Seven Nashville-area families’ experiences with displacement, exclusion and fear are the focus of “Staking Our Claim,” a new limited podcast series hosted by writer, critic and podcaster Kashif Andrew Graham.
Banner & Company Productions and the Nashville Banner introduced the project with a trailer published Oct. 4. The series follows families who have navigated difficult circumstances over the past several years, exploring how those pressures shape everyday life and their determination to remain rooted in the place they call home.
At its center is a question of belonging: What happens when people facing exclusion decide to deepen their commitment to their community? The project frames that resolve around the idea that home should be a place for everyone, rather than a claim available only to some.
That theme has particular resonance in Nashville, where population growth and redevelopment have brought investment while intensifying debates over housing affordability, neighborhood identity and who benefits from change. The replacement of older, lower-cost homes with more expensive housing can put pressure on renters and complicate longtime residents’ efforts to stay near relatives, jobs and familiar institutions.
For North Nashville, displacement also has a history that predates the city’s recent growth. Construction of Interstate 40 through the area disrupted predominantly Black neighborhoods and the Jefferson Street business corridor. The consequences remain part of local discussions about transportation, development and how public decisions affect communities’ ability to remain intact.
Jefferson Street’s role as a commercial and cultural center, alongside the presence of historically Black institutions Fisk University, Tennessee State University and Meharry Medical College, underscores why belonging can mean more than maintaining a residential address. Neighborhood ties also encompass educational institutions, congregations, businesses and shared history.
The podcast approaches its broader theme through the experiences of seven families rather than treating belonging solely as a housing or development issue. Its focus includes the daily challenges of living amid exclusion and fear, as well as the decision to insist on a place in the community.
Steve Haruch serves as producer, and Andrea Tudhope is the editor. Both bring experience in Nashville journalism and audio production.
Haruch, the Banner’s senior producer, is an award-winning journalist, editor and producer who previously worked at the Nashville Scene and WPLN. His writing has appeared in The New York Times and NPR’s Code Switch. He edited “Greetings From New Nashville: How a Sleepy Southern Town Became ‘It’ City” and “People Only Die of Love in Movies: Film Writing by Jim Ridley.”
Tudhope is the Banner’s managing editor, leads community engagement and oversees its audio work. She previously spent a decade in public radio as a reporter, newscaster and editor. As a founding team member of America Amplified, a public media community engagement initiative, she launched a national talk show and co-wrote and edited a playbook on community-powered journalism.
She came to Nashville to launch WPLN’s daily program “This Is Nashville,” serving as its executive producer for two years.
Listeners can hear the trailer through the Banner’s website and follow “Staking Our Claim” by subscribing to the Banner & Company feed on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, Amazon or iHeart Radio. Following the feed offers a way to find episodes as they become available.
Readers can contact Tudhope at andrea@nashvillepublicmedia.com or Haruch at sharuch@nashvillepublicmedia.com.