The PAUSE -- Podcast of the New Creative South

All Good Things Come Round Circle Modern (S3E9)

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 14:54:34 GMT

Angela Hill is a choreographer, dancer, social worker, somatic therapist, and she also is the current president of Circle Modern Dance of Knoxville. In this conversation, Angela roots her leadership in the core values of community, inclusivity, and healing following a brief story of the ritual of life and death by Ira Orchin, a frequent contributor to the podcast.

Confusion is a Way into Awareness (S3E8)

Wed, 15 Apr 2026 18:37:10 GMT

Shakti Ma Michelle, creatress of Shakti Buffalo yoga, wants us to wake up to our creative nature. She relays her personal story as a yoga teacher today who spent many years as an artist in the theater of the absurd in New York City. While Larry Bilker shares his response to the interview with Cat Maguire on human-machine interactions, Noah Frere recaps his experience at the recent Big Ears Festival.

Emergency Exit Only (S3E7)

Wed, 08 Apr 2026 15:03:16 GMT

Not for the machines, definitely for us. Leading proponent of creative sovereignty, Cat Maguire shares her story as a dancer, choreographer, educator, and movement analyst working at the forefront of human-movement-machine interactions. As a creative counterpoint, Sarah Ledbetter shares a story of her vision of where humans and machines play together.

Big Ears Voices (S3E6)

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 13:52:04 GMT

Big Ears was big this year, but Ari found the small niches of music that he fell for. From Gwenifer Raymond's self-taught guitar virtuosity, Deantoni Park's Technoself tracks, Small Medium Large (SML)'s triumphant new jazz sound, Cecile McLorin Salvant's sumptuous new-torch songs, Orcutt Shelley Miller's rocking jams, Miriam Elhajli's poignant songs and chants, Kishi Bashi's pop violin tunes, Cleo Reed's stirring soul songs, and Wu Fei's technical bravado on the guzheng, this episode will help you attune to the magic of Big Ears Festival.

Listen with Big Glass Ears (S3E5)

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 01:33:06 GMT

Ari and friends share their Top 10 lists of artists they want to experience during the annual Big Ears Festival 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee. Despite rampant FOMO associated with this singular festival, Dan Talley, Emmy Carter, Ira Orchin, Amos Oaks, Ruth Horton, and Richard Goldstein defy the odds and overcome the obstacles.

I Can’t Afford to Work for &! Any More (S3E4)

Thu, 12 Mar 2026 19:00:00 GMT

In this episode of 'The Pause: Sanctuary for the Wild Ones,' Knoxville artists Jill Frere and Elysia Mann share unique narratives that blend personal journeys with storytelling. Jill delves into her recent explorations of multiple meditation paths, reflecting on the profound experiences and challenges they bring, especially as a new mother. Meanwhile, Ari humorously recounts his trip to Mexico City highlighting the unexpected physical challenges of high altitudes, from dried mucous membranes to a sudden awareness brought by slowed paces. Elysia then shares a book review of a cult classic from 1992. These narratives intertwine shared meditation, cultural exploration, and personal growth, offering an insightful journey through the ordinary and extraordinary.

There's So Much Here, So Fun (S3E3)

Tue, 24 Feb 2026 01:26:50 GMT

Sarah Ledbetter who has been with us twice before joins us again embodying and extending a new improvisational storytelling container. An original story is followed by two retellings with unscripted prompts changing place and tone. In the first half of this episode I provide the prompts for Sarah as storyteller, and in turn Sarah provides these prompts to me as storyteller.

You Know My Name, Becki Grace (S3E2)

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 04:44:38 GMT

Becki Grace grew up in Maryville TN just outside of Knoxville. She is a therapist, singer songwriter, radio show host, and activist. In this episode we explore her relationships with family, music, songwriting, partnership, and most poignantly grief--and how love helps us heal from loss. We are also joined by the collaborative voices of Emmy Carter, Jill Frere, Noah Frere, and Sue Spolan, with direction by Elana Fishbein.

Season 3 Premiere - Double Shot of Moonshine (S3E1)

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 21:40:58 GMT

The PAUSE kicks off its third season with two on-location interviews -- one with Virginia Sexton of Sheboygan, Wisconsin and then the follow-up interview with Laurence Faber of Potchke Deli of Knoxville, Tennessee. I am joined by the collaborative voices of Emmy Carter, Sue Spolan, Jill Frere, and Charles Bauers.

The Spoken Wild Dance of Disappointment

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 21:09:58 GMT

Ari welcomes relationship back into the creative space of the listener community. Disappointment is reframed as spoken word poetry and reconsidered as a pivotal resource toward healing and renewal.

Break-In Remix, Unresolved

Tue, 18 Nov 2025 20:12:01 GMT

During this unexpected pause between seasons of our show, Ari breaks into a mix of an earlier episode. Despite the disruptive nature of break-ins, Ari marks each break-in as a meme of cultural production within a mycelial network of ecological intelligence. In less fancy terms, you are invited to revisit the past in a new framework of unity over division. Disappointment pervades the emotional timbre of this mix, while Ari and Ash fly in their own rather than shared orbits of radio improvisation.

BONUS: More Smoke from Coffee County

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 18:56:00 GMT

Found deep in the cutting room, Ari Ash and Aim's investigative journey to Coffee County rises again. Slightly awry, their search for clues to the mysterious death of the mayor leads them to Old Stone Fort State Archaelogical Park and the site of intersectional historical narratives including burial mounds from the Cherokee and a gun powder mill from the Confederacy.

Interview with Laurence Faber, Knoxville Creator of Deli(cious)

Thu, 30 Oct 2025 18:01:00 GMT

Ari pauses to explore the kitchen of Potchke Deli and its streamlined operations through the fascinating lens of its creative visionary. Why have so many residents of and visitors to Knoxville been asking, "Is this a miracle? Can this be true? Where did this come from?"

Dumbo: The Light Feels Radioactive (S2E13)

Thu, 23 Oct 2025 17:56:00 GMT

Season Finale - Ash unearths the crux of Ari's conflict with neighbor Ron which leads to his exodus to the neighborhood of Martin. Unfortunately more conflict surfaces within the religious orientation of his family of origin.

Mittelschmerz (S2E12)

Thu, 16 Oct 2025 11:45:30 GMT

Mittelschmerz (s2e12) is one-sided, lower abdominal pain associated with ovulation. German for “middle pain,” Mittelschmerz occurs midway through a menstrual cycle. Similarly Ari and Ash have to move through Knoxville’s narrow channels with pain, including a blunt interrogation by Ash of Ari’s experience visiting Israel in 2009 for his daughter’s bat mitzvah, or rite of passage, leading to an exodus from his starter home.

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade (S2E11)

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 18:02:00 GMT

Despite a successful day as preacher, Ash unexpectedly takes Ari the church layman to Knoxville's First Creek for a teaching he will never forget. Fortunately Ash has a lot of biblical lessons for Ari to learn. Unfortunately Ari loses his handle on his emotional support water bottle in the creek under the bridge. As he chases it downstream, Ash loses her own water beside the bridge above the creek. Read lemonade as urine.

Southland Under the Overpass (S2E10)

Thu, 02 Oct 2025 18:04:00 GMT

In a roar of unresolved power dynamics, Ari and Ash follow a trail of kudzu vines onto a steep incline of echo under the I-40 overpass. Fortunately they feel a moment of solidarity in the discord of dark sounds. Unfortunately they hear this place is not a home but rather a tombstone in the southland. To be continued.

Free Speech in the Belly of the Studio (S2E9)

Sat, 27 Sep 2025 03:10:31 GMT

While Ari and Ash entertain the wild sides of prayer and manifestation, Ash reveals she's lost one of their friends to freedom and ASMR. Unfortunately Ari drags Ash back to a manifestation when she had pasties on her tongue. Fortunately Ash shares a story of her soulful journey in nature as prayer. Ari struggles to be present in the face of religious conversation until Ash provides him a gift to free him from tyranny and oppression.

Interview with Kaitlyn Corse, Transformational Travel Coach

Tue, 23 Sep 2025 16:48:29 GMT

Join me as we pause to consider how travel and transformation recombined to guide those longing to connect not consume being with earth.

The Mayor is Back, Back Again (S2E8)

Thu, 18 Sep 2025 20:58:45 GMT

Ari Ash and Aim order coffee in a drive-through in Coffee County. While Ash experiences fear with the police, Ari becomes the land and insists on his boundaries being respected. Aim believes Ari when the flag on the flagpole is undersized. Ash falls for the golfing monkey in the window without a tooth.

Wild is the Wind (S2E7)

Mon, 15 Sep 2025 22:02:51 GMT

Unfortunately, Ari and Ash conduct a funeral for a friend. But fortunately, it also becomes a celebration of life. Unexpectedly Ash remembers her middle school years as a tech bro in Virginia Beach. Fortunately, Ari gets in touch with his remorse and opens up to Ash that he's open to change.

Smoke in Coffee County (S2E6)

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 18:03:00 GMT

Where there's smoke, there's fire. Ari, Ash, and Aim set out to investigate the unresolved death of the mayor from 2024. Ari learns to kiss his ash goodbye as Ash goes from sound nerd to sign seer. While Aim remembers Smoky and the Bandit and the Dukes of Hazzard television shows, Whack takes them all back to 2022 in search of more clues.

Lawnmower Friends (S2E5)

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 18:00:02 GMT

Ash trashes Ari and Aim about lawns and lawnmower friends on their drive around Knoxville following an investigative journalism field research trip. While Aim fesses up to her secret motivations, Ari discloses many years of grief and grievances with residential living with a lot of rules. Unexpectedly Ash sides with one of America's great foreign ambassadors who just so happens to enjoy colonizing the land in and around Ari's former home in Pennsylvania. Fortunately Aim the gifted Sparrow photographer sees Ari's perspective and clarifies his dilemma. Unfortunately the conversation turns heated and downright menacing as a villain is born.

I Need Us to Slow Down (S2E4)

Sat, 23 Aug 2025 22:09:48 GMT

Flooding alert!! Not your typical flood waters. This is the new kind of Southern Appalachian flooding that happens in Knoxville and beyond. It's part of the flooding of the new Creative South. Ari and Ash are right on this floodplain of public service announcements (PSA). More PSAs than your puritanical ears will be able to respond to. Stimulation like you’ve never felt before. There are numerous ways to identify and voice how you may begin to conceive of this flood in The PAUSE. They're like you are--engaging, interrogating, exchanging--opportunities to play in the abundance of water and unrest.

More with Mo Squito (S2E3)

Thu, 14 Aug 2025 18:00:00 GMT

Learn between the turns with Mo Squito as Ari seeks common ground in community with Stephen playing another flying friend; Sarah whacks another gestalt poem; Ash pulls a rabbit out of the hat and dashes for another gone rogue collective publication; whispers and whiskers begin to circulate around unauthorized Pause merchandise in advance of a new segment dedicated to voicing the call of the wild from an emergent political conflict around land use and zoning moratoriums as well as a flooding water spirit named Amani.

Live from Knoxville, It’s Thursday Afternoon (S2E2)

Thu, 07 Aug 2025 18:03:01 GMT

Deep within the multiverse of radio, conflict is reimagined as a dynamic creative force of emergent play and growth, living in the multitude of voices and characters living inside of us and among us. Listen and sense when not saying anything can be as provocative as animating your imagination through improvisation.

Season Two: Premiere for a Glass Ear (S2E1)

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 17:10:09 GMT

Season Two Premiere, broadcasted live on Thursday, 31 July 2025, Ari and Ash reunite after a month-long summer break. Ari shares his musical work-in-progress with Emmy Carter and Ash gets emotional around the precious. Despite a long hiatus from the studio, they manage to get their butts to sing, literally. Then metaphorically in the form of chanting to their ancestors of visual art. Worth listening to every surprise that comes in this episode.

Tuesday Teaser >> The Name is Pause, Right?

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 10:02:02 GMT

sound sample // mixed by ari, voices by ash and ari and addair, recorded at Radio KCM studio, Knoxville

Back from the Prairie in Prayer (S1E13)

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 19:01:00 GMT

Whack leads Ari down the path of no return. The woods weep creepy heaps of powerless promises. Parrots profess portentous popcorn while Ash perpetuates profuse profundity on the tour with The Black Lilies as Ari produces poetic prompts passed down from the prairie in prayer.

Tuesday Teaser > Back from the Prairie in Prayer

Tue, 22 Jul 2025 10:04:02 GMT

Whack deeply apologize for these creepy heaps of powerless promises. Parrots profess portentous popcorn. Ash perpetuates the tour with The Black Lilies while Ari produces poetic prompts perpetuated passed down from the prairie in prayer.

Part Two: Walkin' with Whack (S1E12)

Thu, 17 Jul 2025 19:00:00 GMT

Ari shares how to pray with food as Whack honors her ancestors' sacred recipe. Walk on the wild side of the goddess within any head of cabbage. Listen and groove with the incredibly generous soundtrack by Moby, provided for the world to enjoy and feel.

Tuesday Teaser > Part Two: Walkin' with Whack

Mon, 14 Jul 2025 18:15:15 GMT

Fortunately the full episode will air on Thursday, 17 July 2025 > Unfortunately you will have to listen online at www.radiokcm.com or on-demand at: thepause.alitu.com to hear the whole story, actually the second half of the whole story, which fortunately is not the end of the story, but just the beginning.

Walkin' with Whack (S1E11)

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 02:55:14 GMT

Ari pauses with Whack walking and gets mixed up in the hair of themes of singularity vs. duality, creativity vs . kinship, and bird of crows vs. bird of parrots.

Part Four: Interview with David Shea, Compos(t)er of Decomposed Cultural Production

Tue, 08 Jul 2025 01:07:12 GMT

How does cultural cross-disciplinary production comes down to listening? How does styrofoam teach us how we can relate to trash? How can we reconnect to the disparate parts of our self and our external environments?

Part Three: Interview with David Shea, Compos(t)er of Decomposed Cultural Production

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 01:35:40 GMT

More Residue of Pleasure (S1E10)

Wed, 02 Jul 2025 01:32:23 GMT

Heck, trash is trash. Listen. You know who you are. You like the dirty pleasures of it all. You know, like, sometimes you are driving down the road in Knox County and you see a farmhouse to toss your Walmart bag full of empty pork rinds. Yup, the one by the creek. E'erbody can screw themselves. I ain't gonna follow any rules, 'specially when no one's looking.

BONUS Clip: Previously with the Piss Ant

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 10:22:54 GMT

For Patreon and Substack subscribers only, unless you have a special code or you like smoking flower with piss ants between runs.

Residue Roulette (S1E9)

Sat, 28 Jun 2025 16:19:44 GMT

Hot fun in the Knoxville sun. Ash expresses her anger caused by some incompetence by a so-called advocate while Ari discusses Rage Becomes Her book by Soraya Chemaly. Then, Ari and Ash role play anger apathy and everything in between cross-country sports and legal advocacy. Fortunately St. Cheech and St. Chong distract our hosts while Whack weirdly wanders wildly off mic into a Wrastle Match. Unexpectedly, in the first ever game of Residue Roulette an orange cone and some street gravel get into a shouting match which leads to an earache which leads to parental abuse.

Part Two: Interview with David Shea, Compos(t)er of Decomposed Cultural Production

Sat, 28 Jun 2025 15:01:07 GMT

Chrysopoeia (S1E7)

Sat, 28 Jun 2025 14:55:30 GMT

Ari and Ash fish for gold inside their anatomies. Ash shares her tales of nipple milk while Ari shares his tales of liquid gold plus secret recipe for his Trinity tincture.

Whack Invades Your Feed--Major Announcement

Wed, 25 Jun 2025 22:49:29 GMT

Just in! Whack has flown the coop and between beers and cigs, she's got something you don't want to miss.

Interview with Sparrow, Photographic Eye of an Artist

Sun, 22 Jun 2025 17:32:35 GMT

Pause with Sparrow (aka Aimee) Knoxville-based photographic artist who invests in visual storytelling--documentary style--by immersing in the imagery of playful relationships.

Interview with David Shea, Compos(t)er of Decomposed Cultural Production

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 12:29:34 GMT

The Residue of Pleasure (S1E8)

Thu, 19 Jun 2025 02:15:42 GMT

Ari and Ash compile clips from the first three episodes from Season One highlighting the developing relationship between them.

Previewed: Interview with David Shea, Compos(t)er of Decomposed Cultural Production

Wed, 11 Jun 2025 03:09:31 GMT

Pause Again Go There In Situ with Sarah Ledbetter

Sat, 07 Jun 2025 02:23:28 GMT

Ari and Sarah go there, again. They deepen their conversation around creative process and what place means in today's world of safety and risk, loose and contained.

Field Notes to The PAUSE episode "Shh Whack"

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 21:55:54 GMT

Whack hacks Field Notes to The PAUSE. Two unnamed voices from a remote sector of the multiverse explore the forest of the "Shh Whack" episode of The PAUSE radio show.

Shh Whack (S1E6)

Fri, 06 Jun 2025 21:09:42 GMT

Ari and Ash randomize the preamble. Whack gets a promotion. Iron John initiates the youngster to the perils and pleasures of the golden well. The chatbots set hard limits and enforce forbidden parrot flower pasties. Ash riffs on moss and mushrooms in the face of cities and buildings.

Interview with Jill Frere, Mover of Wild Adventure

Thu, 05 Jun 2025 00:32:19 GMT

Join us as I pause with Jill Frere, movement artist, yoga teacher, Buddhist, and community activist among other talents, who previews her current dance work in the Shadows & Light show at the Knoxville Museum of Art this Saturday, 7 June 2025 at 7:00 PM eastern.

Interview with Sarah Ledbetter, Wild Weaver of Webs

Thu, 29 May 2025 01:45:39 GMT

Sarah Ledbetter is a highly creative and insightful somatic therapist as well as movement artist and writer currently based in Nashville, originally from Memphis. Our wild conversation offers glimpses into the delicate relationship between nature and our natures.

Subversive (S1E5)

Wed, 28 May 2025 03:11:41 GMT

Ash restates the original 2024 poetic essay of The PAUSE as an invitation from the present tense expressing more spontaneity in the face of an unstable table. The show was recorded on Friday, 23 May 2025 but aired on Radio KCM on Thursday, 29 May 2025 during the waxing crescent Strawberry Moon.

Interview with Davis Saul, Tales of the Desert Mouse

Wed, 28 May 2025 02:31:01 GMT

Davis Saul is on a spiritual journey toward a more authentic way of being, nontraditional in terms of modern values, traditional in terms of more ancient values. He shares a recent story of being swindled and the impact on him along his journey.

John's Cage (S1E4)

Wed, 28 May 2025 01:28:34 GMT

Ari and Ash delve into the cultural construction of the cage. What would have happened if the parrot Whack was also forced to cohabitate with Iron John. Ari opens up for the first time publicly about the traumas of his two grandmothers and devotes to something big.

Embryonic (S1E3)

Sat, 17 May 2025 01:24:08 GMT

Ari and Ash discover the studio has been re-wilded. The Plastic Parrot transforms into the Painted Parrot. The Prince loses his prized possession. The caged Iron John negotiates a deal with the Prince for his freedom. The Prince chooses to leave the kingdom and go on an adventure with Iron John. The King and Queen deal with the crisis of their missing child.

Unresolved (S1E2)

Tue, 06 May 2025 17:13:42 GMT

Ari and Ash delve deeper into the forest of Iron John narrative. Plastic Parrot enters the radio station studio. The spirit of Emilie Conrad, founder of Continuum movement practice, surfaces. The pool is drained in the forest of the story of the narrative. Hide 'n' Seek played.

Interview with Maura Manzo, Yogi of Ambler

Tue, 06 May 2025 00:47:53 GMT

In a recent episode of The PAUSE, Ambler-based yoga teacher and community builder Maura Manzo opens up about her path—from her early experiences with yoga to creating spaces where practice, healing, and activism come together.

What began as a personal exploration for Maura has grown into a lifelong journey of service. Over the years, she has co-founded studios, raised funds for global initiatives, and most recently launched Camaraderie, a space dedicated to collective growth and belonging in Ambler.

In the conversation, Maura reflects not only on milestones but also on the lessons that shaped her—mentorships, challenges, and the importance of showing up authentically. Her story is a reminder that yoga is more than postures on a mat; it’s a way of navigating life with compassion, curiosity, and courage.

Listen to the full episode here on The PAUSE.

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Interview with Stephen Otis, When Spider Weaves Delight

Tue, 06 May 2025 00:43:05 GMT

Knox Forest School co-founder, teacher, and environmentalist, Stephen Otis and I share wild time re-envisioning creativity, education, nature, and story sharing.

Rebirthing Iron Jane (S1E1)

Tue, 06 May 2025 00:39:28 GMT

Invoking the mythopoetic journey of deconstructing the Grimm Brothers' Iron John ("Der Eisenhans") into Iron Jane via an ecologically disruptive and co-creative inquiry into story, commentary, music, and more.

Interview with Jabbarah, Changer of Names

Sun, 26 Jan 2025 04:17:50 GMT

Learn what's wild with Andrea Jacobson and her recent name change to Jabbarah. Learn why and what's important about changing names. Learn and practice her version of the Sun Heart breath to bring more universal balance.