Downright Mindful

For nearly 30 years, Joe Shamblin was a familiar face on the fields, courts, and sidelines of Southeast Tennessee. But for the countless players and families who know him, his legacy reaches far beyond wins and losses. In Episode 106 of Downright Mindful, Matt Parris sits down with his former junior high football coach, Joe Shamblin, for a conversation about athletics, competition, coaching, and t...

From growing tobacco in the Blue Springs community to decades spent around basketball, Matt Clayton has collected plenty of stories along the way. In Episode 105 of Downright Mindful, Matt Parris sits down with his longtime friend Matt Clayton for a conversation about growing up in Bradley County, Tennessee, family, basketball, coaching, and the memories that stick with us. Matt recalls growing up...

Dr. Paul Conn, former longtime president and current chancellor of Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, joins Matt Parris and Paul Sausville for Episode 104 of Downright Mindful. In this nearly two-hour conversation, Dr. Conn shares stories from a remarkable life, beginning with his childhood in Cleveland, Tennessee, and his years attending Bradley Central High School. He recalls delivering new...

We're back from fall break, and Paul has a few questions for Matt. Mostly about prisons. In Episode 103 of Downright Mindful, Paul brings a conversation from his sociology classroom to the podcast table, putting Matt's criminal justice knowledge to the test. What starts as a little prison trivia turns into a trip through the history of American incarceration. Alcatraz. San Quentin. Sing Si...

Paul is a little under the weather this week, so Matt called in some backup. Episode 102 introduces you to the newest member of the Downright Mindful team, Ashlynn Maddox, formerly Ashlynn Akiona . And there’s a lot of history here. Ashlynn is the daughter of former Walker Valley High School principal Nat Akiona, who hired both Matt and Paul at Walker Valley. She was also one of Paul’s journalism...

Before we take our students to Brushy Mountain, Paul decided Matt needed to be put to the test. For Episode 101, we’re going all in on Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary . Paul came prepared with the questions and turned the tables on Matt for a conversation about one of Tennessee’s most fascinating and notorious historic places. We trace the story of Brushy Mountain from its roots in the aftermat...

What would you do with $100? How about 100 minutes? 100 people? 100 years? And after making it through 100 episodes of a podcast, what would you do with 100 more? For the 100th episode of Downright Mindful, Paul brings Matt a series of questions built around one number. Along the way, the conversation goes just about everywhere. Recorded on Mexican Independence Day, Matt and Paul talk about the hi...

In 2004, Bradley County made the enormous move from the old jail on Johnson Boulevard to the new 408 bed direct supervision facility on Blythe Avenue. But long before moving day, there was a whole lot of work to be done. For Episode 99, Allan Walsh returns for Part 2, and Matt has a surprise waiting for him. His longtime friend and colleague, Tony Moore. Allan served as Captain and Tony as Senior...

What started as one of those wandering Matt-and-Paul conversations turned into one of the liveliest debates they've had in a while. It starts innocently enough. Books. Reading. Mapp v. Ohio. Constitutional amendments. And then Paul drops an idea: Maybe 16-year-olds should be allowed to vote. Matt's immediate response? “That's the craziest thing I've ever heard.” And they were off....

Everybody loves Dolly. But why? Following the death of Dolly Parton at 80 years old, Matt Parris and Paul Sausville sit down to reflect on the life and legacy of one of the most beloved people Tennessee has ever produced. And, well…two dudes end up talking Dolly for about 50 minutes. They talk about the music, the songwriting, the unmistakable personality, her Appalachian roots, faith, humor, gene...

Some people treat an injury. The really good ones understand they're treating the person who got injured. In Episode 96, Matt Parris and Paul Sausville sit down with Bryan Clary, owner of Polk Physical Therapy in Benton, Tennessee—and a man who played an important role in both of their families long before this conversation ever happened. Matt's son Kyler came to Bryan after a devastating...

There are people who hold leadership positions, and then there are people who spend a lifetime building other leaders. Bob Taylor is one of those people. In Episode 95, Matt Parris and Paul Sausville sit down with a man whose influence can be found throughout Bradley County education—and for Matt, this one is personal. Bob was his elementary school principal at Michigan Avenue Elementary. Original...

What would you show someone who had never experienced life in East Tennessee? In Episode 94, Paul poses a hypothetical to Matt based on a student exchange program that takes young people from major cities into rural America—and sends rural students into America's largest cities. The question is simple: If a group of those students came here, what would you want them to experience? That sends t...

Some people build communities with speeches. John Dixon built one by making people laugh. In Episode 93, Matt Parris and Paul Sausville sit down with one of Southeast Tennessee's most unforgettable personalities. Raised in Ocoee, Tennessee, John Dixon spent decades coaching football, basketball, and baseball before serving as principal of Polk County High School throughout much of the 1990s—all wh...

For more than two decades, Dr. Kim Fisher served as the principal of Black Fox Elementary School—but her story begins long before she ever stepped into the principal's office. Kim is the daughter of legendary Bradley County educator Herbert Lackey, whose influence on Bradley Central High School and Black Fox Elementary is still remembered today. Following in her father's footsteps, Kim spe...

After a few weeks apart, Matt and Paul are back in the studio. In Episode 91, the conversation begins with life. Matt reflects on stepping away from the podcast while spending time at the hospital with his wife, and Paul shares what he's been up to since they last sat down—including history events at Vanderbilt University and Harvard Business School. As always, one story leads to another. From...

Episode 90 of Downright Mindful features a conversation with Mike Turner, a man whose influence has been felt across Bradley County athletics for more than five decades. Mike recently completed his 51st year in education and athletics, but his story begins long before Walker Valley High School ever existed. After moving to the Charleston community as a young boy when his father accepted a job at t...

Episode 89 of Downright Mindful features a conversation with Johnny Mull, a longtime educator, coach, administrator, and community leader whose influence has been felt across Bradley County for more than four decades. Johnny began his career with Bradley County Schools in the 1980s, teaching and coaching football at Bradley Junior High before moving on to Bradley Central High School. Along the way...

Episode 88 of Downright Mindful features a conversation with Tim Riggs, one of the most respected educators in Bradley County. Born in South Florida and raised in the Chattanooga area, Tim attended Lee University, where his father taught, and earned degrees in Biology and Physical Education. He would go on to become one of the first elementary school P.E. teachers hired in Bradley County Schools b...

For nearly everyone who knows Danny Coggin, there's one image that immediately comes to mind: A pencil tucked behind his ear. In Episode 87, Matt Parris and Paul Sausville sit down with the founding principal of Walker Valley High School to discuss a life devoted to music, education, leadership, and relationships. Along the way, Mr. Coggin shares the story behind the pencil—a habit that began...

Episode 86 of Downright Mindful starts in familiar fashion—with a few unexpected detours. Matt and Paul begin by discussing everything from late-night Krystal runs to the recent deaths of Kyle Busch and Joe Lee Johnson, the former owner of Cleveland Speedway and NASCAR champion. The conversation also touches on Tennessee’s recent execution of Byron Black Caruthers and broader questions surrounding...

Episode 85 of Downright Mindful features a conversation with Steve Hartline, longtime local radio personality and owner of several stations serving the Cleveland and Bradley County area, including Mix 104.1 WCLE, ESPN Cleveland 101.3 “The Buzz,” Fiesta Radio 99.1, and WCLE AM 1570. Steve has spent most of his life in local radio and has become a staple in the community along the way. In this conve...

Episode 84 of Downright Mindful starts with a conversation about something most people rarely think about — area codes and ZIP codes. Paul continues one of his recurring ideas that “geography is biography,” leading into a discussion about a Harvard study suggesting that a person’s ZIP code may predict more about their future than their genetic code. That idea opens the door to stories about local...

Episode 83 of Downright Mindful starts with a simple question: Why? Paul introduces the idea that in engineering and problem solving, there are often multiple layers beneath a decision or behavior — sometimes five levels deep before you reach the real answer. Using that idea as a framework, he begins interviewing Matt about the deeper reasons behind some of the things he loves, values, and spends...

Episode 82 of Downright Mindful features a conversation between Matt and Allan Walsh, a longtime leader in corrections who spent 36 years with the Bradley County Sheriff’s Office. Allan started in 1983 and went on to serve as a Captain, spending many years as the jail administrator. During his career, he played a major role in the transformation of the county’s jail system, helping guide the move...