Georgia Today: 50th ATL film festival; Voting law uncertainty; Backlash against Trump's posts

Orlando Montoya: Hello and welcome to the Georgia Today podcast. Here we bring you the latest reports from the GPB newsroom. On today's episode, this year marks the 50th anniversary of the Atlanta Film Festival. The state election board tells Georgia counties to prepare for paper ballots amid voting law uncertainty. And a Republican congressman from Georgia is speaking out against President Trump's recent social media posts. 

Austin Scott: The Easter Sunday post about annihilating a civilization is not OK. It's not. And posting a picture portraying yourself as Jesus is not OK. 

Orlando Montoya: Today is Friday, April 17th. I'm Orlando Montoya, and this is Georgia Today. 

Story 1:

Orlando Montoya: A Republican congressman from Georgia is rebuking recent social media posts by President Donald Trump. South Georgia's Austin Scott made his short and to-the-point comments in an unrelated committee meeting on Tuesday. 

Austin Scott: I wish I could say this in a private conversation, but I can't, so I do want to say it. The Easter Sunday post about annihilating a civilization is not OK. It's not. And posting a picture portraying yourself as Jesus is not OK. And so I would just advise all of the people at the White House that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. And if you read Proverbs, you would know that. And Galatians will caution you that God will not be mocked. 

Orlando Montoya: And that was the entirety of his statement. Scott, who represents the 8th District, is the latest to join a rare conservative backlash following the incendiary posts. 

Story 2: 

Orlando Montoya: A superior court judge in northeast Georgia's Barrow County today set the sentencing date for Colin Gray. He's the father who was found guilty of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter for providing a rifle that his son Colt Gray allegedly used in the 2024 Apalachee High School shooting where two teachers and two students were fatally shot. He is set to be sentenced on July 28. Colin Gray is the first parent in Georgia to be convicted of criminal negligence that led to their child committing a crime. 

Story 3: 

Orlando Montoya: The State Election Board met this week but made no decisions ahead of a July 1 deadline to force local boards of election to stop using QR codes on ballots. GPB's Sarah Kallis reports on how counties might have to prepare. 

Sarah Kallis: The State Election Board is recommending that counties get ready to conduct elections using hand-marked paper ballots after a July 1 deadline. That's unless there are changes to a 2024 law prohibiting the use of QR codes on the back of ballots to tally election results. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says paper ballots in November could be a solution. 

Brad Raffensperger: We'll want to make sure we pull in all the key stakeholders in that, and at the end of the day make sure that voters don't have to worry about anything. 

Sarah Kallis: A bill that would have moved the deadline until after the November election passed the House during the legislative session, but stalled in the Senate. The only solution would be for Gov. Brian Kemp to call a special session to revisit the law. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis.

Story 4: 

Orlando Montoya: When taken properly, medication can make HIV undetectable and prevent transmission. A new analysis of data from Emory University finds these treatments prevented more than 55,000 new cases and 36,000 deaths in Georgia over the last four decades. GPB's Ellen Eldridge has more. 

Ellen Eldridge: The public health benefits of antiretroviral therapies that suppress HIV are more than clinical. Improved life expectancy and resulting labor market outcomes totaled more than $100 billion since 1987. Study author Patrick Sullivan is with Emory University. He says for every dollar invested in HIV treatment, the public saw a return of $3.40. 

Patrick Sullivan: According to our analysis, antiretroviral therapy protects the health of people living with HIV, and it's also a sound investment in the South's economic well-being. 

Ellen Eldridge: In 2023, Georgia had the highest rate of new HIV diagnoses of any state, with more than 81% of those cases affecting Black and Latino communities. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge. 

Story 5: 

Orlando Montoya: Hundreds of Georgians who rely on federal rental assistance might need to relocate as emergency housing vouchers expire this summer. GPB's Amanda Andrews reports the NAACP is advocating for affected families. 

Amanda Andrews: Federal funding for the vouchers was allocated in 2021 and expected to last through 2030. Due to the rising cost of rent, the program will now end on June 30. Public housing authorities in Atlanta and Columbus say they'll accept the new families. But Georgia NAACP President Gwenette Westbrooks says many people can't just move. 

Gwenette Westbrooks: People have children that they have to take out of schools. And you have, like I explained, that you have people that have jobs that they would have to leave their employment in order to be able to keep housing. So you have to make a decision which one is important, your employment or housing. 

Amanda Andrews: Emergency voucher recipients will also be automatically added to the Georgia Department of Community Affairs' tenant-based voucher waitlist. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews. 

Story 6: 

Orlando Montoya: President Donald Trump has nominated a former deputy surgeon general to be the next director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trump named Erica Schwartz in a social media post yesterday. Leadership at the Atlanta-based agency has been a revolving door since the administration fired former director Susan Monarez last year. Schwartz holds multiple academic credentials in both medicine and law. 

Story 7: 

Orlando Montoya: Central Georgia Technical College and the Houston County School District have launched a $100 million regional health care workforce initiative. The partners said this week that the investment includes a $10 million grant from Bloomberg Philanthropies and will advance opportunities for students in an 11-county region. 

Story 8: 

Orlando Montoya: This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Atlanta Film Festival, a public celebration of local and international filmmakers, marquee events and premieres. GPB's Kristi York Wooten brings us this preview. 

Kristi York Wooten: Based at the historic Plaza and Terra Theaters, the Atlanta Film Festival is a story of traditions and numbers. From April 23 through May 3, the festival screened 154 films chosen for more than 5,500 submissions, plus dozens of related events and immersive experiences. Christopher Escobar is the executive director of the festival and involved in the revival of Atlanta's arthouse theaters. 

Christopher Escobar: I like to think of the Atlanta Film Festival like one of those either music clubs or comedy clubs where people who became greats first kind of proved themselves and cut their teeth. We have a really long history going back nearly all 50 years of being either one of, or in many cases, the first to play the work from people like Spike Lee, Joel Coen, Robert Rodriguez, David Gordon Green, Ray McKinnon, James Poncell, Walton Goggins, Julie Dash, Mark Mori, and that's a really important history that we're really proud of. 

Kristi York Wooten: Filmmaker Mark Mori has a unique history with the Atlanta Film Festival, first in 1989 with the documentary about nuclear weapons production at the Savannah River Plant. 

FILM SOUND: It was announced we was going to have a bomb plant in here. I can see my mother today sitting in a rocking chair saying "It's a damnation on Earth."

Kristi York Wooten: Building Bombs was nominated for an Academy Award and returns to the Atlanta Film Festival this year, restored in 4K. 

Mark Mori: That's why I make film. It's not just to make a film, it's to actually cause people to take action and improve what's going on. And when I got the call from the Academy, I dropped the phone. I was so shocked that it was nominated. 

Kristi York Wooten: Maury is the only director with two films in the festival this year. His latest entry is Baristas vs. Billionaires, a Susan Sarandon-narrated documentary about the struggles of Starbucks workers in their efforts to unionize. 

FILM SOUND

Mark Mori: You know, I was a union member in Atlanta back before I made this film. I worked at Atlantic Steel over on 14th Street. That's all gone now. I was very politically active and the company fired me and the union got my job back. And so, you know, that experience is what really informed me in being able to make this film.

Kristi York Wooten: Festival-goers will see work from heavy hitters and up-and-comers like Kaia Alexandria Clingman, an actor, director, and producer who shot the short film "Capriccio" in an Atlanta bookstore. 

Kaia Alexandria Clingman: As Black filmmakers, sometimes we feel like we have to have a message or a strong cause, or like a mission-driven story. But for this one, we get to just escape for 10 minutes and watch this couple transform and have a really beautiful meet-cute. It's fun. It's colors. It's dance. It's music. It's all of the things that we enjoy about film. 

Kristi York Wooten: Despite shifts in the industry over the past few years, for many creatives, Atlanta is still a welcoming place to thrive. 

Kaia Alexandria Clingman: The biggest blessing of being in Atlanta is getting to see the rise of independent filmmaking here in the city. I always am trying to amplify voices of the unheard and tell stories that other people are afraid to tell. 

Kristi York Wooten: For Escobar, the Atlanta Film Festival is the commitment of a lifetime. 

Christopher Escobar And the short of it is, it's because the Atlanta community comes together — from people who volunteer to people who sponsor, donate, the staff, the board, the members of the media who help us spread the word. Like it is very much a group effort. And like Mayor Dickens said, it is a group project. Uh, what he says with Atlanta. It's true with the Atlanta Film Festival. 

Kristi York Wooten: The Atlanta Film Festival runs from April 23 to May 3. For GPB News, I'm Kristi York Wooten. 

Story 9:

Orlando Montoya: Atlanta commuters take heed as MARTA's next-gen overhaul rolls out this weekend and nearly every bus route will change as the entire system has been redrawn. More than 30 routes will disappear. Other routes will have more frequent service. This is the Transit Authority's biggest route redesign in its history. It begins tomorrow, Saturday. MARTA is urging riders to check schedules and routes at itsmarta.com. 

Story 10:

Orlando Montoya: Atlanta journalist Tom Junot is known for his acclaimed and in-depth profiles in men's magazines including Esquire and GQ. He's now senior writer at ESPN. His latest profile has taken him his entire life to write. In his new book, In the Days of My Youth, I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man, he takes a tough and unflinching gaze at his father and, in the process, writes both an enthralling family drama and a pointed social commentary. Tom Juneau joins me now. Thanks for coming to GPB. 

Tom Junod: Thanks for having me, Orlando. 

Orlando Montoya: After writing so many profiles of other people, perhaps most famously, Mr. Rogers, what made you turn your attention as a writer to your father, Lou, who died in 2006? 

Tom Junod: Well, you know, I'd been writing about my dad sort of all along. I think one of the first stories I ever wrote for GQ was about Frank Sinatra Jr. So that was about the difficulty of being a son. One of the stories that I did for GQ was actually about my father; it was called "My Father's Fashion Tips." In a certain way, this book revisits that. So when I did "My Father's Fashion Tips" with my dad back in 1996, He told me a lot of things that I couldn't use in that article because he was still alive and the secrets were so — were so radical. The secrets that he told me about himself and his life were so at odds with what everybody thought basically in my family. And so I kept it to myself until now. 

Orlando Montoya: What attracted people to your father? 

Tom Junod My father was one of the most powerfully charismatic people I've ever encountered — and I've encountered a lot of charismatic people. I've done stories on people who have made their livings out of being charismatic. But my dad was second to none in all of that. He was not just tan, he was sort of professionally tanned. 

Orlando Montoya: He was obsessed by the sun. 

Tom Junod: He was obsessed by the Sun. I mean, he was called a sun worshiper. I mean he literally had eyes the color of creme de menthe. I mean had the greenest eyes of any human being I've ever seen, you know, matched against this sort of steak sauce-colored skin. Plus this, you now, habit of, and this insistence on wearing clothes that were flattering to him. So he was that guy. And He never let you forget that he was the most attractive person in the room. 

Orlando Montoya: He had a physical magnetism, but also a personal magnetism. 

Tom Junod: He did. My father, he was a Brooklyn boy. So you would think that he would sound like one of those kids from the East Side comedies from the 1930s. "Eh, Louie!" But he didn't speak like that. He had learned his speech patterns from watching the movies. And so he spoke like this, "Orlando. You ask very good questions." He had a musicality of his speech. It was seductive and it was seductive to everybody who knew him. It was seductive to men, I think, who wanted to be like him. And it was seductive to women who wanted be with him. 

Orlando Montoya: You describe Lou as an unabashed womanizer and philanderer, someone who flaunted his sexual prowess in a kind of "Marlboro Man" billboard kind of way. But of course, you didn't know these words and concepts as a 9-year-old when you witnessed them happening, but you did know that it was toxic. 

Tom Junod: I did. 

Orlando Montoya: How? 

Tom Junod: From my mom. You know, I was connected to my mom sort of via central nervous system. I think that we were the same kind of person, ultimately. And so I felt it when my mom felt it, and my mom felt it a lot. I think it had something to do with the fear of my dad. I think my mother feared my dad, and so therefore so did I. 

Orlando Montoya: The arguments, the fights. 

Tom Junod: The arguments, the little — You know, my mom's defense was these sort of jabs at my dad. You know, it was like —  it was like being the zebra on the Serengeti when the lion is continually pacing the room. 

Orlando Montoya: What, in finding out the truth about your father, transformed you?

Tom Junod: Knowing my father's secrets when I was a child and then a boy and then a young man and now as a, you know, a guy who's had a long writing career, has strengthened me in some way. I mean, the thing that my dad was very successful at making me feel was weak. And so knowing his secrets gave me a kind of power and I must say that talking about his secrets right now still gives me a kind of strength. I have felt stronger as a person since writing the book. 

Orlando Montoya: Do you recall some lighter moments that you had with your father? 

Tom Junod: I can go many, many, many times. 

Orlando Montoya: Your favorite? 

Tom Junod: Well, my, you know, my father, my father was, he was a sun worshiper. And so we had a — we had a house out in West Hampton beach, Long Island, right by the water. And he would, you know, come into the little room or the little bunkhouse where me and, you know, my brother and my friends would sleep and be like, "All right, get up. It's time to run the beach." And we would do that. We would have to go out, en masse. Whoever was there would have to go down and run the beach. And he'd be sort of exercising and doing these things. And then, you know, as a reward for running the beach, you'd go into the ocean. And my father would go in there and go, "Nectar of the gods." And you felt exactly that. It wasn't like you were, like, "this is ridiculous." You felt like you are lucky to be in that water, in his presence, in that sunlight. It was just a, it was a remarkable experience. 

Orlando Montoya: Where do you think your book lands in the conversation about masculinity today? 

Tom Junod: The book is more experiential than essayistic. I don't very often pull back and analyze things. I never use the phrase "toxic masculinity" in the book. I barely even use the word "abuse" or "trauma." I will say though that especially right now where you see masculinity becoming a sort of maybe a synonym for what it used to be: like this idea that men don't have to apologize for anything and that's what masculinity should be: It should allow you to sort of get away with things. My father definitely, I think, went through his life thinking he could get away with a lot and used his sort of masculine armor to do that. I have to say, though, that I don't think he got away with it. I think he did — I think he did a lot of damage. I think did a a lot damage to his family, and I think that he did lot of damage to other people outside of his family. Especially some of the women, the women that he either was in love with or just took on as lovers. You know, my father fooled a lot people. Especially men. Not so much women, but especially men. They were, like, his friends. They worshiped him. And You see this right now, there are just people who are out there being worshiped despite representing, in some ways, the worst of us. 

Orlando Montoya: That's Atlanta writer, Tom Junod, senior writer at ESPN and the author of In the Days of My Youth, I Was Told What It Means to Be a Man. Thanks for coming to GPB. 

Tom Junod: Thanks for having me, Orlando. 

Story 11:

Orlando Montoya: Springtime in Georgia is here, and that means festival season is in full swing all over the state. This is a wonderful time to get out in your community or to visit a new community. And maybe to put an idea in your head, something to do, here are some events you can find going on this weekend. There's the Spring Fling and Backyard Barbecue Festival in Moultrie, Barbecue and Brews in Cartersville and the first annual Chickamauga Crawfish Festival. Colquitt will host the 43rd National Mayhaw Festival and Parade, and in Darien, they'll have the annual Blessing of the Fleet, a beloved tradition in that maritime community. The Bear on the Square Mountain Festival is in Dahlonega. Thomaston will have its Art and Soul Fest. And the Bluesberry Beer and Music Festival is happening in Norcross. Now, while most of these events feature live music, there are a number of music-focused festivals around the state this weekend, just specifically music. There's the Georgia Tribute Festival in Brunswick, Sweetwater 420 Fest in Atlanta, that's a big one. The Roswell Music Festival. Downtown Hartwell will host its very first Porch Songs and Public Voices Festival. Other notable events over the weekend include Crush Reloaded Weekend 2026 in Savannah and Tybee Island, the International Street Festival in Athens, the Williamson Wisteria Festival, and the Possum Hollow Festival in Dexter. How do those possums get in hollows? We know that this is an incomplete list. I'm already thinking of Atlanta Streets Alive, how did we miss that one? If you know of an event that we missed, please email us at georgiatoday@gpb.org. We'd love to hear about upcoming events as well. 

Outro: 

Orlando Montoya: That's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. If you'd like to learn more about these stories, visit gpb.org/news. If you haven't yet hit subscribe on this podcast, take a moment right now and keep us current in your podcast feed. If you have feedback, as I just said, you can email us at georgiatoday@gpb.org. I'm Orlando Montoya. I hope you have a great weekend. 

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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news