The AM/DM

In 1972, The Giant Rats of Sumatra — a local club — began in Memphis. But, what was the group about? Pest control? Animal husbandry? Carnival? The explanation lies in this clue: The answer is elementary, my dear Watson.

The Giant Rats are stans of Sherlock Holmes, the fictional detective created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Every year, though in varying numbers, the group gets together to celebrate Holmes' presumed birthday of Jan. 6. Today, reporter Jody Callahan joins us to talk about the club and really all things Sherlock Holmes.

Plus:

• Former State Rep. John DeBerry eyes the Republican primary for Shelby County Mayor
• Bartlett approves the purchase and new management for Quail Ridge Golf Course
• Two Memphis Tigers are invited to the NFL Combine
• Mayor Paul Young's 'State of the City' speech was met with hecklers
• Mayor Lee Harris says the county is owed millions for housing state prisoners
• FedEx and private equity partners announce a $9B deal with a Polish logistics company

In some ways, Memphis will always mean music. But there have been questions about Memphis' continuing role on the larger music scene as the industry's infrastructure -- labels, recording studios, A&R men -- is largely located elsewhere.

The Grammy Awards, arguably the music industry's biggest night, were held at the beginning of the month, and though there weren't any Memphians who won a Grammy this year, Memphis was a strong throughline at the ceremonies.

Today, arts and culture editor Elle Perry joins us to talk about Memphis' role on the national music scene.

Plus:

• Ikea will close after a decade-long run
• A man pleads guilty in a hit and run that left a 20-year-old woman dead
• Tennessee lawmakers advance mom-focused bills
• Germantown leaders raise the debt limit to $100M
• MoSH is searching for a new executive director
• A rare church-to-home conversion brings 4-bedroom 'sanctuary living' to Cooper-Young
• A judge rules that only four MSCS board seats will appear on the 2026 ballot

The restaurant industry can seem turbulent, especially in the past five years or so. New concepts seem to always be opening while others, even old favorites, close after decades in business.

The Daily Memphian's Sophia Surrett chronicles these openings and closings in her weekly Food Files column. Today, she joins us to talk about a few restaurant openings, closings and other announcements on the horizon.

Plus:

• Commissioners have questions even as crime dashboard contract dashboard gets approved
• Grizzlies lose a late lead and fall to short-handed Warriors
• Slutty Vegan tests the Memphis market with a restaurant takeover
• Some pregnant Tennesseans could park in handicap spots if a new bill passes
• Memphis Theological Seminary is closing its doors in July
• PDS launches a $7M campaign focused on community and outdoor learning

As the week begins, local government is back to work, with the Shelby County Commission back to its regular meeting schedule. Plus, Memphis Mayor Paul Young will give the annual State of the City address Tuesday. But the thing you may want to note early in the week is something happening later in the week: Valentine's Day. It's on a Saturday this year, so get your dining reservations early.

As always on Mondays, newsletter editor Bianca Phillips joins us to talk about it all.

Plus:

• New leadership at Indie Memphis hopes to revive the beloved nonprofit
• Believe Memphis weighs a closure allowing Grizzlies Prep a larger South Memphis campus
• A fake combat veteran pleads guilty to federal 'stolen valor' and wire fraud charges

We're on the verge of another weekend, so today, newsletter editor Bianca Phillips joins Mary Cashiola to talk about this weekend's holiday celebrations. There are events for Mardi Gras, Lunar New Year, Edgar Allan Poe's (belated) birthday and even Ice Cream for Breakfast Day. And football's biggest game is Sunday.

Plus:

• The Grizzlies make a trade for Eric Gordon
• The County Commission plows through an agenda from a snowed-out meeting
• RFK Jr. touts administration efforts in Nashville
• An ex-St. George's basketball player faces 8 felonies in a campus sexual assault case
• Human error caused a temporary voter registration lookup outage

It was a decade ago that members of Calvary Episcopal Church decided they needed to do something about an old historical marker on the edge of their parking lot. In 2018, Calvary erected a new historical marker that talked about the slave market that once operated where the church parking lot is now.

This week, the church announced that it has bigger plans for the site, though, with the help of a $1 million grant from the Mellon Foundation. Today, John Klyce joins us in the studio to talk about the Legacy at 87 Adams project and how the church is trying to reconcile its past.

Plus:

• A block of Downtown Memphis inches toward a new name
• Arlington passes the first readings of beer and liquor ordinances
• City Council questions the City of Memphis' snow strategy
• Memphis releases the funds to ease the pre-k crisis

Last year, Shelby County Commissioner Edmund Ford Jr. was charged with seven counts of federal bribery and tax evasion charges. This week, he pleaded guilty to five of them. Today, veteran reporter Bill Dries joins us to talk about it, including Dries' surprise that Ford pleaded guilty after long professing his innocence.

Plus:

• The Grizzlies trade Jaren Jackson Jr. to Utah
• Bartlett Alderman David Reaves wants the suburb to look into eliminating property taxes
• A Downtown Memphis church will memorialize thousands

Late last year, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement — ICE — operation began in Minneapolis. Since then, federal agents have continued to clash with protestors, and two U.S. citizens have been shot and killed by ICE agents. In Memphis, federal law enforcement came to Memphis in late September, a 13-agency coalition that included the National Guard, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Marshals Service, the Internal Revenue Service and ICE, among others.

Here, while there have been protests and vigils, the scene has been very different from the one in Minneapolis, and there are many theories about why that is. Joining us today to talk about it is reporter Aarron Fleming.

Plus:

• A new bill would bar some Tennesseans from running for Congress
• Whisks of Doom whips up a different type of bakery
• FedEx Founder's family offered to buy the Grizzlies
• SpaceX and xAI could merge

It's Feb. 2 — Groundhog Day — and this week in Memphis may feel like something of a do-over. But hopefully it's in a hilarious, nostalgic way. Newsletter editor Bianca Phillips joins us on this episode to talk about the upcoming week, including the looming NBA trade deadline.

Plus:

• Jerri Green plans to breathe life back into on of the nation's oldest public defender offices
• Ty Jerome makes a splash in Grizzlies debut
• A Memphis-area high school football player makes it to the Super Bowl
• The Station gets its liquor license
• Southaven supports restructuring the DeSoto County Convention and Visitors Bureau

As crazy as it may sound, there are public events happening this weekend that haven't been canceled — including a professional cornhole open and comedy from Mo Alexander. Today, Bianca Phillips joins us to talk about them.

Plus:

• The Task Force is back at work after a winter-storm pause
• Thousands charged with DUIs in Tennessee tested negative for drugs and alcohol
• DeSoto County urges emergency travel only as ice and staff shortages snarl the roads
• Memphis looks into buying more plows
• Germantown seeks an artist for a Greenway mural