City Cast Nashville

Host Grace Fuisz is on vacation, so we got the next best thing: Mayor Freddie O’Connell sits in for the Tuesday News Roundup with producer Marie Cecile Anderson and executive producer Whitney Pastorek. He’s talking about administrative accomplishments like the opening of permanent supportive housing facility Strobel House and the countywide expansion of Nashville Strong Babies; we also get updates...

Nashville is a great town for roller skaters and rollerbladers of all skill levels, abilities, and interests. Host Grace Fuisz sits down with Asphalt Beach Skate Shop owner Steve Larios — and his rambunctious shop kittens — to get his tips for where to learn to skate, how to get involved in roller derby or roller hockey, which roller rinks you gotta check out, and how Asphalt Beach got its name. T...

The Nashville Scene’s annual “You Are So Nashville If …” issue hit stands yesterday! In today’s Friday News Roundup, host Grace Fuisz, producer Marie Cecile Anderson, and executive producer Whitney Pastorek are reading the winners, picking their favorites from the honorable mentions, and celebrating all of our dark-humored and very smart neighbors who submitted great entries this year. In the wake...

District 17 Metro Councilmember Terry Vo joins host Grace Fuisz to talk about why solving Nashville’s “food apartheid” problem is her top legislative priority. Plus, she reveals her secret identity as an Elite Yelper, and takes us on a tour of some of her favorite Nashville international restaurants and markets. This is the first in what we hope will be a recurring series in which we get to know o...

Vanderbilt student and NCAA discus champion Veronica Fraley is headed to the Olympics, y’all! Before she jets off to Paris, she joins host Grace Fuisz to discuss how it feels to be an Olympian, what (and who!) she’s excited to see at this year’s games, and how someone grows up to be a discus thrower in the first place. Thanks to Tecovas, our Western wear faves, for being our exclusive launch spons...

It’s the Tuesday news roundup, y’all! We’re digging into local reactions to President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the presidential race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, what a recent court ruling means for Tennessee’s drag ban, and why Sunday’s “Nashville Together” rally for peace matters in the fight against the neo-Nazis who won’t go away. Plus, why was Bozo the Clown in town? W...

Do you know why Nashville is called Music City? Hint: It’s not because of the mainstream country music industry. Larry “Prof” Jenkins is a GRAMMY Award-winning musician, producer, historian, and associate director of Tennessee State University’s THE Aristocrat of Bands. He also wrote our podcast’s theme music, and we’re revisiting his conversation with host Grace Fuisz about the important role of...

On today’s Friday News Roundup, host Grace Fuisz, producer Marie Cecile Anderson, and executive producer Whitney Pastorek are coming down off a chaotic week that saw a local business owner in hot water over his comments about the Trump assassination attempt, a Metro Council member storming out of Tuesday’s meeting, a Nashville artist going viral for her apparently drunken rendition of the National...

Host Grace Fuisz catches up with Music City Uke Fest founder Melanie Ching to talk all things ukulele — including how to properly pronounce the name of the tiny four-stringed instrument that’s captured the heart of millions. We’ve got your guide to this year’s debut festival — set for August 1-4 in Franklin — and a look into why growing Hawaiian and AAPI communities are calling Nashville home.  Mu...

After two consecutive weekends of hate groups showing up in downtown Nashville, host Grace Fuisz sits down with State Senator Heidi Campbell to understand why it feels like we are being targeted. What makes our city such an attractive place for neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and Christian nationalists to demonstrate? What is Christian nationalism, and who is fueling that movement? And if these far...

We’ve got Nashville Scene columnist and Metro Council expert Nicole Williams in the house on this Metro Council Tuesday with a preview of things to watch at tonight’s meeting, including a big age discrimination settlement and some important food truck news. She also joins host Grace Fuisz and producer Marie Cecile Anderson for our wrap up of Burger Week 2024 (until next year, Burger Queen), and th...

Local historian Betsy Phillips — author of “Dynamite Nashville: Unmasking the FBI, the KKK, and the Bombers Beyond their Control”, out tomorrow from Third Man Books — joins host Grace Fuisz to discuss the three still-unsolved bombings that shook our town at the dawn of the Civil Rights Movement. She explains how those shocking events continue to reverberate through Nashville today, impacting our p...

Early voting for the August 1 election starts TODAY! Host Grace Fuisz, producer Marie Cecile Anderson, and executive producer Whitney Pastorek are on the mic with a speed run through the ballot: the candidates, the contested races, and the context you need to know. Plus: The revelation that nonpartisan gun reform organization Voices for a Safer Tennessee made significant donations to top Republica...

Early voting for the August 1 primary election starts tomorrow, y’all! State Senator and Equity Alliance co-founder Charlane Oliver joins host Grace Fuisz to give us the scoop on voting in Nashville: Where to go, what to bring, and more importantly, why it matters.  Here is a sample ballot for the Aug. 1 election with early voting locations and hours. Here is a non-partisan voter guide for the Aug...

It’s National Kitten Day, y’all! And it’s definitely kitten season in Nashville. Today on City Cats — oops, City CAST — Nashville Cat Rescue director Eva McCallister joins host Grace Fuisz to talk about what to do when you find an adorable ball of fur under your porch, or when a fully grown feral feline adopts you as their own. Learn more about caring for stray kittens, fostering cats in need, and...

After a celebratory Fourth of July weekend in Nashville was marred by yet another white nationalist march downtown, host Grace Fuisz, producer Marie Cecile Anderson, and newsletter editor Margaret Kingsbury talk about what to do with the hate in our midst — and how to care for each other despite it. Plus: The best things we ate over the holiday, from hot chicken to outstanding bagels. Thanks to Te...

Nashville Scene food writer Chris Chamberlain joins host (and self-appointed “Burger Queen”) Grace Fuisz for a mouthwatering rundown of the Scene’s annual Burger Week, happening today through July 14th. As restaurants all over the city put their most creative spin on a burger, we’ve got the trends to watch for (fruit flavors abound), the under-the-radar joints you gotta check out, and strategies f...

The heroes behind Nashville Severe Weather — David Drobny, Will Minkoff, and Andrew Leeper — are in the studio with host Grace Fuisz to talk about how to get prepared for summer storm season, what to keep in your safe space, and how they really feel about weather. Thanks to Tecovas, our Western wear faves, for being our exclusive launch sponsor! **This episode originally published June 13, 2024 Wa...

City Cast CEO David Plotz sits down with hosts from all 13 City Cast daily local podcast hubs to talk about what stories they’re watching in their hometowns that are likely to impact ours, too. Listen in for how our very own Grace Fuisz’s story stacks up against the rest. Thanks to Tecovas, our Western wear faves, for being our exclusive launch sponsor!  Want some more City Cast Nashville news? Th...

Nashville Scene columnist and Metro Council expert Nicole Williams joins host Grace Fuisz and executive producer Whitney Pastorek to give us the rundown of what’s on the Council agenda for tonight’s meeting. Plus: We give you the scoop on the Catalyst Fund — an exciting new loan program designed to incentivize the building and protection of affordable housing — and allow ourselves to imagine what...

Summertime in Nashville, and the livin’ is entirely too hot — but we’ve still got a whole city to enjoy. Host Grace Fuisz, producer Marie Cecile Anderson, and Hey Nashville newsletter editor Margaret Kingsbury have your guide to July, including our tips for enjoying the Fourth of July, great activities for bored kiddos, and the best food festivals of the month. Plus ways to stay cool — or hot, if...

Chris Crofton — the comedian and Nashville Scene “Advice King” columnist who recently ran to be an At-Large Council member — joins Grace Fuisz and producer Marie Anderson for a quick Friday news roundup. They discuss the new Tennessee state laws going into effect on Monday (including the “abortion trafficking” bill) and what Crofton learned while running for office. PS: He thinks you should run, t...

A great way to stay cool this summer is to spend time on the water, and the Cumberland River runs right through downtown — but why is it so hard to access? Annie Klaver, aka the River Queen of Nashville, joins host Grace Fuisz to talk about the beauty of kayaking our city’s most prominent waterway, and the challenges of paddling — not to mention running a small business — between two chaotic urban...

We’re talking about some of Nashville’s oldest and most beloved restaurants with acclaimed local food and travel writer Margaret Littman. She joins host Grace Fuisz to explain how the owners of institutions like Brown’s Diner and International Market are keeping their historic legacies strong, while also making vital upgrades to survive and thrive today. Can these oldies-but-goodies evolve their m...

Nashville tourism leaders just released a new plan to move big events like the Fourth of July and New Year’s Eve across the river to the East Bank in years to come, which does nothing to reassure folks that “Nashville’s Next Great Neighborhood” won’t simply be a back forty for Lower Broadway’s debauched tourism culture. After another weekend of drunken violence downtown — and with stadium construc...