What is kustom culture in the world of cars? This Is Nashville’s managing editor went to the “Redneck Rumble” in Lebanon to ask around.
Tasha A.F. Lemley, Managing Editor, This Is Nashville
Tasha A. F. Lemley has lived in Nashville for a bit more than 20 years. Over that time, she married her best friend, found the perfect dog, and has seen this city from the perspective of a graphic designer, outreach worker, podcaster, photographer, legal videographer, and social entrepreneur who co-founded The Contributor street newspaper. She has a fierce enthusiasm for culture and diversity, has tried every Indian restaurant within 50 miles, makes a mean masala chai, and (as a 40-something-year-old student in a class of 1st-graders) is a proud graduate of Hindi Level 1 at Sri Ganesha Temple. Years ago, Tasha first started getting formally involved with WPLN as a field producer for Versify. Since then, she’s been reporting feature stories highlighting marginalized communities. Audio is what makes her tick, keeps her going, and normalizes her frequent fears. She says her life has changed more than once because of the way someone tells their story. She's always looking for answers — ones we have for each other and those we can find together. So, as Managing Editor for This Is Nashville, she's grateful to help voices be heard.
Tennessee executes Oscar Smith, ending pause on lethal injections
The state of Tennessee executed Oscar Franklin Smith Thursday morning. It was the first lethal injection since 2019, and comes on the heels of a third-party investigation into the state’s protocol that found failures in testing the drugs used during executions.
The long-term impact of violent loss: Reflecting on the crimes and execution of Oscar Smith
Casey Smith was just under 3 years old when he lost his mom Judith Robirds Smith and two half brothers, Chad and Jason Burnett. His father, Oscar Franklin Smith, is scheduled to be executed Thursday morning for the 1989 murders. It would be Tennessee’s first execution by lethal injection since 2019.
What it’s like when an entire Nashville apartment community must move
Residents of Berkshire Place Apartments in East Nashville are finally moving — years after they were first told their units would need to be vacated — to relocate to the newly built Birchstone Village in Madison.
‘I don’t need to go any further’: One woman finds herself home
Homelessness is often the result of a culmination of several events in a person’s life. As we have heard throughout This Is Nashville‘s housing series, In My Place, people can quickly struggle to maintain stable housing when a financial, medical or personal crisis hits.
Two women experience setbacks on the long road to housing
Listen to the stories of two women experiencing homelessness and working to get housing.
Cambodian cuisine creates a connection to culture
Sarong Vit-Kory was born in a refugee camp in Thailand in the early 1980’s and then immigrated to the United States. In recent years, she’s begun to explore and appreciate her Cambodian heritage, in part, through learning to cook traditional cuisine
Chef Sterling Wright’s Radical Hospitality in Action
As Nashville closes encampments, residents are finding themselves in temporary transitional housing for far longer than expected.
Madisonians try to find home in their hometown
As Nashville closes encampments, residents are finding themselves in temporary transitional housing for far longer than expected.
A former motel in South Nashville has become essential for people leaving encampments. There’s tension over the conditions there.
As Nashville closes encampments, residents are finding themselves in temporary transitional housing for far longer than expected.
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