Reckon with It: A Podcast Exploring Tennessee Cultures and Identities

Abstract

For this honors thesis, I created a podcast in which I weave historical narratives and personal experience together with examples of community members and organizations working to procure a more equitable Southern future. I alternate between narrative segments and non-narrated interviews to provoke listeners to question their previous notions of Tennessee. Aside from the introductory episode, each topical episode follows a similar format, beginning with a story, following with a question asserting the topic, then discussing historical and current relevance, and finally transitioning into clips of interviews with local Tennessee leaders interspersed with narrative dialogue. The intent of this creative project is to dispel the idea of a singular narrative of Tennessee cultures and identities.