The phone lines open at noon at 615-760-2000. You can also pop into chat on our YouTube stream with your questions and thoughts.

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan. 

Guests

• Vera Roberts, Warner Park Nature Center Naturalist
• Michael Davie, Bartlett Tree Experts Arborist
• Austin Lohin, Bates Nursery Gardening Expert

The 2026 edition was released today, and in this episode, we take a closer look at what the data reveals. Where is the city making progress, and where do disparities remain? More importantly, how can leaders and communities use this information to drive meaningful change?

Later on, we also preview the upcoming Community Needs Evaluation from Metro Social Services. Released yearly for the last seventeen years, this year's report,  "Affordability Issues for African Americans in Nashville: Enduring Legacies. Emerging Issues," focuses on continued affordability challenges facing African Americans in Nashville.

Together, these reports raise critical questions about equity, opportunity, and the future of our city.

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

Guests:

• Dr. Jihan Mohammed, research analyst, Metro Human Relations Commission
• Rev. Davie Tucker, executive director, Metro Human Relations Commission
• Harriet Wallace, strategic communications manager, Metro Social Services

In a series of reports this month, WPLN takes an in-depth look at this crisis — how it has harmed communities and what is being done to reverse course.

In this episode, Health Reporter Catherine Sweeney and This Is Nashville host Blake Farmer dive into history of these closures. Then, Catherine takes us to Linden — a rural Tennessee town that lost its hospital and got it back. Finally, providers discuss what communities can do to fill in the gaps when traditional health care delivery is hard to find.

This episode is part of our Healthcare Hollow series, made possible, in part, by the NIHCM Foundation.

Guests

Kyle Kopec, Chief Operating Officer, Braden Health
Shatiqua Jamerson, Administration and Programs Coordinator, Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center
Dr. Charae Farmer-Dixon, Dean, Meharry School of Dentistry at Meharry Medical College

A classically trained composer and singer, Wu Fei was educated in China’s conservatory system before continuing her studies at Mills College in the United States. She eventually made her home in Nashville, where her sound has evolved through collaborations with local folk artists.

Though her roots are deeply classical, it’s the simplicity and emotional clarity of folk music that she has embraced and made her own. In this episode, we explore the history and voice of this ancient instrument, hear it in action, and discover how its sound can reconnect us with something simple and deeply human.

This week, we unpack the controversy over an Apache helicopter flyby at Kid Rock’s property that drew attention all the way to the White House, the firing of a library director who refused to remove LGBTQ-themed children’s books, and the role of dark money in ad campaigns aimed at protecting pharmacy consolidation. As always, our panel brings perspectives from the left, right, and center — and we make space for your voice, too. 

Guests:

Levi Ismail, Emmy-award winning journalist, NewsChannel 5’s investigative unit
Kiran Sreepada, Former Democratic candidate for Congressional District 5 and former Director of Programs for the States Project
Chris Walker, founding partner, The Poplar Group

But restaurants that are part of out-of-town investment groups have closed too — all while new concepts are opening up. Is it simply natural churn in a volatile business? We know it’s more expensive than ever to open and maintain a restaurant, so we're looking at the economics and the local food scene with the people who watch it most closely.

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan. 

Guests:

• Jill Melton, Edible Nashville Editor & Founder
• Brandon Styll, Nashville Restaurant Radio Host and Nashville Area Restaurant Alliance Founder (NARA)
• Mackensy Lunsford, Senior Dining Reporter, The Tennessean
• Naima Walker Fierce, Germantown Pub Primary Owner

Guests:

• Marianna Bacallao, power & equity reporter, WPLN News
• Melissa Brown, bureau chief, Chalkbeat Tennessee
• Sarah Grace Taylor, reporter, Nashville Banner
• Erik Schelzig, editor, The Tennessee Journal
• Mandy Spears, executive vice president, Sycamore Institute

R.A. Dickey learned the unpredictable knuckleball pitch as a last-ditch effort to save his major league baseball career. Once he mastered its spin-free magic, it transformed his game. But for Nashville’s own knuckleball king, that journey paralleled something deeper: an epiphany that reshaped his personal life.

Once a risk-taker on and off the field, Dickey now takes his biggest risks in relationships, opening up about past trauma he once feared would push people away. In this episode, we slow down with Dickey to talk about working to end human trafficking, becoming an open book and, of course, the craziest pitch in baseball.

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

On 91.1, listeners get exposed to all kinds of songs not in their regular feed. But it doesn't stop there. They do more than tune in. Listeners play an active role in how playlists are curated, making the station an interactive, communal space for sonic lovers. In this episode, folks who have been with the station since the beginning share their strategies on how they bring their own knowledge base to the work and bust the online algorithms to bring you just the right song.

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan. 

Guests 

• Celia Gregory, WNXP Morning Host
• Marquis Munson, WNXP Music Director
• Jason Moon Wilkins, WNXP Program Director

Further in
WNXP Sonic Cathedral Live Sessions

We're asking about the latest on budgets and property taxes, updates on fairground racing, and a proposal to expand childcare access in Nashville. But as always, the most important questions are yours.

So what’s been bothering you lately? Are you still dealing with lingering issues from the ice storm? Do you have concerns about your neighborhood, city services, or something small that just hasn’t been addressed? No matter how big, this is your chance to ask the man directly. 

This has prompted listeners like Kelly Cannon to wonder what’s been lost. She asked Curious Nashville about something she’d heard about the Brentwood Library:

"A colleague recently told me that when the Brentwood Library was built remains were found of ancient Mississippian people, along with evidence of ancient mounds. Is this true? Where were the bodies moved to? Who took responsibility for the remains?"

WPLN’s Cynthia Abrams went to find the history of that site and shares the story — and its connections to other local sites, and the national movement for repatriation.

We'll also talk to a ProPublica reporter about her reporting for 'The Repatriation Project' and the federal law that requires remains and artifacts to be returned to tribes — as well as the failure of institutions to do so. We also welcome Tom Kunesh, who is working to protect Native American sites across Tennessee.

Guests: 

• Mary Hudetz, Investigative Reporter for ProPublica
• Tom Kunesh, President of Tennessee Ancient Sites Conservancy

Nashville Public Radio's new CEO came from Oakland, where she spent most of her career in public radio and where, as a fourth-generation Californian, she's a genuine rarity. Those deep roots didn't stop her from spending her entire young adulthood in Spain, though, lost and entirely at home making historical documentaries in her second language. It's a posture she's carried into every chapter of her life.

Just over half a year in, we talk about what brought her to Nashville, what she sees in this city and what she believes public radio is now that federal funding is gone.

The moment is hard. She'd also argue it's hopeful. By the end of this interview, you just might believe her.

This episode was produced by Liv Lombardi.

Today, three Nashville songwriters in various stages of their careers join us to tell us their stories and answer any lingering curiosities. Plus, they take your calls. Country Music Hall of Fame songwriter Rivers Rutherford, along with Rhys Rutherford and Joybeth Taylor, are in the studio. If you’ve ever wanted to pick the brain of an award-winning songwriter, this is your chance. 

This episode was produced by Liv Lombardi and Mary Mancini.

Guests

• Rivers Rutherford, songwriter, The Highwaymen, Tim McGraw, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley and Dolly Parton, Montgomery Gentry, Gretchen Wilson, Trace Atkins and Brooks & Dunn
• Rhys Rutherford, singer/songwriter, Bailey Zimmerman’s “Is This Really Over?,” ERNEST’s “Hangin’ On (feat. Morgan Wallen),” George Pippen’s “Rest of Our Life”
• Joybeth Taylor, songwriter, “Choosin’ Texas” by Ella Langley reached #1 at Country Radio

But what does it all mean? Today we follow the money: how writers get paid, what happens when a song gets cut, what the different kinds of publishing deals are, and what the implications are for copyrights now that AI has come to town. It’s day three of songwriting week and we’re talking about the business of songwriting.

This episode was produced by Liv Lombardi and Mary Mancini.

Guests

• Lydia Schultz Cahill, Sr. Director of Creative Services, SESAC Performing Rights, Nashville
• Dr. E. Michael Harrington, Musicologist
• Olivia Rudeen, singer-songwriter
• Chandler Nicole Sherrill, Senior Director of Creative, Electric Feel Entertainment

He makes it sound simple, but thousands know it’s much more complicated – and it’s different for everyone. It may start with an idea and then come together from there. Or a note or a phrase may come first and then it’s built word by word and note by note. On day two of songwriter week, Grammy-nominated Luke Dick and Grammy-winning Melody Walker, two songwriters with impressive songwriting credits, join Blake in the studio to start from scratch. Together they’ll share ideas, write lyrics, and sample melodies and explain the choices they make along the way. Will inspiration strike? Will the muse show up? And by the end of the hour, will they have a hit song on their hands?

This episode was produced by Liv Lombardi and Mary Mancini.

Guests

• Luke Dick, Grammy-nominated songwriter
• Melody Walker, Grammy-winning songwriter

Growing up in Motown, Alice Randall was drawn to the sounds coming from Music City. The dream was to invade the “citadel” of country music, elevate progressive ideas and highlight the Black roots of a very white genre. She would become the first Black woman to co-write a number one country hit — Trisha Yearwood’s “XXX’s and OOO’s.” She got her number one, made it big as a publisher, then got a little burned. So she assumed new roles. Randall has come to be viewed as a "griot" for the way she preserves and promotes the overlooked history of country music as laid out in her 2024 book "My Black Country." From her early days in Nashville learning the craft from Steve Earle to her evolution into a best-selling author and professor at Vanderbilt, she has her own remarkable stories to tell.

This episode was produced by Blake Farmer.

But six of them stood out to us, and we want to give listeners a recap. In today's episode we feature an Olympic Gold Medalist, a public school teacher who performs drag, one of the few Black artists to ever crack the Billboard country charts and more. So you can see why we had to make a profile playlist to recap the last couple of months. We cast a wide net when we search for profile candidates. And we had quite the catch.

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan and Blake Farmer. 

This episode was produced by Blake Farmer.

Guests:

• Brett Kling, human resources information systems professional and job seeker
• Steve Jones, marketing and communications and job seeker
• Lynise Harris, professional executive coach and lead career coach at UpRise Nashville
• Lauren Kiproff-Downer, organizational development consultant at Perpara Organizational Development and facilitator of the career transitions group for Middle Tennessee SHRM
• Celeste Carruthers, professor and labor economist, University of Tennessee — Knoxville

Through the lens and life of A&R lifer Kim Buie, we get to see that this glamorous job is mostly about losing: missing out on artists who become superstars (her near-miss tale of N.W.A. is amazing), knowing that the majority of albums you help shepherd into the world will flop, and being the person who has to say no to a musician’s lifelong dream.

Buie, and guests Stevo Robertson and Anay Richardson, explain what keeps them going, what shapes their tastes and how their approach to the job differs. It is the TikTok era after all.

Guests

• Kim Buie, A&R veteran
• Anay Richardson, A&R coordinator, Prescription Songs
• Steve Robertson, Label founder & Co-president, Severance Records

Music Citizens is a podcast series by WNXP and Nashville Public Radio about the people who make music work. Each episode will explore what it takes to do the jobs that keep the music business moving and introduce you to the characters who are often well known within their worlds but whose vital work goes largely uncelebrated. Listen to all episodes at wnxp.org.

Both are physicians at Vanderbilt. Alex is an orthopedic surgeon who led the city’s COVID-19 task force. Eiman is a cardiologist and lifelong space enthusiast who eventually got the chance to travel to space.

The sons of Iranian immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as preschoolers, the brothers once believed they’d never return to Nashville after leaving for college and medical school together. But life had other plans. Today, the Jahangir brothers are deeply woven into the fabric of the city.

If you’re wondering why there’s so much talk about property taxes in Nashville, it’s partly because 2025 taxes were due last week and a lot of homeowners and businesses simply can’t afford it. It’s hard to complain about the value of your property doubling or tripling in the last decade — but selling isn’t a simple solution. There’s new movement from local businesses pushing back, and the state legislature is advancing a cap on future increases. 

Today we dive deep into local issues including this considerable increase in property taxes, the risk of sinkholes from the tunnel construction and the proposed six-lane boulevard that’s part of the East Bank development project.

And we hear from you! Call 615-760-2000 with your question or comment during the show. Or, you can chime in on our live YouTube stream.

Guests

• Cynthia Abrams, Metro Reporter, Nashville Public Radio
• Lauren Morales, Chief Operating Officer, TomKats Hospitality
• Tom Wills, Community Volunteer

Guests: 

• Cara Anthony, HealthQ co-host and reporter, KFF Health News
• Katina Beard, CEO, Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center
• Sade L Davis, board chair, Neighborhood Health
• Katie Richards, CEO, Siloam Health
• Dr. Rohini Chakravarthy, medical director, Vanderbilt's Shade Tree Clinic

This episode was produced by Blake Farmer.

From romance book stores to dedicated book clubs to a genre-expanding author, this episode sheds light on why we're no longer hiding the covers of what we're reading, even in the traditionally conservative South.

Guests

• Tonya Pineda, owner, Slow Burn
• Katie Garaby, coordinator, Between the Covers Romance Book Club
• Caleb Haynes, romance novel enthusiast
• Tracy Crum, newly self-published author of "On The Outside", a love story where disability isn't the tragedy

"It was emotionally overwhelming and a little cathartic, but I'm gonna tell you, you could have heard a pin drop," Vaught tells This Is Nashville.

She's gotten used to recounting the incident and the courtroom saga that followed, but she still chokes back tears when talking about the family of Charlene Murphey, the 75-year-old patient who died. Vaught's medication error, which involved overriding a safety system, resulted in losing her nursing license and being convicted of a felony.

"There won't ever be a day that goes by that I won't think of this. My life will never be the same," she says in a wide-ranging interview on her sheep farm in Sumner County.

This episode was produced by Blake Farmer.

We take a deep look at new details surrounding immigration enforcement in Middle Tennessee, including an investigation by a media collaborative including Nashville Banner, as well as challenges to marriage equality and gender-affirming surgeries. We also discuss the latest developments with the underground Tesla loop. And we hear from you! Call 615-760-2000 with your question of comment. You can also chime in on our live YouTube stream.

Guests

• Sarah Grace Taylor, reporter, Nashville Banner
• Bill Phillips, former deputy mayor for Bill Purcell and John Cooper, Republican analyst
• Sophie Esteves Varvella Vicente, MDiv student, Vanderbilt Divinity School

We’ve been through a lot since he was on the show last month. Today we start with questions about the ongoing ice storm recovery and the official review of the city’s response. Plus, property taxes, a change in leadership at NDOT, park recovery and debris removal.

What are you wondering besides where on earth all the tree detritus is going? You can call in during the live show at 615-760-2000 or pop into chat on our YouTube stream.

We end the hour with Curious Nashville and a mysterious bunker-looking structure at the edge of the international airport. What is it? We get some answers.

Guests

• Freddie O'Connell, mayor, Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County
• Brent Freeman, deputy director, Metro Water Services
• Sonia Allman, public information officer. Metro Water Services

It provides a spotlight for people of all ages to share important human stories, build confidence and work as a team to create something that can touch us all. But theater — even on a shoestring — still takes space. And good luck finding an empty stage in a room with good acoustics (along with free parking). We’re putting independent theater in center stage.

Guests

• Anne Veal, Unscripted Improv
• Daniel Jones, Oz Arts, Kindling Arts
• Shawn Whitsell, Destiny Theatre Experience
• Bryce McDonald, Producing Director & CEO, Cumberland County Playhouse

Nearly two decades ago, “Country Girl” announced her to the world. The song was a declaration that you don’t have to be from Arkansas or speak with a drawl to belong in country music. She had a line in there that touched on race, too. Her label made her take it out.

A lot has changed since then — and a lot hasn’t. Country music is still working out who gets to belong, who gets to be heard, and who gets to tell their own story without compromise. Rissi Palmer has spent the better part of 20 years figuring out her own answer to those questions, and her new album “Perspectives” is where she lands.

It’s as country as anything she’s ever made, but her music no longer backs away from her Blackness.

In this conversation, Palmer talks about the long road from that first charting single to where she stands today — as an artist, an advocate, and the founder of Color Me Country Radio. She talks about what it took to stay in this industry on her own terms, what she wishes she’d known, and what “Perspectives” is really trying to say.

This episode was produced by Liv Lombardi.

Guests

• Angela Crumpton, Community Engagement Specialist, Black Mental Health Village
• Timothy D. Hughes, Interim president of the Nashville Branch of the NAACP; New commissioner on Mayor’s Winter Storm Response Commission
• Amiee Sadler, LMSW, Executive Director, Miriam’s Promise

Jefferson Street Sound Museum and the new Museum of Gospel and Christian Music have just been added to the must-see landmarks — joining the National Museum of African American Music. Today, we go for a trifecta, visiting all three in one hour.

This episode was produced by Blake Farmer and Mary Mancini.

Guests

• Lorenzo Washington, founder, curator and president, Jefferson Street Sound Museum
• Karen Coffey, vice president, Jefferson Street Sound Museum
  
  
  
• Bill Jeffries, executive director, National Museum of African American Music
• Romello Smith, artist relations and fan engagement, National Museum of African American Music
• Jackie Patillo, Gospel Music Association
• Doe, recording artist
• Steve Gilreath, executive director, Museum of Gospel and Christian Music

At least that’s what the latest survey data tells us. What’s going on there? Do you feel safe in your city? What are you worried about? What have you seen that has you looking over your shoulder? We’re exploring this contradiction on the show today. Guests with lived experience and professional backgrounds in criminal justice and anxiety are here to answer your questions. Our phone lines are open at 615-760-2000 and you can also pop in chat on our live YouTube stream!

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan. 

Guests 

• Lonnell Matthews, Metro Nashville Juvenile Court Clerk
• Stephanie Nesbitt, North Nashville Resident
• Emily DeSalvatore, Licensed Behavioral Therapist, Nashville Anxiety

The report also indicates academic improvement post-pandemic, particularly in TCAP Math scores. However, mental health remains a concern, as does the integration of technology in everyday life. On today's show, we speak with representatives from Tennessee state government and also focus on School Choice legislation impacting public school funding. This is a roundabout edition of This Is Nashville. Join the conversation by calling 615-760-2000 or pop into chat on our YouTube livestream.

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan. 

Guests

• Camellia Burris, WPLN Education Reporter
• Kylie Graves, Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth Director of Data, Policy, & Communications
• Chelsea Crawford, TennesseeCAN Executive Director
• Maryam Abolfazli, Rise and Shine Tennessee Founder

And ICE continues to carry out public raids and individual seizures across the country. As their tactics become more aggressive, we look at the rights of the detained, of witnesses and of property and business owners. We also take a closer look at the immigration legislation beginning to be debated in the Tennessee General Assembly. Call 615-760-2000 during the show — or pop into the chat on our YouTube stream — to ask questions and share your insights.

Guests

• Judith Clerjeune, Advocacy Director, Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition
• Luis Pedraza, Music City Migrawatch
• Emily Stotts, Legal Director, Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors

The ice storm of 2026 will become a core memory for many of us. For others, the outages and related damage is the least of our problems. Reactions have ranged from anger to empathy and resignation to activation. Today, we’re doing a bit of an autopsy on the emotional anatomy of a collective crisis. We’ll look at how we should process all that these last two weeks brought up, and we’re taking your calls later in the hour.

Guests

Kate Martin, M.Ed., LPC-MHSP, The Estuary
Ashley Hampton, Director, Healing In The Margins
Anita Richardson, native Nashvillian and new participant in the NES solar program
Rev. Dr. Kate Fields, Associate Chaplain for Community Life and Justice Ministry, St. Augustine's Episcopal Church

But the response is going to be discussed and debated for a long time to come and we start in this episode with our roundabout panel: columnist Bruce Barry of the Tennessee Lookout, WPLN’s Metro Reporter Cynthia Abrams and attorney Rita Roberts-Turner, former chief of staff for a former Nashville mayor.

Plus, we take your questions and comments at 615-760-2000 or pop into chat on our YouTube stream!

Guests

• Cynthia Abrams, Metro Reporter, WPLN
• Bruce Barry, columnist, Tennessee Lookout
• Rita Roberts-Turner, attorney, Klein, Solomon Mills; former chief of staff for a former Nashville mayor

Curious Nashville is powered by listener questions — and what you ask often leads to wonderful stories, fascinating characters and even more curiosity about the community around us. Have a curious question? Hit us up at wpln.org/curious-nashville

Winter storm Fern may have been misnamed because it was actually hardwoods and hackberries wreaking so much havoc. The local canopy will never be the same. And for those of us who lived through this storm, we may never again see limbs near power lines as non-threatening.

Today, we talk about protecting our trees and our power grid, plus we take your pressing questions about storm insurance claims.

Guests

• Kevin Walters, Spokesperson, Tennessee Department of Commerce and Insurance
• Chris Leonard, Board Chair, Tree Conservation Corps
• Daniel Pittman, Local Claims Adjuster, Goodman-Gable-Gould/Adjusters International

There were only a couple of places to even lace up and glide until a few years ago. But this is where Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton decided to relocate as he wrapped up his skating career. 

As the 2026 Winter Olympic Games approach, we thought it best to talk to someone with firsthand experience about what it's like to skate under those lights with the whole world watching. Scott Hamilton is a 1984 Sarajevo Winter Games Olympic Gold Medalist. He joins us to talk about his Nashville story, his unlikely skating career and his turn to philanthropy and faith. 

Power restoration is still slow-going in some communities. One in five homes in Nashville is still in the dark and cold. And in some parts of town, work has hardly begun. This hour, we’re going to get an update about the arrival of the National Guard, hear about schools running out of snow days, and learn the warning signs about carbon monoxide poisoning. Plus we’ll visit Brown’s Diner where they’re emptying the freezer before it goes bad — and we remember the ice storm of 1994. It’s another recovery show.

After the live show ends, tune into the latest Mayor's News Conference.

Guests: 

• Rep. Caleb Hemmer (D), Tennessee House Representative, District 59
• Camellia Burris, WPLN Education Reporter
• John Isbell, Sumner County Mayor
• Rose Gilbert, WPLN General Assignment Reporter
• Nadine Moore, Birria Babe Owner
• Justin Barney, WPLN Music Reporter

Water main breaks and power loss to pumping stations is causing more water outages as Nashville thaws and nearly 100,000 people are still in the dark with no heat. Many residents are at a loss for what to do next.

In this episode, we air Metro Nashville's daily press conference live from Mayor Freddie O'Connell's office, a live interview with Metro Water Services deputy director Brent Freeman, a few hotel dispatches and a check-in on our tiniest (and cutest) residents.

Guests

• Dale Grimes, mayor of Oak Hill
• Leesa LeClaire, President and CEO, Greater Nashville Hospitality Association
• Brent Freeman, deputy director & Sonia Harvat, Public Information Officer, Metro Water Services
• Cynthia Abrams, WPLN Metro Reporter

Hundreds of thousand Middle Tennesseans remain in the dark and cold. As crew members work to restore the power grid to normal operations, we bring you answers to FAQ and the latest on where the region stands in terms of power and emergency management.

Guests

• Brent Baker, Vice President and Chief Customer Innovation Officer, Nashville Electric Service (NES)
• Amy Byers, Marketing & PR coordinator, Middle Tennessee Electric
• Alex Pellom, Chief of Staff, Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA)

"This Is Nashville" provided live updates about downed power lines, safety tips, and where to go to warm up. As outages persist statewide, electric companies are working around the clock to ensure power is restored as swiftly as possible. In this episode, we hear from locals and WPLN reporters about the latest. We also take your calls. The number to reach us is 615-760-2000.

Guests: 

• Justin Barney, WPLN Music Reporter
• Catherine Sweeney, WPLN Health Reporter

Have we entered “The golden age of America” as President Trump said during his inauguration speech — or something else entirely? Immigration policy. The economy. Military action in foreign lands. We break it all down. Plus, we want to hear from you. Call 615-760-2000 during the live show or pop into chat on our YouTube stream to weigh in with your question or comment.

Guests:

Mike Floss, Co-founder, Southern Movement Committee
Ian Shapiro, PhD, Political Science, Tennessee State University
Chris Walker, Founding partner, The Poplar Group

You’ve got McMansions sitting for months and starter homes swept up in a flash. If you’re selling you’re a little nervous. If you’re buying, you’re also a little nervous. Can it really be that you need a six-figure income to be a homeowner in Middle Tennessee? We’ve got your market report. A homebuyer, a real estate agent, an academic and a policy maker. And you. We’re taking your calls today. Join our real estate reality check.

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan. 

Guests

• Kenneth Chilton, TSU Professor of Public Administration
• Dexter Evans, active homebuyer
• Gabriela Lira, Real Estate Agent, The Lira Group
• Rollin Horton, Nashville Metro Councilmember (District 20)

This episode was produced by host Blake Farmer.

 We hear from reporters who offer insights into what’s at stake and break down major topics expected to dominate the conversation in the coming months — from school vouchers and immigration policy to targeting drag shows. It's a lot. And we want to hear from you: What issues are important to you? And what do you want from lawmakers in the coming months? Join the conversation by calling 615-760-2000.

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

Guests

• Sam Stockard, Reporter and Columnist, Tennessee Lookout
• Marianna Bacallao, State Legislature Reporter, WPLN
• Mandy Spears, Executive vice president, The Sycamore Institute

Today we check in on the professional sports eco-system in Nashville: baseball, football, soccer, how far hockey has come — and the $2 billion dome going up for a team that’s coming off one of its worst seasons to date.

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

Guests:

• Emma May-Bradley, Co-founder, Playmakers; sports marketing professional
• David Boclair, Veteran Nashville sports reporter, host of First & Tenn pod and Digital Producer for Nashville Banner
• Will General, Director of Marketing, Music City Baseball
• Johari Matthews, Vice President & Executive Director of ONE Community & Titans Foundation, Board of Directors,  Playmakers
• Nate Rau, Axios Nashville
• Erin Ryder, Professor of Practice, Department of Sport Administration, Belmont University; Co-founder,  Playmakers

According to Gallup, people say they are abstaining from alcohol more now than in the past 85 years. Besides being generally better for your health, going booze-free has become fashionable. On today's show, we’re exploring what it looks like to dry out in a drinking town – from non-alcoholic alternatives to navigating a wet world while sober.

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan. 

Guests:

• Michael Caldwell, MD, Meharry Medical College
• Stephanie Styll, Killjoy Booze-Free Beverage Shop Owner
• Ian Cox, Milestone Brands (Empress 0.0 Indigo Gin)
• Hal Tayip, Titans Enthusiast, Kurdish American

Further reading: 

• WPLN: Navigating Nashville's nightlife scene while sober
• WPLN: Out, About: You don't need a drink in Nashville to have fun! 
• The Tennessean: Why NA drinks, mocktails can be tricky for those of us in recovery

A genuine original named Benjamin Slinkard, that’s who. Ben, also known as Kennedy Ann Scott, is the 2022 Metro Schools Teacher of the Year. Kennedy Ann is a local favorite drag queen and community staple. Today, we chat with Benjamin about growing up in a small Missouri town, the birth and longevity of Kennedy Ann, and the life experiences that connect the two.

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

And we take your calls. Are you celebrating the fall of a dictator? Concerned about what comes next? Confused about how this impacts our Venezuelan neighbors? Call 615-760-2000 to join the conversation.

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

Today, along with your questions, we'll ask him about East Bank development, the main Public Library branch, racing at The Fairgrounds and more.

Plus, the phone lines will stay open for you to shout out your upcoming community event. Joining us to talk about WPLN's weekly event amplification, What Where Whens-day, is curator and WNXP music director Marquis Munson.

Call 615-760-2000 — or pop your question or event into chat — we’re streaming live today at youtube.com/@wpln.

Guests

• Freddie O’Connell, Mayor, Metro Nashville and Davidson County
• Marquis Munson, What Where When-sday curator and WNXP music director

Join hosts Laura Atkinson and Justin Hicks as they trace the shape-note tradition from its origins 200 years ago to the largest Sacred Harp singing in living memory. “Shapes of America” is a special from Louisville Public Media and the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom.

If editors find it compelling enough, producers develop a feature out of what they collected. On today’s best-of edition of This Is Nashville, we take a behind-the-scenes look at what went into producing some of 2025’s feature stories that aired both during the show and on the news side.

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan. 

Guests

• Tasha A.F. Lemley, This Is Nashville Managing Editor
• Josh Deepan, This Is Nashville Multimedia Producer
• Mary Mancini, This Is Nashville Multimedia Producer

Featuring

• Harm reduction in Tennessee: a week of perspectives
• How the Eviction Right to Counsel Program supports evictees
• Neither 'Monkeytown' nor Bible thumpers

Featuring

• How will Vanderbilt answer Trump? with Marianna Bacallao, state legislative reporter, WPLN; Rep. Jody Barrett, state house representative; Bruce Barry, Vanderbilt professor;  Tennessee Lookout contributor
• Vouchers with Maryam Abolfazli, founder of Rise & Shine TN; Shaka Mitchell, Sr. Fellow for the American Federation for Children; Pat Nolan, political analyst and retired journalist
• The real-world economy with Molly Davis, Reporter, The Tennessean; Kara Smith, PhD, Belmont University Professor of Economics; Mandy Spears, Executive Vice President, The Sycamore Institute
• Southern Christians and the death penalty with Liam Adams, religion reporter, Tennessean; Russell Moore, Editor at-large of Christianity Today; Dr. Phillis Sheppard, professor of religion and psychology, Vanderbilt University

Further listening:

• Tia Sillers
• Fred Bailey
• Tom Morales
• Andi Marie Tillman
• Dr. Britt Stone
• Whisperin' Bill Anderson

Nashville has a long history of celebrating the holidays with musical performances. Belmont’s Christmas Eve concert played on their tower’s 42-bell carillon dates back to 1929. Amy and Vince have been gracing the Ryman Stage since 2008. Today we feature holiday music traditions that exist beyond the mainstream, in pockets throughout the city. A Longest Night Solstice Eve gathering and Moon Requiem at St. Augustine's. A sampler of holiday songs released by indie label yk Records. And a holiday shopping anthem by local Post-punk/power-pop legends, Tower Defense.

Guests

• Michael Eades, Owner, YK Records
• Jereme Frey | Drummer, Tower Defense
• Mike Shepherd | Guitar, Tower Defense
• Rev. Scott Owings | Associate Chaplain and Pastoral Leadership, St. Augustine’s
• Christopher Roberts

He's literally taken millions of photos of Nashville, documenting anything from historic moments to flowers on the sidewalk. He follows three mantras in his profession: do the work, show up, and be kind. Now, he shows up in our studio to kindly share what makes him so passionate about his work in Nashville and how a visual rendition of the city’s history adds to the local fabric. 

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan.

Guest:

• Ray Di Pietro, photojournalist

"Beth was loved by all, perhaps because she was so outrageously funny," they wrote. "A storyteller extraordinaire who changed the essence of a room just by entering it. She smoked with a style and elegance that made you wonder why you ever quit."

May we all be remembered so colorfully.

The end of the year puts us in a reflective mood, so collectively we're remembering those we've lost in Middle Tennessee during 2025. With the help of listeners submitting one-minute memorials or calling in live, we’re celebrating long lives and lives cut short and remembering their contributions to our community, large and small.   

Plus, a visit to the East Nashville wind telephone, where calls connect to lost loved ones.

Guests:

• Christal Pennic, therapist and founder of The Grief Center
• Almeta Slater-Rogers, founder and CEO of UnSaid Memories 

Further reading:

• Jen Alexander
• Bobby Cain
• Dot Dobbins
• Lucille Duke
• Vincent Martin Marquez
• Ruel Oquindo
• Marjorie Pisapia
• Mary Elizabeth Vinett
• Ridley Wills II

And to kick the Festivus season off right this year,  Mayor Freddie O’Connell will be here to take your questions and comments…and maybe demonstrate a few feats of strength. Now, the very first Festivus may not have included Ask the Mayor…or the Muppets…or 8 french horns…but ours does. It’s Festivus for the Rest of Us!

Call 615-760-2000 to ask Freddie — or pop your question into chat — we’re streaming live today at youtube.com/@wpln.

Special thanks to Mark Lemley and Daniel Jones.

Guests

• Freddie O’Connell, Mayor, Metro Nashville and Davidson County
• Nashville Horn Hang
   
  • Elaine Braun - Conductor
•  
  • Rich Davis
•  
  • Leigh-Anne Eftychiou
•  
  • Walter Everton
•  
  • Clare Gibson
•  
  • Julia Hedrick
•  
  • Tim Mullican
•  
  • Kent Stewart
•  
  • Glenn Trew
•  
• Kindling Arts Festival takes on The Muppets Christmas Carol
   
  • Emma Supica (Gonzo)
•  
  • Cammie York (Rizzo)
•  
  • Seth Nathan Green (Kermit)
•  

Today we’re shining a light on an obscure album recorded in Nashville more than 50 years ago that features a Christmas choir performing inside the lobby of a downtown bank. Astute local listener Matthew Bond came across the record two decades ago and wondered: Why did a bank form a choir? And what were their performances like? In today's story, we revisit the city's banking history and learn just how popular an all-volunteer choir became.

We're also talking with two gurus of Christmas music collecting, and taking your calls and questions — live!

Guest experts on Christmas music:

• Andy Cirzan, Jam Productions senior vice president
• Howard Petruziello, Red Light Management / ATO Records
• Justin Barney, WPLN News music reporter

Further listening:

• Sound Opinions: Andy Cirzan’s 2023 Holiday Spectacular

Today's This is Nashville call-in episode is a companion to the one-hour radio special from WPLN News and the Tennessee Lookout. Listen now or though the WPLN podcast feed.

From Nashville Public Radio and the Tennessee Lookout, The Debt traces Tennessee State University’s decades-long fight for fair funding — through an overlooked Civil Rights lawsuit, a historic merger with a predominantly white university, a dramatic student hunger strike, and a lawmaker who discovered his father’s old research on underfunding.

This episode was produced by Camellia Burris.

Guests:

• Dr. Learotha “Dr. Lee” Williams, Jr., Scholar of African-American Civil War and Reconstruction, and Public History at Tennessee State University
• Dr. George Pruitt, retired university administrator; former president, TESU; former vice-president of student affairs at TSU; author, From Protest to President
• Camellia Burris, Education reporter, WPLN
• Emily Siner, Contributing reporter, WPLN

During the course of their conversation in the TIN studio, they learn their lives have a lot in common, particularly the childhood trauma they experienced. This organically turned into a conversation between them and not an interview by us. We're along for the ride with you — and grateful to be in the room.

But after years of struggling, she looked at her own story and got creative with how she wanted to share it with her audience. After the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic passed, Andi Marie began posting videos on social media. They made waves almost instantly. Now, she works as a full-time humorist and digital creator in Nashville. She joins us in the studio to share her journey, her process, and her plans for bigger projects.

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan.

Guests

• Andi Marie Tillman, humorist

This week, our weekly Roundabout panel turns its attention to issues of religion. We're discussing evangelicals and Nazi ideology, Christians’ relationship to the death penalty, and ICE raids taking place in churches. We welcome Vanderbilt’s Dr. Phillis Sheppard, Russell Moore of Christianity Today and Liam Adams from The Tennessean to help unpack these urgent and complex topics.

And The Roundabout also welcomes your voice on the big stories of the week. Give us a call at 615-760-2000 to weigh in – or join us live streaming on YouTube at noon and pop your question into chat.

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

Guests:

• • Liam Adams, religion reporter, Tennessean
  • Russell Moore, Editor at-large of Christianity Today; host of The Russell Moore Show podcast; author of Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America
  • Dr. Phillis Sheppard, E. Rhodes and Leona Chair Professor of Religion and Psychology and Culture; Faculty liaison for research and education, James Lawson Institute for the Research and Study of Non-violent Movements

Through the lens and life of A&R lifer Kim Buie, we get to see that this glamorous job is mostly about losing. Missing out on artists who become superstars (her near-miss tale of N.W.A. is amazing), knowing that the majority of albums you help shepherd into the world will flop and being the person who has to say no to a musician’s lifelong dream.

Buie, and guests Stevo Robertson and Anay Richardson, explain what keeps them going, what shapes their tastes and how their approach to the job differs. It is the TikTok era after all.

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

Guests

• Kim Buie, A&R veteran
• Anay Richardson, A&R coordinator, Prescription Songs
• Steve Robertson, Label founder & Co-president, Severance Records

Music Citizens is a podcast series by WNXP and Nashville Public Radio about the people who make music work. Each episode will explore what it takes to do the jobs that keep the music business moving and introduce you to the characters who are often well known within their worlds but whose vital work goes largely uncelebrated. Listen to all episodes at wnxp.org.

West, Middle, and East Tennessee are not just general directions to help explain where we’re from. They're lines drawn in state law representing our cultural heritage and political history. Because Mountain City is a long way from Memphis — in fact, it’s closer to Canada than the western corner of our state — we’re talking with historians about how we divided ourselves up this way. 

Guests

• Jeff Sellers, Tennessee State Museum Director of Education & Community Engagement
• Warren Dockter, President and CEO of East Tennessee Historical Society
• Walter Battle, UT Institute of Agriculture
• Scott Williams, President of Discovery Park of America

“We never know what kind of traditional wisdom we have forgotten and then feel like we’ve discovered and then actually we have just remembered again,” Stone tells This Is Nashville. In this interview, she talks about how her “mother was right,” how to separate snake oil from truly beneficial supplements, and how her colleagues at Vanderbilt are also seeing the benefits beyond modern medicine.

Nothing remains of Roger Williams except a couple of historical plaques tucked away on Vanderbilt’s Peabody Campus. Founded in the wake of the Civil War alongside Fisk and Meharry, this historically Black institution once thrived before being destroyed in two suspicious fires in 1905. Today we uncover the forgotten history of Roger Williams, visit the nearby The Curb Center for Art, Enterprise & Public Policy, and meet artists and scholars working to both memorialize the university as well as honor their ancestral heritage through monuments and art.

Guests

Kyle Cantrell, former Opry announcer, founder of banjoradio.com
Craig Havighurst, editorial director, WMOT, author of Air Castle of the South
Jewly Hight, senior music writer, Nashville Public Radio
Eric Marcum, general manager, WSM

Whisperin’ Bill Anderson hasn’t just weathered a 65-year music career, he’s thrived through versatility. A six-time Songwriter of the Year winner, he’s a member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His songs have earned Grammy nominations, Dove Awards, the ACM Poets Award, and BMI’s first Country Music Songwriting Icon honor. He’s written for himself and legends like Vince Gill and Brad Paisley. He made it to Hollywood and back. Last year he released his 73rd album. At the center of it all has been the Grand Ole Opry. He joins This Is Nashville to talk about his love and reverence for the institution and all that's going on in "Whisperworld."

The Roundabout is the news of the week, analyzed by our panelists from points of view that span left, right and center. Joining us today are Maryam Abolfazli, Shaka Mitchell and Pat Nolan.

Today we talk about a tightening 7th congressional district race, political pardons, school voucher expansion, plus a smile story or two and more.

And The Roundabout also welcomes your voice on the big stories of the week. Give us a call at 615-760-2000 to weigh in — or join us live streaming on YouTube at noon and pop your question into chat!

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

Guests:

• • Maryam Abolfazli, former congressional candidate and founder of Rise & Shine TN
  • Shaka Mitchell, Sr. Fellow for the American Federation for Children
  • Pat Nolan, political analyst and retired journalist

Now that tariffs levied by the second Trump administration have taken effect, small businesses in Nashville are beginning to feel the pinch and praying for relief.

Importers of coffee and tea and artisans making apparel and musical instruments join the show to explain how tariffs have challenged their small businesses. Professors from Vanderbilt and MTSU bring global context to the local impact of tariffs in 2025.

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan. 

Guests 

• Eric Bond, Joe L. Roby chair & professor of economics at Vanderbilt
• Leah and Joel Larabell, High Garden Tea (Instagram: @highgardentea)
• Sean Stewart, Coffee Importer
• Michael Stricklin, Loyal Stricklin (Instagram: @loyalstricklin)
• Manuel Delgado, Delgado Guitars (Instagram: @delgadoguitars)
• Chaney Mosley, associate professor of agribusiness at MTSU

Further listening:

Nashvillager Podcast: A bad year for a major cash crop

Little did we know that trying to figure this out would take us way beyond Nashville and lead us to uncover the very creation of the gyro as we know it. WPLN reporter Justin Barney is taking you along as he crisscrosses the country, plunges into culinary history, hits the factory floor, and gets face-to-face with the man who elevated a niche menu item into a cultural staple.

You can find more Curious Nashville stories at WPLN.org/Curious and submit a question to our team below.

This episode was produced by Tony Gonzalez and Justin Barney.

Special thanks to Blake Farmer, Tasha A.F. Lemley, Mack Linebaugh and Cynthia Abrams

Further Reading:

• 'Music Row is the new Sunset Strip'
• Mike Curb's Belmont Partnership Looks to Bolster Future Music Business
• At the opening of the Curb Gallery at the Rock 'n Soul Museum in Memphis
• Mike Curb Donates Funding For New Student Recording Facility At UCLA
• The 71st Mike Curb Gold Cup Race
• Curb challenges Tennessee's transgender bathroom law in court
• New York Times profiles Curb as Lt. Gov of California (1979)

Our In My Place series has taken us through the steps of homelessness to housing and beyond. That’s from the first point of contact between a service provider and someone experiencing homelessness — through all the twists and turns to an apartment — and then sometimes doing it all over again more than once.

In this episode, which is the season finale, we're spending the whole hour with Wysocky, looking through the eyes of family members of people who have experienced homelessness.

Further listening:

• Get all episodes at the In My Place page or as a podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you do your listening
• Nashville Scene: Best News Podcast: 'In My Place'

In My Place is a special project of WPLN’s This Is Nashville, supported in part by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

 But the government shutdown exposed just how many people struggle to keep their families fed. So we’re putting hunger at the center of our Roundabout episode today. We’ll bring you the latest on SNAP and food distributions. We’re also taking your calls about your own experience as a recipient or a volunteer. That number is 615-760-2000. And if you’ve got a pop-up feeding program, please share. It’s SNAP and hunger in the roundabout. 

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan and Mary Mancini. 

GUESTS

• Signe Anderson (via phone), Tennessee Justice Center Senior Director of Nutrition Advocacy
• Alexus Lawless, SNAP recipient
• Josh Rosales, Break-Thru Nashville
• Catherine Sweeney, WPLN Health Reporter

Additional Reading: 

WPLN'S SNAP Coverage 

A cook. An HR specialist. And an intelligence officer. It takes more than the infantry to go to war. Wisdom from our neighbors who answered the call of duty and were forever changed. 

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan. 

GUESTS

• Jerome Norman, U.S. Army Veteran
• Keyanna Jones, U.S. Army Veteran
• Aaron Dorn, Marine Corps Veteran

Further reading and listening

• Listen to Bill DeMain on BBC Radio Scotland's Another Country with Ricky Ross
• Meet Bill's alter ego, prolific correspondent Sterling Huck
• Visit one of the publications Bill writes for, Mojo Magazine
• Learn more about Bill's walking tour, Walkin' Nashville
• Read Bill's article about his memories of Paul McCartney and Wings’ working vacation in Nashville in 1974

In this final installment from The Country In Our Hearts, we meet a new generation of Kurdish Nashvillians and leave on a hopeful note with a Kurdish new year celebration.

Series Credits:

The Country In Our Hearts was reported and produced Rose Gilbert, who also produced the visual trailer. Meribah Knight edited and co-produced the series. Sound design by Martin Cruz, and traditional music is by Arkan Doski. The original logo artwork is by Nuveen Barwari.

Special thanks to Paul McAdoo and Jennifer Nelson and huge thanks to Mehmet Ayaz, who made so much of this storytelling possible. Additional thanks for all of the people who welcomed Rose in Kurdistan, like Azad Sameen, the Barmarne family and the village of Chalke; and, of course, the many journalists she met along the way, Suha Kamel, Makeen Mustafa, Paul Idon, Namo Addullah and Wladimir van Wilgenburg.

The Country in our Hearts is the story of how Nashville became home to the largest Kurdish diaspora in America is an epic one. A tale of bloody genocide, of freedom fighters, of stunning perseverance.

But the story of the Kurdish people, no matter where they are, is a story about a country that only exists in the hearts of its people. And the lengths they’ll go to make it real.

Guest:

• Meribah Knight, editor and co-producer of the podcast

Series Credits:

The Country In Our Hearts was reported and produced by Rose Gilbert, who also produced the visual trailer. Meribah Knight edited and co-produced the series. Sound design by Martin Cruz, and traditional music is by Arkan Doski. The original logo artwork is by Nuveen Barwari.

Special thanks to Paul McAdoo, Jennifer Nelson and Samantha Max.

The story of how Nashville became home to the largest Kurdish diaspora in America is an epic one. A tale of bloody genocide, of freedom fighters, of stunning perseverance.

But the story of the Kurdish people, no matter where they are, is a story about a country that only exists in the hearts of its people. And the lengths they’ll go to make it real.

Guest:

• Dilman Yasin, cultural advisor of the podcast

Series Credits:

The Country In Our Hearts was reported and produced Rose Gilbert, who also produced the visual trailer. Meribah Knight edited and co-produced the series. Sound design by Martin Cruz, and traditional music is by Arkan Doski. The original logo artwork is by Nuveen Barwari.

Special thanks to Paul McAdoo, Jennifer Nelson and to the village of Chalke, and the people there who showed Rose so much hospitality.

To really understand what this family — and so many others — were fleeing from, we need to go back to one terrible, pivotal day in 1988. And to do that, we need to go to Kurdistan.

The Country in our Hearts is the story of how Nashville became home to the largest Kurdish diaspora in America is an epic one. A tale of bloody genocide, of freedom fighters, of stunning perseverance.

But the story of the Kurdish people, no matter where they are, is a story about a country that only exists in the hearts of its people. And the lengths they’ll go to make it real.

• Rose Gilbert, host and reporter of the podcast

Series Credits:

The Country In Our Hearts was reported and produced Rose Gilbert, who also produced the visual trailer. Meribah Knight edited and co-produced the series. Sound design by Martin Cruz, and traditional music is by Arkan Doski. The original logo artwork is by Nuveen Barwari.

Special thanks to Paul McAdoo, Jennifer Nelson, Namo Abdulla, Luqman Abdulqadir and the Halabja Chemical Victims Society.

Audio of interviews with victims of al anfal chemical attacks came from the Kurdish Memory Programme. Audio of the interview with a Halabja chemical attack victim is courtesy of Kurdistan 24. 

The recipe is simple. Listeners ask questions and we find the answers.

But the bar is high. Instead of answers that can be found through a quick Google search, we're taking queries that will take us somewhere unknown or unexpected.

Tune in to hear News Director Tony Gonzalez share some of Curious Nashville's great hits, as well as previews of some of the mysteries that reporters are looking into now. And you can submit your question below:

This episode was produced by Tony Gonzalez and Cynthia Abrams.

And in Middle Tennessee, we’re fortunate to have several of these sages who can remind us of our history. At WPLN, that’s the gift Nina Cardona shares with listeners each day on the NashVillager podcast – connecting the past with the present, while helping us break out of the news cycle and think about the news in a historical context.

Today, we hear Nina's story and the why and how of what she does to connect us to Tennessee and beyond.

This season, we’re getting to walk through the specific steps from homelessness to housing with people who have done it.

In our last 8 episodes, we’ve talked about everything from connecting with services for the very first time to celebrating an apartment. But for many folks it doesn’t stop there — so neither did we.

Most recently, we spent time trying to understand why having a place, even though it’s great, is really hard. So, in this episode, we’re talking with people about what it’s like to experience becoming unhoused again.

This series was created thanks in part to support from Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and was produced by Judith Tackett.

Guests:

• Jamie Villegas, member of the Homelessness Planning Council, expert through experience
• Kennetha Patterson, national peer advocate, expert through experience
• Lizzie Goddard, principal and owner of Goddard Consulting Co., housing systems strategist

Further listening:

• Nashville Scene: Best News Podcast: 'In My Place'
• Overview episode of In My Place
• Listen to all episodes at the In My Place page or as a podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to shows.

Further reading:

• In exit interview, Tennessee health chief Lisa Piercey defends how the state dealt with COVID (WPLN)
• Dr. Lisa Piercey on Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (Signature Required)
• Why I Bought a Business Instead of Starting One (Entrepreneur)

At the local level, many are wondering how federal policies will impact their day-to-day lives. The Nashville job sector has remained stable for the past year, but as the manufacturing industry in Tennessee remains among the most vulnerable to tariffs, the future cost of production becomes less clear. Additionally, health insurance premiums for those who rely on Obamacare may cost up to twice as much in 2026 if Congress doesn't reach a deal. For our weekly Roundabout edition of This Is Nashville, we have invited a reporter, an economist, and a public policy advocate to speak on these issues. Call in with your question or comment at 615-760-2000 — or watch live on YouTube and pop your comments into chat.

With the opening of the Museum of Christian & Gospel Music this month, we’ll look at the history of a unique genre that focuses as much on the lyrics and meaning as the song itself. We’re joined by historians, executives and a Dove Award winning artist. Additionally, our guests will highlight the importance of race and how it shaped today's world of Contemporary Christian Music. 

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan and Jewly Hight. 

Guests

• Jewly Hight, WPLN senior music writer
• Leah Payne, religious historian & author
• DOE, Dove award-winning artist
• Jackie Patillo, Gospel Music Association President
• Steve Gilreath, Executive Director of the Museum of Christian & Gospel Music

Additional reading: 

• New Musem of Christian and Gospel Music honors diversity of music with a message

We end the episode with our Shared Calendar, giving you the microphone to plug local events coming up in the next week.

Call 615-760-2000 to join on air or comment in the chat along with the live video stream.

Guest

• Sabrina Sussman, chief program officer, Choose How You Move

Further reading

• Free bus fares are coming to Nashville low-income residents (WPLN)
• City Pumps $104 Million of Choose How You Move Money Into Transit Projects (Nashville Banner)
• What one Nashville teen learned from riding every city bus route before graduation (WPLN)
• First phase of Nashville’s ‘Choose How You Move’ plan unveiled (WKRN)

Events

• 4th annual William Edmondson Arts and Culture Fest
• "Everything Hurts" at Nashville Symphony
• Ann Roberts Lecture Series on Mid-Century Architecture
• Day of the Dead celebration in Springfield
• Urban League of Middle-Tennessee annual meeting
• Nashville Public Library's Neighborhood History & Culture Home Movie Project
• Columbia PRIDE
• TWRA Tennessee Biodiversity Summit
• VOGM: The Claus Cause (Santa Photoshoot for a Cause)

This week we welcome former speaker of the Tennessee House of Representatives, Beth Harwell. Former congressional candidate Kiran Sreepada and TSU political science professor Ian Shapiro are also back. Together, we’ll mourn the loss of life in the Bucksnort explosion, dissect the building presence of federal agents in Memphis, and look at the congressional races getting active, even a year out.

Why? Well, it’s spider season. You tend to see more this time of year because the males are looking for a mate. They’re also looking for a warm place to get in out of the cold and that may mean moving in with us. Spiders may make your skin crawl, but it’s useful to know what’s actually worth being scared of. Spoiler alert, there’s not too much to worry about — even with the much-maligned brown recluse.

On today's show, we speak with a pet owner, an entomologist, and a local actor who landed the role of Charlotte in "Charlotte's Web" to get their takes. 

Better yet, our phone lines are open. Give us a call at 615-760-2000 to weigh in — or join us on "the web" by live streaming on YouTube at noon and pop your question into chat.

If Nashville is going to have more affordable housing, residents also have to live closer together. It's not just apartment buildings and not just in some parts of town. It’s townhomes. It’s a garage unit in the backyard. It’s density. And when that density is proposed next door, you get a lot of folks who may agree in principle but find themselves saying “not in my back yard.” What does it take to get more YIMBYs (yes in my back yard)?

Congressional District 7 candidate Rep. Jody Barrett, Owen School professor and Tennessee Lookout contributor Bruce Barry, and @WPLN's Marianna Bacallao join today to help us think through the biggest news – including the special election in the 7th congressional district. We’ll digest the primary results with the help of Barrett, who was the focus of much of the money spent in the race. We'll also look at how the state ended up banning more books than almost any other state — as well as Vanderbilt’s latest moment of decision. Plus, we're hearing from you. Call 615-760-2000 to join the conversation!

You can also check us out visually by joining our YouTube stream.

Guests

• Marianna Bacallao, state legislative/power and equity reporter, WPLN
• Rep. Jody Barrett, congressional district 7 candidate; state house representative
• Bruce Barry, professor, Vanderbilt's Owen Graduate School of Management;  Tennessee Lookout contributor

Further reading

• • Trump asks 9 colleges to commit to his political agenda and get favorable access to federal money (WPLN)
  • Vanderbilt campus groups push back against Trump administration higher ed ‘compact’ (Tennessee Lookout)
  • Memphis state Rep. Justin Pearson to challenge U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen in 2026 Democratic primary (Tennessee Lookout)
  • New Tennessee English Language Arts Standards Recommendation: More Diverse Texts: Educators cited the benefits of reading materials that reflect a variety of cultures and viewpoints (Nashville Banner)

Companies that were proudly flying the rainbow flag decided to fold up their colors this year, or at least drop their financial support — including Vanderbilt Medical Center, Nissan, Cracker Barrel, Dollar General and Jack Daniel’s. So Nashville Pride has been scrambling to fill the gap with a symbolic deadline of Saturday 10/11, which is National Coming Out Day. In this episode, we get an update from Pride organizers and explore the history of gay pride in our town.

Stream the show live on YouTube.

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan.

Guests

• Tina Tousignant, Nashville Pride President
• Jef Ellis, co-founder of Dare Newspaper (later renamed Query)
• Dwayne Jenkins, Nashville Black Pride Board President

Guests

• Lanecia Rouse, visual artist & Berg Global Artist-In-Residence Fellowship in the College of Arts and Science, Vanderbilt University
• Ciona Rouse, poet
• Dr. Kevin Murphy, Andrew W. Mellon Chair in the Humanities and Professor and Chair of History of Art and Architecture, Vanderbilt University
• Dr. Leah Lowe, Professor of Theatre and Director of The Curb Center for Art, Enterprise & Public Policy, Vanderbilt University

Produced by Blake Farmer

More on Tamara Saviano:

• NPR: Tamara Saviano on Guy Clark lost recordings
• WMOT: A warm account of the Americana movement
• Nashville Post (2003): Everything you ever wanted to know about the Charlie Daniels/Saviano dispute

What stories are making the rounds in your circle? Call 615-760-2000 to join on air or pop a question into the chat during the broadcast on the YouTube video stream.

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

Guests:

• Dahron Johnson, chaplain and co-chair of the Nashville committee of Tennessee Equality Project
• Meribah Knight, reporter and producer of special projects for WPLN
• Mark Rogers, Republican Party advisor

Eleven percent of Nashvillians identify as Hispanic or having Hispanic heritage and today we're spending the hour with some of our Spanish-speaking neighbors: a coffee shop owner who can be found some days passing out free sweet bread to drivers stuck in traffic, a community health worker who brings care to people who need it most and a business leader who helps Hispanic entrepreneurs plug into the city’s power circles. Esto es Nashville.

You can also join us live on YouTube to get the visual show experience and share your thoughts.

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan. 

Guests

• Juan Pablo, owner, JOS Fifteen Coffee Shop
• Rosa Escobar, health worker, Siloam Health
• Yuri Cunza, Nashville Hispanic Chamber of Commerce President

In our last episode, we celebrated getting those keys!

In this episode, we’re talking about the difficulties of having a home.

It’s easy for those of us who have never been homeless to celebrate someone getting housed, breathe a sigh of relief, and then stare in disbelief when things don’t go smoothly. Today, we sit down with those who have gone through the housing process to talk about barriers that remain — and unexpected issues that may arise after people move into permanent housing.

This series was created thanks in part to support from Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and was produced by Judith Tackett.

Guests:

• Ashley Reed, disability advocate, expert through experience
• Kelly Palmer, expert through experience
• Nathan Scarlett, outreach specialist, People Loving Nashville
• Rachel Hester, executive director, Room In The Inn
• Anita Smith, housing advocate, expert through experience

Further listening:

• WPLN: Anita Smith, ‘I don’t need to go any further.’
• Overview episode of In My Place
• Listen to all episodes at the In My Place page or as a podcast on Apple, Spotify or wherever you listen to shows.

And he lived it out. 

In this profile interview, Bailey talks about his memoir, his career and his nonprofits that help at-risk youth in Gallatin.

More on Fred Bailey: 

• There's No Cure — Episode #1 from WPLN's Versify podcast
•  "Nowhere Near the Bottom" — memoir published in 2020
• Induction into the Tennessee Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame

"Nashville Nice" is a unique flavor of Southern hospitality and friendliness. And since we last took a look three years ago, a lot more than the skyline has changed. Today we wonder, as more transplants move in and Lower Broad leans into its "party city" reputation, are cracks starting to appear in our collective civility? Are we in danger of losing the very things that made Nashville Nice possible? And is "Nashville Nice" enough for you to stay?

And The Roundabout also welcomes your voice. Give us a call at 615-760-2000 to weigh in — or join us live streaming on YouTube at noon and pop your question into chat.

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

Guests:

• Stacey Irvin, photographer
• Demetria Kalodimos, executive producer of the Nashville Banner
• Rev. Davie Tucker, pastor, Beech Creek Missionary Baptist Church; executive director, Metro Human Relations Commission

For many, it conjures images of decline, disease, and – well – dying. But what if we take the view that geriatricians are experts in body and mind maintenance for late-model humans? That’s the focus of this episode of our monthly series, NEXT AGE, where we’re reframing aging.

The goal of modern geriatrics is to help our health span match our lifespan as more of us are living longer. We hear from experts in the care and maintenance of our aging bodies and learn why more people are actively seeking geriatric care early in their latter years.

There’s a growing effort to recruit and train more professionals in geriatrics and increase all of our appreciation and access to these specialists.

Our show is made possible, in part, by BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and our series on aging is made possible by a grant from The West End Home Foundation — enriching the lives of older adults though grantmaking, advocacy and community collaboration.

This episode was produced by LaTonya Turner.

Guests:

• Jean Gauld-Jaeger, retiree & patient of geriatrician, https://artbyjaeger.com/
• Katina Beard | CEO, Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center S.A.L.T.
• Deborah Lee, PhD, Director & Co-Founder, MTSU Positive Aging Consortium
• James Powers, M.D., geriatrician/researcher/professor, VUMC Division of Geriatric Medicine
• Stacy D. Smith, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, VUMC Division of Geriatric Medicine

Today, we’re tallying the cost of doing business in Middle Tennessee. Joining us are small business owners, subject matter experts, and property developers to enlighten us on how small businesses are adapting to the changing economic landscape.

You can also join us live on YouTube to get the visual show experience and share your thoughts.

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan.

Guests

• Danny Greenberg, co-owner, Flour Your Dreams Bakery 
• Tania Salas, co-owner, Flour Your Dreams Bakery
• Luke Watson, co-founder, Third Coast Comedy Club and Silo Market
• Leon Luke, owner, TrapHouse Wingz
• Kelly Bonadies, property developer
• Jeff Cohu, Lipscomb University Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation Executive Director

We’re getting to know the story of Joy Flores, the vice president of ministries at the Nashville Rescue Mission. Her journey includes time working in foster care, years on Skid Row in Los Angeles, and losing her own brother to the perils that accompany homelessness. It’s a career that has shaped her whole-person philosophy of caring for anyone who is homeless, because usually they need a lot more than a place to lay their head. 

This episdoe was produced by Josh Deepan. 

Guest

• Joy Flores, Vice President of Ministry and Outreach, Nashville Rescue Mission

Today we have questions for him about a land swap deal for Dolly, massive gridlock at the airport, deploying the National Guard to cities around the country (is Nashville next?) and if public employees should lose their jobs for private speech. But there’s more to be asked and that's where you come in. Call in to ask Freddie your own question.

Plus, the phone lines will stay open for you to shout out your upcoming community event. Joining us to talk about the screening of their documentaries this weekend are Karla Murtha (The Gas Station Attendant) and Dr. Eiman Jahangir (Eiman Jahangir: Liftoff).

Call 615-760-2000 to ask Freddie or amplify your event — or pop your question into chat — we’re streaming live today at youtube.com/@wpln.

Guests

• Freddie O’Connell, Mayor, Metro Nashville and Davidson County
• Dr. Eiman Jahangir, cardiologist, crew member on a Blue Origin suborbital spaceflight
• Dr. Karla Murtha, filmmaker

This episode originally aired on July 22, 2025.

Guests:

• Brandon Vestal, filmmaker
• David Ewing, historian
• Bob Whitaker, former Opryland General Manager
• Michael-Demby Cain, Opryland performer who went to Broadway
• Jennifer Roberts, performer
• Lynn Wright, half of first couple married at Opryland
• Sean Hughes, "The Balloon Guy"

Further reading:

• To submit footage for "A Circle Broken"
• Opryland VR
• Nashville Scene: Taking a Look Back at the Rushed 1997 Closure of Opryland

But the modern version was born in the 1990s right here in Tennessee. Sometimes called "payday loans," many who use the service are in a financial crisis and need quick cash — often leading to a trap of high interest debt. Today we speak with Tennessee Lookout reporter Adam Friedman, who along with ProPublica, uncovered the scale of this lending model, the hidden dangers of the latest version called the "Flex Loan," and the toll the practice has taken on Tennesseans.  

Note: We reached out to Advance Financial. A representative declined to come on the show. Anyone with issues related to Advance Financial, Harpeth Financial or another flex loan lender should call 615-270-6861 to share their experience.

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

Guests:

Adam Friedman, reporter, Tennessee Lookout
Erin Akery, senior manager, Nashville Financial Empowerment Center at United Way
Rep. Mike Sparks, Tennessee General Assembly, District 29, part of Rutherford County
Mike Stewart, former state representative; attorney

Further reading and listening:

• This lender said its loans would help Tennesseans. It has sued more than 110,000 of them. (Tennessee Lookout)
• Tennessee lawmakers and lenders said this law would protect borrowers, but it trapped them in debt (Tennessee Lookout)
• NashVillager Podcast: Predatory lending (WPLN)
• Usury Country: Welcome to the birthplace of payday lending (Harper's)

From not knowing where his next meal would come from to advocating for others who are currently facing what he went through, he joins This Is Nashville to share what his upbringing taught him, what life in a refugee camp is like, and the challenges and blessings that came with the adjustment. 

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan. 

Guest

• Abdikadir Mohamed, Safe Haven Senior Rapid Rehousing Case Manager

The event is just one part of a Black folk music revival sweeping the country that's rescuing lost traditions and challenging stereotypes that for generations have influenced things like who gets to play the banjo in America.

This episode is part of a collaboration between WUNC North Carolina Public Radio and WPLN Nashville Public Radio.

Featuring:

• Jewly Hight, senior music writer at Nashville Public Radio - WPLN
• Rhiannon Giddens, musician and member of Carolina Chocolate Drops
• Dom Flemons, musician and member of Carolina Chocolate Drops
• Brandi Waller-Pace, musician and scholar
• Kaia Kater, musician and member of New Dangerfield

Today, it's your turn to talk. Our guests this week have talked about clean syringe exchange, using drugs to get off drugs and the shame and stigma surrounding substance use disorder. Our Roundabout panel is here to listen to your stories and answer your questions. What’s helped the people you know who face addiction? How did you find your way to sobriety? And what concerns you about the legal and not-so-legal methods used? Join us on air by calling 615-760-2000.

Guests

• Megan Barry, Author, It’s What You Do Next; Advocate to reduce shame and stigma surrounding substance use disorder
• Brittany Miller, Certified Peer Recovery Specialist
• Dr. Josh Wienczkowski, Oversees patient care and telemedicine division for for Cedar Recovery Tennessee's offices 

Listen

• From street corners to campsites, the work of Miriam Field, harm reductionist, This is Nashville, September 8, 2025
• Sanctioned harm reduction, This is Nashville, September 9. 2025
• The opioid that’s saving lives in Nashville, This is Nashville, September 10. 2025

Guests

Leslie Cole, MD, addiction physician, Springfield, Tenn.

Josh Draper, program manager, Sumner Prevention Coalition

Tracy Frame, PharmD, professor of pharmacy practice and director of the Flourish Mobile Clinic, Belmont University

Chap Cuthbert, community response peer support, Mental Health Cooperative

Needle exchanges, distributing drug overdose reversal medication and fentanyl test strips — these tactics to limit the damage of the opioid crisis were once broadly illegal in Tennessee, and now they’re being used by certain groups to, essentially, help people use drugs more safely without necessarily trying to get them to stop. It’s all about keeping someone alive, even if it does little to treat the drug addiction that is leading to so many deaths.

We’re exploring ways through the opioid crisis this week by focusing on a philosophy known as “harm reduction.” Monday was all about underground tactics to avoid regulation. Today we’re going above ground with physicians, social workers, and locals with lived experience to understand what’s allowed under Tennessee law. And we’ll hear that even among addiction experts, there are still questions about what’s the best path forward.

You can also see us live at noon streaming on YouTube.

Today's episode was produced by Josh Deepan. 

Guests

• Lyle Cooper, Meharry Medical College Associate Professor, Director of Meharry Harm Reduction Center 
• Peter Hossler, Rhodes College Associate Professor of Urban Studies
• Mary Owens, retired HIV/AIDS advocate
• Dr. Reid Finlayson, Vanderbilt University Medical Center Professor of Clinical Psychiatry

And some of the work isn’t just controversial – it can be illegal in Tennessee. A few harm reductionists are willing to take legal risks because they see the work saving lives.

Today launches a week of This Is Nashville episodes about finding our way in the ongoing opioid crisis. And we start with the complicated tale of an underground harm reductionist and her work trying to overcome the stigma of drug use in an effort to keep people alive. She is committed to the idea that saving the lives of people in active drug addiction is more important than trying to get them to stop using. Through her story, we also learn that stigma can do as much damage as drug use itself.

Related:

• WPLN: A Betor Way, Memphis: Peers find a better way to save lives
• Bury This Heirloom, Ziona Riley
• WPLN: To combat rising overdoses, a prevention specialist must first overcome the stigma of addiction

The Roundabout is your news of the week, analyzed by our panelists from points of view that span left, right and center. Joining us today are attorney John Spragens, former reporter and political operative who also previously handled communications for Congressman Jim Cooper; Toby Compton, who worked for Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and also in the administrations of governors Bill Haslam and Bill Lee; And Sarah Grace Taylor, reporter with the Nashville Banner. 

And The Roundabout also welcomes your voice on the big stories of the week! What story is making the rounds in your circle? Give us a call at 615-760-2000 to weigh in — or join us live streaming on YouTube at noon and pop your question into chat.

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

Guests:

• • John Spragens, attorney, former reporter, political operative and communications director for Congressman Jim Cooper
  • Toby Compton, formerly in the administration of Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and governors Bill Haslam and Bill Lee
  • Sarah Grace Taylor, reporter with the Nashville Banner

For those not addicted to social media, that spells brunch. According to listwithclever.com, New Orleans, Indianapolis and San Francisco are ranked among the top cities in the country for that late-morning, breakfast/lunch hybrid. Although Nashville is known for music, food, and satiating that grumbling stomach after church, it seemingly lags behind other brunch-centric cities. On today’s show, we take a look at the brunch scene in Nashville. We’ll speak with chefs and restaurant owners, as well as experts in the field of catering and fashion to better understand the culture and history of brunch and its local impact.

This episode was produced by Anthony White and Josh Deepan.

Guests

• John Smith, SOUL Restaurant Owner
• Jerod Wilcher, ButterFLY Garden Restaurant Owner
• Jovia King, Event Planner, Thirty Plus Events 
• Milton White, Stylist, The Fashion Office 

We’ll talk to Middle Tennessee twins who work together keeping our community safe, teenage twins growing up and one twin who you hear every day on our show. We’ll also meet the parent and a spouse of identical twins to learn about how they love the twins closest to them. It’s going to be a double fun hour. Join us!

This episode was produced by Liv Lombardi and Katherine Ruppelt.

Guests:

• Sergeant Kyle Neal, identical twin
• Sergeant Matt Neal, identical twin
• Kenzie, identical twin
• Kyndall, identical twin
• Courtney Oertel, wife of an identical twin
• Jada Mathews, mother of identical twins

The Roundabout is your news of the week, analyzed by our panelists from points of view that span left, right and center. Joining us today are former congressional candidate Kiran Sreepada, Vanderbilt young Republican Noah Jenkins and the Tennessean’s Austin Hornbostel. We’re stepping back from the news of the week and looking for meaning in it all. Gov. Lee resisting guard troops policing Memphis, the latest on the airport tunnel, and the Cracker Barrel kerfuffle. Plus headlines that flew under the radar.

And The Roundabout also welcomes your voice on the big stories of the week! hat story is making the rounds in your circle? Give us a call at 615-760-2000 to weigh in — or join us live streaming on YouTube at noon and pop your question into chat!

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

Guests:

• • Kiran Sreepada, former congressional candidate & former Director Programs at the States Project.
  • Noah Jenkins, Vanderbilt senior and President Emeritus, Vanderbilt Young Republicans
  • Austin Hornbostel, Tennessean Metro Reporter

It’s caring for adults with a disability. It’s grandparents raising kids again, or parents as primary caregivers for a medically complex child. Then there are friends caring for friends like they’re family. Today is dedicated to highlighting resources to help caregivers of all kinds – both paid and unpaid. And, we're taking your calls. Call 615-760-2000 to ask the experts – or join us live streaming on YouTube at noon and pop your question into chat!

Plus, we hear about actor Bradley Cooper’s new PBS documentary about caregiving in America, which probably hits home because most of us will spend part of our life playing the role he played for his father. As first lady Rosalynn Carter said, "There are only four kinds of people in the world – those who have been caregivers, those who are currently caregivers, those who will be caregivers, and those who will need caregivers.”

This episode was produced by LaTonya Turner and Mary Mancini.

Guests

• Chris Durrance, director and senior producer of PBS documentary, Caregiving
• LaTonya Turner, editor and afternoon host, WPLN News
• Sandy Ewing, caregiver, medically complex child
• Aimee Luchterhand, caregiver, child with special needs
• Tina Lemon, caregiver, grandparent raising grandchildren
• Dr. Feylyn Lewis, Asst. Dean Student Affairs, VU School of Nursing; National Alliance for Caregiving researcher
  
  
  
• Dr. Megan Schwalm, President & CEO, Tennessee Caregiver Coalition