Neighbors

Ronnie Clardy grew up near the barbershop he owns in Nashville, but the path that led him to his current life is anything but short and straight. He started dealing drugs at 13 and relapsed into a life of crime and prison several times, before he finally redirected his entrepreneurial spirit.     Edited by: Mack Linebaugh, Emily Siner, and Anita Bugg Music by: Podington Bear and Dan Burns Sponsors: Yazoo Brewing Company www.yazoobrew.com Work In Progress a podcast by Slack www.slack.com/podcast          

On a rainy night in 1949, a young woman arrived by train in Franklin, Tennessee, and walked off into the night. The next morning, her body was found near an incinerator by the high school. Her throat had been cut. The murder has become a fixture of town lore, yet its victim lies in an unmarked grave. An effort to give her a headstone raises the questions: Who do we choose to remember? And why? Production assistance from Bailey Robbins Edited by Mack Linebaugh, Emily Siner, and Anita Bugg Sponsors: Yazoo Brewing Company and Baja Burrito Music by Podington Bear and Dan Burns Correction: an earlier version of this story stated the John Golden was buried at Mt. Hope Cemetery in Franklin, Tenn. He is buried at Cool Springs Cemetery in Bethesda, Tenn.  

We want to do right by the people we care about. But sometimes, honoring someone's wishes can put us at odds with social norms, our own values, or even the law. In this episode of Neighbors, three stories where the desire to honor wishes pushes us into uncomfortable territory.    Neighbors is from Nashville Public Radio and Produced by Jakob Lewis Production Assistance from Bailey Robbins Edited by Mack Linebaugh and Emily Siner Music by Podington Bear and Dan Burns Sponsors: Yazoo Brewing Company and Magnolia Record Club Special Thanks to Phil Kaufman    

Most people might think it’s not worth the trouble to intervene in someone else's life. But in this episode of Neighbors, we get to know a woman who sees that obstacle—and will do everything she can to jump over it. Photo provided by Beth Mathews Neighbors is from Nashville Public Radio and Produced by Jakob Lewis Production Assistance from Bailey Robbins Edited by Mack Linebaugh and Emily Siner Music by Podington Bear and Jason Goforth Sponsors: Yazoo Brewing Company and The Crag Special Thanks to Dan and Beth Mathews

Michael Kearney is a genius — he holds the Guinness World Record for being the youngest person to graduate from college, at age 10. Now he's 32, and he's not curing cancer or solving world hunger. He's running an improv comedy company in Nashville. Why did this child prodigy decide to use his genius in such an unconventional way? We find out in this episode on Neighbors.   This episode was edited by: Emily Siner, Mack Linebaugh, and Anita Bugg Special thanks to Lee Hale! Music by Podington Bear and Dan Burns Sponsors: Yazoo Brewing Company, Baja Burrito

We meet Gin Thawng. The 66-year old is a refugee from Burma living in a Nashville apartment with his ailing wife, a baby grandson, his daughter-in-law and son. A graduate of an innovative ESL program-on-wheels, Thawng shows us something about the power that language has and how human connection is bigger than just words.   Editing by: Emily Siner and Mack Linebaugh Photo by: Brad Butcher Production Assistance by: Bailey Robbins ​Music by: Podington Bear and Dan Burns Sponsors: Yazoo Brewing Company and Magnolia Record Club Leave a rating or review in iTunes Neighbors is a member of The Heard Neighbors is from Nashville Public Radio

What keeps you up at night? For some, it's the shape-shifting song of a mockingbird outside the bedroom window. It turns out, not everyone is amazed by this bird's musical feats. What is a wonder of nature to some, to others is the sound of torture. This time on Neighbors, a guest episode from our friends at Nocturne.   Special thanks to Vanessa Lowe who produced this story and originally aired it on Nocturne. www.nocturnepodcast.org episode art by Christopher Stewart Sponsors: Yazoo Brewing Company www.yazoobrew.com and Magnolia Record Company www.magnoliarecord.club Neighbors is a member of The Heard. www.theheardradio.com  

It's an odd scene: A man, playing a sousaphone, stands inside a tunnel on a busy Nashville road during rush hour. Is he crazy, divinely inspired or something else entirely? In this episode of Neighbors, we go inside the world of "tuba man" Joe Hunter and discover what brings him and his instrument to the tunnel. Some music by: Podington Bear Editing help from: Emily Siner, and Mack Linebaugh Production Assistance: Bailey Robbins Artwork: Christopher Stewart Sponsors: Yazoo Brewing Company, Magnolia Record Club Neighbors is a part of The Heard If you like the show leave a review in iTunes. It goes a long way to helping others discover the show.

Sam Tucker is a gifted baker, but the one thing that is his greatest passion just might put his family in danger. With the premiere of Season 3, I am thrilled to announce Neighbors' partnership with Nashville Public Radio.    Some music by: Podington Bear Editing help from: Rob McGinley Myers, Emily Siner, and Mack Linebaugh Production Assistance: Bailey Robbins Artwork: Christopher Stewart Sponsors: Yazoo Brewing Company, Magnolia Record Club Neighbors is a part of The Heard If you like the story consider leave a review in iTunes. It goes a long way to helping others discover the show.    

This is a small bonus story about how the Christmas tree from your curb disappeared.

A story of how one clown turns his sorrow into connection. Some music by Podington Bear Editors: Tally Abecassis and Rob McGinley Meyers Production Help: Bailey Robbins Sponsors: Yazoo Brewing Company www.yazoobrew.com Baja Burrito Neighbors is a part of The Heard www.theheardradio.com

Why do two grown men walk a mile and a half every week, rain or shine, to give each other a high five? Editors: Bailey Robbins, Rob McGinley Meyers, Tally Abecassis Music: Podington Bear and Dan Burns AKA Dop Shrah Sponsors: Yazoo Brewing Company and Baja Burrito

Today we feature a story from the podcast Anxious Machine called "These Things Is Miracles." What happens when a woman refuses to admit she can't hear, and what happens when she finally does? Music in this episode: Seaside by Jelsonic Other music in Rob's piece can be found at anxiousmachine.com

"I guess they can't go to no church or whatever and ask to lick their preacher's armpits...so they come around the mission." Two stories of people going to church for two very different reasons. Do you have a going to church story? Tell it to us at 818-927-2346. It can be holy, sad, funny, abusive. Whatever the truth is for you we want you to tell it.     Music in this episode by Dan Burns of Dop Shrah  https://soundcloud.com/dop-shrah and Fuzzmuzz http://www.fuzzmuzzmusic.com/

It’s an unwritten rule in Nashville. If you see a famous musician who lives in town, you let them be. Your heart might skip a beat when you see Robert Plant, Jack White, Emmylou Harris or whoever it is for you, but you let them be. “Music City” has always been a safe haven for musicians. It’s where they raise their kids and buy their groceries. It’s their home and people generally want to protect that. Today we explore that idea of home by going into the houses of two very different Nashville musicians. The first is Roger Weismeyer, a classically trained English horn and piano player who plays for the Nashville Symphony. The second, the introverted indie rocker, Ben Elkins of the band El El. To get to know what our musical neighbors and their spaces are like we have come up with a format that includes a bit of music. We go to their house and ask them to play two songs: One, an original, played in the space in which they often create, write, and practice. The second, a cover of a song that for them is the pinn

Our newest addition to our Sans Houses series has the theme of music. Producer Tasha A F Lemley takes us along to glimpse into the lives of three men living on the street. You'll hear beautiful, funny, and tragic moments from our homeless neighbors in Nashville. Neighbors is a member of the audio collective The Heard. www.theheardradio.com

Find out the meaning behind the words highbrow and lowbrow through the construct of breakfast, lunch, and dinner. You'll visit a man who is currently homeless and learn how he brews his coffee by the interstate. Enter into the home kitchen of a barista at the high end Nashville coffee shop CREMA. Let Neighbors food reviewer Chance Perdue take you from Italy to Nolensville, Tennessee, to try the holy grail of all bologna sandwiches at Martin's BBQ Joint. You'll get to go inside the mind of Josh Habiger, the chef who set up one of the classiest restaurants in Nashville, The Catbird Seat. You'll end up in Rwanda being exposed to a form of high art that most Westerners don't want to even touch.

  Since 2006, Neighbors producer Tasha A F Lemley has interviewed men and women who are homeless on the streets of Nashville. We've grouped these interviews by theme in a series called Sans Houses. This episode's theme is "purpose." Listen to Cowboy and Debbie talk about the purpose they find in living on the street. Music: Jason Goforth and Fuzzmuzz

It's been almost a year since I reported the story "Bringing Wes Home." It was a story about a family losing their son, Wes Vose, in a car crash two-and-a-half years ago. Instead of leaving it to the funeral home to take care of arrangements, they took the role upon themselves. The women cleaned his body. The men built his casket. A community dug the hole. In honor of Mother's Day, I am rebroadcasting this story with an addendum. I see where Jane, the mother who lost her child, is one year later.

This story is the first in a new series called "Sans Houses." After more than 40 years on the street, David has a place to call home. Neighbors photographer and producer Tasha A F Lemley captures David beautifully in both picture and sound.