Around and About Chattanooga

Don Dudenbostel’s photographs are featured this May in the River Gallery's exhibition Defining Roots.  Dudenbostel's photos document disappearing, hidden and infamous aspects of Appalachian culture.  Throughout the past few decades, he has photographed snake handlers, moonshiners (particularly legendary moonshiner Popcorn Sutton), cockfighters, Ku Klux Klan members and neo-Nazis.  “I try never to influence my images with personal feelings,” he says in this interview.

A new documentary called Rewind This! explores the rise and fall of VHS and the nostalgia of the format in the 21st century. The film will be screened at Barking Legs Theater Friday night. 

Ben Schnell, creator and host of Another Story, joins WUTC for an interview.  Schnell’s podcast features local people telling true, personal stories.  Schnell culls some of the stories from a monthly storytelling competition at The Camp House.  Other stories come from interviews Schnell conducts.  The free podcast is available through iTunes, and Schnell has also created a Soundcloud page.

Spirits in the Wild is an annual fundraiser for the Chattanooga Zoo and this year the event includes a sneak peek at the Komodo Dragons that will live in the newest exhibit, Deserts and Forests of the World. 

The 8th annual Maifest in Cleveland, Tennessee will benefit a Dream Court where at-risk children can play basketball. 

WorkSpace and ArtSpace provide coworking office space and art studio facilities at low rates to encourage entrepreneurs and young artists to build their business potential. 

Roy Blount, Jr. is a prolific Southern author and a panelist on NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me!  Often funny, occasionally cantankerous, he joins WUTC’s Michael Edward Miller for a loose, meandering chat.  Blount discusses his books, being a Southern expat and participating in the Celebration Of Southern Literature.

Shannon Rinckey enjoys being a stay at home mom and caring for her four young children while also running her business, Mama's Got Mail, which sends surprise gifts to moms.

Darren Gale is a speaker with Clean Energy America, a group that sends nuclear experts around the county to talk with people about nuclear energy.  In this segment, WUTC’s Michael Edward Miller and Darren Gale discuss the reasons why Gale's group says nuclear power is “clean,” and why people are concerned about the safety, cost and future of nuclear power and nuclear waste.

Hamilton County Parks and Recreation offers special nights in local parks to promote sports and leisure activities as well as a movie screening at the beach.

The Charlie Daniels Band and Overland Express will perform at The American Dream concert May 2, 2013 at Historic Engel Stadium on the eve of the nation's longest running Armed Forces Day parade in Chattanooga, Tennessee. 

A ticket to Sangria on the Southside comes with unlimited food and drinks--and benefits local Latino outreach organization La Paz Chattanooga.  The event will feature performances from the Calo Gitano flamenco dance company, food from Taqueria Jalisco, Mexican beer, and (of course!) sangria.  David Martin from La Paz joins WUTC to discuss the event, which will take place Friday, May 3rd from 7 – 11 p.m. at the Lindsay Street Hall.

Around and About is gearing up for an upcoming storyteller project. Do you have a story to tell? Or a knack for storytelling in general?  We're searching for those interesting and authentic stories from people in our region. 

What's a story? It has a beginning, middle, and end (not necessarily in that order). It has character, plot, tension, and climax.  If you have a nonfiction story with these components, we want to put it on the radio.

WUTC-FM, the public radio station licensed to the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, was a winner of a 2013 regional Edward R. Murrow Award for a news documentary.  The region includes radio and television stations from Kentucky, North Carolina,  South Carolina, Tennessee and West Virginia.  The news documentary, produced by Mary Helen Miller, was titled 'Just Plumb Gone': A Year after the Tornado in Apison, Tennessee.  The award-winning radio documentary will be re-run on WUTC 88.1 FM Monday, April 29th at 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. EST.

Want to get ready for severe weather season?  There’s an app for that.  In this segment, WUTC’s Michael Edward Miller speaks with Greg Waite, the Community Chapter Executive for the American Red Cross of Southeast Tennessee about the free Tornado Warning App.  The local Red Cross is also partnering with other organizations to present a free screening of ‘Tornado Alley 3D’ at the Tennessee Aquarium’s Imax Theater on Saturday, April 27th at 10 a.m.