With neo-Nazis demonstrating around Nashville, the city has been on edge. It’s the second such group in as many weeks to bring their racist messaging to the streets of downtown and beyond, and some Nashvillians have shown up to oppose them publicly.
This week on Banner & Company, Dr. Sophie Bjork-James, an assistant professor at Vanderbilt University who studies racism and white nationalist movements, talks with Demetria about the historical context for these groups, what motivates them, and why they seem to be visiting Nashville more frequently as the election approaches.
🎥 @demetria.kalodimos
🎤 @steveharuch and Andrea Tudhope
Like many Americans, Sara Jane Moore watched television coverage of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump with great interest. Unlike all but two other living Americans, she herself once attempted to assassinate a president. In 1975, she fired at then-President Gerald Ford with the intent to kill him. Now 94 years old, Moore lives in Tennessee. This interview was recorded by @demetria.kalodimos just hours after the rally in Pennsylvania at which two people, including the gunman, were killed. Watch the full interview on our website.
Tuesday night, a disorganized group of about a dozen neo-Nazis showed up at Nashville’s Metro Council meeting. The group of men, several wearing ‘Whites Against Replacement’ shirts and carrying Nazi flags, were met by vehement condemnation from the Council. Outside of the Metro Courthouse, a small counter protest assembled to share the message that that kind of hate is not welcome here.
🎤: @jaylan_sims
✏️: @stephenbelliott
🎥: @martinbcherry
Rose Palermo has built a reputation as one of the toughest divorce attorneys in Music City. And her clients, including host Demetria Kalodimos, swear by her tenacity, for sure — maybe you saw her come crashing into a lying huckster’s office on an episode of 60 Minutes. Or maybe you know that she fought to keep her “maiden” name in a case that still gets studied in law schools. But for the people she’s guided through some of their hardest times, she’s know just as much for her compassion and care.
🎥 @demetria.kalodimos
🎤 @steveharuch & Andrea Tudhope
Early voting in Tennessee for the August 1st primary starts today.
Head to our website and check out the Banner’s How to Vote guide, which has all you need to know to cast your vote, including information on important dates, polling places and voter registration.
For more than a decade, writer Betsy Phillips has been trying to uncover the truth behind three Civil Rights-era bombings in Nashville: Hattie Cotton school in September 1957; the Jewish Community Center in March 1958; and the home of attorney and councilmember Z. Alexander Looby in April 1960. The truth of who is responsible for these acts of terrorism remains elusive, but in her new book DYNAMITE NASHVILLE, Betsy finds that they are almost certainly connected — not only to each other but also to a wider racist network that, to some degree, is still with us.
🎥 @demetria.kalodimos
🎤 @andreatudhope & @steveharuch
With the 2024 heat dome broiling select parts of the country, residents who are impacted are unknowledgeable about how some specific cooling techniques have the possibility of making future summers even hotter. Multimedia reporting intern, Jaylan Sims, provides tips on how to keep cool, while also saving the environment and future summers.
🎥: @jaylan_sims / @martinbcherry
Valerie Meece first came to Nashville in the 1970s as a singer and guitar player in a sister act. But she soon found herself in a very different line of work — as one of the first women to work patrol for the Metro Nashville Police Department. That led to a steady rise up the ranks, eventually reaching the level of assistant chief over a decades-long career. This week on Banner & Company she talks with Demetria about her time working the streets of Nashville, including some very close calls, and how she’s found her way back to music.
🎥: @demetria.kalodimos
🎤: @andreatudhope & @steveharuch
When Macon Kimbrough came out as a teenager in the 1970s, his family was not initially supportive. But he soon found his way to Warehouse 28, a club that began as a gay disco and became so much more — including a crucial site in the formation of HIV/AIDS service organization Nashville CARES.
This week on Banner & Company, Macon sits down with Demetria to talk about his time at the Warehouse, from starting as a customer to eventually becoming a manager, and his journey into activism.
🎥: @demetria.kalodimos
🎤: @andreatudhope & @steveharuch
If there’s one thing most people know about investigative reporter Phil Williams, it’s this: He is relentless. His latest series for NewsChannel5 offers plenty of proof of that, if you need it. And he’s got decades worth of awards to show for his efforts — including the prestigious John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism, which he was the first Nashville reporter to win. But as this week’s conversation with Demetria Kalodimos shows, there’s more to this dogged journalist than meets the eye.
It’s Banner & Company.
🎥: @demetria.kalodimos
🎤: @andreatudhope & @steveharuch
NPR music critic Ann Powers didn’t always know she’d end up writing for a living. But falling in with the right crowd — record store clerks and alt-weekly reporters — let her see a future for herself analyzing and contextualizing music. Her latest book does just that. TRAVELING: ON THE PATH OF JONI MITCHELL is a sprawling, detailed look at the life and work of a singular artist whose influence still reverberates through the culture. On the latest episode of Banner & Company, Ann talks with Demetria about her early days as a music aficionado, her writing process and much more.
🎥📱: @demetria.kalodimos
🎧🎤: @steveharuch & @andreatudhope
Although cicada season seems to be nearing its end in Nashville, we are NOT done talking about these tiny but mighty bugs. Why are they so loud? Is it safe for my dog to eat them? Can I eat them? Our multimedia reporting intern Jaylan Sims has been covering this year’s cicada emergence and has some answers to our reader’s most common questions. We even looked into the mathematical significance of the frequency of their emergence. Read the latest story at the link in our bio.
🎥: @jaylan_sims
This week, realtor, writer, dad and Beatles superfan Richard Courtney joins Demetria to talk about growing up in Columbia, Tenn., meeting Sir Paul and beating cancer twice. Check out the conversation on Sunday, wherever you get your podcasts or at our website.
Pianist, singer and songwriter Frankie Staton loves the new @beyonce album. And as someone who has worked for decades to get Black country performers recognized here in Nashville, she also has some advice for the queen bee. Check out the entire conversation with Demetria Kalodimos — including how the Black Country Music Association was formed in the ‘90s — this week on Banner & Company.
This week, Demetria sits down with pianist, singer and songwriter Frankie Staton. Decades before Cowboy Carter, she and Dr. Cleve Francis co-founded the Black Country Music Association in an effort to showcase the city’s African American talent. Now she’s an inspiration to a whole new generation — and she’s never stopped singing. You don’t want to miss this conversation.
Dr. Jon Roebuck has become a staple on Nashville television for “A Moment That Matters.” The one-minute mini-sermons air every Sunday and they’ve found a devoted audience.
This week on Banner & Company, Jon sits down with Demetria to talk about his life, his faith, and the challenges of keeping that faith — and staying in conversation with our neighbors — in polarized times
This week on Banner & Company, Demetria sits down with Dr. Jon Roebuck, the preacher whose “A Moment That Matters” mini-sermons reach tens of thousands of Middle Tennesseans each week. Hear how his faith background informs the way he tries to create space for meaningful dialogue.
Episode drops tomorrow. You’re in good company.
In 1994, Eden Wilkinson was an infant living in an orphanage in Romania. Working on a news documentary about Romanian orphans, Demetria Kalodimos visited that orphanage. Video of baby Eden inspired a Nashville family to adopt.
This week, the two reunited and sat down for a conversation 30 years in the making. It’s the latest episode of Banner & Company. Listen wherever you get your podcasts!
🎧🎙️: @steveharuch & @andreatudhope
Coming this Sunday: a new episode of our podcast Banner & Company, featuring a guest who first met @demetria.kalodimos 30 years ago and 5,000 miles from Nashville. The two reunited in our living room for a conversation you don’t want to miss.
Find it wherever you get your podcasts or on our website.
As a childhood survivor of domestic violence, Mark Wynn never forgot what happened to his mother, his siblings and himself. In particular, he never forgot how the police who showed up at his house acted — or more importantly, how they didn’t act.
After a long career in law enforcement, Mark has dedicated his life to training others — especially other men — to recognize and prevent domestic violence. He talks with host Demetria Kalodimos about his journey on this week’s Banner & Company. Find it wherever you get your podcasts.
🎧🎙️: @steveharuch @andreatudhope
