Still Life: A Podcast

Andy gets down to cases with the mighty Marianne Eaves, whose bona fides were cemented in 2015 when she became Kentucky’s first female bourbon master distiller. Her career since has followed a steady trajectory of conspicuous successes. Their conversation touches on many of them, and plenty of other subjects besides—including confidence,  sexism in the industry, and the unlikely route that led Eaves out of the world of art and science, to the role she occupies today: one of the most visible and respected players in the spirits industry today. (All this between sips of exotic bourbons from Eaves Blind, her audacious mobile spirits lab/ subscription service/ education program.)

Still Life returns from its holiday hiatus with a bang as Andy sits down with Ketch Secor, co-founder and leader of Old Crow Medicine Show. Their discussion ranges far and wide—from the humble beginnings of Secor’s music career, to the challenges of trying to keep traditions alive in a changing world (and more specifically a changing city!), to the relationship between punk rock and old time music, to the definition of the word “authenticity.” There’s even some whiskey talk in there. Happy new year, and welcome back!  
PS
The instagram link Andy alludes to in the intro is https:instagram.com/nelsonsgreenbrier and more info is always available at https://greenbrierdistillery.com/stilllife

Andy has a long chat with one of the most notorious—and fascinating—figures in the world of craft spirits, the inimitable Chip Tate. Of course they discuss you know what (and if you don't know what, aren't you curious to find out?), but the conversation takes many more surprising turns, covering themes from the nature of truth, epistemology, the future of craft spirits in general, and how to assess the metal you make your still out of. Deep divers welcome.

Host Andy Nelson’s frank and funny conversation with one of the whiskey industry’s most prominent figures covers a lot of ground—from learning how to fake confidence until it becomes real to the risks and rewards of political engagement, and beyond. They discuss some heavy personal matters, and explore the unusual predicament of sharing a name with an internet celebrity whose bottom line is radically different from your own. 

Episode 2: Ciona Rouse
(July 22, 2002)
Andy’s conversation with Nashville’s unofficial poet laureate goes deep into the mystery and power of poetry in fractious times, the importance of seeking out voices of people outside one’s own culture, and, perhaps more to the point for this show’s purposes, the historic relationship between writers and alcohol—specifically bourbon in Rouse’s case (and Andy’s, too, as luck would have it). Related topics: Lucille Clifton, Langston Hughes, the derivation and pronunciation of the name Ciona, the pros and cons of puns, Andy’s musical theater issues, the Louisa Nelson Awards (Rouse received one in 2019), and the deep pleasure of reading Shakespeare aloud among friends. Special Guest Appearance by Andy’s dog Clyde, the very best boy in the whole wide world. 

June 17, 2022

For his inaugural episode, Still Life host Andy Nelson turns to friend and podcast pro John Edwards for pointers, and the conversation takes some surprisingly personal turns. 

John Edwards is best known as one half of the award-winning podcast Dads Drinking Bourbon. After his prospects as an athlete were cut short by an injury in college, he turned his attention to radio, working as a sportscaster and reporter for a series of national and regional stations before changing gears again to pursue a thriving career in IT. Somewhere along the way, he developed a taste for whiskey, which, when combined with his natural gift for talking into a microphone, led him and friend Zeke Baker to create Dads Drinking Bourbon in 2016. Over 350 episodes later, DDB has gone become one of the most popular and well-regarded spirits-related podcasts around.