The Overlook with Matt Peiken

Like a lot of artistic corners of Asheville, the city's improv theater scene is far more robust than you'd expect in a town this size. A natural extension of the scene's growth is the Asheville Improv Festival, debuting May 7-10. Longtime Asheville journalist Matt Peiken is also a longtime improviser. He used the occasion of the upcoming festival to gather four important players in the scene—Gillian Bellinger, founder of Misfit Improv; Laurie Jones, co-founder of Adesto Theater, Tim Hearn of Speakeasy Improv and Tom Chalmers, the founder of Asheville's longest-running improv troupe, the Reasonably Priced Babies. They talk about the history and growth of Asheville's improv scene, the challenges of building and sustaining an improv community here and the collaborative nature of the people and groups leading the way. Help "The Overlook with Matt Peiken" podcast reach its very reachable goal: Just $1,000 in monthly contributions by Election Day. Membership at our Patreon campaign starts at just $5/month. Support the showSupport The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Twenty years ago, when Parker Pfister moved to Asheville, he made his living shooting photographs at the weddings of celebrities. Over the ensuing years, Pfister has explored his own curiosities, both through his viewfinder and in the darkroom. His manipulated images resonate with dualities that convey multiple meanings and emotions. He's a prolific photographer, and yet it's surprising that only now is he seeing his first solo gallery exhibition, through Mars Landing Galleries in Mars Hill. The opening reception is Friday, November 1.Here, I speak with Pfister about his unique approach to blending fine art with wedding photography, his fearless explorations into dangerous territory and the work he's planning to show at Mars Landing Galleries.  Help "The Overlook with Matt Peiken" podcast reach its very reachable goal: Just $1,000 in monthly contributions by Election Day. Membership at our Patreon campaign starts at just $5/month. Support the showSupport The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

While Hurricane Helene disrupted virtually every life and way of life in this region, at least one thing is happening as scheduled—the 2024 election. Today, I talk with Amanda Edwards, a member of the Buncombe County Commission who is running to succeed the departing Brownie Newman as chair.Here, in a conversation that took place weeks before Helene struck, Edwards talks about her motivations for entering electoral politics and the issues that motivate her today. Our conversation runs through affordable housing policy, education, the environment and improving emergency services. She also makes a point to talk about transparency and ethics as an elected official. Later in this conversation, Edwards criticizes a now former practice of elected county officials accepting retention bonuses. Though she doesn't directly name him, her opponent in this race, Van Duncan, was an elected sheriff who accepted such a bonus. I emailed Duncan's campaign to ask for an interview and haven't receive a response. Help "The Overlook with Matt Peiken" podcast reach its very reachable goal: Just $1,000 in monthly contributions by Election Day. Membership at our Patreon campaign starts at just $5/month. Support the showSupport The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Amid thousands of people in Western North Carolina who've lost so much, scores of artists with studios in the River Arts District, in Swannanoa, and in downtown Marshall saw their livelihoods and life's work washed away.I begin my coverage of Hurricane Helene's impact and aftermath with a conversation with ceramic artist, jewelry maker and my friend, Nina Kawar. For the past eight years, she has had a studio on the first floor of Marshall High Studios, on Blannahassett Island in downtown Marshall. Flood waters rose to the ceiling of Nina's studio and all the others on the first floor and left every building in downtown Marshall in ruins.We'll hear Nina's story of loss but also of astounding resilience in the face of something that until Hurricane Helene she had never imagined.You can support Nina Kawar's fundraising efforts around the work and studio she lost in the flood by visiting her GoFundMe page.Photo credit: Lauren Rutten / Asheville Made Help "The Overlook with Matt Peiken" podcast reach its very reachable goal: Just $1,000 in monthly contributions by Election Day. Membership at our Patreon campaign starts at just $5/month. Support the showSupport The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Sage Turner first came to a seat on Asheville City Council through her fight for more affordable housing in the city. She has since become well-versed and conversant on a spectrum of issues that come before council, but she's never dropped the torch to help develop more affordable living in Asheville.Today is the last in a six-part series of conversations with every candidate for City Council. Turner is one of two incumbents on the ballot, and she speaks with a depth of insight that can only come from working in the trenches. We spend a lot of today diving into some of the factors that have ballooned the costs of Asheville's housing market and some of the counter-mechanisms at our disposal. We also get into how she approaches public safety, transit, permanent supportive housing for the homeless, climate readiness and her own political future.SPONSOR: The Asheville Improv Festival mixes top talent from around the country with local favorites into four nights of eclectic improv theater at various venues, Oct. 9-13. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout and get 20% off your tickets! Help "The Overlook with Matt Peiken" podcast reach its very reachable goal: Just $1,000 in monthly contributions by Election Day. Membership at our Patreon campaign starts at just $5/month. Support the showSupport The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Pick an issue, and voters are likely to view it as yes/no, black-and-white question. They want to know whether their elected officials are for or against something. But Kim Roney has served on the Asheville City Council long enough to learn that behind every yes or no vote, there's subtext and context.My series of episodes spotlighting every candidate for City Council continues here with current sitting councilperson Kim Roney. We talk about the nuances and complexities of policy decisions and weave our way through tourism, climate justice, infrastructure maintenance, reparations, even water rate parity. We also delve into one of Roney's everpresent issues—transparency in government—and the return of structured but off-the-record mini council sessions.SPONSOR: The Asheville Improv Festival mixes top talent from around the country with local favorites into four nights of eclectic improv theater at various venues, Oct. 9-13. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout and get 20% off your tickets! Help "The Overlook with Matt Peiken" podcast reach its very reachable goal: Just $1,000 in monthly contributions by Election Day. Membership at our Patreon campaign starts at just $5/month. Support the showSupport The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Tod Leaven doesn't dwell on the details when he speaks of his twin sister, who he says was battling addiction and chronic homelessness in the early 2000s when she was killed. But it isn't a reach to see the connection with his sister, in part, fueling Leaven's career as an attorney, his community service and his current run for a seat on Asheville's City Council.My conversation with Tod Leaven continues our series of episodes devoted to every candidate for City Council. Today, Tod Leaven talks about his path from the active duty military to a career in law to his current campaign. We dive deep into his takes on affordable housing, stewardship of public money and prioritizing what he believes are core city services.SPONSOR: The Asheville Improv Festival mixes top talent from around the country with local favorites into four nights of eclectic improv theater at various venues, Oct. 9-13. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout and get 20% off your tickets! Help "The Overlook with Matt Peiken" podcast reach its very reachable goal: Just $1,000 in monthly contributions by Election Day. Membership at our Patreon campaign starts at just $5/month. Support the showSupport The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

CJ Domingo has a particular insider's vantage of the challenges facing Asheville—until relatively recently, he worked for the parking division of the city's transportation department. He cites low morale among some city staff as a symptom of a larger void within city leadership.  Today, in our continuing series looking at every candidate for city council, Asheville native CJ Domingo shares his views on a range of city issues, including frustrations with deferred infrastructure maintenance and his thoughts on the new downtown bathroom the city is investing in for the unhoused. He also points to potential paths forward, such as his views on leveraging tourism dollars and the steps he'd like to see city leaders take with affordable housing. SPONSOR: The Asheville Improv Festival mixes top talent from around the country with local favorites into four nights of eclectic improv theater at various venues, Oct. 9-13. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout and get 20% off your tickets! Help "The Overlook with Matt Peiken" podcast reach its very reachable goal: Just $1,000 in monthly contributions by Election Day. Membership at our Patreon campaign starts at just $5/month. Support the showSupport The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Kevan Frazier can probably put his knowledge of Asheville history up against anyone's. But the city native and tour guide, entrepreneur and educator hopes his encyclopedic recall of Asheville's yesteryear can shape his approach to the city's tomorrow. He's one of six running for two seats on City Council.Today, in our continuing series talking with every candidate for city council, Frazier tells us about his backstory and frames his approach to all the hot-button issues atop Asheville's list of challenges—affordable housing and development, transit, public safety, and racial equity.SPONSOR: The Asheville Improv Festival mixes top talent from around the country with local favorites into four nights of eclectic improv theater at various venues, Oct. 9-13. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout and get 20% off your tickets! Help "The Overlook with Matt Peiken" podcast reach its very reachable goal: Just $1,000 in monthly contributions by Election Day. Membership at our Patreon campaign starts at just $5/month. Support the showSupport The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

This episode begins our six-part series of interviews with each candidate for Asheville City Council.Most candidates for state and federal offices started in politics at a local level. Bo Hess took a different approach. In 2020, he says, he ran for a U.S. Congressional seat as a training ground for what he wants now—a seat on Asheville's City Council. He talks about his varied background—as a social worker, addiction specialist, therapist, law enforcement trainer, community activist, part time teacher and clinical supervisor—and how he believes all of that can serve the city well should he win a seat on City Council. We talk about how he'd like to influence the council's approach to public safety, affordable housing and other hot-button issues for Asheville and for voters.SPONSOR: The Asheville Improv Festival mixes top talent from around the country with local favorites into four nights of eclectic improv theater at various venues, Oct. 9-13. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout and get 20% off your tickets! Help "The Overlook with Matt Peiken" podcast reach its very reachable goal: Just $1,000 in monthly contributions by Election Day. Membership at our Patreon campaign starts at just $5/month. Support the showSupport The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

No matter how attuned you believe you are to the upcoming election, there's a strong chance you have no idea who's running for the North Carolina Court of Appeals. Today's episode should help solve that problem.Martin Moore moved to Asheville in 2015 when he took his first job as an attorney, working as a public defender in Buncombe County. He has since opened a private practice in Asheville while serving on the Buncombe County Commission. Moore sees these as steppingstones in a life calling that brings him, now, to campaigning for a judicial seat on the state Court of Appeals.Martin Moore tells us about his upbringing and what drew him to public service. He also tells us about why the appellate court is so critical to everyday life in North Carolina, how his time as a public defender and county commissioner have prepared him for this campaign and the values he hopes to bring to the body of 15 judges.The Asheville Improv Festival mixes top talent from around the country with local favorites into four nights of eclectic improv theater at various venues, Oct. 9-13. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout and get 20% off your tickets! Support the showSupport The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Caleb Rudow is attempting to do something no Democrat has done in more than a decade—represent North Carolina's 11th District in the US House of Representatives. A gerrymandered map has seemingly kept this district comfortably in Republican hands, but Rudow sees a lot in his favor as he campaigns against the incumbent, Chuck Edwards.Rudow currently represents North Buncombe County in the State House. Here, we talk about his campaign, the challenge of hurdling the gerrymandered math of this district and the contrasts he sees with Edwards in their public accessibility, their views of the roles of government and how he would define what it means to represent the district in Congress.The Edwards campaign hasn't responded to repeated requests for him to appear as a guest on this show.The Asheville Improv Festival mixes top talent from around the country with local favorites into four nights of eclectic improv theater at various venues, Oct. 9-13. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout and get 20% off your tickets! Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

In the second half of this two-part conversation, founders of the coalition Reclaim Healthcare WNC talk about their pressure campaign with HCA Healthcare to dramatically and demonstrably improve conditions for patients and staff at Mission Hospital. My guests are State Senator Julie Mayfield, retired physician Bruce Kelly and Missy Harris, who recently left Mission Hospital after five years there as a chaplain. They talk about the potential for competition with Mission in the regional healthcare marketplace. We get into any role Dogwood Health Trust could play, along with the efficacy of independent monitoring. We also talk with Mayfield about her conversations with some Mission board members responsible for approving the sale to HCA. Lastly, my guests talk about what they believe needs to happen to make things right with Mission Hospital, including potentiall selling the hospital back into nonprofit hands.Wake Up, Asheville! and ¡Despierta Asheville! (in Spanish) are new morning newscast podcasts that give you all the local news you need to know in under five minutes. Both are free to subscribe/follow wherever you get your podcasts! Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

So much has been written and said in the five years since the corporation HCA Healthcare purchased Asheville's nonprofit Mission Hospital. Doctors, nurses and other staff have fled amid what many see as the company's push for profits over people. North Carolina's attorney general has filed lawsuits. Nobody involved in the original deal has spoken candidly about how this sale even made it across the finish line.Today is the first in a two-part conversation with leaders of a new coalition called Reclaim Healthcare WNC. They are State Senator Julie Mayfield, retired physician Bruce Kelly and Missy Harris, who recently left Mission after five years there as a chaplain.We delve into the significant changes at Mission after its acquisition by HCA, the changes this coalition wants to see and why, after all that has been said and done to chasten HCA to this point, the people behind Reclaim Healthcare WNC believe they can hold HCA to account and inspire substantive change.Wake Up, Asheville! and ¡Despierta Asheville! (in Spanish) are new morning newscast podcasts that give you all the local news you need to know in under five minutes. Both are free to subscribe/follow wherever you get your podcasts! Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Jewish Voice for Peace is a nonprofit with chapters in Asheville and around the U.S. and beyond. Except for the name of the organization, you won't find much about Judaism on their website or in their talking points. They're focused on peace in the Middle East and, to JVP, that means the liberation of Palestinians. My guests are Anne Craig, Rebecca Croog and Said Abdallah from the Asheville chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace. You'll learn about their varied backgrounds and what led them to this cause. We dig into JVP's mission and how my guests reacted to Hamas' attack on Israel last Oct. 7, along with how they frame their Judaism through a lens of Palestinian advocacy. We also get into why they believe local activism is important on an issue taking place on the other side of the world and what their hopes are around what is seemingly an intractable stalemate.Wake Up, Asheville! and ¡Despierta Asheville! (in Spanish) are new morning newscast podcasts that give you all the local news you need to know in under five minutes. Both are free to subscribe/follow wherever you get your podcasts! Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Esther Manheimer is serving her third term as Asheville's mayor. The challenges this city faces today—and the strategies deployed to tackle them—have evolved a lot during her time in office.Today, we check in with Mayor Manheimer around a variety of issues—homelessness, affordable housing, enforcing the city's policy on short-term rentals and property tax increases, along with boosting the salaries for police officers and firefighters. We also get her assessment of how this council has performed its duties, her thoughts on President Biden passing the baton to Kamala Harris and what she sees for her own political future.Wake Up, Asheville! and ¡Despierta Asheville! (in Spanish) are new morning newscast podcasts that give you all the local news you need to know in under five minutes. Both are free to subscribe/follow wherever you get your podcasts! Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Jefferson Ellison is the first to say he grew up with privilege. His father was Asheville's vice mayor and ran his own law firm for 40 years, and his mother holds two master's degrees. Still at 31, Jefferson isn't taking shortcuts with his own career or place in the city. He sits on the boards of the Asheville Downtown Association and the Downtown Commission, and he's a voice of influence on The Block Collaborative, which is working with city leaders on the revisioning of Pack Square.Today, I talk with Jefferson about his upbringing, his perspective on supporting his community, the complexities of gentrification and his thoughts on reparations. Underscoring it all is how he leverages his self-described privilege to help elevate Black Asheville.SPONSOR: Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance returns for one weekend only with the premiere of "Before the Scream." Performances are July 25-27 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. Wake Up, Asheville! and ¡Despierta Asheville! (in Spanish) are new morning newscast podcasts that give you all the local news you need to know in under five minutes. Both are free to subscribe/follow wherever you get your podcasts!Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Like most leaders in the arts, Heather Maloy spends far more time raising money, hunting for rehearsal spaces and recruiting dancers than she does immersed in the work she's so committed to—cultivating the ideas and creating the dances that are the signature of her Asheville-based company, Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance. For 21 summers, Terpsicorps has fielded troupes of young professionals from all over the U.S. and beyond, who put their feet to the fire of Maloy's imagination. I met with Maloy just before her company started rehearsals for their new production, inspired by Edvard Munch's singular painting, “The Scream.” Performances are July 25 through 27 at Diana Wortham Theatre.We'll talk with the company's founding director about keeping her dream live and evolving her company through two decades of challenges, how she parses through scores of auditioners to select her company and how she defines growth when her company is only on stage for two weekends each year.SPONSOR: Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance returns for one weekend only with the premiere of "Before the Scream." Performances are July 25-27 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. Wake Up, Asheville! and ¡Despierta Asheville! (in Spanish) are new morning newscast podcasts that give you all the local news you need to know in under five minutes. Both are free to subscribe/follow wherever you get your podcasts!Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Carolina Quiroga moved to Asheville only about a year ago, but she's already a distinctive storyteller here, blending folk tales and her own experiences from her native Colombia with newer stories born from observations of her newly adopted home.On July 11, she begins a residency of three weekly performances at Story Parlor in West Asheville. Today, we talk about straddling the line between her father's expectations and her own desires, her self-appointed mission to educate certain people in the Southeast about Latin Americans and the kinds of stories she's motivated to write and tell today.SPONSOR: Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance returns for one weekend only with the premiere of "Before the Scream." Performances are July 25-27 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. Wake Up, Asheville! and ¡Despierta Asheville! (in Spanish) are new morning newscast podcasts that give you all the local news you need to know in under five minutes. Both are free to subscribe/follow wherever you get your podcasts!Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Michael Cayse has only been Asheville's Fire Chief since the start of the year, but he came here with more than three decades of experience in Cincinnati and, as part of that, working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency.Asheville firefighters received a pay raise in the new fiscal year budget of nearly 9 percent, but that still puts them behind where they'd like to be. My guest today, Chief Cayse, tells us about the other ways Asheville works to be a department that attracts and keeps talent. We also talk about how today's fire departments little resemble those of yesteryear, the demands and skills of the job that go well beyond traditional firefighting and Cayse's thoughts about what his department needs to become a state-of-the-art unit.SPONSOR: Terpsicorps Theatre of Dance returns for one weekend only with the premiere of "Before the Scream." Performances are July 25-27 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. Wake Up, Asheville! and ¡Despierta Asheville! (in Spanish) are new morning newscast podcasts that give you all the local news you need to know in under five minutes. Both are free to subscribe/follow wherever you get your podcasts!Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Who says rock music is dying out? A trio of sisters from Asheville are doing their part to bring rock to a new generation. Detective Blind takes the spotlight in the second episode of The Overlook drawn from our May 28 evening of Hear Here,  a performance and podcasting series co-presented with Citizen Vinyl. The series is designed to elevate conversation around local rock and indie music. The sisters in Detective Blind are ages 17, 14 and 12, but they already show off a confident musicianship and songwriting that belie their years. So let's step back to  May 28 and Citizen Vinyl to hear music and an interview with Detective Blind. Dial back a couple clicks in your podcasting app to hear the other band that performed at Hear Here that night, O•VAD•YA.Wake Up, Asheville! and ¡Despierta Asheville! (in Spanish) are new morning newscast podcasts that give you all the local news you need to know in under five minutes. Both are free to subscribe/follow wherever you get your podcasts! SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games run through June 29 for the women's team and July 13 for the men's team at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus.Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!This is the second half of my conversation with Hedy Fischer and Gail McCarthy, who along with their artist husbands bought buildings in the River Arts District early on and are committed to keeping those buildings open and affordable for other artists. They're joined here by Stephanie Monson Dahl, the city's manager of Urban Design, Place Strategies, and Long Range Planning.If you missed Part One, dial back in your podcasting app to listen to that first before tuning in here. In today's episode, we talk through concerns of losing artists in the RAD and strategies for keeping them there. We talk about conversations city leaders are having around land equity with the Southside neighborhood and how artists could potentially migrate there. We also get into the stakes for the RAD and all of Asheville if the state takes away the city's ability to regulate short-term rentals.Wake Up, Asheville! and ¡Despierta Asheville! (in Spanish) are new morning newscast podcasts that give you all the local news you need to know in under five minutes. Both are free to subscribe/follow wherever you get your podcasts! SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games run through June 29 for the women's team and July 13 for the men's team at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus.Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Hedy Fischer and Gail McCarthy have been in Asheville since the late 1970s and, along with their artist husbands, played critical roles in the evolution of the River Arts District from a neglected, polluted wasteland of warehouses into the thriving arts and commerce destination it is today. They also have thoughts on whether the scales of progress for the neighborhood have tipped too far.Today is the first in a two-part conversation with Fischer and McCarthy, along with Stephanie Monson Dahl, the city's manager of Urban Design, Place Strategies, and Long Range Planning. We talk about how 2010 marked a key turning point for the district and how vision and investments from the city and key developers turned the tide. We talk about the differing impacts of hotel vs. residential development there, managing traffic in the RAD and whether building owners beyond McCarthy and Fischer are as committed to offering artists affordable workspaces.The second half of this conversation posts Thursday, June 20.Wake Up, Asheville! and ¡Despierta Asheville! (in Spanish) are new morning newscast podcasts that give you all the local news you need to know in under five minutes. Both are free to subscribe/follow wherever you get your podcasts! SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games run through June 29 for the women's team and July 13 for the men's team at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus.Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Hear Here is a performance and podcast series designed to elevate conversation around local rock and indie music.  I invited two all-female bands to the May 28 evening of Hear Here at Citizen Vinyl. The bands Detective Blind and O•VAD•YA come from different generations. Detective Blind are three sisters—the eldest is only 17—while most of the members of O•VAD•YA are in their 50s and 60s. Still, the bands made fast friends with each other at soundcheck and the good energy between them continued well past the evening's final note.Let's step back to  May 28 and Citizen Vinyl to hear music and an interview with O•VAD•YA. I'll bring you Detective Blind's portion of the evening later this month. SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games run through June 29 for the women's team and July 13 for the men's team at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus.Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!There are about 400 Bee City USA programs across 47 states, all with a mission to sustain pollinators by increasing native plants and nest sites while reducing the use of pesticides. The entire Bee City movement started in Asheville 12 years ago with the efforts of Phyllis Stiles. During the thick of a month of pollination celebration here,  I talk with Stiles about her path to pollination through beekeeping and the start and growth of Bee City Asheville and Bee City USA.We also talk about how to responsibly keep pollinator-friendly gardens, the dangers of non-native plant species and the ecological challenges and stakes at hand. We also get into what governments and other institutions are doing to stave off pollinator loss and promote conservation. A week of pollination-focused events in and around Asheville starts June 17.SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games run through June 29 for the women's team and July 13 for the men's team at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Pete Candler wears many creative hats. He's a photographer and maker of short films—all of it self-taught—and he's also an author and recovering academic.His new book, titled “A Deeper South," is both an internal and external travelogue over 25 years of road trips through the American South. We'll also talk about leaving a tenured professorship at Baylor University to pursue his creative impulses, why he has always been drawn to photographing places rather than people and his discovery of a family history too close for comfort to the vestiges of slavery.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services. SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus.Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Madison Brightwell and Don Silver are local novelists who don't know each other but have similar creative trajectories. Both spent early years behind the scenes—Brightwell in film production, Silver working for music mogul Clive Davis—before turning to more conventional careers. It wasn't until their 40s that both leaned into writing fiction. Silver's new generation-spanning, coming-of-age book is titled “Scorched.” Our talk is the second half of today's episode. We begin with my conversation with Brightwell, whose new book, “Under the Redbud Tree,” has a teenage girl heroine and blends fantasy with a certain realism people in Western North Carolina should recognize.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services. SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus.Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Most people reading or listening to this likely take their literacy for granted. But for thousands of youth and adults throughout Buncombe County, literacy is a hurdle impacting nearly every element of life.My guests are executive director Amanda Wrubleski and program directors Rebecca Massey and Erin Sebelius with Literacy Together. It's an Asheville nonprofit training and teaming reading tutors with struggling youth, immigrants, people emerging from prison and many others. Literacy Together isn't the only local nonprofit focusing on literacy in Asheville and Buncombe County. Last October, I featured the leaders of Read 2 Succeed. Today, we talk about how literacy is often an issue of equity, how myriad life challenges can hold people back from literacy, how someone can graduate high school and still not be able to read well and how tutoring is really only half the work of Literacy Together's directors.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services. SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus.Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!April 27 marked the debut of "Hear Here," a series presented in tandem with Citizen Vinyl to elevate conversation around local rock and indie music. The premiere featured talk and performances with the bands Pink Beds and Caged Affair.This episode is all about Caged Affair, a vocalist-guitarist son and his drumming father from Waynesville, whose music is shaped by '90s bands such as Nirvana, Weezer and Everclear.The next "Hear Here" evening is an all-female lineup Tuesday, May 28, at Citizen Vinyl, featuring the bands Detective Blind and OVADYA. Detective Blind is a trio of sisters, the oldest of whom is still in her teens. OVADYA has at least a couple members who would qualify for their AARP cards. SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!We all know the impact of Asheville's skyrocketing housing costs. What we don't hear nearly as much about is how artists and arts organizations are finding it more challenging to do their work in Asheville.Affordable workspaces was the topic of the latest ArtsAVL Creative Space Town Hall. Matt Peiken moderated a May 10 panel at Asheville Community Theater and recorded it to bring it to you here.Joining Matt on stage were DeWayne Barton (Blue Note Junction), Ashleigh Hardes Koslow (Lexington Glassworks), Jeffrey Burroughs (River Arts District Artists), Tamara Sparacino (Asheville Community Theatre) and Rebekkah Hilgraves (RadHaus Studios).SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!We hear a lot about pervasive social issues in our community—homelessness, addiction, racial inequities, affordable housing, liveable wages. All of those play roles in one particular need we rarely hear about—diapers.My guests today are Alicia Heacock and Meagan Lyon Leimena, co-executive directors of Babies Need Bottoms, an Asheville nonprofit diaper bank that distributes about 40,000 diapers every month to partner organizations across 16 Western North Carolinas counties.Alicia and Meagan say diaper need, as it's called, multiplied fivefold during the pandemic. They talk about the daisy chain of circumstances, from transportation challenges to state sales taxes, that make it more difficult to afford diapers. They also detail the social and economic impacts, such as being closed off from childcare, when parents can't afford diapers. SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!It's a female-powered, multi-generational, one-of-a-kind lineup for the next Hear Here—Tuesday, May 28, featuring the Asheville-area bands Detective Blind and O•VAD•YA.Listen here for clips of their music. Advance tickets are just $12.SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus.Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!April 27 marked the debut of "Hear Here," a series presented in tandem with Citizen Vinyl to elevate conversation around local rock and indie music. The premiere featured talk and performances with the bands Pink Beds and Caged Affair.This episode is all about Pink Beds, a quartet shaped by disco, old-school pop and contemporary rock. You'll hear the episode with Caged Affair next Friday, May 17. The next "Hear Here" evening is an all-female lineup Tuesday, May 28, at Citizen Vinyl, featuring the bands Detective Blind and OVADYA. Detective Blind is a trio of sisters, the oldest of whom is still in her teens. OVADYA has at least a couple members who would qualify for their AARP cards. SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater. SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Asheville artists Heather Hietala and Nava Lubelski have already tasted success commercial success. Now, their new work in separate exhibitions marks new ground in their personal and artistic evolutions.In the first half, I talk with Hietala, whose response to her mother's death takes shape in the two- and three-dimensional canoes and boats that are metaphors for personal journeys. After the break, we meet Lubelski, who was an emerging success in New York City's gallery scene before she to Asheville. Her newest works are abstracted, chaotic collages of stitching, painting, scraps of fabric and other found material.A reception for Hietala's new exhibition at Momentum Gallery is May 9. Lubelski's solo show is on view through June 8 at Tracey Morgan Gallery.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater. SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

LISTENERS: Have thoughts about this episode? Send them my way!Gavin Stewart and Vanessa Owen have spent many years building lives for themselves in contemporary dance. Not long ago, they believed they largely had to perform and teach around the country to make it sustainable. Now, fueled by artistic residencies in Western North Carolina and the embrace of the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts, the couple hopes Stewart-Owen Dance can become a fixture for Asheville dancers and audiences.This conversation happened just after a rehearsal inside the Wortham's Tina McGuire Theatre, where the company performs a string of performances there, May 9-19. We dissect their artistic process, how they translate concepts into movement and what sustainability looks like in today's ecosystem of contemporary dance.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services.SPONSOR: The Sublime Theater premieres "A God in the Waters," by Asheville playwright David Brendan Hopes, May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater. SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

David Brendan Hopes has written more novels, poems and plays than he can count. The river of writing hasn't slowed at all since his retirement from UNC-Asheville, where Hopes taught English and creative writing for more than three decades.Hopes' newest play is titled “A God in the Waters.” The Sublime Theater in Asheville is premiering it May 9-18 at the Bebe Theater. We'll talk about the play in the second half as part of a larger conversation on answering the call of creativity. But first, we take an unplanned dive into the financial troubles at UNC-Asheville and what Hopes views as the root causes.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services. SPONSOR: Satirical comedian Robert Dubac performs “Standup Jesus,” 8pm May 3-4 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Talks of establishing a business improvement district in downtown Asheville stretch back to the 1980s. But over the past year, those talks have gained a lot of momentum, and some civic leaders are lobbying city council to approve it before the start of the next fiscal year.A chorus of critics are also reaching a crescendo with their opposition, pushing back against what they see as vague details, a lack of accountability and oversight and a process they say has been anything but thorough and inclusive.Today is the second half of a two-part conversation. My guests are Rebecca Hecht, owner of Shining Rock Goods; Susan Griffin, a 20-year downtown resident who co-chaired a previous effort to pass a BID; Karen Ramshaw of Public Interest Projects and Patrick Conant, founder of Sunshine Labs, a relatively new Asheville organization pushing for greater accountability and transparency in local government.Over the course of this conversation, we dissect some of the details, or lack thereof, of the proposed BID, including the subjective discretion of people hired to patrol the streets on behalf of the BID. We also talk about the potential economic impacts for residential renters and small business, the proposed power structure of the BID's governing board and criticisms of a process led by the Chamber of Commerce and Asheville Downtown Association.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services. SPONSOR: Satirical comedian Robert Dubac performs “Standup Jesus,” 8pm May 3-4 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. SPONSOR: Asheville City Soccer Club home games begin May 18 at Greenwood Field on the UNC-Asheville campus. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

There's seemingly a full-court press from certain civic leaders to push Asheville City Council to approve a business improvement district for downtown. This BID would tax property owners, and by extension downtown commercial and residential tenants, to pay for a supplemental workforce to help the city's efforts to clean up downtown and make it safer for the people who live, work and visit downtown.Amid this push, a pushback is developing steam from people with deep histories and stakes in the city. They smell vague details, a lack of accountability and oversight and a process they say has been anything but thorough and inclusive.A couple weeks ago, I produced an episode featuring the voices of advocates for the downtown BID. Today, in the first half of a two-part conversation, I talk with people with many concerns about the proposal on the table: Rebecca Hecht, owner of Shining Rock Goods; Susan Griffin, a 20-year downtown resident who co-chaired a previous effort to pass a BID; Karen Ramshaw of Public Interest Projects and Patrick Conant, founder of Sunshine Labs, a relatively new Asheville organization pushing for greater accountability and transparency in local government.Our talk dissects some of the details, or lack thereof, of the proposed BID, including the subjective discretion of people hired to patrol the streets on behalf of the BID. We also talk about the potential economic impacts for residential renters and small business, the proposed power structure of the BID's governing board and criticisms of a process led by the Chamber of Commerce and Asheville Downtown Association.SPONSOR: Make the most of your time this spring and turn over your housekeeping to Greenland Pro Cleaning. Use the code PODCAST at checkout for free bonus services. SPONSOR: Satirical comedian Robert Dubac performs “Standup Jesus,” 8pm May 3-4 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. Support the Show.Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Choral groups were among the hardest-hit and slowest to rebound from the pandemic. Two of the region's enduring choirs are still finding their footing both artistically and in the wider public.Today, we hear from the choirs' two artistic directors—Kyle Ritter of Asheville Symphony Chorus and Emily Floyd of Asheville Youth Choirs. They're performing together April 27 at First Baptist Church. We talk with the choral directors about the challenges of surviving and rebounding from the pandemic. Kyle goes into detail about his choir's relationship to the Asheville Symphony Orchestra and building an identity of its own. Emily talks about balancing the sacred and the secular. Both weigh in on marketing choral music to today's distracted public, adapting pop music into choral music and the future of the world's oldest art form. SPONSOR: Satirical comedian Robert Dubac performs “Standup Jesus,” 8pm May 3-4 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. SPONSOR: Adlib Clothing in downtown Asheville celebrates its 35th year all throughout April. Drop by and tell founding owner Anna Sagel you learned about her milestone on The Overlook podcast. Support the showSupport The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Just as Asheville's arts community has evolved, so too has ArtsAVL. It changed its name just a year and a half ago from the Asheville Area Arts Council and, even before the pandemic, refocused its mission from service to advocacy. My guest today is Katie Cornell, executive director now in her fifth year with ArtsAVL. We talk about that mission shift and the work that goes into gathering the data to inform her advocacy with elected officials at the city, county and state.We also talk about where arts tourism fits into the city's marketing efforts and how rising real estate costs are potentially pushing artists' workspaces and arts organizations out of Asheville.01:32 Shifting Focus: From Small Town Model to Community Support02:36 Data-Driven Decisions: Navigating Through the Pandemic07:08 Advocacy and Funding: Transforming Arts Support in Asheville11:02 Creative Economy Insights: Jobs, Impact, and Future Challenges16:20 Arts and Tourism: Navigating New Challenges23:40 Affordable Spaces for Artists: A Growing Crisis29:15 Looking Ahead: Solutions and Strategies for Asheville's Arts CommunitySPONSOR: Satirical comedian Robert Dubac performs “Standup Jesus,” 8pm May 3-4 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. SPONSOR: Adlib Clothing in downtown Asheville celebrates its 35th year all throughout April. Drop by and tell founding owner Anna Sagel you learned about her milestone on The Overlook podcast. Support the showSupport The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Want to know what's happening with McCormick Field, Thomas Wolfe Auditorium and the Western North Carolina Nature Center? My guest has the answers.Chris Corl is General Manager and Director of Community & Regional Entertainment Facilities for the City of Asheville. We go into detail about the upcoming trip around the bases for McCormick Field's renovation, including what's being done to turn the stadium into a year-round facility. We also go through changes at the nature center, the city's municipal golf course and how the city managed to patch Thomas Wolfe up enough to get back into business. Will the deeper renovations needed or a completely new facility ever happen? I ask that question too.SPONSOR: Satirical comedian Robert Dubac performs “Standup Jesus,” 8pm May 3-4 at the Wortham Center for the Performing Arts. SPONSOR: Adlib Clothing in downtown Asheville celebrates its 35th year all throughout April. Drop by and tell founding owner Anna Sagel you learned about her milestone on The Overlook podcast. Support the showSupport The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Asheville is very much a music town—not just for musicians, but also for fans, as evidenced by the six record stores dotting the city. As we approach the annual Record Store Day, April 20, we talk with Mark Capon of Harvest Records, Jesse McSwain of Static-Age Records and Morgan Markowitz of Earth River Records. We talk about the evolution of their shops—for instance, Static-Age is now also a bar/restaurant and live music venue—the risky and speculative nature of the vinyl record business and the unique approaches each is taking to carving a sustainable life in music.SPONSOR: Greenland Pro Cleaning is a locally owned, eco-friendly, allergy-friendly cleaning company for homes, AirBnBs and offices. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout for $60 off your first order with Greenland Pro Cleaning of Asheville. SPONSOR: Locally owned REM Audio & Video offers an array of sound, video, lighting, security and network services for any home. SPONSOR: Adlib Clothing in downtown Asheville celebrates its 35th year all throughout April. Drop by and tell founding owner Anna Sagel you learned about her milestone on The Overlook podcast. Support the showSupport The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Downtown business owners, workers and residents spent a lot of 2023 imploring Asheville officials to get a handle on crime, trash and vagrancy. All along, many were pressing to take matters into their own hands by working with city leaders to form what's called a business improvement district.A business improvement district—or BID—is a tax assessment that pays for services on top of what cities and counties already provide. Talk of a BID has been in the Asheville air for decades, but could well soon become reality. There's a vital public hearing at city council set for April 23 and potential council votes in May and June that could launch the BID with the next fiscal year.  My guests today are Zach Wallace, vice president of public policy with the Asheville  Area Chamber of Commerce; Hayden Plemmons, executive director of the Asheville Downtown Association; and Dana Frankel, downtown projects manager with the City of Asheville. We talk through all the inner workings of the BID process, explore the history of these discussions and how a BID would work day-to-day on downtown's streets.SPONSOR: Greenland Pro Cleaning is a locally owned, eco-friendly, allergy-friendly cleaning company for homes, AirBnBs and offices. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout for $60 off your first order with Greenland Pro Cleaning of Asheville. SPONSOR: Locally owned REM Audio & Video offers an array of sound, video, lighting, security and network services for any home. SPONSOR: Adlib Clothing in downtown Asheville celebrates its 35th year all throughout April. Drop by and tell founding owner Anna Sagel you learned about her milestone on The Overlook podcast. Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

D. Tyrell McGirt says his career path was blazed as a 10-year-old in Greensboro, when his mother signed him up for a lifeguarding class. He ran parks and recreation departments in Alabama, Arizona and Alaska before moving two years ago to lead the department in Asheville.In this conversation, McGirt talks through his department's recent decision to keep Malvern Hills Park Pool closed this year and balancing the needs of pickleballers and tennis players. We also talk equity, tracking park usage and his call for the public's voice in shaping a comprehensive plan that will guide his department's decisions for the next 10 to 15 years.SPONSOR: Greenland Pro Cleaning is a locally owned, eco-friendly, allergy-friendly cleaning company for homes, AirBnBs and offices. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout for $60 off your first order with Greenland Pro Cleaning of Asheville. SPONSOR: Locally owned REM Audio & Video offers an array of sound, video, lighting, security and network services for any home. SPONSOR: Adlib Clothing in downtown Asheville celebrates its 35th year all throughout April. Drop by and tell founding owner Anna Sagel you learned about her milestone on The Overlook podcast. Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Seventy years ago, Black Mountain College was a petri dish for experimental art, sound and performance. It was also the birthplace of so-called “happenings”—events where practitioners strived to transcend the bounds of existence and expression.Today, the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center throws an annual “(Re)Happening.” The 12th (Re)Happening is April 20. Artists who embody the ethos of old are descending on the former college campus at Lake Eden for a day and night of hard-to-define experiences.Today, we preview (Re)Happening with separate conversations with two Asheville artists—Claire Elizabeth Barratt and Madalyn Wofford, a founder of a Swannanoa-centered creative collective Swannatopia. We'll talk about what they're bringing to Lake Eden for (Re)Happening and how they've built lives and communities in the arts.SPONSOR: Greenland Pro Cleaning is a locally owned, eco-friendly, allergy-friendly cleaning company for homes, AirBnBs and offices. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout for $60 off your first order with Greenland Pro Cleaning of Asheville. SPONSOR: Locally owned REM Audio & Video offers an array of sound, video, lighting, security and network services for any home. SPONSOR: Adlib Clothing in downtown Asheville celebrates its 35th year all throughout April. Drop by and tell founding owner Anna Sagel you learned about her milestone on The Overlook podcast. Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Middle housing is all the rage in planning and urban development circles—that is, duplexes, triplexes, fourplexes, clusters of homes with no garages but maybe a shared park, in walkable neighborhoods close to transit. Basically, it's housing with many of the functions of traditional single-family homes but developed with equity, the environment and affordability in mind.This past week, the Asheville nonprofit Mountain True convened a panel to discuss what's called the "missing middle"—the absence of the kind of developments proponents believe can turn the tide of Asheville's affordable housing crisis. That conversation happened in front of about 100 people inside Ferguson Auditorium at A-B Tech. The Overlook with Matt Peiken recorded it and is posting it here in its entirety.SPONSOR: Greenland Pro Cleaning is a locally owned, eco-friendly, allergy-friendly cleaning company for homes, AirBnBs and offices. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout for $60 off your first order with Greenland Pro Cleaning of Asheville. SPONSOR: Locally owned REM Audio & Video offers an array of sound, video, lighting, security and network services for any home. SPONSOR: Adlib Clothing in downtown Asheville celebrates its 35th year all throughout April. Drop by and tell founding owner Anna Sagel you learned about her milestone on The Overlook podcast. Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

The Buncombe County District Attorney's office prosecutes dozens of cases every week, from capital murder to trivial infractions. But DA Todd Williams seems at least a bit frustrated by the public's lingering interest in what, on paper, resulted in guilty verdicts for misdemeanor trespassing. Some are holding up the charges as veiled attacks on freedom of the press.Williams, in his 10th year helming the office, talks in depth with me about the charges leveled at two people who produce work for the online media outlet The Asheville Blade. That dovetails into a larger conversation about the news media and the conduct of journalists. We also talk about the importance of his department's relationships within the Asheville Police and with judges, along with the application of prosecutorial discretion.00:00 A Surprising Encounter at the Polls: DA's Political Involvement01:45 Exploring the Political Nature of the District Attorney's Role04:08 The Intricacies of Relationships in the Legal System06:27 The Aston Park Case: Journalism, Law, and Public Perception18:07 Navigating the Complexities of Journalism and Law Enforcement21:15 The Evolution of Cannabis Laws and Prosecutorial Discretion22:52 Reflecting on a Decade in Office: Changes and Challenges25:28 The Relationship Between the DA's Office and APD27:08 Embracing New Media and the Future of Court SystemsSPONSOR: Greenland Pro Cleaning is a locally owned, eco-friendly, allergy-friendly cleaning company for homes, AirBnBs and offices. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout for $60 off your first order with Greenland Pro Cleaning of Asheville. SPONSOR: Locally owned REM Audio & Video offers an array of sound, video, lighting, security and network services for any home. SPONSOR: AdLib Clothing in downtown Asheville celebrates its 35th year all throughout April. Drop by and tell founding owner Anna Sagel you learned about her milestone on The Overlook podcast. Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Barbie Angell is a poet and storyteller, children's book author and emcee. Threading all of it, she's a survivor. She's candid about the range of abuse she experienced throughout her youth, and a quarter-century of ongoing psychological abuse she alleges from a domestic partner.The last few years have been particularly difficult for my guest today. While the pandemic brought its own fears and isolation for  Angell, recent health issues have taken a toll. In the week before our conversation, she spent four days in the hospital. Of course, Angell has always leaned on her traumas for her artistic expression. Several years ago, The Magnetic Theatre premiered “Death By Sparkle,” Angell's autobiographical play deriving its name from a time she drank window cleaner in a suicide attempt. We'll hear about all of it, along with two vignettes from her upcoming self-fundraising show, "Uncensored"—March 27 at LaZoom.SPONSOR: Greenland Pro Cleaning is a locally owned, eco-friendly, allergy-friendly cleaning company for homes, AirBnBs and offices. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout for $60 off your first order with Greenland Pro Cleaning of Asheville. SPONSOR: Locally owned REM Audio & Video offers an array of sound, video, lighting, security and network services for any home. Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

If the nonprofit world awarded medals for bravery on the battlefront, the counselors and volunteers for the SPARC Foundation could be the most decorated in Asheville. SPARC works with people who've committed child abuse, domestic abuse and street violence to find other paths of behavior.My guest today is Jackie Latek, the founding executive director of the SPARC Foundation. We get granular about how she and her team work to change behaviors that can span generations. Latek talks about racial and economic inequities and other circumstances that often fuel violence in the home, and the societal perceptions that make solutions more challenging. We also talk get into the role of law enforcement and more holistic community interventions, along with how anybody listening to his episode can make conversation can make a difference.SPONSOR: Greenland Pro Cleaning is a locally owned, eco-friendly, allergy-friendly cleaning company for homes, AirBnBs and offices. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout for $60 off your first order with Greenland Pro Cleaning of Asheville. SPONSOR: Locally owned REM Audio & Video offers an array of sound, video, lighting, security and network services for any home. Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Just last week, Asheville City Schools voted to merge Montford North Star Academy into Asheville Middle School. The move will reduce the district's $4.5 million budget shortfall by as much as half, but it also raised a lot of anger, sadness and questions from affected parents. My guest today is Greg Parlier, a reporter who covers education for the Mountain Xpress. We look backward and forward at this decision, along with underlying trends that loom large for public schools everywhere. We talk about the impacts of charter and private schools, where things stand with a potential merger of Asheville City Schools into Buncombe County Schools and the troubled history of Asheville City Schools around issues of equity.  SPONSOR: Greenland Pro Cleaning is a locally owned, eco-friendly, allergy-friendly cleaning company for homes, AirBnBs and offices. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout for $60 off your first order with Greenland Pro Cleaning of Asheville. SPONSOR: Locally owned REM Audio & Video offers an array of sound, video, lighting, security and network services for any home. Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023

Chris Jehly says he used to mock artists who painted the natural landscape. At the time, he was a graffiti artist inspired by BMX and metal music. Since his move to Asheville, he's become one of the artists he used to dismiss.The plein-air paintings documenting his local hikes and other sojourns into the woods are on through the end of March at Tyger Tyger Gallery, in the River Arts District. We talk about his path from graffiti artist to plein-air landscapes and how he sees himself as documenting specific places and time.SPONSOR: Greenland Pro Cleaning is a locally owned, eco-friendly, allergy-friendly cleaning company for homes, AirBnBs and offices. Use the code OVERLOOK at checkout for $60 off your first order with Greenland Pro Cleaning of Asheville. SPONSOR: Locally owned REM Audio & Video offers an array of sound, video, lighting, security and network services for any home. Support The Overlook by joining our Patreon campaign!Advertise your event on The Overlook.Instagram: AVLoverlook | Facebook: AVLoverlook | Twitter: AVLoverlookListen and Subscribe: All episodes of The OverlookThe Overlook theme song, "Maker's Song," comes courtesy of the Asheville band The Resonant Rogues.Podcast Asheville © 2023