Shows / Banner & Company
Banner & Company
Banner & Company Productions makes interview and narrative podcasts about Nashville life and the news that affects it.
Episodes
Banner & CompanyBonus: Education Bills at the Tennessee State Legislature, Including Ten Commandments and Communism
Banner reporter Steven Hale sits down with education reporter Lillian Avedian to talk about the education-related bills she's following at the state…
Banner & CompanyLonnell Matthews Jr.: Juvenile Court Clerk
In his role as Davidson County Juvenile Court Clerk, Lonnell Matthews Jr. sees his share of the kind of youth we have become accustomed to calling "troubled,"…
Banner & CompanyBonus: First Post-Winter Storm Metro Council Meeting Yields Budget Talk, Limited Public Feedback
The Banner's Steven Hale sits down with Metro reporter Stephen Elliott to talk about Tuesday's Metro Council meeting and the various upcoming reviews of…
Banner & CompanyBonus: Nashville Power Outages, Other Ice Storm Effects — and Dangers — Linger
The Banner’s Steven Hale and Araceli Crescencio talk about Nashville's historic winter storm, power outages and their personal slip-and-fall counts. Araceli…
Banner & CompanyJonathan Bernstein: Writer, Justin Townes Earle Biography
Working as a fact-checker is great training for any writer. But especially so when one's subject is a notorious teller of tall tales. This was the case for…
Banner & CompanyBonus: Metro Council Is Back, Plus Downtown Safety, Buchanan Street and Mayoral Race
The Banner’s Steven Hale and Stephen Elliott talk about the first Metro Council meeting of the year. It was a late and action-packed night for our Metro…
Banner & CompanyAnas Saba: Creator, Nashville Hidden Gems
Before Nashville Hidden Gems was a hit Instagram page, it began as a food tour, taking a small group of guests through a series of creator Anas Saba's favorite…
Banner & CompanyBonus: Discussing the Opening of the 2026 Tennessee State Legislative Session
The Banner’s Steven Hale and Sarah Grace Taylor talk about the return of the Tennessee legislature, what they've done so far and what to expect in the coming…
Banner & CompanyCraig Havighurst: Author, Musicality for Modern Humans
Craig Havighurst's new book Musicality for Modern Humans: How to Listen Like an Artist aims to talk about music theory in a non-theoretical way — to get at how…
Banner & CompanyBrian Mansfield: Nashville Musical History Tour
Although Nashville is known as Music City, some of the most important history — songwriting sessions, recordings, rehearsals — took place in either nondescript…
- Banner & Company
Special Episode: 'The Final Question'
At the end of every Banner & Company episode — the very end, after the credits have rolled and the theme music fades out — there's a little hidden feature that…
- Banner & Company
Best of 2025: Stephen Bargatze: Magician, Comedian and Father of Nate
Growing up, Stephen Bargatze got into plenty of trouble. He wasn't a very good student. His home life was rocky at best, and he had a terrible relationship…
Banner & CompanyBonus: Shedrich Webster and the Santas of Color Coalition
This bonus content was created in partnership with the podcast Niche to meet you. Shedrich Webster is Middle Tennessee’s premiere Black Santa. For three years…
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Best of 2025: Cathy Carillo: Co-Founder, The ReMIX TN
What started as an ordinary ride home from a track meet changed Cathy Carillo's life. When Metro Police stopped her father for a broken taillight in 2009, they…
- Banner & Company
Jasmine Ledsinger: Program Director at The Store
Before The Store opened, Jasmine Ledsinger would drive by and wonder what this new business was going to be. When she learned it would be a place for those in…
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Best of 2025: Joe West: Musician and Nashville Airport House Band
A familiar face to many, Joe West is the "house band" at Nashville International Airport. In this role, he performs regularly for ever-changing crowds as they…
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Jim Cooper: Former Tennessee Congressman
From 2003-2023, Jim Cooper represented Tennessee in Congress — most recently from the reliably Democratic District 5, which included Nashville. But when the…
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John Day: Attorney, President, American College of Trial Lawyers
For Nashville attorney John Day, there is no overstating how important the rule of law is to our everyday lives — not just when it comes to our personal…
- Banner & Company
Mark Deutschmann: Real Estate Entrepreneur, Juggler
Throughout his career, Mark Deutschmann has tried to balance preservation — he worked to develop the historick Werthan Mills complex into lofts — with…
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Sharon K. Roberson: President and CEO, YWCA Nashville
Raised in a military family and a graduate of Vanderbilt University Law School, Sharon K. Roberson has drawn on years in the corporate world to lead the YWCA…
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Steve Norris: Former Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner
Steve Norris had never set foot inside a prison when became commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction. And he had only been on the job three…
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Barry Mazor: Music Writer, Author of Everly Brothers Book 'Blood Harmony'
For a long time, Barry Mazor (along with fellow music writers) puzzled over what struck them as a glaring omission: There was no dependable, carefully sourced…
- Banner & Company
Bob Bernstein: Owner, Bongo Java and Fido
This week, Bob Bernstein announced that beloved Hillsboro Village coffee shop Fido will be closing — three years from now, on June 1, 2028. In the…
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Stephen Bargatze: Magician, Comedian and Father of Nate
Growing up, Stephen Bargatze got into plenty of trouble. He wasn't a very good student. His home life was rocky at best, and he had a terrible relationship…
- Banner & Company
Liz McLaurin: President and CEO, The Land Trust for Tennessee
Liz McLaurin looks at the landscape a little different than the rest of us. As the head of the nonprofit Land Trust for Tennessee, she works with landowners…
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Shane Caldwell: Comedian
Shane Caldwell got his start on public access television as "kind of a goof," after watching a comedy show and thinking he and his fellow bartender friends…
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Jim McGuire: Photographer, Nashville Portraits
You should never meet your heroes, the old saying goes. But for Jim McGuire, it has turned out pretty well. Jim grew up listening to country radio, and then —…
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Tamara Saviano: Author, Poets and Dreamers: My Life in Americana Music
Tamara Saviano has worked in radio, been a publicist — Kris Kristofferson was a client — served as president of the Americana Music Association (the first…
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Serina K. Gilbert and Dr. Learotha Williams Jr.: From the Fiery Furnace to the Promise Land
Shortly after the end of the Civil War, formerly enslaved African Americans established and settled Promise Land in Dickson County. They came from farms around…
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Aaron Gray: Father, Survivor and Podcaster
Aaron Gray found peace after enduring the unthinkable. His 5-month-old son Joel died in August 2012 after Gray’s then wife accidentally left the baby in the…
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Becca Andrews: Journalist and Cohost of American Shrapnel
From the time she job-shadowed at the Jackson Sun in 8th grade, Becca Andrews knew she wanted to be a journalist. This aspiration took her from Tennessee to…
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Exploring the Unusual Execution of Byron Black
On Tuesday, the state of Tennessee executed Byron Black, who was convicted and sentenced to death in 1989 for the murders of his then-girlfriend Angela Clay…
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Cathy Carillo: Co-Founder, The ReMIX TN
What started as an ordinary ride home from a track meet changed Cathy Carillo's life. When Metro Police stopped her father for a broken taillight in 2009, they…
- Banner & Company
Ron Brice: Owner, Third & Lindsley
When he first arrived in Nashville sight unseen, Ron Brice was just here for a job — running a video arcade. So how did a Michigander with no background in…
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Alan Stoker: Former Archivist at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum
Not many people have held Hank Williams demo recordings with his handwriting on them. But Alan Stoker has. He recently retired from the Country Music Hall of…
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Wendy Murray: Artist Drawing Every Building on Gallatin Pike
"I guess I'm a completist," artist Wendy Murray says of herself. And right now she has an appropriately ambitious project under way: drawing every building on…
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Leon Alligood on the Scopes Trial, 100 Years Later
This month marks 100 years since the Scopes "monkey" trial in Dayton, Tenn. The simple version is that a 24-year-old teacher had been charged with breaking a…
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Maryam Abolfazli on the Human Consequences of Iran Conflict
Maryam Abolfazli was born and raised in Nashville, into what she describes as a "a big and loving Iranian family." Some members of that family still live in…
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Dr. Paul Kwami: Fisk Jubilee Singers Music Director, 1994-2022
The late Dr. Paul Kwami was the music director of the Fisk Jubilee Singers for 28 years. He passed away in September 2022. Before his death, Dr. Kwami recorded…
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Paul Collins: Painter and (Part Time) Courtroom Sketch Artist
When the Banner needed someone to sketch the recent trial of Glen Casada and Cade Cothren in federal court — where no cameras or digital devices of any kind…
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Phil Bredesen: Former Tennessee Governor and Nashville Mayor
Phil Bredesen is a big believer in the public good. As mayor of Nashville, he pushed to create more public spaces, like the downtown public library. He also…
- Banner & Company
Don Cusic: Writer, Author of Chet Atkins Biography
Music historian Don Cusic has played many roles — songwriter, producer, novelist, professor. (Not to mention putting in a stint at a newspaper in Cookeville…
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Steven Womack: Writer, Former Watkins Film School Instructor
Five years ago this week, Watkins School of Art, Design & Film held a socially distanced commencement ceremony amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It would the last in…
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Kelley Henry, Federal Public Defender
With the state of Tennessee set to restart executions this month, federal public defender Kelley Henry is even more busy than usual. Her client Oscar Smith is…
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Bonus Episode: 'The High Cost of Low Wages in Nashville'
This week, the Metropolitan Social Services department released a report based on its annual community needs evaluation. The title of this year's report: "The…
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Digging Into the Sweeping ICE Operation in Nashville
This week, Tennessee Highway Patrol said it made close to 500 traffic stops — coordinating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in a sweeping…
- Banner & Company
Major Jackson: Poet and Teacher
Major Jackson is the author of six poetry collections, including, most recently, Razzle Dazzle: New & Selected Poems. He is a professor at Vanderbilt…
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Michael Shane Neal: Portrait Artist
Michael Shane Neal knew from an early age he wanted to be an artist. But there were no artists in his family, so he wasn't sure how he'd turn that into a…
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Rev. Matt Steinhauer: Pastor and Advocate
Rev. Matt Steinhauer was among the dozen or so clergy who interrupted a House committee meeting earlier this week by reciting the Lord's Prayer. He was…
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Andrew Leeper and Will Minkoff of Nashville Severe Weather
Middle Tennessee weather can be unpredictable — and dangerous. When things get iffy, a trio of "suburban dads" keeps the information flowing. But once the…
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Mo Sabri, Muslim Country Musician
Growing up in Johnson City, Tenn., Mo Sabri could look out the window of his parents' house and see cows. He grew up listening to Dolly Parton and Kenny…
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Linda Rose: Immigration Attorney, Musician and Black Belt
Born to working-class parents in Massachusetts, Linda Rose came to Nashville in the 1990s — by way of Hawaii, where she first began working in immigration law…
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Mike Bub: Bass Player and Bluegrass Stalwart
The banjo was Mike Bub's first love, but not long after arriving in Nashville he discovered he could find more work playing the bass. He found himself onstage…
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Jim Bartoo: Marketing Director, Nashville Zoo
When you can hear gibbons shouting out from treetops during office hours, you know your job is a bit off the beaten path. As marketing director for the…
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Elliott Robinson: Keeper of the Nashville Public Library's Civil Rights Room
Sixty years ago this week, activists marched for civil rights in Selma, Ala., including many, like John Lewis and Diane Nash, who had trained in Nashville. In…
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Ellen Angelico: Musician, Writer and Host of 'Girl in a Hurry'
As a musician, Ellen Angelico plays many instruments well, but her first love is still her go-to: the guitar. You can hear her play on albums by Lola Kirke and…
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The murder of Marcia Trimble: a crime that shocked Nashville
Content warning: This episode contains references to sexual assault and murder. Nine-year-old Marcia Trimble was delivering Girl Scout cookies in the affluent…
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Rebecca Haw Allensworth: law professor, author of The Licensing Racket
The first time Rebecca Haw Allensworth attended a licensing board meeting, she could hardly believe what she was seeing: A physician with a long malpractice…
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Willie Steele: writer, professor and aspiring knuckleballer
When the other kids wanted to watch Indiana Jones, Willie Steele took a chance on a baseball movie instead. He didn't know it at the time, but watching Field…
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Dr. Agenia Clark: president, Fisk University
Dr. Agenia Clark's path to becoming president of Fisk University is not a typical one. She didn't come up through academia. She had led the Girl Scouts of…