Curious Nashville

Alongside some Tennessee roads, you might notice knee-high cement markers — usually quite weathered — that have this inscription: “H’Y R.W.” In learning what those are all about, Curious Nashville also revisits a fascinating saga from local history. To see photos that accompany this podcast, visit www.wpln.org/curious .

Lawmakers are back in Nashville for session, and it’s busy again inside the  Tennessee State Capitol . But all year round, the historic building draws interest and  provides tours  — and it has prompted several questions to Curious Nashville that we’re answering in a batch today. You can see photos related to this story, and learn more, at this story on WPLN.org .

Earlier this year, Curious Nashville looked into why Arabic isn’t offered on Tennessee’s driving test. (You can read that story  here .) Half a year later, a new coalition is pushing the state for changes.

Many Nashvillians are aware that the city is home to “Little Kurdistan,” which is the largest Kurdish community in America. However, it’s easy to know that fact without really understanding these neighbors. We unpack how Nashville became a destination for Kurdish refugees starting in the late 1970s and hear from local Kurds about their future hopes and ambitions. To hear more stories of Nashville...

A sixth-generation Nashvillian says she’s rarely surprised by new information about her city — but did start wondering about what she describes as a “bonsai-looking cypress tree” in her yard. Curious Nashville learns more. You can view the tree featured in this story at WPLN.org/Curious .

Just about every day, a freight train grinds to a halt and blocks traffic somewhere in Tennessee. At times, an entire day (or longer) passes before it gets rolling again. As federal officials ramp up their tracking of this chronic problem, WPLN’s Cindy Abrams documents the concern and explains the factors that lead to blocked crossings. Credits: Tony Gonzalez is the executive producer of Curious N...

The way we pronounce the names of some places in Tennessee can raise eyebrows for newcomers. But even long-time residents can’t always explain why those names are the way they are. This prompted a question to our Curious Nashville project, and sent WPLN’s Marianna Bacallao [mary-AW-nuh bahk-uh-YOW] in search of the stories behind a few prominent place names. Credits: Tony Gonzalez is the executive...

Just after English and Spanish, Arabic ranks as the third-most spoken language in Tennessee. Nearly 27,000 people in the state speak it. But there are less common languages offered on the written driving exam in Tennessee. WPLN’s Alexis Marshall explores why, and helps a local Egyptian American man start a conversation with the state’s director of Driver Services. Read more at the online version o...

Confusing road lanes and limited traffic signals can make commutes on Bell Road excruciating near Interstate 24 and Exit 59. Why was it designed this way, and will there be any relief for drivers in the Antioch area? For photos, and to explore more of the reporting by Hallie Graham, visit this story at WPLN.org/Curious . Curious Nashville is a project of Nashville Public Radio. The executive produ...

Nicholas Qualls, a voter in Antioch, wants to know more about voting stickers. He asks: What determines what location gets what “I Voted” sticker? My location had a pretty generic oval sticker, but I see several people at other locations get a neater Tennessee-shaped red one. The answer turns out to be fairly simple — but fun facts abound in this short-form episode.

After a brief intermission,  Curious Nashville  returns to the airwaves to answer listener questions about Middle Tennessee. WPLN Special Projects Editor Tony Gonzalez joins  This Is Nashville  host Khalil Ekulona to share some of  his favorite stories from past  Curious Nashville   episodes  and gives a glimpse into what’s being investigated next.

In this series, we're going to tell you about what's been described as a toxic culture of misconduct and retaliation within the Metro Nashville Police Department. And the disciplinary system that has allowed that culture to thrive.

If you glance down at the street at the right moment in Nashville, you might spot a “stikman.” This little street art character appears in thousands of places around the world, but the artist behind them remains mostly unknown. Thanks to an observant listener, Curious Nashville delves into the phenomenon .  Curious Nashville is a project of Nashville Public Radio. The executive producer is Tony Go...

Nashville was right on-trend in 1975 when the revolving Polaris restaurant opened atop what was then the Hyatt Regency hotel. It quickly became the go-to destination for special occasions and marriage proposals. But the restaurant has navigated some tougher turns in the past decade, leaving a local architect wondering: Does it still spin?

To combat our feelings of isolation and everyday repetitiveness, we present four short stories that deliver surprises about things we might otherwise overlook: What a tree in the backyard can tell us about environmental changes  How the past flickers on amid Nashville’s growing skyline Whether a famous 1904 short story accurately depicts Nashville How proximity to an interstate is a good thing for...

A simple question about some of Nashville’s suburban pockets opens a deeper review of how the Metro government formed in the 1950s and 60s. WPLN News reporter Ambriehl Crutchfield finds that the combining of the city and county had implications for Black residents and five ‘satellite’ cities that remained mostly independent. (To see more photos and a written version of this story, visit Curious Na...

As a crucial election approaches, Tennesseans have reached out to WPLN News and  Curious Nashville  with their pressing questions. In this special crossover with The Tri-Star State podcast, Sergio Martinez-Beltran and Rachel Iacovone provide answers.

When a resident notices an unusual sign at the end of her cul-de-sac — it says ‘The Gathering’ — she wonders if there’s a cult operating. To find out what’s really going on, WPLN News contributor Tasha Lemley takes up a cryptic search. It leads her to a group of devotees, just not the ones we might have expected. 

Confederate monuments have triggered debates, protests, and even the murder of a demonstrator in Virginia. The unrest in Tennessee has prompted questions about how monuments are governed. In this episode, Curious Nashville reexamines what happened when MTSU tried to rename a building dedicated to Confederate general and Ku Klux Klan grand wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest, and explains the evolving ro...

There are some assumptions that people have about Nashville that aren’t quite right — and plenty of quirks that baffle all the tourists who visit. So in this special episode taped live on stage, three local experts unravel some of the most essential history of the city and then take questions from attendees. Recorded live on May 31, 2019, at the PodX Conference, this is the first live taping for C...

Out in the thick woods of West Nashville there’s an epic remnant of Cold War history. But it is largely unknown. The former fallout shelter where Tennessee’s governors would have gone in the case of nuclear attack has rarely appeared in news stories. But a question to Curious Nashville revealed that a local businessman now owns the unusual underground facility — and after a tour and other research...

A massive Nashville development includes a construction pit that is eight stories deep. It looks like a quarry, with sheer cliffs carved into the gray limestone. But when the project stalled, the hole filled with water, and it became nicknamed "Lake Palmer,” after its struggling developer. The project has been raising questions ever since, but now a new owner has started work at the site. WPLN’s J...

It’s been 15 years since the Tennessee Foxtrot Carousel — a whirling artistic marvel by pop artist Red Grooms — was taken down from the Nashville riverfront. Its wild figurines, which depict famous Tennesseans, were put into storage. Yet the legend of the carousel lives on. And now there’s hope that the carousel’s riverboats, giant banjos, mountain scenery and crazy caricatures will spin again. WP...

From plastic straws to old lightbulbs and shredded paper, it’s not always obvious what we’re allowed to recycle in Nashville. So after another wave of recycling questions to Curious Nashville, we’re back with a “lightning round” of fast answers, plus updates about changes coming to curbside recycling and the city’s attempt to gather glass from downtown honky tonks. Curious Nashville is a project o...

Animals prompt unusual questions to Curious Nashville , so we delve into three: a rumor about piranhas, the history of the city’s first zoo, and the reason a large pink elephant has stood alongside Charlotte Pike for decades.