Tennessee Voices celebrates five years of interviews with leaders and newsmakers
On April 18, The Tennessean published the 446th episode of the Tennessee Voices video podcast, a now 5-year-old interview show born of the COVID-19 pandemic.
I have hosted the program since the beginning in March 2020 shortly after the virus emerged in Tennessee and sent many employees — including me — home to work.
COVID also led to the cancellation of live events — an important part of my job as an opinion and engagement journalist — where I sought to connect people on issues of public interest.
It was disappointing and hard, but like many of you, I had to adapt, pivot and innovate. Thus, the Tennessee Voices video podcast launched on March 24, 2020, on Tennessean.com.
The purpose was to record video interviews with leaders, thinkers, doers and makers from Tennessee for a 15-to-20-minute conversation about their work, their origin stories and how they were coping during the pandemic. In some cases, I learned about their reading and TV show preferences, including several who confessed to watching "Tiger King."
The name "Tennessee Voices" pays homage to The Tennessean's long-time brand for its opinion columns.
The goal was for the guest and me to model civil discourse during a politically polarized time and help each other and the audience understand the world during a pandemic. This was an extension of the work we had been doing through the Civility Tennessee initiative since 2017.
I hustled to find the first few guests, who included Patrick Ryan, the former president of the Tennessee World Affairs Council; the Rev. Becca Stevens, founder of Thistle Farms; and Sharon Roberson, president and CEO of the YWCA of Middle Tennessee.
Guests have run the gamut from politicians such as U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn to nonprofit leaders like reproductive rights activist Cherisse Scott as well as leaders in health care, education, business and nonprofit.
Opinion: How Black and Latino Tennessee Voices Storytellers Live came to be in Nashville
I have enjoyed hosting this show because it connects me on a one-on-one level with fascinating people who have a lot to offer in terms of achievements, wisdom and perspective, and I hope the audience gets a lot out of it, too.
Speaking with each other — and not at each other — is fundamental to building a strong community and sustaining our democratic republic.
April 17: Nick Ogden, founder and CEO of The Clear Blue Company
April 15: Mo Sabri, Muslim country music artist (Check out his song "Married in a Barn" on YouTube)
March 28: Winston Justice, ex NFL player and new finance CEO
March 11: Pat Williams of iScribe on artificial intelligence and health care burnout
Feb. 11: Melissa Hudson-Gant, CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee
Jan. 28: Ashley Blum, executive director of NAMI Davidson County
Jan. 21: Fahad Tahir, president and CEO of Ascension Saint Thomas, and Laurel Graefe, regional executive, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta
Jan. 14: Buddy Teaster, president and CEO of Soles4Souls
Jan. 7: Delaney Shelton spoke about her son' Boston's fentanyl overdose death and her advocacy
David Plazas is the director of opinion and engagement for the USA TODAY Network Tennessee. He is an editorial board member of The Tennessean. He hosts the Tennessee Voices videocast and curates the Tennessee Voices and Latino Tennessee Voices newsletters. Call him at (615) 259-8063, email him at dplazas@tennessean.com or find him on X at @davidplazas.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Voices video show celebrates its fifth anniversary | Opinion
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