Front Porch AF

Q: What is the one thing you want our listeners to know?

A: If you've been impacted by sexual assault, it was NOT. YOUR. FAULT.    —Greta McClain, founder of Silent No Longer

This episode focuses on gender-based sexual violence. Our guest is Greta McClain, founder of Silent No Longer, an organization which empowers survivors of sexual violence to transform their stories into powerful forces for education and inspiration.

Greta serv...

Kelli and Sue welcome veteran Wes Minto to the front porch to discuss his Army experience, deployment to Iraq, and concerns about the use of military forces in U.S. cities, especially in the light of a soldier’s training to “toe the line.” Wes also offers practical advice on supporting veterans and how the public can engage with service members during tense moments.

Along with travel tales from Down Under (Kelli went to Australia) ...

“The best thing about getting older is ... I got nothin’ to lose!”

—Dr. Bob, on the Front Porch of Dee’s Country Cocktail Lounge in Madison, TN

To set the stage for our foray into the topic of aging, we checked in with neighbors and friends about what they considered to be the worst and best parts of getting older. From the worst of chin hairs, sore joints, and the loss of loved ones, to the best of gaining wisdom, getting more com...

After recapping a week of barbeque and burgers, juke joint dancing, beer parkas, and how Kelli is Rube-Goldberg-ing her own swimming pool, we spoke with our special guest, Francie Hunt, Executive Director of Tennessee Advocates for Planned Parenthood (TAPP).

Francie made headlines in 2022, when she walked 538 miles across Tennessee, from Memphis to Johnson City, on Walk for Our Lives, what she calls her “pilgrimage for abortion rig...

After a glorious month of Pride festivities and shenanigans (see below), we capped it all off with a conversation with Kathy Halbrooks, PFLAG National Board Member and former Co-Chair, now Community Liaison, of PFLAG Nashville.

PFLAG ​is the nation's largest organization dedicated to supporting, educating, and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and those who love them. Founded in 1973 by the parents of a gay man who was beaten at a prote...

<Porch Talk Video HERE.> Our current Pride Special episode features an interview with Olivia Hill, Tennessee's first transgender elected official. Part of our outreach on socials included boosting a video of a short extra interview with Olivia to a wider Facebook audience than we usually get to.

And it worked! The first day we got hundreds of new views--and then we got comments. All of which were, shall we say, discouraging a...

“They can tell me what bathroom to use ... but they can’t take away who I am.”

—OLIVIA HILL

Kelli and Sue celebrate Pride Month with our special guest, Olivia Hill, Nashville Metro At-Large Council Member, and the first elected transgender lawmaker in Tennessee history!

Olivia’s transition journey belies the scare-tactic claim that kids can go to school one sex and come ...

“The problem isn’t organized religion. It’s bad religion.” —Rev. Jay Voorhees

Saving the world by activism and outreach—or simply by helping your fellow human beings when they need you—is our theme, and we were thrilled to welcome our dear friend and spiritual advisor, Reverend Jay Voorhees, to talk with us.

After bailing Kelli out of Grammar Jail, we review some Very Important Happenings on the Bend, including fire ants, a Tecate ...

Well, Kelli almost didn't make it for this episode—her flight to Nashville was diverted (in the middle of a tornado!) to St. Louis, where she had to rent a car to make it back—just in time to welcome our special guest for this episode: Laurie Green, founder of SAFPAW (Southern Alliance for People and Animal Welfare), a nonprofit that helps the homeless community face the daily challenges of living in poverty with their pets. 

Laur...

In this special edition of the pod, Front Porch videographer/researcher Piper Miegs returns from her travels and joins Kelli and Sue to quaff a cocktail and solve all the problems ... oh wait. We don't solve *anything* on this episode! We just sit around and gab about all sorts of things—especially about growing older.

At 77, Sue is a lot closer to The End than Kelli or Piper, but turns out we all share the changes aging brings to ...

After a week when Sue survived a bloody (the blood was on her!) wrestling match and Kelli returned without serious injury from horse (no drinking while riding) camp, we gathered on our audio front porch to welcome neighbor Robbin Nolen to talk about equine assisted therapy.

Robbin is a certified EAGALA Equine Specialist and runs Di...

What with the price of eggs today, a lot of folks have turned to raising their own chickens. After talk of Kelli’s new mini excavator (named Cecile Richards) and Sue’s visit to a local hardware store for a jazz concert, they welcome local realtor and all-around badass neighbor Abigail Niles to their audio front porch.

Abby introduces us to her flock of backyard chickens, tells how she got them and cares for them, and recounts the j...

After a "is it a coozie or a huggy?" debate and sharing the recipe for a Grandma Linnie Cocktail, Kelli (a scientist) and Sue (not a scientist) welcome biomedical researchers Jeanne Wallace, D.V.M., Dipl. ACLAM, and Ronald Emeson, Ph.D. — who actually work with genetically modified mice — for an illuminating and thought-provoking conversation about transgenic (no, not transgender) mice: how they were developed and how they are vita...

After we -- Kelli and Sue -- get done rehashing our very glittery evening at a swank dinner and other neighborhood goings-on, we welcome our special guest Tonya Hancock, Nashville Metro Council Member for District 9, to talk about getting the attention of lawmakers to press an issue: how to find their contact information; what makes a good email, text, or voicemail; what *not* to do; and why we're drinking coffee and not alcohol fo...

Kelli and Sue welcome multi-talented Americana singer-songwriter Steff Mahan to our audio front porch to talk about songs of protest and protest movements, from the American Revolution to the Women's Suffrage Movement through today's trying times. Steff will knock your socks off when you hear her sing her own protest song, "I Don't Understand" ... hell, Steff, neither do we.

Welcome to the inaugural episode of "Front Porch AF," where neighbors Kelli and Sue blend hospitality with laugh-out-loud stories and a dash of snark. Broadcasting from their audio front porch in rural Madison, Tennessee, they aim to bring neighbors from near and far together over shared experiences and adult beverages, with the aim of finding ways to make a positive difference in our world.

In this first episode, they recount the ...

Coming Soon! Here's the trailer for our new podcast, FRONT PORCH AF with Kelli and Sue. Neighbors Kelli & Sue--on the Bend in Madison, TN--hang on their audio front porch, drink, laugh, gossip, discuss politics, dogs, local goings on, why Indian motorcycles are a girl's best friend--and how we can all make a positive difference in our world.

Upcoming episodes include "Doth Thou Protest Too Much? Talkin' 'Bout Protest Songs," ...