NashVillager

On this anniversary of the start of civil service protections in the United States, we should be watching carefully to see how fragile those protections are. Plus, the local news for January 16, 2025, and the end of a vinyl manufacturer in Nashville.    Credits:  This is a production of Nashville Public Radio Host/producer: Nina Cardona Editor: Miriam Kramer Additional support: Mack Linebaugh, Ton...

A new lawsuit related to how the state passes out food stamps could reveal how some people fall through the cracks of an imperfect system. Plus, the local news for January 15, 2025 and this week’s edition of What, Where, Whens-day .    Credits:  This is a production of Nashville Public Radio Host/producer: Nina Cardona Editor: Miriam Kramer Additional support: Mack Linebaugh, Tony Gonzalez, Rachel...

Sometimes shocking death rates galvanize Tennessee’s leaders into action. And sometimes they run away from even debating potential solutions. Plus, the local news for Jan. 14, 2025, and a conversation with David French.   Credits:  This is a production of Nashville Public Radio Host/producer: Nina Cardona Editor: Miriam Kramer Additional support: Mack Linebaugh, Tony Gonzalez, Rachel Iacovone, LaT...

Tennessee has been known for sending volunteers into national military engagements for a long, long time. And it’s never been completely straightforward. That’s potentially true of the way Tennessee could soon pitch in help for the Trump administration. Plus, the local news for January 13, 2025 and federal protection for massive salamanders native to this state.   Credits:  This is a production of...

Laugh all you want about how badly Southerners handle a few inches of snow, but there are good reasons to be cautious when winter weather hits Middle Tennessee. Plus the local news for January 10, 2025 and new hurdles to getting books in Tennessee prisons.   Credits:  This is a production of Nashville Public Radio Host/producer: Nina Cardona Editor: Miriam Kramer Additional support: Mack Linebaugh...

The deadly incident on New Orleans’ Bourbon Street has sparked a new thread of safety discussion in Nashville, just as two other downtown safety initiatives are being discussed at the city and state levels. Plus the local news for January 9, 2025 and the East Nashville inspiration behind a WNXP Artist of the Month song.   Credits:  This is a production of Nashville Public Radio Host/producer: Nina...

There are plenty of parallels between The Titans of the past and today’s team. On today’s podcast, we run down some recent movement on the team’s new stadium and what their record could mean for season tickets. Plus, the local news for January 8, 2025 and this week’s edition of What Where When-sday .   Credits:  This is a production of Nashville Public Radio Host/producer: Nina Cardona Editor: Mir...

On today’s episode, Nina explores the life and times of Dorothy Lavinia Brown, the first Southern Black woman to become a surgeon and accomplish many other remarkable things in her lifetime. Plus, the local news for January 7, 2025, and a look at how misinformation spread after Hurrican Helene.    Credits:  This is a production of Nashville Public Radio Host/producer: Nina Cardona Editor: Miriam K...

On this episode, host Nina Cardona remembers what it was like to spend three hours with former President Jimmy Carter years ago at WPLN. Plus, the local news for January 6, 2025, and a look at pop crossovers in 2024.   Credits:  This is a production of Nashville Public Radio Host/producer: Nina Cardona Editor: Miriam Kramer Additional support: Mack Linebaugh, Tony Gonzalez, Rachel Iacovone, LaTony...

Fisk University’s Jubilee singers were formed to respond to a funding crisis started by the end of a federal program. Now, the state and TSU are playing out a story with certain parallels. Plus, the local news for January 3, 2025 and a look inside a storied East Nashville music studio.    Credits:  This is a production of Nashville Public Radio Host/producer: Nina Cardona Editor: Miriam Kramer Add...

Reconstruction was a messy period for Tennessee, with many people formerly aligned with the Confederacy taking the law into their own hands. In Shelbyville during that time, some of the people targeted by the KKK fought back. Plus, the local news for January 2, 2025 and What, Where, Whens-day on a Thursday.   Credits:  This is a production of Nashville Public Radio Host/producer: Nina Cardona Edit...

On today’s special holiday edition of the NashVillager podcast, we highlight three of Nina’s best On This Day essays from the last year.  Credits:   This is a production of Nashville Public Radio   Host/producer: Miriam Kramer  Editor: Tony Gonzalez  Additional support: Mack Linebaugh, Nina Cardona, Rachel Iacovone, LaTonya Turner and the staff of WPLN and WNXP  

Nashville is lush and beautiful, but not for everyone. On this special holiday edition of the NashVillager podcast, we take a look back at Caroline Eggers’ fascinating story on Nashville’s tree canopy.  Credits:    This is a production of Nashville Public Radio   Host/producer: Catherine Sweeney   Editor: Miriam Kramer   Additional support: Mack Linebaugh, Tony Gonzalez, Rachel Iacovone, LaTonya T...

Two novels released this year — Those Beyond the Wall by Vanderbilt scholar Micaiah Johnson, and Colton Gentry’s Third Act by Jeff Zentner — are works of fiction. But they both showcase ties to real Nashville events: the People’s Plaza and the Covenant School shooting. WPLN spoke with the authors to learn more about the thinking behind the works.   Credits:   This is a production of Nashville Publ...

You may have heard the names Harold Love Jr. and William Lamberth in the same breath as a new law or the latest happenings at the Tennessee State Capitol. But who are they when the statehouse isn’t in session?  This episode, we’ll hear from these lawmakers on both sides of aisle about what brought them to politics, and who they are outside of it. Plus, a look ahead at some freshman lawmakers we’ll...

This year was an emotional roller coaster in the news, with one surprise and unprecedented event after another. It was hard to keep track of life’s more predictable moments — annual traditions and the natural world. In this special holiday episode of the NashVillager, reporter Char Daston shares his favorite WPLN stories from this year about the changing of the seasons.  Credits:   This is a produ...

A Murfreesboro 20-something became a monk – for a bit. A temporary ordination is a rite of passage in Thailand, but it hasn’t carried over to Thai communities in the U.S. That didn’t stop this first-generation Thai American from taking part. Plus, a look at WPLN’s religion stories throughout the years.   Credits:   This is a production of Nashville Public Radio   Host/producer: Rachel Iacovone  Ed...

On this special holiday edition of the NashVillager, reporter Paige Pfleger takes us back to one of the most joyful stories that came out of the WPLN newsroom this year.   Credits:   This is a production of Nashville Public Radio  Host/producer: Paige Pfleger  Editor: Miriam Kramer  Additional support: Mack Linebaugh, Tony Gonzalez, Rachel Iacovone, LaTonya Turner and the staff of WPLN and WNXP 

We’re revisiting three stories — published over a span of just seven days — showing how the journalists of WPLN News explain local events by connecting the dots.   Credits:   This is a production of Nashville Public Radio   Host/producer: Tony Gonzalez  Editor: Miriam Kramer  Additional support: Mack Linebaugh, Nina Cardona, Rachel Iacovone, LaTonya Turner and the staff of WPLN and WNXP

Tennessee has had its own share of political scandals that rise to the level of criminal convictions. We run down some of them and give you the latest in the case of former Senator Brian Kelsey. Plus, the local news for December 20, 2024 and a Cookeville Christmas parade that never happened.   Credits:  This is a production of Nashville Public Radio Host/producer: Nina Cardona Editor: Miriam Krame...

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin expressing concern that drones seen over the country recently could be foreign surveillance devices. We break it down. Plus, the local news for December 19, 2024 and a look at new traditions ex-evangelicals in Nashville are celebrating this holiday season.   Credits:  This is a production of Nashvi...

Nashville’s very first Christmas parade was held in the last week of November in 1928; but, since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the annual tradition faded. Before that there was a whole lot of drama. Plus, the local news for December 18, 2024 and this week’s edition of What, Where, Whens-day .   Credits:  This is a production of Nashville Public Radio Host/producer: Nina Cardona Editor: Miriam Kram...

On this day in 1938, a scientist set off a new age of nuclear power. Nearly a century later, Tennessee remains central to nuclear power technology in America. Plus, the local news for December 17, 2024 and a feature report that digs into the stigma around methadone clinics.   Credits:  This is a production of Nashville Public Radio Host/producer: Nina Cardona Editor: Miriam Kramer Additional suppo...

On this day, 160 years ago, the Battle of Nashville ended, marking the beginning of the end of the Civil War. And there are still lessons to be learned from the human side of that story today. Plus, the local news for December 16, 2024 and WNXP’s top albums of the year.   Credits:  This is a production of Nashville Public Radio Host/producer: Nina Cardona Editor: Miriam Kramer Additional support:...

Fort Negley wasn’t just a major Union fortification during the Civil War, it was also a place where Black people’s labor was exploited, and where they put down new roots to create a new community with lasting impact. We take a look at what’s next for the historic site. Plus, the local news for December 13, 2024 and motel turned transitional housing.   Credits:  This is a production of Nashville Pu...