Scenic Roots

(Chris Cochran) About a month ago, Thunder Studios opened for business in downtown Chattanooga. The one-stop shop for audio production, photography and videography to public relations, branding and marketing is part of African Thunder, owned by Kinnawa Kaitibi. Kinnawa is a UTC alum in his 20’s whose background ranges from the City of Chattanooga to Power 94 to Tha Milk Drop.

(gen-cyber.com) The largest global ransomware attack to date is only the latest in a series of such attacks this year. Starting next week - on Monday, July 12th - our UTC campus will host a free, five-day summer boot camp of cybersecurity training for high school students. Last week, I spoke with Dr. Mengjun Xie, a UTC professor in Computer Science and director of the GenCyber program on campus.  ...

(Thrive Regional Partnership) By the year 2055, our tri-state region of Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama is expected to add half a million people. How will we manage that growth while conserving the forests and streams around us? Earlier this year, Thrive Regional Partnership - a nonprofit here in Chattanooga - launched the Cradle of Southern Appalachia to highlight conservation needs in our area. T...

Rhett Bentley of Thrive Regional Partnership in Chattanooga. UTC’s Dr. Mengjun Xie on next week’s GenCyber camp. African Thunder’s Kinnawa Kaitibi on Thunder Studios. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

Richard Winham shares a session with Ryan Oyer - one of Chattanooga’s most prolific singer-songwriters, solo with his guitar - recorded live downtown at The Chattanooga Public Library.

Walk through a cemetery with Michael Griffith - and he’ll spot not only the stories on the stones, but the stories between them. You can read about the connections in his collection of essays - “The Speaking Stone:  Stories Cemeteries Tell” - his wanderings through Spring Grove Cemetery and Arboretum in Cincinnati, the third-largest cemetery in this country.      Michael - a South Carolina native...

(Creative Commons) This Fourth of July weekend, plenty of ways to celebrate Independence Day in and around the Chattanooga area. Let’s talk about Miller Park and Miller Plaza in downtown Chattanooga - with Marcus Ellsworth, program manager at River City Company.

River City Company’s Marcus Ellsworth on Fun On The 4th. Author Michael Griffith on his book “The Speaking Stone.” These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

Richard Winham shares a conversation with Ariel Sabar, author of “Veritas:  A Harvard Professor, a Con Man and the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife.”   

(WTCI PBS) “Family Flavor” is the latest short film in the “Greater Chattanooga” series from our public media partner WTCI PBS. It tells the story of Uncle Larry’s Restaurant, family-owned and operated here in downtown Chattanooga. Watch “Family Flavor” from "Greater Chattanooga" online on YouTube and at greaterchattanooga.org .

(Lula Lake Land Trust) Tails will hit the trails next month in the Lula Laker Race Series. Matthew Hubbard is with the Lula Lake Land Trust.           

(The Launch Pad) The Launch Pad here in Chattanooga is a sober living house that helps women struggling with addiction. Scottie Bowman - a restaurant owner and a recovered addict - opened the house last year.

Scottie Bowman, founder of The Launch Pad in Chattanooga. A summer race for runners & their dogs at Lula Lake Land Trust. Talking Writing:  Author & journalist Ariel Sabar on “Veritas.” These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”  

(Molly Stevens / Facebook) Richard Winham shares a session by Molly Stevens - an Americana singer / songwriter from Macon, GA now based in Nashville - and her band from the Mountain Spirit Acoustic Series at the Isis Music Hall in Asheville, NC. (First aired in June 2021)   

(tnvacation.com) This weekend on the Ocoee River, Rafting 4 Freedom is back on Independence Day - open to any veteran or active-duty soldier. Angelo Giansante - himself a veteran - is park manager at Hiwassee / Ocoee State Park.

(Proof Bar & Incubator ) On MLK Boulevard in downtown Chattanooga, you’ll find Proof Bar and Incubator. It’s a restaurant and a bar, a test kitchen for chefs, a resource for entrepreneurs in the local food and beverage business - and during the pandemic, a community partner.     Mike Robinson is one of the co-founders of Proof.        

Mike Robinson, co-founder of Proof Bar and Incubator. Rafting 4 Freedom returns to the Ocoee River this weekend. Mountain Spirit Acoustic Series:  Molly Stevens. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”    

(nikkitalley.com) Richard Winham shares a performance by Nikki Talley and her husband Jason Sharp from the Mountain Spirit Acoustic Series at the Isis Music Hall in Asheville, NC.   

(Designer Drugs Pharmacy) Compounding pharmacies make drugs prescribed by doctors for patients with specific needs that commercially available drugs cannot treat.     They are responsible for about three percent of the drugs dispensed in this country - and here in Chattanooga, Designer Drugs Pharmacy has provided them for the past twenty years, starting with hormones and hormone replacement therap...

(Artists in Transition) Help Right Here is a nonprofit that helps the growing homeless population here in Chattanooga. One of its programs - Artists in Transition - aims to break the stigma around homelessness.   Artists currently or recently homeless create and sell their own artwork, raising money for themselves - and for the nonprofit. Help Right Here, photographer Amy McKay - and Rik Hermann,...

(Creative Commons) Here in Chattanooga, a new podcast offers mental health resources for teens struggling during the pandemic - and beyond.   It is called Mind Reach - and it was created through this year’s Leadership Chattanooga, a program at the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce. Kenneth Burke - a vice president of marketing at Text Request - was part of the group that developed the podcast....

A mental health podcast for teens in the pandemic age. How Artists In Transition helps Chattanooga’s homeless. Mountain Spirit:  Nikki Talley & Jason Sharp, Part II. These voices - and more - on this edition of “Scenic Roots.”

Richard Winham shares a session with Rick Rushing - guitarist, singer, songwriter and teacher - with his protege Maya Trippe, recorded live downtown at the Chattanooga Public Library.

(WTCI PBS) Dixie Fuller is former production director of Riverbend - and he and his wife own Zarzour’s Cafe, his family’s historic restaurant on Chattanooga’s Southside.   He’s the guest for this season’s finale of “The A List with Alison Lebovitz,” tonight at 8:30 PM on WTCI PBS. For The A List archive, watch here .

(Kids Art Box) Kids Art Box is a business here in Chattanooga that teaches children how to create art. Melanie Phillips is the founder and owner. Kids Art Box is partnering with the group Reach One Teach One to raise money to send children from underserved communities here in the Chattanooga area to Atlanta for a day later this summer. A fish fry fundraiser - along with face painting for kids - ta...