Downright Mindful

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...

Episode 81 of Downright Mindful dives into local politics, civic engagement, and the impact of decisions made closer to home than most people realize. Matt and Paul talk through the reality of low voter turnout in local elections and what that says about engagement at the community level. The conversation explores how local policy decisions affect everyday life and why those decisions often receiv...

Episode 80 of Downright Mindful focuses on the skills that matter beyond the classroom. Matt shares a recent project he designed for his Criminal Justice students — a scavenger hunt with a breakout-style format that challenged students to work together, solve problems, and think on their feet. The activity was built around the SkillsUSA framework, emphasizing workplace-ready skills like teamwork,...

Episode 79 of Downright Mindful is a look back at the people who have helped shape the podcast. Matt and Paul take a stroll down memory lane, revisiting the guests they’ve had on the show and reflecting on the conversations that have stood out along the way. From community leaders to educators, law enforcement, and everyday people doing meaningful work, the episode highlights how those relationshi...

Episode 78 of Downright Mindful is a conversation about local history, community, and the people who have helped shape Cleveland and Bradley County over the years. Matt and Paul talk through stories, speculation, and the lasting impact of individuals who have made a difference in the area. The discussion includes local philanthropists like Lynn Jones, the Tarvers, and Steve Wright, as well as curr...

Episode 77 of Downright Mindful is a catch-up conversation between Matt and Paul after a busy and eventful couple of weeks. Paul talks about his son and the Walker Valley basketball team making a run all the way to the Tennessee State Championship game, including a big Final Four win over Whitehaven. Along the way, there was a tense moment when his son went down with what they thought could be a c...

Episode 76 of Downright Mindful is a simple catch-up conversation between Matt and Paul. There wasn’t a strict plan for this one. The two sit down and talk about life lately, what’s been happening behind the scenes, and some of the things that have been on their minds recently. Like many episodes of the podcast, the conversation moves naturally from one idea to the next as they reflect on work, fa...

Episode 75 of Downright Mindful features a conversation with Aaron Hayes , a coach and mentor who has spent much of his life helping people grow into leadership. Aaron’s story begins in some tough environments. He started his career teaching in an alternative school in California working with students who had already faced serious challenges in life. That experience eventually led him into youth m...

In Episode 74 of Downright Mindful , Matt and Paul cover a surprising range of topics that somehow all circle back to one central idea — structure helps us think better. The conversation begins with Paul explaining how he recently renewed his MasterClass subscription and has been experimenting with AI to improve the quality of his doctor visits. By organizing symptoms using the medical framework T...

In Episode 73 of Downright Mindful , Matt and Paul sit down with Robb Blackaby — Lee University faculty member, online curriculum builder, tech thinker, and longtime friend of Paul dating back to their Lee College days. Robb isn’t just a tech guy. He’s a husband to a Walker Valley High School counselor and a father with kids walking those same halls. His world overlaps education, technology, commu...

In Episode 72 of Downright Mindful , things did not go according to plan. About 20 minutes into recording, the power went out — and with it, the video. The first portion of this episode is audio only, while the final 25 minutes returns to full audio and video after everything came back online. It turned into an unexpected throwback to how the show used to be — two guys talking, no frills, no polis...

In Episode 71 of Downright Mindful , Paul and Matt start in an unexpected place… ink pens. From there, Paul asks Matt about taking a team from Walker Valley High School to compete in the Tennessee Bar Association Young Lawyers Division High School Mock Trial for the first time. The conversation explores how mock trial sharpens thinking, builds confidence, and changes what happens inside the classr...

In Episode 70, Matt interviews Paul as a continuation of an earlier conversation about life and basketball . Paul and his wife Sarah met while playing college basketball, and the game has shaped much of their family’s story. All three of their sons have had successful high school basketball careers, with the youngest now entering his senior year. Matt asks the question that’s quietly been sitting...

In Episode 69, Paul leads the conversation by introducing the Diderot Effect —the idea that one new thing often creates a chain reaction of wants, upgrades, and expectations we never planned for. From there, the conversation unfolds naturally. Paul asks questions that invite Matt to share personal stories and lived experiences, and together they explore how desire, identity, and contentment are of...

In Episode 68, Matt and Paul talk books. Matt shares how he has been thrift shopping for books and building his reading stack in a more intentional way. From there, the conversation moves through favorite reads, reading habits, and the kinds of books that tend to stick with us over time. Paul then leads Matt into a more imaginative question. If you could interview fictional characters, who would y...

In this episode of Downright Mindful , Matt and Paul talk journaling. Paul is a daily writer, which makes him the right person to have this conversation with. Writing has long been one of the ways he processes ideas, reflects, and thinks clearly. Matt catches Paul up on how his own journaling has changed in 2026. Instead of scattered notes and half-filled notebooks, Matt now follows daily routines...

In Episode 66, Paul and Matt slow things down and take a wide look at time. Paul walks Matt through three simple questions. What was life like a year ago? What does the present look like right now? And what might January of 2027 hold? The conversation is reflective without being heavy and honest without trying to solve anything. It’s about noticing growth, naming change, and admitting what still f...