Counter culture takes center stage
The AM/DM
It’s time to get your counter-culture on. Some of the highlights this weekend include Tattoo Fest at Graceland Exhibition Center (with more than 200 tattoo artists from around the country), the Spirit Fest Metaphysical, Holistic, & Crystal Expo, a music festival featuring only tribute bands and a Shelby County “Star Trek” day celebration. Newsletter editor Bianca Phillips joins us today to talk about . Plus:
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'Violence interrupters' seizing the moment?
The AM/DM
For more than a decade, the City of Memphis has tried to quell gun violence by talking to potential perpetrators and intervening with them before they might make life-altering choices. How does the city do it? Using several nonprofits and people, mostly men, called “violence interrupters.” The nonprofits identify people deemed to be at risk of perpetrating violence — because they are connected either to a known shooter or a shooting victim — and the mentors try to help them stay on a good path. And it’s doing so at a time when, potentially, it could seize some of the...
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The volunteer Search & Rescue group saving lives
The AM/DM
In November of last year, two DeSoto County teenagers were in danger after their SUV crashed and went into a ravine. It had been raining, and the water in the ravine was moving fast. But the girls were lucky because one of the people who witnessed the accident was Johnathon Bigham. And Captain Bigham is the leader of DeSoto County Search & Rescue, a group of about 34 volunteers who get called to help with emergencies. Though he didn’t have any equipment or team members with him, Bigham sprang into action, saving the girls in what was DeSoto County’s third water rescue that...
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The Whalum family legacy lives on
The AM/DM
Among a city of talented musicians, the Whalums stand out. Kirk Whalum is a Grammy Award-winning saxophonist whose achievements include soloing on Whitney Houston’s smash hit, “I Will Always Love You.” Wendell Whalum was a respected organist, musicologist, composer, and longtime director of the Morehouse College Glee Club. Hugh “Peanuts” Whalum was a jazz saxophonist, singer and pianist who toured with Nat King Cole. Thelma Whalum was a classically trained pianist who played the organ at Metropolitan Baptist Church for nearly 50 years. But today’s story isn’t about...
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Don't forget to register to vote
The AM/DM
It’s a busy week, and it starts with your last opportunity to register to vote before the Shelby County primaries on Tuesday, May 5. And there's a celebration in honor of those who have helped Midtown stay Midtown. Newsletter editor Bianca Phillips is here to talk about it all and get us prepared for . Plus:
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A 'free' weekend full of fun
The AM/DM
— the ones The Daily Memphian staff are most excited about, anyway — have one very important thing in common. They are free. Newsletter editor Bianca Phillips is here to give us all the details on those events, including the absence of a price. Plus:
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New restaurant roundup
The AM/DM
Spring is often a time of renewal and rebirth, and those themes seem to be echoing in our local restaurant scene. Reporter Sophia Surrett, who writes our and tracks local restaurant openings and closings, is here today to talk to us about some of the eateries on the horizon. Plus:
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No Kings' end, ongoing fugitive search
The AM/DM
Roughly a month ago, Memphis Police Department officer Oscar Torres-Molina was shot during what should have been a routine traffic stop. Though police know who the alleged shooter is, . The Daily Memphian’s public safety reporter, Aarron Fleming, was curious about that recently, especially in light of the extra manpower on the ground due to the Memphis Safe Task Force. Fleming joins us today to talk about that, as well as his thoughts on this past weekend’s No Kings event. During his time at The Daily Memphian, he’s covered a number of protests and marches, and he said he was...
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If we need a new Regional One, where is the money coming from?
The AM/DM
Early on, the plan to overhaul Regional One was to rebuild the entire thing on its current site, and to do it in phases so the hospital could still operate during construction. But then the plan changed, to building a new hospital on the Commercial Appeal’s former home on Union Avenue. The land was purchased, for $26.6 million, and the entire project is estimated to cost upwards of $900 million. But where will that money come from? Rejoining us today is reporter Jody Callahan to talk about Plus:
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Fallen leaders, new elected officials
The AM/DM
begins with a Shelby County Commission meeting and a new member of the commission. This week also includes the three-day commemoration of the 58th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination at the National Civil Rights Museum, including the annual changing of the wreath. And, on Sunday, a new contract with a Pennsylvania company to maintain the state’s interstates begins. The Early Word writer Bianca Phillips is in the studio and we’ll be talking about all of that. Plus:
info_outlineIn some ways, Memphis will always mean music. But there have been questions about Memphis’ continuing role on the larger music scene as the industry’s infrastructure -- labels, recording studios, A&R men -- is largely located elsewhere.
The Grammy Awards, arguably the music industry’s biggest night, were held at the beginning of the month, and though there weren’t any Memphians who won a Grammy this year, Memphis was a strong throughline at the ceremonies.
Today, arts and culture editor Elle Perry joins us to talk about Memphis’ role on the national music scene.
Plus:
- Ikea will close after a decade-long run
- A man pleads guilty in a hit and run that left a 20-year-old woman dead
- Tennessee lawmakers advance mom-focused bills
- Germantown leaders raise the debt limit to $100M
- MoSH is searching for a new executive director
- A rare church-to-home conversion brings 4-bedroom 'sanctuary living' to Cooper-Young
- A judge rules that only four MSCS board seats will appear on the 2026 ballot