The National Civil Rights Museum’s annual Freedom Awards Friday, Dec. 11, will be basically a “greatest hits” online moment in this year of the pandemic.

The Grizzlies will get the preseason underway on Saturday in Minnesota against the Timberwolves. Beat writer Drew Hill and columnist Chris Herrington discuss their expectations for the four preseason games and break down the best sound bites from the Grizzlies training camp press conferences.

The President of Crosstown, Todd Richardson, joins Daily Memphian CEO Eric Barnes on The Sidebar to talk about Crosstown’s role in re-creating the former WUMR as WYXR.

Normally the busiest time of the year, restaurants are instead open for sparsely populated dining rooms. PPP money would help, two local restaurateurs say. And sharing holiday recipes is good for all of us.

Sen. Lamar Alexander also said President Donald Trump has a record to be proud of during the interview on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast. And he said he carried Memphis in his five statewide general election wins by campaigning everywhere in the county, not just the Republican suburbs.

Prior to the NBA’s schedule release, Daily Memphian Grizzlies beat writer Drew Hill and columnist Chris Herrington break down the plan to replace Jaren Jackson Jr. in the starting lineup and where the youngest team in the NBA will need to improve if they want to make a run to the playoffs.

Leaders of the Metropolitan Inter-Faith Association and Mid-South Food Bank talked on “Behind The Headlines” about how the pandemic has changed their distribution models. 

Chip Washington, host of Real Talk, joins Eric Barnes on The Sidebar.

Tawanda Pirtle tells us about the steak sandwich at Jack Pirtle’s Chicken, which Jennifer Biggs ate this week for the first time.

The Shelby County Voter Alliance is working after its debut effort in the presidential general election cycle to hold the interest of voters through 2021.

The mayors of Bartlett and Germantown are pushing Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee for a statewide mask mandate. Short of that, they’re working to create a county-by-county mandate among West Tennessee mayors. 

Larry joins Eric Barnes on the Sidebar as part of an ongoing series of interviews with some of the hosts of shows on WYXR. 

Ed Crenshaw didn’t mean to be a baker, but an accident here and an accident there can turn into a career if you’re not careful.

The chairman of the Shelby County legislative delegation to the Tennessee General Assembly talked about the issue on The Daily Memphian Politics Podcast. 

The effort short of a statewide mask mandate includes a coalition of local leaders across West Tennessee. Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris said he is also working on a long-term plan for the county to continue to deal with the pandemic through 2021 and after federal CARES Act funding runs out at the end of December.

On the latest Daily Memphian Grizzlies podcast, Grizzlies beat writer Drew Hill and columnist Chris Herrington discussed all the latest scenarios in frame for next week’s draft.

Toby Sells, news editor for The Memphis Flyer, joins Eric Barnes on The Sidebar.

Come Friday, Alex Grisanti is back in the brick and mortar restaurant business. He talks to Jennifer Biggs about what Elfo Grisanti Northern Italian Cuisine will be like on this week’s edition of Sound Bites.

While presidential battleground states continue to count votes, the count in Shelby County is quietly moving toward completion with a large number of provisional ballots.

On Behind The Headlines, Republican Party Chairman Chris Tutor says “don’t vote Democrat” if you want to see Memphis have more power in the state capitol. Democratic Party Chairman Michael Harris says Republicans in state government are explicitly ignoring Memphis.

Jennifer Biggs, Kelly English and Sound Bites producer Natalie Van Gundy talk about the Memphis food list that shouldn’t exist, the popular foods many of us never get around to eating.

A new voting app breaks down who the early voters were. The broader turnout numbers show more than half of the county’s registered voters have already cast their ballots.

On “Behind The Headlines,” the leaders of the two suburban school systems also agreed with the recommendation of Gov. Bill Lee not to use the results of state achievement tests this year to evaluate teachers and students. Nevertheless, they are watching to gauge the impact of the pandemic on learning and the lives of students.

Eric Barnes joins Jennifer Biggs on Sound Bites and they talk about how COVID has sent them back to their kitchens; Eric shares one of his eight recipes.