The Breakdown with King Williams King Williams

In this episode of The Breakdown with King Williams, I talk to veteran Atlanta restaurateur Randy Hazelton. Randy co-founded H&H Hospitality, one of Hartfield Jackson's biggest food vendors. H&H Hospitality has nearly two dozen brands in the world's busiest airport.

Randy also founded Cafe Circa, a beloved Atlanta restaurant staple, before entering the airport hospitality business. And understands the demands of hosting a popular Atlanta restaurant.



In this conversation, we discuss the last two weeks in the Atlanta restaurant scene. This includes Randy's thoughts on the Michelin Guide and whether or not awards matter for his business. We also discuss the now viral weekend featuring MMA fighter turned TikTok food reviewer/influencer Keith Lee.



We also discuss the related topics on the social media conversation and the reputation of Black Atlanta restaurants. This includes his thoughts on the perceived lack of service culture in certain Black Atlanta and the realities of owning a restaurant. As well as what he would do to change the reputation of the food scene in Black Atlanta.



If you liked this interview, please give it a 5-star review and share it with a friend.



You can also sign up for my newsletter at iamkingwilliams.substack.com or become a monthly donor at Patreon.com/iamkingwilliams. To be a one-time donor, you can donate via CashApp at $IAmKingWilliams or Venmo at IAmKingWilliams.






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The episode starts at 2:00

In this episode of The Breakdown with King Williams, I talk to Mike Jordan, a veteran Atlanta food and culture journalist. In this interview, we talk about the wild week in Atlanta's food scene.

A week that includes the first-ever Michelin Guide winners and recommendations. But also the wild weekend of MMA Fighter and TikTok food reviewer and influencer Keith Lee's misadventures in Atlanta's Black food scene. As well as the explosion of the online backlash to specific Black-owned restaurants in Atlanta.

We discuss the role of "Grass Wall Restaurants," referring to trendy, social media and celebrity-driven restaurants that have angered its mostly Black clientele for years.

Mike also gives his own opinions on the best restaurants in the city and what areas of growth the industry needs to address.

If you want to follow Mike on Twitter, he can be found @michaelbjordan on Twitter or at his website, http://www.mikejordanonline.com/.


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In this episode of The Breakdown with King Williams, Sara Delgado returns to give her thoughts on the 2023 Atlanta Michelin Guide. The guide comes at a time when Atlanta's food scene is being heavily questioned on both its quality and service. In addition, social media influencer Keith Lee is in town tasting Atlanta's Black-owned restaurants, resulting in an online firestorm of virality.



This interview continues an earlier conversation from the previous episode titled 'Does Atlanta’s restaurant scene have what it takes to get a Michelin star?'.



Sara is a food industry veteran, blogger, and enthusiast. You can read some of her works below.

Medium - Sara Delina

Substack - Word of Mouth

Rough Draft Atlanta - How to be a good eater, Dine like the main character, and Leaving the party a little too early

She’s also on Instagram @saradelina.


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The podcast is back.

The podcast is back! And for the fall, episodes will be debuting on Saturdays!

Starting this new season of the podcast, I decided to talk about Atlanta’s pursuit of the Michelin Guide with Sara Delgado, a food industry veteran working in food tech and restaurants.

She is also a foodie and blogger. She also recently moved to NYC to continue her work in food tech. While in Atlanta, Sara’s work in the Atlanta food scene allowed her to do guest spots with Reporter News and Eater Atlanta.

In this conversation, we talk about the Atlanta food scene and the arrival of the Michelin review system in town.

In this interview, we discuss what Sara thinks about the Atlanta food scene. Including what she thinks is overrated (Buford Highway) and underrated (old money/old guard restaurants). As well as what could be hindering Atlanta from having a Michelin-level food scene.

This episode is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Substack!



You can read Sara’s work:

Medium - Sara Delina

Substack - Word of Mouth

Rough Draft Atlanta - How to be a good eater, Dine like the main character, and Leaving the party a little too early

She’s also on Instagram @saradelina.



Let me know what you think of this interview, and if you can, give it five stars in your review. Also, let me know your thoughts on the Atlanta restaurant scene, what restaurants should be Michelin Star-level, and overrated/underrated.

PS: What’s good to eat in this town?!

-KJW




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In this special edition of the podcast, I live-watched the results of the Georgia elections and US midterms (virtually) with Tea Troutman. Tea is a talented journalist, Georgia native, and current Ph.D. student.
We talk about the live results of several US races including the Pennsylvania and Arizona US Senate races alongside several national ballot initiatives. Thoughts and live reactions, plus some swear words. The interview starts 90 seconds in. 
Timestamps:
1:30 - Interview start
2:30 - Tea Troutman’s politics
3:00 - My thoughts on polling in the 2022 election
4:25 - Thoughts on Kemp/Warnock as a split ticket
7:00 - The Kemp/Warnock voter is the new Nathan Deal/Kasim Reed voter
7:56 - Kemp’s covid response
8:59 - Why did people support Warnock over Stacey?
11:30 - Where does Stacey Abrams go from here?
13:00 - Where do the Democrats and Republicans go from here?
19:07 - Tea’s thoughts on politicians taking activists’ work, phrases, and ideas
23:03 - General malaise in this election with would be Dem voters
27:30 - Contextualizing the impact of Republicans on the Supreme Court
29:37 - The role of an activist in a GOP-led society
33:30 - Updates on Georgia vote totals
34:45 - Mableton Cityhood
41:48 - More updates on California, and Illinois special ballot initiatives
45:15 - Hot take, film industry people don’t want to live in Georgia —me
52:16 - Update 1,100 votes separate Warnock and Walker + looking at vote totals
55:16 - Why Georgia’s new absentee ballot laws changed turnout
58:45 - Potential national implications of voter suppression
1:00:30 - Rise of global fascism and the recent Brazilian election
1:04:00 - Potential of an upcoming Supreme Court case in Louisiana and North Carolina on voter suppression, gerrymandering, and the ‘independent state doctrine’.
1:07:00 - Hot take: White men have never let go of power in the state, from 1700s-present.
1:12:22 - Hot take: Brian Kemp is Richard Nixon 1:13:30 - Pennsylvania US Senate and Governor’s race updates + thoughts on Dr. Oz versus Jon Fetterman with a dash of ableism.

1:15:49 - Hot take: White people (in the majority) are voting Republican regardless

1:17:57 - What does it take for the US to have a viable 3rd party? —Tea

1:21:04 - Another Warnock-Walker update + other totals

1:21:55 - SB202 and problems with the live totals

1:24:15 - Hot take: Florida is who we thought they were —Tea + King

1:29:19 - Arizona Governor and US Senate races

1:31:23 - Hot take: Does the GOP take the US back to the 1850s or the 1950s?

1:31:51 - Hot take: Does Biden run again in 2024?

1:33:15 - Hot take: What does the Biden administration do now?

1:35:20 - Hot take: President Ron DeSantis?

1:37:57 - Hot take: What is the next thing in the culture wars?

1:40:21 - Hot take: Herschel Walker’s candidacy is disrespectful to Black Republicans—King

1:43:21 - Updates on the DC tipping initiative

1:45:00 - Hot take: Black Christians backing away from Stacey on abortion

1:48:00 - Closing comments and updates

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In this interview, I talk to Nicole Hemmer, author of the book Messengers of the Right: Conservative Media and the Transformation of American Politics.  In this conversation, we talk about the history of conservative media in the US. Nicole is also the host of a popular history podcast called Past Present, which talks about the historic parallels of top news stories.

We talk about its roots in anti-war activists and its anti-New Deal stance/ We talk about the rise of outlets such as Human Events, National Review, and others bringing in a socially acceptable version of conservatism, that still holds true today. This was in contrast to the brash anti-civil rights, and anti-integration ethos of the 1950s/1960s.

We also talk about the role of talk radio in the 1970s leading to the growth of conservative podcasts today. In addition, this interview talks about how conservative media frames narratives and how it shapes public policy goals using media. This includes Ronald Reagan’s efforts in the 1980s to eliminate general standards along the fairness doctrine and the role of the 1996 telecommunications act.  We also talk about the role of former talk radio Rush Limbaugh on conservatism and the model he set forth in the 1990s. We end this conversation by talking about the role of YouTube and social media plays now in conservative media.

*ALSO, my apologies on my microphone. I have it fixed now, but at times during the interview, my audio spikes and falls at times.

Timestamps:

2:45 - Who is Nicole Hemmer?

3:15 - How did Nicole get into history?

4:24 - How did her book Messengers of the Right happen?

6:30 - What about the 1940s that brought about the rise of conservative media?

8:49 - How the role of television and 1950s culture played in conservative media being alt-media

11:10 - The creation of ‘Liberal media’ claims in the 1950s as a political identity?

13:30 - Conservative wasn’t always the GOP historically

15:00 - How the 1960s changed everything in media and the role of media

18:00 - The nomination of Barry Goldwater and his long-term impact on conservatives

22:20 - The impact of Richard Nixon on conservatives

25:30 - Vice President Spiro Agnew’s 1969 speech directly using conservative media jargon and the mainstreaming of ‘liberal bias’

28:16 - How conservative media destroyed journalism’s world of impartiality and objectivity

32:16 - The rise of talk radio and its impact on conservative media

37:00 - The rise of Rupert Murdoch

42:00 - Tucker Carlson and punditry in conservative media

45:40 - How the internet has changed conservative media

49:00 - How conservative podcasting is taking over the internet

51:40 - Conservative culture wars are having their moment in controlling the narrative

54:20 - Nicole’s other podcasts

55:20 - Nicole’s next book on 1990’s conservativism post-Ronald Reagan

57:00 - What’s something about Nicole that people misconstrue about her.

58:45 - What’s making her happy


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