Inside Politics continues a 5 week project to introduce you to the candidates who would like to be your U.S. Representative for TN-07. We offered all Democrat and Republican candidates the opportunity to sit down with Ben Hall for an interview before the Primary election. By random drawing after the interviews were completed, we present the next 3 candidate’s interviews on Friday, September 12. Candidate interviews on this show are: Gino Bulso (R), Vincent Dixie (D), Matt Van Epps (R). NewsChannel 5+ can be seen of Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 250, Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2. Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3 as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc. The episode will air throughout the weekend on NewsChannel 5+ on Sat. at 5:30am & 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am&7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Inside Politics continues a 5 week project to introduce you to the candidates who would like to be your U.S. Representative for TN-07. We offered all Democrat and Republican candidates the opportunity to sit down with Ben Hall for an interview before the Primary election. By random drawing after the interviews were completed, we present the next 3 candidate’s interviews on Friday, September 5. Bo Mitchell (D), Adolph Agbeko Dagan (R), and Stewart Parks (R) are our guests. NewsChannel 5+ can be seen of Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 250, Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2. Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3 as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc. The episode will air throughout the weekend on NewsChannel 5+ on Sat. at 5:30am & 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am&7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Inside Politics continues a 5 week project to introduce you to the candidates who would like to be your U.S. Representative for TN-07. We offered all Democrat and Republican candidates the opportunity to sit down with Ben Hall for an interview before the Special Election Primary. By random drawing after the interviews were completed, we present the first 3 candidate's interviews on Friday, August 22. Republican Mason Foley, Democrat Aftyn Behn, and Republican Stuart Cooper are our guests on this show. NewsChannel 5+ can be seen of Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 250, Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2. Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3 as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc. The episode will air throughout the weekend on NewsChannel 5+ on Sat. at 5:30am, 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am, 7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Inside Politics begins a 5 week project to introduce you to the candidates who would like to be your U.S. Representative for TN-07. We offered all Democrat and Republican candidates the opportunity to sit down with Ben Hall for an interview before the Special Election Primary. By random drawing after the interviews were completed, we present the first 3 candidate's interviews on Friday, August 22. Republican Jody Barrett, Democrat Darden Hunter Copeland and Republican Tres Wittum are our guests on this show. NewsChannel 5+ can be seen of Comcast/Xfinity Ch. 250, Spectrum/Charter Ch. 182 and over the air on Ch. 5.2. Inside Politics also streams live Fridays at 7pm and Saturdays at 3pm on our website: https://www.newschannel5.com/live3 as well as the NewsChannel 5 Now app on Connected TVs through Roku, AppleTV, AndroidTV, etc. The episode will air throughout the weekend on NewsChannel 5+ on Sat. at 5:30am, 3pm, Sun. at 1am, 9am, 7pm, Mon. at 2:30pm and Tues., 3pm unless pre-empted.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Congressman John Rose, US Representative for TN Dist. 6 is our guest. After 6 1/2 years at the capitol hill, he is running for governor in 2026. Inside Politics host Ben Hall asks him about his campaign strategy and how the entrance of Marsha Blackburn will affect the race. Rose says that the job of governor is like being the CEO of the state of Tennessee. He says his experience building businesses, managing companies and hiring people will help him to achieve goals and objectives. He feels a business background is best for the office of governor. Rose also answers questions about debating Marsha Blackburn and his support from and to President Trump. He brings up the Jan. 6th storming of the capitol and his unwavering stance about not certifying the 2020 election. Rose also gives his thoughts about school voucher data, balancing the loss of federal Medicaid money and the State/Nashville relationship.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
What are the state comptroller duties and how do they affect the state or a city's budget? How is he involved with state universities and big private industry projects? Jason Mumpower is Tennessee's Comptroller of the Treasury and is our guest on this episode of Inside Politics. He voted in favor to lease The Boring Company state land for free underneath SR41 Murfreesboro Pike. He talks about the project costing taxpayers free or low cost. He visited the Las Vegas loop in March to learn about the Boring Company. What about the rates, timeline and future expansion of the Nashville project? Host Ben Hall also asks Mumpower about TSU's financial situation and the rebuilding of TSU with new trustees and a signed MOU with President Tucker. What is his advice about TSU's properties off campus?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On this episode of Inside Politics, Tennessee Democratic Party Chair Rachel Campbell joins host Ben Hall as they review the 4 Democratic candidates for the District 7 primary election October 7th and what their plan is to win the congressional seat December 2nd in the general election. Campbell also discusses the Elon Musk Tesla Tunnel that she calls a decision made "behind closed doors...without public comment and input". She also mentions the exclusion of State Representative Justin Jones from the meeting even though the tunnel affects his district. Campbell also talks about the arrest of young democrats after a county commission meeting in Putnam County. Campbell believes we all need to participate in democracy, have interest in what is happening in our districts, go to county commission and school board meetings. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On this episode of Inside Politics, host Ben Hall welcomes Tennessee State Rep. for House District 59, Caleb Hemmer, to respond to several topics that were discussed on last week's episode with Speaker Cameron Sexton. Topics include the 7th Congressional District race, school vouchers and Nashville's relationship with the legislature. Inside Politics is now a podcast! Just search "Inside Politics Nashville" wherever you download your podcasts and start listening.A new episode is posted every Friday evening.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On this Inside Politics, Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton answers various questions candidly about The East Bank Development . Cameron Sexton serves on the East Bank Authority. With state investments like the Titan's stadium and TPAC, he is concerned about costs and the lack of decision making power of the East Bank Authority vs. Metro government's control. Sexton asked: Does Metro want TPAC in the East Bank Development? Is Metro trying to run out the clock to change the deal? The two also discussed the DCS lawsuit, school voucher tracking, the big beautiful bill impact on Tennessee, the 7th District race and more.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tennessee Congressman Mark Green announced at the end of June that he will be stepping down as U.S. Representative for District 7 just six months into his second term. What happens next for constituents? This has left candidates scrambling to get paperwork filed to throw their hat in the ring for both Republicans and Democrats. Who is considering a bid for the seat? Host Ben Hall invites GOP Chair of Williamson County Steve Hickey and Perry County GOP Chair Bob Ousley to explain the demographics of the district and what voters in District 7 are looking for in their U.S. Representative satisfying citizens in cities like Nashville, Franklin and Clarksville as well as rural areas like Perry, Wayne, Hickman and Stewart Counties. A special primary election is set for October 7th and the General Election is set for December 2nd. (This show was recorded before the announcement)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How can you push for gun safety reform in Tennessee? SaferTN.org was developed during the days after the Covenant School shooting in Nashville March 27, 2023 as a pro-second amendment, bi-partisan non-profit gun safety organization. Safer TN board member Todd Cruse and Host Ben Hall discuss how Safer TN helps get gun safety legislation through capitol hill. Cruse shares concerning statistics about firearm violence in Tennessee. Tennessee leads the nation in firearms stolen from vehicles and firearms are the #1 cause of death of youth 1-17. Safer TN believes gun safety and security of firearms starts at home and in your vehicle. The two also talk about comprehensive background checks for private transactions, online and gun show purchases. Safer TN is also working on stronger temporary transfer laws to prevent a person in crisis from accessing firearms and purchasing a new gun. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Although President Trump campaigned on the slogan "America First", he ordered bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities as a preventative attack on Iran intervening in the Israel/Iran conflict. What will be the consequences? Did we prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons? How will the rest of the world respond the next time this problem occurs? Did the president ignore the Constitution without the approval of Congress? Lipscomb University Associate Professor of Political Science, Dr. Susan Turner Haynes and host Ben Hall dig through the intel and discuss Iran's nuclear capabilities, their allies' involvement and nuclear proliferation throughout the world. Plus, how concerned should we be with Russia and China's nuclear arsenal?See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In 2020 Tennessee's DCS was under Federal court oversight due to a lawsuit filed by Brian A. The oversight ended in 2017. Tennessee was mandated to overhaul it's foster care system and implement measures to improve child welfare outcomes. Now in 2025, new complaints of multiple and unstable placement of children, sub-standard living conditions, overdue stays at assessment centers, high turnover rate for caseworkers, over-burdening workers with 4-5x as many cases than average, as well as not keeping track of children, providing inadequate mental and physical care and shackling children when taking them off sight for doctor's visits. Marcia Lowry, Executive Director of A Better Childhood and host Ben Hall outline the state-wide problems of Tennessee's Children in DCS Custody.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Top stories this week, then April Calvin, Director of Office of Homeless Services is our guest. She is here to talk about the results from the Point in Time Count that occurred January 23, 2025. We saw an increase of 4.1% since January 2024, but unsheltered population decreased by 17%. Other metrics were discussed as well as some controversy with community partners. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
How is ICE activity in the state affecting businesses in Tennessee? Fear of harassment is keeping foreign professionals and college students from coming to the U.S. affecting universities and businesses here and across the nation. Doug Russo, Esq. from Rose Immigration Law tells host Ben Hall that his clients are worried about the anti-immigrant climate that has grown in the state. The affects of this policy have created lack of workers in construction, agriculture and hospitality but also have created a stall with professionals receiving visas to enter the United States.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The aftermath of the May ICE crackdown has opened questions about due process and the Rule of Law. Can the government scoop up citizens and non-citizens off the street and detain them without reasonable cause? People have missing family members, rumored that they are in custody, but where are they really? Why won't ICE release a list of people they picked up? Metro Nashville Councilmember At-Large Zulfat Suara and other have asked these questions but have received no response. She and host Ben Hall discuss this topic and more on this episode of Inside Politics.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Tennessee Highway Patrol working with ICE, made 369 traffic stops the first week in May that resulted in 94 detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The Highway Patrol will continue to assist Homeland Security state-wide. This action has created anguish, mistrust and fear among residents and non-residents targeted at the police and lawmakers. Host Ben Hall invites Tennessee House Representative for District 51 Aftyn Behn to discuss what her constituents are saying, her reaction to seeing first hand what is going on in the community and what changes need to be made. She also remarks about the actions in the 114th Legislative Session and what she is working on this summer.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Host Ben Hall invites Nashville Mayor Freddie O'Connell to discuss his State of Metro Address from May 1st. Keypoints discussed were property taxes and the last property assessment, the economy, tourism, programs affected by Federal Funding cuts and the lawsuit, immigrant ICE activity, WeGo and Choose How You Move, Axon Fusus, reaction to accusations against Chief John Drake, General Hospital, relationship with state legislators, and the East Bank development.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Representative William Lamberth, the TN House Majority Leader and host Ben Hall break down the main bills passed that will turn into law July 1st and bills that were rolled to the next session. Some topics include the Education Freedom Act which allows 20,000 scholarships of $7,295.00 for each school year to be used for a student's tuition at a private school; HB 0793 and SB 0836 that would require identifying non-resident children in schools and imposing a charge to parents for their child's education; information about the Antioch High School shooting; Jillian's Law; and the relationship between the state legislature and the city of Nashville.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Host Ben Hall asks Chief Capital Habeas Unit Federal Public Defender of Middle Tennessee Kelley J. Henry about her client's stay of execution by Governor Lee and should the use of pentobarbital be used May 22 when executions in Tennessee resume. The two discuss what pentobarbital does to the body, past mishandling of execution processes and what options do death row prisoners have when it comes to execution. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.