusses A Fine Mess: A Global Quest for a Simpler, Fairer and More Efficient Tax System by T. R. Reid. "Just about every economist and political figure in America agrees these days that our tax code has to be reformed," the author says. Believing we have reached a breaking point, Reid travels around the globe visiting countries like Estonia, New Zealand and United Kingdom to investigate how others tax their residents. Ultimately, he affirms his belief that the United States is capable of a radical reform for a "fairer, simpler and more efficient" tax system.

Harris is an assistant professor in the University of Tennessee Department of Economics and a research assistant professor in the Boyd Center for Business and Economic Research.

Claudia Caballero, Executive Director of Centro Hispano de East Tennessee, responds to the book The Far Away Brothers: Two Young Migrants and the Making of An American Life by Lauren Markham. 

Under mortal threat by the MS-13 gang in rural El Salvador after the civil war, identical twins Ernesto and Raul fled for their lives in 2013. They met the author as students at Oakland International High School where she worked. Dozens of other students also told her their stories of how and why they came to the United States as unaccompanied, undocumented minors. “I thought I knew the immigration story from the inside, because I hear so much at work," Caballero said. "This book took me to a different, more compassionate place.”

Dr. John Nolt introduces the themes of his book A Land Imperiled: The Declining Health of the Southern Appalachian Bioregion.

The environment of Southern Appalachia is a collection of complex, interrelated systems that needs care and protection to function in full health. A Land Imperiled is a symptom-by-symptom look at several ecological issues threatening the health of the southern high country, providing examples of how the damage can be reversed to sustain ourselves and our region's natural legacy.

Nolt is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Tennessee Knoxville, and the author of seven books. He spoke on June 20, 2012.

In the summer of 1920, 35 states had ratified the 19th Amendment, 12 had rejected it or refused to vote, and one last state was needed or the amendment might die. After a seven-decade crusade, it all came down to Tennessee; it was the moment of truth for the suffragists, and also for their antagonists, the "Antis." The political freedom of half of the nation was at stake. In The Woman's Hour, Elaine Weiss tells the story of the nail-biting climax of one of the greatest political battles in American history—the fight to ratify the constitutional amendment that gave women the vote.

Friends of Knox County Public Library, Union Ave Books, the East Tennessee Historical Society, radio station WUOT and the Knox County Public Library hosted the evening with award-winning journalist and writer Elaine Weiss on March 8, 2018. In her remarks, Weiss asserted the relevance of the events of that summer to today's political environment.

Is the problem of fake news a new one? Is it the fault of the media, or are we all guilty? In our Truth and Consequences Symposium, panelists from the University of Tennessee's College of Communication and Information look at the history of fake news, the impact of corporate news media consolidation, and the consumption of news through social media. The panelists are Dr. Catherine Luther, Dr. Amber Roessner, and Dr. Nick Geidner.

Dr. Oleg Manaev evaluates the book The Man without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladmir Putin by Masha Gessen in this podcast. I'm really impressed by how Gessen's book flows on multiple tracks, tracing Putin's life back to boyhood, the story of his hometown of St. Petersburg, his KGB experience, and finally the last quarter-century of Russian history," Manaev said. "Even though many interpretations remain controversial, this book helps to understand modern Russia."

Manaev is Global Security Fellow at the University of Tennessee Institute for Nuclear Security.

Dr. Victor Erik Ray discusses the categories of racist ideas explained in Stamped from the Beginning: The Definitive History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi. “Stamped from the Beginning is a transformational piece of historical scholarship," Ray said. “This work provides a critical and necessary backdrop for understanding the stunning staying power of racism and the current predicaments surrounding race relations in the United States. This book is an instant classic and fast becoming a go-to text for a deeper understanding of racism.”

Ray is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.