# Introducing: Our Town

An episode of [Big Take](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1578096201), 6 Aug 2026, 1:53.

Audio: https://podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/tracking.swap.fm/track/UVBrz8bN8aM2Xe47PEPu/traffic.omny.fm/d/clips/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/825d4e29-b616-46f4-afd7-ae2b0013005c/bc2fe654-207b-4565-9b1e-b49e00c4035d/audio.mp3?utm_source=Podcast&in_playlist=8b1dd624-a026-43e9-8b57-ae2b00130066

When new neighbors move into Gainesboro, Tennessee, a small town at the foothills of Appalachia, locals are confused. Who are these self-proclaimed pioneers? And what do they want with their little town? Locals soon discover the new arrivals are connected to something much larger: A network of far-right Christians who have ties to Washington and are backed by venture capital. This is a story about a battle over identity fought on small town soil with small town spunk. Where acreage, heritage, and what it means to be an American are all up for grabs. Episode 1 will be available to Big Take listeners Friday, August 7. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

## Transcript

[0:00] Speaker 1: If you drive ninety miles northeast of Nashville into the
[0:03] Speaker 1: foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, you'll land in Gainsboro, Tennessee.
[0:08] Speaker 1: How would you describe this place?
[0:09] Speaker 2: I think raw would be a good word to start.
[0:12] Speaker 1: Just over one thousand people live here, many go back generations.
[0:16] Speaker 1: I was related to pretty much everyone here. But in
[0:19] Speaker 1: the fall of twenty twenty four, a group of outsiders
[0:22] Speaker 1: started scooping up big tracts of land.
[0:25] Speaker 2: That piques my interest because most time he would sell
[0:28] Speaker 2: it to Jimbob over the holler.
[0:30] Speaker 1: As the battle for the future of America plays out
[0:34] Speaker 1: in one small.
[0:34] Speaker 2: Town, we were all flat footed.
[0:37] Speaker 1: We didn't have a clue. Developers with right wing ties
[0:41] Speaker 1: have purchased hundreds of acres of land.
[0:43] Speaker 3: In the area.
[0:44] Speaker 2: The first thing you see when it pops up is pioneers.
[0:48] Speaker 1: In Appalachian, Pioneers in Appalachia. But the goal wasn't just
[0:52] Speaker 1: to buy real estate.
[0:54] Speaker 4: We need cities on a shining hill that exemplify and
[0:57] Speaker 4: embody the healthy, natural human way of life, the Christian
[1:01] Speaker 4: way of life.
[1:02] Speaker 1: Stop right there is that normal. From Bloomberg News and
[1:06] Speaker 1: The Big Take podcast, This is Our Town, a show
[1:09] Speaker 1: about what happens when a small town becomes the site
[1:13] Speaker 1: of a social experiment.
[1:15] Speaker 4: God need mentor we're on the cusp of I think
[1:18] Speaker 4: a land grab an Appalachia.
[1:19] Speaker 1: Our hometown is not a test too, and decides to
[1:23] Speaker 1: fight back. Do not use my hard work to sell
[1:28] Speaker 1: your book.
[1:29] Speaker 3: They're not just opposing what's being planned for here. They
[1:34] Speaker 3: feel like they're standing in opposition to an entire administration.
[1:37] Speaker 1: I guess you didn't move in on a bunch of
[1:39] Speaker 1: dumb hillbillies. Now, did you listen to Our Town? Starting
[1:42] Speaker 1: August seventh on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
[1:47] Speaker 1: you get your podcasts,

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