This week on the Memphis Flyer podcast, Toby Sells and Chris McCoy talk about this week’s cover story, “245 Facts About Memphis,” plus much more.
Tag: podcast
This week on the Memphis Flyer Podcast, Chris McCoy and Abigail Morici talk about the Winter Arts Guide, Tsunami, Wicked, and Andrea Morales’ photography exhibit at the Brooks Museum. Check it out on the Flyer’s YouTube channel.
This week on the Memphis Flyer Podcast, Kailynn Johnson talks about her cover story “Business Unusual”. MATA is in crisis, and we’ve got all the details. Plus, an Anora review, Marcella Simien’s new album, and more.
On the latest Memphis Flyer Podcast, Toby Sells and Chris McCoy talk about our cover story on the heated debate over cannabis laws in Tennessee. Every week, you can watch and listen to our writers discuss what’s in the latest issue of the Flyer our YouTube channel. One thing’s for sure: We have a good time doing it!
Memphis on the internet.
MF’in Podcast
We have a video podcast! Wait. Does that make it just a talk show? Either way, we’ve been working on a new weekly … thing. It’s not polished up yet but head over to our YouTube channel for an early look.
Weird Elon
Memphis businessman Elon Musk tweeted something just so weird last week, earning him millions of ughs and boos from every corner of the internet.
Underground, indie singer/songwriter Taylor Swift endorsed Kamala Harris for president with a picture of her cat (iykyk). This prompted Memphis businessman Elon Musk to tweet, “Fine Taylor … you win … I will give you a child and guard your cats with my life.”
Propers
Posted to Reddit by u/AlfofMelmac
Reddit user AlfofMelmac gave propers where they were due last week with a post titled, “Good job, MLGW!” The remnants of Hurricane Francine blustered through Memphis last week and the Redditor was “pleasantly surprised to see that there weren’t a whole lot of lights out on my commute, and not a ton of outages compared to prior big storms!”
Beacon Center of Tennessee
The Bacon Center, a Nashville-based, free-market think tank lambasted several Memphis and Shelby County projects in the group’s annual Pork Report.
The 2019 report is the 14th from Beacon seeks to expose ”government waste, fraud, and abuse.”
”While the Pork Report is a fun and creative outlet for our team to expose the top 25 most ridiculous instances of government spending in the past year, it is also a call to action to the state and local governments to cut the waste from their budgets,” reads the report. “After all, it is state and local taxpayers who are funding all of the ’pork’ found in this year’s report.”
Below are the top examples of Memphis-area “pork” Beacon cited this year:
FedExcellent at Taking Tax Dollars
LRK/FedEx Logistics
“The Memphis-Shelby County Economic Development Growth Engine (EDGE) board, the entity formed to bring business into the city, instead continues to redistribute the tax dollars of hard-working Memphians to enormous corporations.
In one of its worst moves ever (which is really saying something if you have seen its other handouts), EDGE is giving FedEx $2 million to move its company’s headquarters from one part of Memphis to another. This is in addition to the $10 million from the state and $1 million from the Center City Development Board.
So in total, FedEx got $14 million of taxpayer money to move a few miles. The point of economic development is supposedly to bring new companies to the area, not give hard-earned tax dollars to huge corporations to move down the street.”
Bluff City Naw
Jake Giles Netter/NBC
Going straight — Caitlin McGee (left) and Jimmy Smits play father-daughter attorney duo at the Strait Law Firm.
What do you think about forking over $4.25 million of your hard-earned money to Hollywood?
We’re not bluffing. After spending more than $50 million on the canceled “Nashville” TV show, the government continues to pump money into the TV business. This year’s feature is “Bluff City Law,” a new NBC series based in Memphis.
Study after study shows that film and TV incentives have a horrendous return on investment, bringing in as little as seven cents for every dollar spent. This is a fairytale for Hollywood elites, as the overwhelming majority of tax dollars spent on these incentives wind up in their pockets, not local workers’.
At least temporarily, because most of these shows don’t last very long. “Bluff City Law” only filmed 10 episodes before pumping the brakes this fall.
Memphis Tax Dollars are Leaving the Building
In another example of a company holding a city hostage and leaving taxpayers all shook up, the Memphis City Council authorized $75 million in incentives for Graceland, Elvis’ historic mansion.
This came on the heels of veiled threats by the management company to actually move Graceland brick by brick from Memphis. The council’s only stipulation was that Graceland couldn’t build an auditorium or theater to compete with the city’s other taxpayer-funded arena, FedExForum. Apparently, they have to draw the line on giving away taxpayer money somewhere!
This isn’t even the first time that Graceland has pocketed taxpayer money. It received $21 million back in 2015. When will Memphis taxpayers realize their leaders ain’t no friend of theirs and call for fiscal restraint?
The Next Round is on Memphis Taxpayers
Wiseacre Brewing Co.
Wiseacre’s soon-to-be Downtown location rises from the ground along B.B. King.
Lots of guys love to brew their own beer. It’s like a science experiment at home that you can drink!
While it’s not a very labor-intensive hobby, it sure can get expensive. Between equipment and ingredients, it can add up quick. Too bad most didn’t think to get a $1.7 million property tax subsidy like Wiseacre Brewing Co. did from Memphis.
Sure, most of us don’t brew professionally, but here’s the problem: many others in Memphis do. Do a quick search and you’ll find a handful of microbreweries that now have to pay higher property taxes to subsidize their competition.
Everybody loves the guy who brings free beer to the party. Too bad Memphis taxpayers will have to pay even more money to try the beer they already paid for.
Enemies in High Places
Garth Brooks sang about his appreciation for friends in low places, yet Memphis resident Kareema McCloud probably never thought about having enemies in high places.
But that is exactly what happened when her neighbor, former mayor of both Memphis and Shelby County, A.C. Wharton, found out she was legally renting out rooms in her home through Airbnb.
Interactions caught on McCloud’s security camera showed Wharton and a barrage of government officials from at least six agencies showing up at her home day after day to hassle her. This included a three-day police stakeout at McCloud’s home on the unfounded claim that she was not running an Airbnb, but a brothel.
While a Memphis spokesman stated that anyone can call and complain about a neighbor, it is hard to dismiss that Wharton’s political connections brought about more scrutiny — and more wasted tax dollars — than the average citizen’s complaint. Let’s hope this political, taxpayer-funded bullying has been put to bed.
State Pork DepART- ment
Tennessee Arts Commission
Another year, another multi-million- dollar check written for the Tennessee Arts Commission. This year brought over $6.5 million in tax dollars for the Arts Commission to increase participation in all areas of the arts, including music.
However, with Memphis and Nashville as two of the main cities where everyone from aspiring musicians to incredibly successful artists move to, it begs the question as to why state government continues to fund music awareness through the Arts Commission.
If you speak to anyone from Tennessee, chances are they personally know a musician. Speak to someone from the Tennessee Arts Commission, you’ll probably hear about their large budget. Even in a state with amazing artistic talent, wasted tax dollars will always be a sour note.
How Much Does It Cost to Start a Podcast?
Shelby County Commission
At the Beacon Center, we are pretty familiar with what it takes to get a podcast started.
Do you know what it doesn’t take? Over $100,000. Apparently Shelby County didn’t get that memo. County officials approved a $109,800 contract to produce a podcast where they talk about county commission meetings. But commission meetings themselves are already streamed live online, so why the need for more?
It’s hard to imagine people wanting to hear play-by-play coverage enough to justify that expense. Hey Shelby County, if you’re looking for a great podcast to fund, check out Beacon’s “Decaf” podcast. If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, right?
Legendary former Memphis wrestling promoter Jerry Jarrett announced on Twitter this week that he plans to launch a podcast.
It seems that Memphis Wrestling has gained a lot of new fans because of internet access. Look for information regarding my views on Memphis Wrestling as it took place. More information to come @BookingMemphis
— Jerry Jarrett (@JerryJarrett) May 13, 2018
Jerry Jarrett Hosting New Podcast
According to the @BookMemphis bio, Booking Memphis Wrestling with Jerry Jarrett will be a weekly podcast that will “go into depth about topics from Jerry’s legendary career!”
While he has been well known in the Memphis territory since the 1970s, Internet access has in fact made Jeff Jarrett’s dad an even bigger name in the world of wrestling thanks to constant mentions and impressions of him on the immensely popular podcast Something to Wrestle with Bruce Prichard.
(Jarrett first found out about his role on Prichard’s podcast while live on the radio with me last May. The audio of that conversation can be found here.)
A few minutes after announcing his new show, the elder Double J tweeted this:
Poor Bruce Prichard has had a two year feud without an opponent. I will explain why poor Bruce never made it in Memphis and yet his brother Tom was a Memphis superstar.
— Jerry Jarrett (@JerryJarrett) May 13, 2018
Jerry Jarrett Hosting New Podcast (3)
Is the 75-year-old getting into podcasting just to respond to his former colleague? Or is this another case of Jarrett knowing that “personal issues draw money” (a phrase that was written on a sign in his office back during the glory days of Memphis wrestling)?
When asked to comment on Jarrett starting his own podcast, Prichard’s co-host Conrad Thompson said “We wish him the very best!”
Listen to Kevin Cerrito talk about pro wrestling on the radio every Saturday from 11-noon CT on Sports 56/87.7 FM in Memphis. Subscribe to Cerrito Live on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, tunein, PlayerFM or Sticher. Find out about his upcoming wrestling trivia events at cerritotrivia.com. Follow him on Twitter @cerrito.
What do burlesque dancers, paranormal activity, and Memphis wrestling have in common?
All are topics of shows that can be heard on the local podcast network OAM Audio, a new media outlet specializing in all things Memphis.
After taking a break from more than a decade of playing in and recording bands in Memphis, OAM Audio founder Gil Worth suddenly found himself without a project. During Worth’s “break from music,” he started to tune into different podcasts before realizing he had the equipment to start his own.
“I started to realize that I could do a podcast myself because I had recording equipment and the space to set it up, so I tried it, and the idea just grew from there,” Worth said.
After his first successful podcast recorded in the shed behind his Midtown home, Worth reached out to friends about participating in other shows with him. After enlisting local graphic designer Lauren Rae Holtermann as his art director and local musician Garett Metts as his co-producer, OAM Audio was born. The podcast network (still located behind Worth’s home) now features nine shows with two more coming this winter.
Some of the podcasts on the OAM Network include “Black Nerd Power,” a sci-fi and tech talk show hosted by comedian Richard Jones, “901 Paranormal,” which investigates haunted places in Memphis, a burlesque show called the “Naked Nerdy Podcast,” and the whiskey-fueled “Records, Ruckus, and Wrasslin” that discusses wrestling, local music, and everything in between. Each show is available for download or subscription in the iTunes store or at OAMAudio.com.
Chris Shaw
As the producer of all of the shows on the OAM Network, Worth tries to stay as hands-off as possible.
“I’m already on three or four of the podcasts that we do, and I don’t want to be the guy who has the equipment so he’s on every show,” Worth said. “I try to be supportive and say things when they need to be said, but most of the time, I back up and let people create their own shows.”
By hosting such a wide variety of podcasts, Worth said OAM Audio strives to have something for everyone.
“The whole idea is to have shows that are different enough that they appeal to different types of people. We want to appeal to a wide variety of listeners and bring everyone into one place,” Worth said.
As the New Year approaches, OAM Audio is taking suggestions for new podcasts in addition to launching a new fine dining review show, “Dinner and a Newbie.” The podcast network is also launching a new site that should be up this week. Even as the OAM Network grows, Worth likes the idea of having the studio behind his house serve as home base for his podcasts.
“We are working on a sports show. We’ve also talked about doing a show on local and regional beer,” Worth said. “I want to expand in the sense of us getting better equipment, and we want to insulate and finish off our studio. But I do like having it in my backyard. There’s been plenty of times when we are sitting around one night with the right combination of people and decide to record a show.”