The City Inside

Marin Mcwilliams
  • 5.0 (3)
  • Society & Culture
  • Biweekly

The City Inside is a youth-led podcast that explores the people, ideas, and issues shaping our communities. Through conversations with local leaders and changemakers, the podcast helps young people better understand how communities work, why civic engagement matters, and how they can play a role in creating positive change.

Episodes

  1. Sep 6

    Episode 6: Katherine Berdy and Youth Leadership Birmingham

    Over the past year, this podcast has introduced me to the people behind the decisions that shape our city, the meetings, the compromises, the work most of us never see. But something I haven't talked about yet is how young people actually get pulled into that world in the first place. How do you go from just living in a city to actually understanding it, questioning it, and eventually helping shape it? For me, that door opened through Youth Leadership Birmingham, a program that brings together a class of high school students from across the region each year to study local government, economic development, and the organizations that hold our community together. It's part of the reason I started this podcast in the first place. Today I'm joined by Katherine Berdy, Executive Director of Youth Leadership Birmingham, the very program that first showed me how much decision-making happens just out of view.

  2. Aug 10

    Episode 5: Elizabeth Simpson on Advocacy, Policy, and Finding Your Path

    This series has introduced me to people who came to Birmingham and Homewood from all kinds of directions — through city government, through nonprofit work, through building a business here. But some of the most interesting stories belong to people who grew up here, left, and chose to come back. Today's guest is one of them. Elizabeth Simpson is a Homewood High School graduate who went on to study political science and urban and community health at Rhodes College, then earned her master's degree in public administration with a focus on health care policy at American University in Washington, DC. She spent six years there working in policy and issue advocacy, including time on Capitol Hill and with a major government relations firm, before moving back home to Homewood, where she now works in public affairs and issue advocacy at Peritus Public Relations. As I head into my senior year at Homewood in a couple of weeks, it is exciting to get the opportunity to speak with someone who was in my shoes not long ago.

  3. Jul 17

    Episode 4: Cale Smith - Homewood's First City Manager

    When we think about a city, we usually notice the things we can see: parks, roads, trails, restaurants, neighborhoods, and new developments. But behind every one of those places are hundreds of decisions, countless meetings, and people working every day to keep a community moving forward. One of those people is the city manager. While many people know what a mayor does, far fewer understand the role of the person responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations that make a city function. In this episode of The City Inside, I sit down with Cale Smith, Homewood's first City Manager, to explore what it really takes to run a city. We talk about everything from balancing long-term vision with everyday problem-solving to building safer streets, improving connectivity, and preparing a growing community for the future. Whether you're interested in leadership, public service, urban planning, or simply curious about how your hometown works, this conversation offers a fascinating look behind the scenes of local government.

  4. Jun 20

    Episode 3: Barry McNealy and the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

    Over the past few months, I've had the opportunity to participate in the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute's Legacy Youth Leadership Program, an experience that has challenged me to think differently about Birmingham, its history, and my own role in the community. Through conversations, site visits, and an in-depth study of the Civil Rights Movement, I've come to realize that understanding where we are going requires understanding how we got here. That reflection feels especially meaningful on Juneteenth, a day that commemorates freedom, celebrates resilience, and reminds us of the ongoing importance of learning from our nation's history. Birmingham played a pivotal role in the Civil Rights Movement, and many of the lessons from that era continue to shape our city today. In this special Juneteenth episode of The City Inside, I sit down with Barry McNealy, educator, historian, and leader of the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute's Legacy Youth Leadership Program. Together, we discuss Birmingham's role in the Civil Rights Movement, why these stories still matter today, and how young people can help carry that legacy into the future. As a recent graduate of the Legacy Youth Leadership Program and an incoming docent at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, this conversation was especially meaningful to me. I hope it encourages listeners to reflect on the importance of understanding our past, not only to appreciate how far we've come, but also to help shape a better future.

  5. Jun 6

    Episode 2: Leigh Sloss-Corra and the Pepper Place Farmers Market

    Fresh strawberries, chocolate croissants and local wildflowers ….where else can you shop for all of these things on a warm summer morning then the Pepper Place Farmers Market! I’ve been spending my Saturday mornings here with my family since I was a little kid, but as I’ve gotten older I’ve been thinking a lot more about where all of these amazing local items come from, and how has this farmers market that I love made an impact on our Alabama community. In this episode of The City Inside, I sit down with Leigh Sloss-Corra, Executive Director of the Pepper Place Farmers Market, to discuss the market, its impact on our local economy, its role as a social gathering space in Birmingham and its ability to educate our community on healthy food and the importance of supporting our local farmers.

  6. May 29

    Episode 1: Mayor Andress and Homewood's Comprehensive Plan

    After attending one of Homewood's first comprehensive plan stakeholder meetings, I became curious about how cities make long-term decisions and who gets a voice in that process. In this episode of The City Inside, I speak with Mayor Jennifer Andress about Homewood's new comprehensive plan, how community members can get involved, and why planning today will help shape the city that future generations inherit.

  • 6 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
3 Ratings

About

The City Inside is a youth-led podcast that explores the people, ideas, and issues shaping our communities. Through conversations with local leaders and changemakers, the podcast helps young people better understand how communities work, why civic engagement matters, and how they can play a role in creating positive change.

Information

  • Creator
    Marin Mcwilliams
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    6
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Marin Mcwilliams
  • Show Website
    The City Inside