We’re seemingly full of towering yellow cranes and active construction sites busy with workers using hefty machinery and hoisting heavy materials – often several hundred feet in the air. Tragically, Tennessee is one of the most dangerous states when it comes to construction worker on-the-job injury and deaths. In recent years, the city of Nashville and the State of Tennessee have not seen eye-to-eye on how to improve safety for workers. Today, we’re speaking with reporters, local advocates and the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development about the sometimes deadly problems workers face, how they’re working to make construction sites safer, and what to do if you get injured on the job.

This episode was produced by Katherine Ceicys and Mary Mancini. 

Guests:

Every Thursday, we open up the phone lines because it's Your Turn to Talk. We never know what topics will come up when you call in to ask the mayor a question, but it's always an interesting discussion. Later on, we look at the basics of overdose prevention and learn what local organizations and law enforcement are doing to strengthen the overdose prevention strategy of harm reduction.

Guests:

Listen to previous Ask the Mayor episodes:

Some step into single parenthood by choice, and others unexpectedly find themselves raising kids on their own. Today, we’re speaking with two single parents here in Nashville about their journeys to parenthood, how they take care of both their kids and themselves, and where they find connection and community.

This episode was produced by Katherine Ceicys.

GUESTS

Over the course of this series, we have taken a closer look at the different aspects of homelessness examining the Housing First philosophy, the interconnectedness of housing and healthcare, prevention efforts, and what hidden homelessness looks like. In today's episode, we focus on the tools available for developers and communities to build supportive housing and the support systems necessary to help people maintain their homes. Additionally, we dive into braiding, a funding mechanism used to build units to serve people with zero income.

In My Place educates listeners on what cities like Nashville can do to prevent and end homelessness — while caring for our neighbors who are still unhoused. We talk to national and local guests about everything from best practices to worst failures and hear from people who intimately know the complexities of having nowhere to go. This show highlights how affordable housing affects each of us even if we think it doesn't.

This series was created thanks in part to support from Pinnacle Financial Partners.

This episode was produced by Judy Tackett and Tasha A.F. Lemley.

Today's guests:

Leah Werner | Director Ohio, Kentucky and Tennessee Program, CSH
Angela Hubbard | Housing Director, Metro Nashville Planning Department
David Langgle-Martin | Chief Housing Officer, Park Center
Anita Smith | Speaker and advocate

Clark, a well-known Nashville producer, multi-instrumentalist, music supervisor and writer, was born and raised in Memphis — a city he says is utterly baked into him at a cellular level. It was in Memphis where he picked up his first instrument, bought his first dixieland jazz records, and played his first gig. Since then, Clark has gone on to write for numerous national publications – including Billboard and Rolling Stone – produce the first seven volumes of the award-winning Oxford American Magazine music CDs, supervise the music for numerous film and TV projects, and record and release music under his own name.

Today's episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

GUEST

Some people say they vote because it’s the least they can do. But what if you want to do more? What other options are available to voice your opinion, advocate for or against issues you care about, and influence policy? And what do you do when the action you take doesn't get the results you want? Do you keep hope alive, or do you let the cynicism creep in?

We’re joined by a panel of community organizers who will take your calls and help us figure out how in the world we can make a difference. Plus, Garrison Hayes is back with us live from the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. He has a unique perspective, having recently attended the Republican National Convention as well, and gives us an in-depth comparison of the two events.

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

GUESTS

Adam Altendorf | Organizing Director, Organize Tennessee
Eva Frasca | Interim Executive Director, Rise & Shine TN
Colleen Weiss | Community member, Rise & Shine TN
Garrison Hayes | Video Correspondent, Center for Investigative Reporting

FURTHER IN

But the legacy and impact of this small HBCU in Nashville often gets overlooked. Now, as ABC celebrates its 100th anniversary, we look at the college’s role in training generations of activists. How has it changed in the decades since the Civil Rights movement? And how can religion and theology be used to advance social justice causes in an increasingly secular world?

This episode was produced by Emily Siner.

GUESTS

Dr. Forrest Harris, President of American Baptist College
Dr. Phyllis Qualls, Communications director, American Baptist College
Aaron Ford, Student government president, American Baptist College
Rev. Dr. James Douglas Clay, Alum of ABC and pastor at New Visions Baptist Church

Architects shape skylines and neighborhoods with a vision that can last for centuries. Today, we're speaking with some of Nashville's NextGen architects about their priorities, lessons learned, and the challenges they face building in the New Nashville.

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

GUESTS

Amy Hardin, Senior project manager and senior architect at Gresham Smith
Brittany Hodge, Project Architect at EOA Architects
Joseph Cole, CEO, Culture Architecture and Design
Brenda Cano Trejo, Designer, Culture Architecture and Design

Sara Figal has always been willing to work hard, follow her passions – and let herself be surprised. She recently retired from being the executive director of the Nashville Conflict Resolution Center, an organization that facilitates mediation to help people and families work together to create solutions to their problems so they don’t have to end up in a court system. Today we’re speaking with Sara about the often unexpected outcomes and impact of mediation that she has witnessed here in Tennessee, the life path she’s weaved between opportunities and roadblocks, and what it looks like for her to savor a new path ahead. Join us!

Today's episode was produced by Katherine Ceicys.

GUEST

FURTHER READING AND LISTENING

At the state capital, Nashville has a good amount of local news coverage. We’ve also attracted national attention, including multiple conservative outlets and their personalities. So, with a myriad of choices and a never-ending supply of information, what news sources do you use to stay fully and accurately informed? Are you willing to pay for that information? And how do you tell the difference between news that’s been checked for accuracy and news that hasn’t? 

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

GUESTS

Garrison Hayes | Video Correspondent, Center for Investigative Reporting
Ken Paulson | Dean Emeritus and director of the Free Speech Center at the College of Media and Entertainment, MTSU; Former editor-in-chief of USA Today