![\"\"](\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2023\/05\/Tennessee-Valley-Across-the-Table-Logo.jpg\"){kind=logo}
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The minister doesn’t think being gay is a sin, but \u201cIf I were to even hint\u201d at that belief, he says, he probably would be fired by the church.<\/p>\n
A man who considers himself a solid conservative expresses powerful pro-feminism views from the progressive side of the political street.<\/p>\n
Two veterans on the opposite side of the political spectrum bond over their shared military experiences.<\/p>\n
Teachers. School bus drivers. Politicians. Veterans. Lawyers. Librarians. Students.<\/p>\n
All are participants in \u201cTennessee Valley Across the Table,\u201d a series of recorded conversations that debut June 6 on WUTC-FM 88.1, the National Public Radio station on the campus of the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.<\/p>\n
UTC students in the honors-level \u201cStorytelling with Podcasts\u201d course were given 22 hours of conversations and edited them into a series of 22, four-minute segments that will air\u2014one each week\u2014on WUTC-FM on Tuesdays at 7:45 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. during \u201cMorning Edition\u201d and at 4:30 p.m. during \u201cAll Things Considered.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cTennessee Valley Across the Table\u201d follows the same format as \u201cOne Small Step,\u201d setting up conversations between two people whose ideas\u2014be they political, social, religious or otherwise\u2014suggest the pair have diametrically opposed viewpoints. The only rule for participation was that conversation must remain civil.<\/p>\n
\u201cOne Small Step\u201d is an initiative from StoryCorps, the National Public Radio-affiliated nonprofit that records, preserves and shares stories from everyday Americans. In 2022, Chattanooga was one of six sites chosen across the country to record conversations for \u201cOne Small Step.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was two people that, on paper, should oppose each other. Two people who would never meet each other because they’re never going to be in the same place at the same time,\u201d explained Will Davis, who teaches podcasting at UTC and is outreach manager for the UTC PodLab, where the conversations were recorded.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost of the time they were strangers to each other and just talking about what matters most to them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Between July and December 2022, multiple conversations were recorded and sent to StoryCorps. All are now stored in the American Folklife Center of the Library of Congress. Only a few are chosen to be aired nationally on NPR.<\/p>\n
![\"Will](\"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/files\/2023\/05\/Will-Davis-Podcast-Class.jpg\")
Will Davis, who teaches podcasting at UTC and is outreach manager for the UTC PodLab, and the \u201cStorytelling with Podcasts\u201d class that made the \u201cTennessee Valley Across the Table\u201d series.<\/p><\/div>\n
Davis made use of every minute of the audio recorded for “One Small Step” in Chattanooga in his \u201cStorytelling with Podcasts\u201d class. \u201cTennessee Valley Across the Table\u201d is the result. Of the six sites around the country to host \u201cOne Small Step,\u201d UTC is the only one turning the recorded conversations into a brand-new program.<\/p>\n
Students chose the parts of the conversations that most interested them, he said, even if he thought other parts were more compelling. Choices were discussed in the \u201cStorytelling with Podcasts\u201d class, he said, but the final decision on what to include in the edited conversations was left up to students.<\/p>\n
In the conversations, the two participants sometimes discussed their differences, as would be expected. Other times, they talked about what they had in common, not bringing up differences at all, Davis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat happened all the time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Airing the show on WUTC is another way the radio station is a vital part of the Chattanooga community, said Ray Bassett, editorial director for WUTC and host of \u201cScenic Roots,\u201d which airs weekdays at 3 p.m. on the station.<\/p>\n
\u201cNot only does it aspire to be reflective of the community\u2014both the project itself and us carrying it\u2014but also it’s another sign of how this university engages the community in as many ways as it can. Trying to meet the community where it can, as many ways as it can,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Davis found that, despite polarization documented almost daily by the news media, people don\u2019t readily fit into easy-to-label boxes with opinions that reflect specific ideologies.<\/p>\n
\u201cA lot of times I heard them talking about their philosophies and their beliefs, and it’s a mix,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Labels such as Republican, Democrat, progressive and conservative were rejected by many participants, especially the younger generation, Davis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThose labels mean nothing to them,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
For the students, creating \u201cTennessee Valley Across the Table\u201d gave hands-on experience with\u2014as the course\u2019s name says\u2014telling stories through podcasts, including the technical aspects for actual recording and editing, Davis said.<\/p>\n
On a philosophical level, it was a chance for them to hear the expected differences between people and, perhaps more importantly, the unexpected similarities, Davis said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know it sounds grandiose, but I think what this does is they hear people connecting,\u201d he said. \u201cThey hear people how complicated people are. How thoughtful people are. And how much we have in common.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cTennessee Valley Across the Table,\u201d a series of recorded conversations that debuts June 6 on WUTC-FM 88.1, follows the same format as \u201cOne Small Step,\u201d setting up conversations between two people whose ideas\u2014be they political, social, religious or otherwise\u2014suggest the pair have diametrically opposed viewpoints. The only rule for participation was that conversation must remain civil.<\/p>\n