Inside the Box

Former Congressman John Barrow and the Democratic candidate for Secretary of State, John Barrow, joins Hans on the show this week to discuss the Barrow history in Georgia, gerrymandering, and the importance of the Secretary of State's role in a state's politics.

Returning to the show this week are Alpharetta City Councilman Ben Burnett and political consultant with New Prospect Strategies, Eamon Keegan. After doing a rundown of the major contests for Georgia's statewide elections and the race for Georgia's 6th Congressional district, everyone gives a bold prediction for future politics, including an off the radar pick for the Democratic nominee for the 20...

On this episode of Inside the Box, Hans introduces listeners to Carson Cook, Appen Media Group and Black Box investigations newest reporter. Carson is focused on news for the City of Johns Creek and Fulton County government in addition to her role on the Black Box team. They talk about life as a young reporter doing community news in 2018 – the good, the bad and the ugly. To contact Carson, email...

Joining Hans on the show this week is the Republican candidate for governor of Georgia, and its current Secretary of State, Brian Kemp. They cover a wide range of topics including marijuana legislation in the state, guns, and immigration reform.

Joining Hans on the show this week is the Democratic candidate for governor of Georgia, and the former Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives, Stacey Abrams. They cover a wide range of topics, including Medicaid expansion, Georgia's growing diversity, and November's general election. Should Abrams win, she would be the first black Governor of Georgia and the nation's first black f...

Michael Van Osch of Georgia Ensemble Theatre joins Hans on the show to talk about why theater and the arts are so important to a local community. Over the course of the last 25 years, the Georgia Ensemble Theatre has welcomed hundreds of thousands of people through its doors to experience a show and be with their friends and family. But, as Michael points out, if you look beyond the show, theater...

Joining Hans on the show this week is New York Knicks starting center Enes Kanter, a Turkish citizen who has had a lot to say about Turkey's President Recep Erdogan. Recently, the Turkish government issued an arrest warrant for Kanter and revoked his passport after Kanter made parallels of Erdogan's regime to Hitler. Kanter talks about how he has used his platform in the NBA to shed light on the d...

On June 28, 2018 a gunman entered the Capital Gazette newsroom and opened fire, killing 5 people. Here at Appen Media Group on the Inside the Box podcast, we honored them the best way we know how. Support local journalism.

Hafsa Girdap was on a summer vacation with her son in Florida when a coup to overthrow the Erdogan regime began in Turkey. Afraid to go back home, she witnessed from afar as hundreds of journalists, judges and prosecutors were jailed. Turkey, a Middle Eastern country and American ally, has seen a continued assault on its nation's institutions. Hafsa shares her story and thoughts on what hope Turke...

Hosts Hans Appen, Kathleen Sturgeon and Julia Grochowski trekked down to Jekyll Island for the annual conference for the Georgia Press Association. As any good podcasters do, of course they brought all of their podcasting equipment with them! When they ran into friend of the pod Kyle Wingfield they pulled him aside and had a great conversation centered around politics, journalism and predictions f...

In the second installment of the Black Box series Marijuana's Hazy Boundaries, reporter Joe Parker spoke to Johns Creek City Councilman Chris Coughlin about his initiative to decriminalize marijuana within Johns Creek city limits. We had him on the podcast to tell us more about why this is important to him and how close it really is to becoming a reality.

The election cycle kicked off in Georgia after the May 22nd primaries and maybe no one was busier than Eamon Keegan, political consultant and Principal of New Prospect Strategies. After managing the successful campaigns of Alpharetta Mayor Jim Gilvin, Councilwoman Karen Richard, Councilman John Hipes, and Board of Education member Katie Reeves, Keegan sat down for an interview on the Inside the Bo...

Last week, U.S. District Judge Naomi Reice Buchwald ruled against the Trump Administration in a suit filed by Columbia University over the president's practice of blocking Twitter users. The university argued that American citizens have the right to be free to express their views to elected officials. Blocking users on a social media website simply because their views run counter to the president'...

On May 22nd, elections were held across the country and in North Fulton there were quite a few contested races. Inside the Box host Hans Appen recaps some of the highlights and reminds listeners of dates for upcoming elections.

On Wednesday May 16th at Alpharetta City Hall, Alpharetta-Roswell Herald hosted the final candidate forum for Alpharetta Mayor and Council Posts 3 and 4. Moderated by Herald reporter Pat Fox and Black Box Publisher Hans Appen, the candidates cover a wide variety of topics important to the Alpharetta community. Voting is Tuesday May 22nd. To find your polling station click on this link:  https://ww...

For over a decade now, north Metro Atlanta has seen a slew of new cities emerge with the additions of Sandy Springs, Johns Creek and Milton. Some residents of the southeast portion of Forsyth County have been lobbying for years for the creation of their own city – Sharon Springs. After a ballot initiative was approved to give its residents a say in the issue on a referendum on the May 22 ballot, t...

The US Department of Commerce recently announced tariffs on imported newsprint coming into the United States. Printers, publishers and paper suppliers employ more than 600,000 people in the United States. Those jobs support millions of additional, primarily good paying jobs in small businesses across the country. Jerry Edwards of the Edwards Group, a family of communications, printing, radio and w...

Black Box reporter joins the show to talk about the launch of his latest project 'Marijuana's hazy boundaries', which will take a deep dive into the legislation, challenges presented to local law enforcement agencies and the drug's use at the national and state level, as well as its impact in North Fulton and Forsyth County.  In the first installment, 'The evolution of marijuana', Joe takes a look...

Alpharetta Councilman Jason Binder sat down with us to talk about why he is looking to make changes to Alpharetta's code of ethics and his process for deciding what needs to be included in those changes. We also discuss his entry into local politics and the issue that he says helped him find his voice as an elected official - the downtown parking deck debates of 2016. READ: Ethics vote stalls in A...

Kathleen Sturgeon returns to the podcast to tell us about her latest contribution to Black Box, detailing the growing trend of elected officials blocking constituents from viewing their social media pages. We discuss its constitutionality and what exactly current law says an official should and shouldn't do online. Later in the show we are joined by the ACLU of Georgia's Legal Director, Sean J. Yo...

Former Alpharetta City Councilman and current candidate for Mayor, Chris Owens, sits down with us to talk about his experiences on Council as the last elected official to serve with both Mayor Arthur Letchas and David Belle Isle, what campaigning is like in a special election and what he envisions for the next generation of Alpharetta's leaders.

Dozens of parcels in Alpharetta slipped past tax assessments last year, leaving the city, the county and Fulton Schools with no way to collect tens – possibly hundreds – of thousands of dollars owed in taxes. The properties, both commercial and residential, are primarily associated with recent development in the city. They were removed from the tax rolls when the Fulton County Assessor's Office ch...

On March 13, 2018 Cambridge High School sophomores Leah Capamaccio and Lily Parzych were silenced while expressing their views on gun violence at an organized rally of students just weeks after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida. Administrators said the event was intended to memorialize the lives lost at Stoneman Douglas High School, but some students feel they were unjustly silenced. Here i...

Alpharetta's newest member of its city council, Ben Burnett, covers a wide range of topics from transparency in government, citizen activism, and his active role on Twitter. We learn about what compels someone to become interested in running for office, the hurdles along the way, and the surprises once you get there. We also touch on his Twitter beef with Atlanta mega-developer Mark Toro and Senat...

On March 14th 2018, thousands of students across America walked out of their schools for 17 minutes at 10 a.m. on the one-month anniversary of the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The 17 minutes honor the 17 lives taken that day. Some students held hands in the hallways and around the flag pole, sang songs or read the names of the victims. Locally, many school...