The Breakfast Club - EXCLUSIVE: The National Guard enters Memphis to stop violent crime.. Memphis Mayor, Paul Young speaks! 

Episode Date: September 29, 2025

Loren sits down with Memphis mayor, Mayor Paul Young to talk about the National Guard coming into Memphis per the orders of the Tennessee governor and Donald Trump. Their goal is to combat violent crime in the city, but will they be effective? Or will they stir the pot?YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BreakfastClubPower1051FMSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an I-Heart podcast. The murder of an 18-year-old girl in Graves County, Kentucky, went unsolved for years, until a local housewife, a journalist, and a handful of girls, came forward with a story. America, y'all better work the hell up. Bad things happens to good people in small towns. Listen to Graves County on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast. And to binge the entire season ad-free, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Hi there, this is Josh Clark from the Stuff You Should Know podcast.

If you've been thinking, man alive, I could go for some good true crime podcast episodes, then have we got good news for you? Stuff You Should Know just released a playlist of 12 of our best true crime episode. episodes of all time. There's a shootout in broad daylight, people using axes in really terrible ways, disappearances, legendary heists, the whole nine yards. So check out the stuff you should know true crime playlist on the iHeart radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jorge Ramos. And I'm Paola Ramos. Together we're launching The Moment, a new podcast about what it means to live through a time as uncertain as this one. We sit down with politicians, artists and activists to bring you death and analysis from a unique Latino perspective.

The moment is a space for the conversations we've been having us father and daughter for years. Listen to The Moment with Jorge Ramos and Paola Ramos on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Introducing IVF Disrupted, the Kind Body Story, a podcast about a company that promised to revolutionize fertility care. It grew like a tech startup. While Kind Body did help women start families, it also left behind a stream of disillusioned and angry patience. You think you're finally, like, in the right hands. You're just not.

Listen to IvyF Disrupted, the Kind Body Story, on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm a home guy that knows a little bit about everything in everybody. You know if you don't lie about that, right? Lauren came in hot. Hey y'all, what's up? It's Lauren LaRosa, and this is the latest with Lauren LaRosa. This is your daily dig on all things pop culture, entertainment news,

and all of the conversations that shake the room, baby. So today I am bringing you guys a conversation that I'm sure will shake the room and we'll have you guys talking. And y'all know we love to hear back from you. Take it to the streets and the tweets. You for the tweets. We outside, we outside, we outside. Outside and a tweet.

Every other page are going. Lauren LaRosa everywhere that's L-O-R-E-N-L-O-R-O-S-A. I mean, it's in the title of the show, but I'll still get it wrong. But yes, take it to the streets and the tweets, get in the comments, get everywhere. Let me know how you guys are feeling once you listen to this interview. I had the pleasure of being hosted in Memphis over the weekend, and it was amazing. So I went there for the Podbox podcast festival. I was there for about a day.

I literally was there overnight. Did this festival at the Cossett Library. Shout out to, you know, Ina, Esco, and all of the Cossett Library team and everybody that I met there. I had such a great time. Amen, Sain. I had a great time in Memphis. Y'all didn't have adopted me. I'm going back.

But more importantly, while I was there, you know, the city and everyone in the city, they had been talking to people a lot while there. And one of the things I kept hearing was that people are currently preparing or were currently preparing over the weekend. This is actually taking into effect today, September 29th, for the National Guard to come into the city. The National Guard, per the Governor of Memphis, Governor Bill Lee, and President Donald Trump, the National Guard will be coming into the city because they are trying to fight to help fight, help local agencies fight the violent crime that has happened. in Memphis. And from, you know, everyone I talk to while there, these are everyday citizens just trying to figure it out. I think, you know, there is a need for resources, definitely from what I understand. There's a need for resources because there are violent crimes happening. And although they've been able to have success in some places, there's not as much success in others when it

comes to completely stopping the violent crime. And now the governor has said, hey, we need the National Guard to come in at is what happening. And that is what's happening. But these everyday people, you know, as much as they want their resources and the help and they want their neighborhoods to be safe, they're scared right now, y'all. Like, they're over there preparing for the National Guard to come in and they don't know what that means. They don't know if, you know, everyday people and these everyday, you know, enforcement agencies

will clash with National Guard and they already feel like, you know, in certain places they're not safe because of the violent crime that we're discussing. and now these law enforcement or these additional resources and agencies like the National Guard are being brought in and you know this is a Memphis is black Memphis is black as I don't know what so you know just just that whole conversation

about what that relationship looks like between the community that is already there and the National Guard coming in and what force looks or doesn't look like and how that's used and just so many things people were having a lot of conversations with me about while I was there to the point where I said to you know

the pot box podcast festival team while we were at dinner. Is there a way I could talk to the mayor and just, you know, have a conversation with him about what's going on and what the plan is and, you know, just use it when I get back to work at the latest with Lauren the Rose of the podcast and on the breakfast club. And they said, sure. So he came out to the podcast festival. We had some time backstage where we were able to talk and really meet. And I let him know that I'll be sharing this interview.

And we talked about everything. Like, why is this happening? Why is the governor bringing the National Guard here? do you guys feel like you need the help? And he's open to the help, but what happens after? If you guys don't have the resources now, once they leave, will you have it then? And people are scared. How do you talk to the people in your community?

There are people who are preparing to, you know, everybody's like, hey, get your affairs in order. I got out of my, the car that picked us up from the airport when I arrived at the hotel. I got out, the driver said, y'all be safe now. And I was like, why did he say that does? And when I went to dinner there, we're like, because everyone, you know, people were in town for there was a southern heritage classic happening. But they were explaining to me. There are a lot of people right now that are, they're buckling down.

They're making sure, you know, license and registration is up to date and insurances and just everything that they warrant, everything that they can because they don't want to have to have contact with the National Guard. So let's take a listen to my interview with the mayor of Memphis, Mayor Paul Young, Black Mayor. Yeah, we talk about some things. Let's get on into it. Well, you know, there's a lot going on in Memphis right now with all of the national conversations.

They were telling me about it last night. You didn't even know about? No, I didn't. I knew about D.C. in the conversation around Chicago, but I didn't know that they were starting here. Yeah. Yeah. We jumped the line. I was asking them, I'm like, how do you prepare for that?

Like, what do you? Well, we are preparing. And, you know, I've been trying to articulate to people that were different than Chicago and L.A. because our governor has said yes and the president said yes. So as mayor, I don't have a say in whether they come or not. So what we're doing now is working to align how they come, where they're going to show up, what their assignments are going to be. So we're putting together a whole strategy of how we engage.

And we've been having positive dialogues with the national law, our major generals and all of those folks. You know, my goal is to try to keep them focused on, violent crime and not, you know, petty crimes and things of that nature. But really the thing that is a challenge for us admittedly is that we do have folks that are committing violent crimes and not being brought to justice. Do you feel like it's going to be helpful, though? And like if so, how long?

Because that's not something, you don't just come here for like a month or two. Yeah. And, you know, like how long do you think they need to be? I think that's a long-term conversation. I think that the other resources, a lot of times, people get fixated on the National Guard piece. And I think that's just a visible presence. I think the thing that's going to be helpful is the FBI, DEA, and all the investigative

resources that they're going to be able to bring to support our police department. Because when you have a certain amount of homicides or a certain amount of shootings and you only have X amount of investigators, it's going to leave a lot of them being unsolved. And so having their different technologies and things like that are going to help us be able to solve. What about, though, because they were telling me yesterday, the jails are, like, overflowing at this point. Like, people don't even have sales or sit in a hallway. So what do y'all do then? Like, where do you put people that you're going to, like, they're going to be arresting people?

Yeah, they are. So they're going to be working with counties so that surround the city in order to help on that. But that is a big problem, which is why I think our emphasis needs to be on finding the most violent folks. And that's who we focus on and not just, you know, petty crimes. It's interesting to hear you hear say that because a lot of people, I know when Chicago, when they were saying that it might happen, a lot of people's pushback was it's just not going to help because of the force that will be, you know, that'll be brought to the city, which people are going to fight back against. But you think opposite because you feel like you'll be able to work with them. I'm going to say I think opposite. I think that my goal is to get the strategy executed in a different way than what people are proceeding.

I think people are proceeding if you have the military that's enforcing laws in the city against people, then it's going to lead to more conflict. My goal is to minimize the role of the National Guard and try to elevate the role of those other entities. Got you. How do you control that, though? How do you know they're going to come in here and listen to you? we can't control them. I mean, but my goal is to try and use influence to do it. What I've heard from the folks in D.C.

was that when they first came in, it was chaotic. And this came from the feds and the folks that worked for the mayor and all in the D.C. Right. But when they started, when they started folding into the operations that the D.C. police already had in play, that's when they both said they were more successful. So that's why I'm trying to drive this thing in that direction, as opposed to what they're concerned about in Chicago. Do you feel like you were at the point before this

where you were like there was no hope for solving the violent crime issue here? No, I definitely didn't feel hopeings on it because we've been doing it. I mean, we've been moving it in the right direction. Haven't you guys seen a decrease? I think she said 30% decrease. What was that? 30% on homicides, 19% on violent crime year over year, 37% on. percent on car thefts, and that was in 2024 this year would be nose numbers. So I know that

the things were doing work. It's just when you're starting and you're this high, when you get to this level, it's still too high and people are still frustrated. So for me, I didn't think that it was hopeless. I just thought it's going to take more time. And so that's why I won't, when this happens, since it's happening, we can't stop it from happening. I want to try and drive it in a way where it does amplify the work that we've already done doing. So even if your governor has said no to it, it still could have happened, correct? No. I don't think, I mean, because then it would have been.

Yeah, it would have been different. But when you have the governor, it puts us in the same position that D.C. was in. The reason why I ask that is because I think a lot of people would say, if you guys are seeing the decreases, even though it's taking time, why not just think on what you've already been doing? Why say yes to that? and there's the risk of it not working in your favor? Well, I mean, I think the thing is we don't get to say yes.

The governor said yes. Why would, question more to him. Why would he say yes? Yeah, well, that's a different kind of politics. That's politics above me. Right. Because, you know, they're both Republicans and we're a blue dot in a red state. And that decision was made without us.

That's messed up. But, yeah, it's a, it's an interesting time. But it's one of those things where my goal is to make sure we navigate it in a way that we become an example for the rest of the country. How do you deal with it in a way where you minimize negative impact on the community and maximize positive impact? Well, I wish you all the best of luck, man. I appreciate that. That's challenging. Appreciate it.

It's a hard spot to be in. It's definitely hard. I mean, yesterday the government was here. We did a press time yesterday. So there's a lot of the feelings are in a peep right now in the series. Yeah. But that aside, you're going to enjoy your time here. We have an amazing city.

We do have challenges with crime, but so those cities all across the country. Right. So, you know, my goal is to just make sure that we amplify the good in the city and we overtake this negative narrative and don't let it dominate the headlines and define who we are. All I know is what I've been told, and that's a half-truth is a whole lie. For almost a decade, the murder of an 18-year-old girl from a small town in Graves County, Kentucky, went unsolved,

until a local homemaker, a journalist, and a handful of girls came forward with a story. I'm telling you, we know Quincy killed her. We know. A story that law enforcement used to convict six people, and that got us. The Citizen Investigator on national TV. Through sheer persistence and nerve, this Kentucky housewife helped give justice to Jessica Curran. My name is Maggie Freeling. I'm a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, producer,

and I wouldn't be here if the truth were that easy to find. I did not know her and I did not kill her, or rape or burn, or any of that other stuff that y'all said. They literally made me say that I took a match and struck and threw it on her. They made me say that I pour gas on her. From Lava for Good, this is Graves County, a show about just how far our legal system will go in order to find someone to blame. America, y'all better work the hell up. Bad things happens to good people in small towns.

Listen to Graves County in the Bone Valley feed on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or we're ever you get your podcasts. And to binge the entire season at free, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus on Apple Podcasts. Hi there, this is Josh Clark from the Stuff You Should Know podcast.

If you've been thinking, man alive, I could go for some good true crime podcast episodes, then have we got good news for you. Stuff You Should Know just released a playlist of 12 of our best true crime episodes of all time. There's a shootout. out in broad daylight, people using axes in really terrible ways,

disappearances, legendary heists, the whole nine yards. So check out the stuff you should know true crime playlist. On the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jorge Ramos. And I'm Paola Ramos. Together we're launching The Moment, a new podcast about what it means to live through a time, as uncertain as this one. We sit down with politicians.

I would be the first immigrant mayor in generations. But 40% of New Yorkers were born outside of this country. Artists and activists, I mean, do you ever feel demoralized? I might personally lose hope. This individual might lose the faith. But there's an institution that doesn't lose faith. And that's what I believe in. To bring you depth and analysis from a unique Latino perspective.

There's not a single day that Paola and I don't call or text each other, sharing news and thoughts about what's happening in the country. This new podcast will be a way to make that ongoing. intergenerational conversation, public. Listen to The Moment with Jorge Ramos and Paola Ramos as part of the MyCultura Podcast Network on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I started trying to get pregnant about four years ago now. We're getting a little bit older, and it just kind of felt like the window could be closing.

Bloomberg and IHeart Podcasts present. IVF disrupted, the Kind Body story, a podcast about a company that promised to revolutionize fertility care. Introducing Kind Body, a new generation of women's health and fertility care. Backed by millions in venture capital and private equity, it grew like a tech startup. While Kind Body did help women start families, it also left behind a stream of disillusioned and angry patients. You think you're finally like with the right people. in the right hands and then to find out again

that you're just not. Don't be fooled. By what? All the bright and shiny. Listen to IVF disrupted. The Kind Body Story starting September 19 on the IHeart Radio app,

Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Now that was my us sit down with the mayor of Memphis. Again, Mayor Paul Young. And they have created a website dedicated to, you know, informing the public on what to expect that website where people can go and get some of that

information is Memphis tennessee.gov backslash safe and clean and it just answers your questions about you know what to expect what does this look like when the federal agencies come in and a ton of other frequently asked questions I hope this works out I mean I think anytime somewhere is is you know lacking resources as we talked about you know He said the jails are overflowing and there's just not a lot of support where they need it. There's a problem that needs to be solved for sure. I just hate that there's a fear because of the relationship between, you know, certain law enforcement agencies and the people on the ground that live in these communities. There's a fear of, does this cause us more harm or does this help us?

So I'm hoping and I'm praying that the plan that Mary Young talked about is a plan that is actually going to help the city. and that other cities can look at and watch and mimic, you know, as this thing spreads from city to city. It happened in D.C. I know that there were some conversations around Chicago that didn't happen. You know, now Memphis and, you know, other places. So, yeah, I'm just wishing the best for everybody. At the end of the day, there is always a lot to talk about. Y'all could be anywhere with anybody talking about it, but you guys choose to be right here with me.

I'm Lauren LaRosa. This is the latest with Lauren LaRosa. This has been an exclusive episode, an exclusive sit-down interview with Mayor Paul Young, who is the mayor of Memphis, Tennessee, as I was going to say as they prepare for, but as they currently, like right now, as the National Guard descends on Memphis. So we guys are bringing you the latest right from there. See you guys in my next episode. The murder of an 18-year-old girl in Graves County, Kentucky, went unsolved free. years until a local housewife, a journalist, and a handful of girls came forward with a story. America, y'all better work the hell up. Bad things happens to good people in small towns. Listen to Graves County on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

And to binge the entire season, ad free, subscribe to Lava for Good Plus, on Apple Podcasts. Hi there, this is Josh Clark from the Stuff You Should Know podcast. If you've been thinking, man alive, I could go for some good true crime podcast episodes, then have we got good news for you. Stuff You Should Know just released a playlist of 12 of our best true crime episodes of all time. There's a shootout in broad daylight. People using axes in really terrible ways, disappearances, legendary heists, the whole nine yards.

So check out the Stuff You Should Know True Crime playlist. on the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Jorge Ramos. And I'm Paola Ramos. Together we're launching The Moment, a new podcast about what it means to live through a time, as uncertain as this one. We sit down with politicians, artists, and activists to bring you death and analysis from a unique Latino perspective. The moment is a space for the conversations we've been having us father and daughter for years. Listen to The Moment with Jorge Ramos and Paola Ramos.

on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Introducing IVF disrupted, the Kind Body story, a podcast about a company that promised to revolutionize fertility care. It grew like a tech startup. While Kind Body did help women start families, it also left behind a stream of disillusioned and angry patients. You think you're finally like in the right hands. You're just not. Listen to IVF Disrupted, the Kinds. Body Story on the IHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. This is an IHeart podcast.