Tommy Tomlinson
Tommy Tomlinson has hosted the podcast SouthBound for WFAE since 2017. He also does a commentary, On My Mind, which airs every Monday.
He's the author of "The Elephant in the Room," a memoir about life as an overweight man in a growing America. He spent 23 years as a reporter and local columnist for the Charlotte Observer, where he was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize in commentary. He has also written for publications including Esquire, ESPN The Magazine, Sports Illustrated, and Garden & Gun. He’s a graduate of the University of Georgia and was a 2008-09 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University.
Tommy and his wife, Alix Felsing, live in Charlotte.
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Sports betting is now legal in North Carolina. WFAE’s Tommy Tomlinson, in his "On My Mind" commentary, ponders the winners and losers.
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This week on SouthBound, host Tommy Tomlinson talks to Alice Randall, who became the first Black woman with a writing credit on a #1 country song with Trisha Yearwood’s 1994 hit “XXXs and OOOs.” Randall has now written a memoir called “My Black Country” and it comes with a companion album of the same name.
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Two recent stories involving North Carolina schools illustrate the challenges facing the state’s public school system. WFAE’s Tommy Tomlinson, in his "On My Mind" commentary, makes the connections.
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The death of former Charlotte City Council member Lynn Wheeler marks the end of an era in the city. WFAE’s Tommy Tomlinson, in his "On My Mind" commentary, explains.
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This week on SouthBound, host Tommy Tomlinson talks to Kindred Motes, an Alabama native who works with nonprofits and small businesses to help them be more socially responsible. He also guides those companies to send money to places in the South that need it.
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Charlotte could make it through another winter without snow — extending a historical streak of snowless days. WFAE’s Tommy Tomlinson, in his "On My Mind commentary," wonders about more long-term changes.
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Charlotte City Council has restored criminal penalties for some of the activities of homeless people in Charlotte. WFAE’s Tommy Tomlinson, in his "On My Mind" commentary, wonders whose quality of life these new rules preserve.
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This week on SouthBound, host Tommy Tomlinson talks to Jason Kirk, whose novel “Hell Is a World Without You” draws from his experiences as a teenager in evangelical churches. We talk about how those churches shaped him, and what his beliefs are now.
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The real estate market in Charlotte is hurting from both ends — one way that hurts families, the other way that hurts developers. WFAE’s Tommy Tomlinson, in his "On My Mind" commentary, wonders who will get the most relief.
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Today's SouthBound podcast is a replay of host Tommy Tomlinson's conversation from summer 2023 with Tressie McMillan Cottom, a sociologist, author, columnist for the New York Times and recipient of the MacArthur “genius grant.” Their conversation ranges from the concept of whiteness in American life to the tragedy that shaped her life.