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PODCAST · society

Nashville Demystified

by Alex Steed / Knack Factory / We Own This Town

Talking with the folks who live, work, agitate and make art in Nashville, TN

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Episodes

  1. Lucy’s Legacy: Talking Lucy’s Record Shop with Mary Mancini

    Talking with Mary Mancini about about the legacy of Lucy’s Record Shop, the punk and “alternative” music venue of 90's Nashville.

  2. Kevin Guthrie Won’t Tell You He’s an Artist

    We talk with artist Kevin Guthrie about his time in Nashville and his development as an artist even though he gets a little weird about accepting the term.

  3. Getting Deep with Caitlin Rose

    Talking with Caitlin Rose about music making, living with tricky brains, and being weird kids.

  4. Steven Hale on Nashville’s Record Number of Overdoses

    Journalist Steven Hale joins for a chat about the opioid epidemic, fentanyl poisoning and how it has impacted Nashville.

  5. The Bell Witch Part 2: The Story, the Newspaperman and Some Theories

    Behold! The second installment of our two part series on The Bell Witch.

  6. The Bell Witch Part 1: Stories About a Story

    The CRT read on The Bell Witch that nobody asked for... but needs to be told.

  7. Craig Havighurst on The Station Inn and Venue Health

    We talk with writer and journalist Craig Havighurst about the history of the Station Inn and its fate after the passing of owner JT Gray.

  8. And… We’re Back with Maggie Rose

    Nashville Demystified RETURNS and catches up with the splendiferous Maggie Rose.

  9. Getting Sleazy with LG of Thelma and the Sleaze [Rebroadcast]

    Rebroadcast: Alex Steed speaks with absolute force of nature Lauren Gilbert, aka LG, aka band center of gravity for Thelma and the Sleaze.

  10. Greetings From New Nashville: An Interview with Steve Haruch

    We talk with writer, editor, and filmmaker Steve Haruch about his new book Greetings from New Nashville, a series of essays on how Nashville became the It City it is today.

  11. Christine “Teeny” Jarrett Was Wrestling’s Grand Dame

    Today weâ€re going to spend some time getting to better know the late Christine “Teeny” Jarret — professional wrestlingâ€s grand dame — by way of talking with her grandson and biographer Brennon Martin. Christine “Teeny” Jarrett—by all accounts—lived a true Nashville rags to riches story....

  12. Appreciating David Berman, Ascending Menthol Mountains

    A cast of friends pay tribute to David Berman and Menthol Mountains; bringing his inspiring blog to life.

  13. The Nashville Flame and other 1980s Fever Dreams [Rebroadcast]

    This is a rebroadcast of an episode that originally aired on August 29th, 2019. While Alex recovers a lost audio file, please enjoy this wild, wild episode (again or for the first time). In 1982, the Nashville Flame volunteered to have himself lowered into a dangerous, long-decommissioned mine to...

  14. Tony Alamo, Susan Alamo, Cults and Sequined Jackets: A Conversation with Author Debby Schriver

    We talk Tony Alamo, the children of his cult, the horrible act befallen to his wife, Susan Alamo through a conversation with author Debby Schriver.

  15. Tristen Talks Please Vote Nashville and Civic Engagement

    Tristen Gaspadarek talks with Alex Steed about the origins of Please Vote Nashville how being a DIY musician overlaps with civic engagement.

  16. Marlene Twitty-Fargo is a Foul-Mouthed Angel

    Marlene Twitty-Fargo is the drag persona of Tim White, leader of the band The Twat Biscuits and is a ton of fun.

  17. Nick Gulas was Nashville’s King of Wrestling

    As a teenager in 1920s Birmingham, Alabama, Nick Gulas left his job at a bakery to learn the ropes (pun intended) of working in the wrestling business. Once he knew a thing or two, he came to Nashville and made both the city and the sport his life for over 40 years. For a good long time he was...

  18. Rabid Dogs, Spanish Flu and Acid Attacks: 1918 Was Wild

    A Spanish Flu adjacent episode in which pieces from the Tennessean from that time are visited.

  19. Sex in the Time of COVID-19

    I took a break from heavy stuff this week to talk sex in the isolation age with Tessa Lowe of Primrose Path Boutique.

  20. The 1998 Nashville Tornados: Dark, Mile-Wide Wall

    A piece about the day of the 1998 tornado itself. K-Ci & JoJo were huge and the winds were catastrophic.

  21. The 1998 Nashville Tornados: The Invisible Hand

    Part 1 of a three part miniseries about the 1998 Nashville tornadoes.

  22. Music City Tales from the 1980s: Lower Broad and the Ascendance of the High Class Drunk

    How did Lower Broad manage to ascend into a tourist destination in the later half of the Reagan Era? Also, a few words about that fucking tornado.

  23. Music City Tales… Companion: Deporting Sex Workers, Legalizing Prostitution and Bombing Strip Clubs

    We are in the middle of a miniseries called Music City Tales From the 1980s, and this is a companion episode that goes deeper into some of the stuff we covered in last weekâ€s exploration of Lower Broad. Next week weâ€ll run part two of that episode, but for now weâ€re going to talk a bit about…

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  24. Music City Tales from the 1980s: Meet Hoot Jackson [Lower Broad Part I]

    This week we embark on a two part look at Lower Broad; starting with how the area went from being the sort of place most folks didn’t engage with after dark to becoming a budding tourist destination. More on Nashville Demystified Official Site: nashvilledemystified.com Instagram:...

  25. One time Carlene Carter was Awarded a Key to the Jail

    Today we talk with the wonderful Carlene Carter. This is not an official installment of Music City Tales from the 1980s, though itâ€s strongly related. Letâ€s say that itâ€s a companion episode. Carlene Carter is a legendary singer with a career that spans over four decades. She has released a...

  26. Music City Tales from the 1980s: From Rural Purges to All Nashville All the Time

    In March of 1983, WSM launched The Nashville Network, TNN for short. It was an entire television network devoted to country music and programming, and largely produced at Gaslight Studios at Opryland USA. Today we look at how televisions show like Hee Haw, and a phenomenon called “The Rural...

  27. Music City Tales from the 1980s: Growing Up Opryland

    If you were a kid in Nashville in the 1980s, you will forever have THE ultimate insider Nashville conversation starter in your back pocket; Opryland USA.

  28. Music City Tales From the 1980s: Prologue: Last Ticket to Bonertown

    Alex Steed introduces a new 10-part series about Nashville in the 1980s by having a look at the infamous Mayor Bill Boner and his Donahue appearance.

  29. To Space and Back with The Weird Sisters

    Nashville Demystified gets too stoned interviewing The Weird Sisters, so they turn their chat into a sound collage.

  30. Sean Nelson is Back in Nashville, Everybody!

    Sean Nelson is a writer / music journalist / haver-of-opinions / singer / musician best known for his published works in The Stranger and as member of the band Harvey Danger.

  31. Anthony Simpkins of GemsOnVHS

    Anthony Simpkins runs the popular YouTube channel, GemsOnVHS. We talk genre, curation and the empathetic power of music.

  32. Phoebe Hunt, Mystical Indie Folkie

    Phoebe Hunt is a fiddler, singer/songwriter and yogi. She came to Nashville by way of Brooklyn by way of Austin and we talk about everything from music-as-a-healing-force to past lives. More from Phoebe Hunt Official Site: phoebehuntmusic.com Twitter: @Phoebe_Hunt Instagram: @phoebehuntmusic...

  33. Maya de Vitry Adapts

    Singer-Songwriter Maya de Vitry speaks on her experiences finding herself as a solo artist, the benefits of working at Starbucks and breaking out of the bubble of Nashville.

  34. Talking Motown Monday and Mortality with Jacob Jones

    Alex Steed speaks with Jacob Jones; one of the DJ's behind internationally acclaimed dance party Motown Monday.

  35. Mercy Bell / Remembering Acuff’s Run for Governor

    Host Alex Steed takes us through the time Roy Acuff ran for governor and then speaks with pop-folk, or folk-pop, or pop-alt-country artist, Mercy Bell.

  36. Erin Rae’s guide to Nashville, Boundaries and Antiques

    Erin Rae is a musician based here in Nashville. She is a delight. Here she shares her history in the town, insights on establishing boundaries as a working musician, and tips on where to get the best antiques in town.

  37. Bebe Buell is a Force of Nature

    She is one hundred percent personality. She has *lived.*

  38. Getting Sleazy with LG of Thelma and the Sleaze

    Alex Steed speaks with absolute force of nature Lauren Gilbert, aka LG, aka band center of gravity for Thelma and the Sleaze.

  39. When Mother Teresa Came to Nashville: The NunBun Remembered

    Alex takes time to remember Nashville's most infamous pastry, Bongo Java's NunBun.

  40. Tennessee’s Death Penalty with Journalist Steven Hale

    Nashville Demystified is a show in which I, Alex Steed, get to know this city better by talking with the folks who live, work, agitate and make art here. Today we talk with Steven Hale, a reporter for Nashville Scene. Specifically, we talk with Hale about Tennesseeâ€s death penalty and his…

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  41. All things Third Man with Ben Swank

    Third Man Records co-owner Ben Swank moved to Nashville literally days before the label launched. His history is intrinsically tied with the city.

  42. The Nashville Flame and other 1980s Fever Dreams

    In 1982, the Nashville Flame volunteered to have himself lowered into a dangerous, long-decommissioned mine to recover the bodies of two murder victims. Eight years earlier, he experienced something even stranger than a couple of frozen corpses at the bottom of a 250 foot deep hole in the ground....

  43. What kind of human do you want to be? feat. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza and Tristan Scroggins

    Today weâ€ll talk with Dr. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza. Robyn lives here in Nashville and is a queer, non-binary, Latinx poet and holds a PhD in theology. Robyn is also author of the book Activist Theology, which is a collection of stories about how they found their way as an activist, a theologian...

  44. Remembering David Berman

    Alex spends time with David Berman's blog, Menthol Mountains, to try to get a sense of his relationship with the city and his relationship with the world at large.

  45. Nashville’s White Supremacist Bombings w. Betsy Phillips

    Today I talk about–and I hate how timely this conversation is–Nashvilleâ€s history of white supremacist violence with author and historian Betsy Phillips. Specifically we talk about bombings that took place over a half century ago, but as this week reminds, the mass violence of white supremacists...

  46. The Importance of Being Ernest with Justin Lloyd

    Mini-episode with Jim Varney nephew and documentarian, Justin Lloyd.

  47. Remembering Jim Varney / Ernest P. Worrell [and Jenni Lyn Gardner of Della Mae]

    Jenni Lyn Gardner, of Grammy nominated Della Mae, and Daniel Butler, a man with a rich Nashville history and experience working with Jim Varney, aka Ernest P. Worrell.

  48. Sick Teachers and Bachelorette Party Fever Dreams

    A bachelorette fever dream that leads into a explanation of the Metro Nashville Public Schools Teachers ongoing plight.

  49. Honkytonk Badonkadonk and Carolyn Kendrick

    Jack Evan Johnson and Cybelle Elena discuss their zine Honkytonk Badonkadonk and we catch up with Carolyn Kendrick on her move to Nashville.

  50. Home, Wood Panel Discounts and Pride feat. Ellie Buckland [Lula Wiles] and Bluegrass Wednesday

    Today we talk with: Eleanor Buckland [Lula Wiles] Evan Winsor [Bluegrass Wednesdays] James Kee [Bluegrass Wednesdays] Eleanor discusses why professional musicians†concepts of “home” can be especially unique. Evan and James, both professional musicians themselves, talk about how and why...

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ABOUT THIS SHOW

Talking with the folks who live, work, agitate and make art in Nashville, TN

HOSTED BY

Alex Steed / Knack Factory / We Own This Town

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Nashville Demystified have?

Nashville Demystified currently has 61 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.

What is Nashville Demystified about?

Talking with the folks who live, work, agitate and make art in Nashville, TN

How often does Nashville Demystified release new episodes?

Nashville Demystified has 61 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.

Where can I listen to Nashville Demystified?

You can listen to Nashville Demystified on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.

Who hosts Nashville Demystified?

Nashville Demystified is created and hosted by Alex Steed / Knack Factory / We Own This Town.
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