Chapter 16
A Community of Tennessee Writers, Readers & Passersby

Paul V. Griffith

Arguing For Democracy

Vanderbilt philosophers Scott F. Aikin and Robert B. Talisse discuss their handbook for political disagreement

FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: In Why We Argue (and How We Should), Vanderbilt University philosophy professors Scott F. Aikin and Robert B. Talisse set ground rules for the kind of productive, democratic disagreement that they say is fundamental to a civil life. 

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You Are What You Cook

Michael Pollan talks with Chapter 16 about his groundbreaking new book, Cooked

FROM THE CHAPTER 16 ARCHIVE: In Cooked: A Natural History of Transformation, Michael Pollan apprentices himself to four culinary experts: a barbeque pit-master, a brazier, a baker, and a fermenter. By mastering their techniques, he writes, we can wrest the kitchen away from Big Food and reclaim both our food chain and our selves.  

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Capital Offense

Veteran activist Joseph B. Ingle reveals the systemic racism behind America’s death penalty

June 22, 2015 A Nashville teacher, writer, and anti-death-penalty activist, Joseph B. Ingle has sat at the side of too many condemned men to count. His new book, Slouching Toward Tyranny, indicts not only the death penalty but also the systemic racism behind it.

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Collective Cooking

Nancy Vienneau shares seasonal delicacies from Nashville’s famed Third Thursday Community Potluck

June 24, 2014 Nancy Vienneau seeks to elevate the humble potluck supper beyond images of folding chairs and jello molds. Her Third Thursday Community Potluck Cookbook: Recipes and Stories to Celebrate the Bounty of the Moment features the best of the Third Thursday Community Potluck, a near-legendary Nashville group that revels in creative, seasonal, and fresh menu items. Vienneau will discuss and sign Third Thursday Community Potluck Cookbook at Parnassus Books in Nashville on June 25, 2014, at 6:30 p.m.

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Farewell, Sammy

Tracey Davis talks with Chapter 16 about the last days of her famous father, Sammy Davis Jr.

June 10, 2014 By his death in 1990, Sammy Davis Jr. was one of the world’s most recognizable personalities. Show business was the only life he knew, and he worked extremely hard at it. During his sixties, throat cancer finally slowed Davis down, and he was able to spend time with his daughter, Tracey. Along with personal and historic photographs, these intimate discussions make up the bulk of Sammy Davis Jr.: A Personal Journey with My Father, Tracey Davis’s new memoir. Tracey Davis will discuss the book at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Brentwood on June 16, 2014, at 7 p.m.

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Move Over, Paula Deen

James Beard Award-winning chef John Currence talks about his high-concept Southern cuisine

May 22, 2014 With Paula Deen laying low, Southern cooking has room for a new star. Welcome John Currence, a jovial, down-home chef whose Pickles, Pigs & Whiskey: Recipes from My Three Favorite Food Groups and Then Some weds Deep South comfort with Continental technique. Currence will appear at Union Ave. Books in Knoxville on May 28, 2014, at 5 p.m., and again at The Public House at 6:30 p.m. The later event will include food samplings.

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