The Road to Healthy Living

Good afternoon, everyone.

State Rep. Todd Warner of Chapel Hill filed a bill last week that would rename Nashville International Airport to Trump International Airport. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense given Trump has no ties to the area, but as a means of getting a rise out of Democrats and mainstream media, it’s effective. Probably won’t happen though.

Axios Nashville reminded us this morning that Trump is not particularly popular in Nashville, where Kamala won by a 2:1 margin in 2024, committing a common fallacy when talking about Middle Tennessee. Often, outlets will refer to Nashville interchangeably as Davidson County proper (like in this instance) or broaden the reference and use Nashville to refer to the Nashville Metropolitan Statistical Area (which includes Murfreesboro, Franklin, and more). This is often done whenever it best suits the argument.

In this case, BNA, which might be more accurately named Nashville MSA and Southern Kentucky International given whom it serves, is not suitable for Trump’s name because Nashville (Davidson County) went for Harris. But the Nashville MSA went 2:1 for Trump, and if we’re assessing a name that nods to the fact that it serves residents around the Middle Tennessee area, Trump International at least indicates some willingness to untether the airport from Nashville specifically.

Just a narrative sleight of hand to keep in mind when reading local coverage.

Onward.

There's a swamp of health advice on the internet—diets and routines, all in a war for followers. Against them presses the weight of a medical industry primarily interested in treating symptoms with pharmaceutical medication—most of which come with side effects that get treated in an endless cycle. Figuring out how to feel physically and mentally well can be difficult.

Joanna Daniels is no TikTok influencer, nor is she a doctor, but she has been telling people about eating clean and managing stress since the late 90s. “I was the freak in Ohio telling people about GMOs,” she laughs. Her studies began with lots of books, “because back then we had AOL dial-up.” Over the ensuing decades, she believes she has found the key factor in getting healthy: a willingness to sacrifice.

Daniels grew up sickly. At six months old, she nearly died. When she was four, she got scarlatina. At six, measles. Shingles at age fourteen—awfully rare. Regular bouts of strep throat caused her to miss school often. She didn't break 100 pounds until after high school.

Growing up one of four children to single mother on welfare, she was raised on a standard American diet and lots of “government cheese.” At nineteen she was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome and told that would be her life forever. Luckily, she didn't buy it. Following a period of deep study, Daniels spent a year and a half only eating clean, plant-based foods.

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🗺️ Special Session To Address Transit & Sanctuary Cities In a proclamation released on Friday, Governor Lee specified the fourteen areas of legislation that will be considered during January 27th’s extraordinary session. As expected, there is a focus on education—including his school choice proposal—and disaster relief funding initiatives. But Lee also opened up the possibility to establish two new entities: The creation of the “Tennessee Transportation Financing Authority to support public and private entity financing of transportation projects” and “a centralized immigration enforcement entity” which would establish an immigration enforcement fund and “penalties against government officials for adopting or enacting a sanctuary policy.”

According to the document, the establishment of a Transportation Financing Authority would supplement the implementation of Lee’s Transportation Modernization Act of 2023. As for the inclusion of a centralized immigration enforcement entity, the proclamation states that “it is in the best interest of Tennessee that state and local authorities be prepared to assist the incoming Trump Administration's immigration enforcement efforts.”

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📹 Fusus On The Docket During tonight’s Metro Council meeting, the body will revisit the camera surveillance technology topic. Though the new bill will not establish a contract between the camera integration technology company Fusus and Metro Nashville Police Department quite yet, it will address some guardrails relating to its implementation if established. The legislation introduced by Councilmember Rollin Horton includes scope of use, restrictions on recording and storing camera footage, scheduled audits, and a termination clause. You can watch tonight’s meeting live starting at 6:30 p.m.

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💦 Cutting Out Fluoride “On January 20, the Trump White House will advise all U.S. water systems to remove fluoride from public water,” posted Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on X in November—and Tennessee is already getting the ball rolling. Last week, state Senator Joey Hensley (R-Hohenwald) filed a bill that “prohibits public water system operators from adding fluoride to their water systems.”

Over the last few years, the fluoridation of water has become a topic of contention among experts and lawmakers. News Channel 5 reported that several communities in Middle Tennessee have cut the chemical from their drinking water. In December, Montgomery County became the latest area to consider making the change. “Fluoride is an industrial waste associated with arthritis, bone fractures, bone cancer, IQ loss, neurodevelopmental disorders, and thyroid disease,” RFK Jr. explained in his announcement.

DEVELOPMENT

Via Now Next 372-Unit Project Planned Near Volunteer State’ In Gallatin (More Info)

California winery plans tasting lounge in Wedgewood-Houston (NBJ)
Local developer reveals plans for first 12South hotel (NBJ)
NYC private equity giant buys in Antioch (Post)

✹ THE WEEK IN STREAMING (Jan 21)

Our recommendations to counteract the endless scrolling.

A Different Man (Max) It’s all-too-brief theatrical run last October left virtually no window for us to discuss one of 2024’s best films. Sebastian Stan plays Edward, an aspiring actor whose neurofibromatosis has left his face covered in tumors since birth. Hoping to save his career and become more than an object of pity to his dreamgirl next door, he undergoes an experimental treatment that results in some movie-star looks. But when a universally adored man-about-town with the same condition gets the lead role in a play based on his life, Edward embarks on an epically comedic unraveling that challenges perceptions of disability while excoriating urban creatives for their exploitative tendencies. A dense, hilarious and, ultimately, beautiful film that deserves a cult following.

Cunk on Life (Netflix) After taking on Britain and Earth in character as the narcissistic and clueless TV journo Philomena Cunk, comedienne Diane Morgan gets philosophical in her latest mockumentary series. More Matt Walsh than Borat, Morgan skewers lazy media personalities and academic windbags with equal fervor. The perfect respite from the dark days of January.

One Hour Photo (Hulu) Following years of post-Good Will Hunting turns in saccharine family movies like Patch Adams and Bicentennial Man, Robin Williams spent 2002 challenging his public persona. While his collaboration with Christopher Nolan on the film noir Insomnia got the most attention, his work as an obsessive photo developer pining to be part of a model upper-middle-class family remains on par with his most iconic roles. Williams manages to imbue what could have been a stock villain with a deep humanity that allows director Mark Romanek (music video helmer of Nine Inch Nails and Johnny Cash fame) to make some precinct commentary on the limits of privacy and the hollow nature of our public-facing selves. The under-30 crowd may need a primer to fully grasp the premise, but that doesn’t make the movie's central concerns any less timeless.