This Is Nashville

On Monday, Jan. 16, Tennessee State University announced its plans to spend a $250 million lump sum from the state on improvements to its campus. The money comes after the bipartisan Joint Land-Grant Institution Funding Study Committee found that between 1956 and 2006, the state of Tennessee underfunded Tennessee State University by as much as $544 million. The state's other land-grant school, the...

This month marks two years since the  National Museum of African American Music  opened its doors. This interactive hub showcases the history and impact of the creative contributions of Black musicians. We’ll talk to scholars who had a hand in how the museum was created, explore what went into its development and find out what can we expect this year. But first, we hear from WPLN’s senior health c...

Between 2017 and 2020, 113 Tennesseans died from pregnancy-related causes, and Black people were 2.5 times more likely to die in childbirth than their white counterparts, according to the state’s  2022 Maternal Mortality Report . In this episode, we’re speaking with an educator, a doula, a midwife and a doctor about some of the reasons behind this stark disparity and what needs to change to make b...

Margo Price is a Grammy-nominated artist who  released her latest album,  Strays , this month . It’s her fourth studio album since her breakthrough debut  Midwest Farmer’s Daughter  in 2016. But the journey to success in Nashville wasn’t easy, which she chronicles in her memoir  Maybe We’ll Make It . In this episode, we’re talking to Margo about her path from small town Illinois to the center of c...

From the rise of dating apps to a global pandemic, finding romance has changed a lot over the past couple years. In today’s episode, we’re talking about what it’s like navigating Nashville’s dating scene with experts, local singles and bartenders. But first, we’re joined by Tennessee Lookout senior reporter Anita Wadhwani and WPLN contributer Natasha Senjanovic  to discuss the departure of the lon...

When people enter the union of marriage, they do so with thoughts that it will be forever. Sometimes, that’s not how it works out. Thinking about divorce is difficult and initiating the process can be even harder. Tennessee has one of the highest divorce rates in the country. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention , there were 3.2 divorces per 1,000 Tennesseans in 2020. Today,...

Finding housing in Nashville can be tricky, but it can be a monumental task if you don't have transportation, have a criminal record or don't have a current address. In this episode, we check in with Tammy, an unhoused woman who was applying for housing assistance when we first met her in March . We'll also explore what resources are available to Nashvillians in need for permanent housing and hear...

With 40 members, Nashville’s Metro Council is the third largest in the country, behind Chicago and New York City. But maybe not for long. The Tennessee state legislature is considering a bill that “caps at 20 the number of members that may be elected to the governing body of a metropolitan or municipal government.” The bill’s sponsor, House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland,  says that...

The This Is Nashville staff is off for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. We are rebroadcasting an episode about the Freedom Riders that originally aired in May.   On May 17, 1961,10 members of the Nashville Student Movement boarded a bus from Nashville to Birmingham, Alabama, as part of the Freedom Rides. The riders were arrested in Alabama and then sent back to the Tennessee border in the middle of the...

Our city is a bustling, vibrant place with lots of human activity. But, if you stop and pay attention you’ll see all sorts of wildlife living among us. Foxes, deer, even  armadillos  call Nashville home. See that stray cat on your street? Chances are, they are not alone. How can we learn about the animals that live in our neighborhoods  and  learn how to share natural spaces, safely and humanely?...

The majority of people who get COVID-19 recover, but 1 in 5 adult Americans have long COVID, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention . More studies are underway to better understand long COVID, but its symptoms include everything from brain fog and shortness of breath to depression and even organ damage. These symptoms can profoundly change someone's life. In this episode, we ta...

Tennessee enacted one of the strictest abortion bans in the nation shortly after the U.S. Supreme overturned Roe v. Wade. The ban doesn't have any exemptions for rape, incest or if the pregnant woman's life is at risk. The law has reshaped how pregnant people in Tennessee find abortion care and how medical professionals are able to provide it . In this episode, we'll talk about what it's like to n...

Social media influencer is a profession that didn’t exist a decade ago, but now posting to TikTok, Instagram and other popular sites can be a big business. But, what is the point of influencing? Is it to sell a product or yourself as a brand?  In this episode, we’ll talk to some of Nashville’s most influential residents on the local and national digital stage. But first, Tuesday is the first day o...

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is on the mend  after he went into cardiac arrest on the field after a tackle during a Jan. 2 game between the Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals. The incident left both football fans and players stunned. Hamlin’s cardiac arrest prompted a fresh wave of public concern about player safety and reignited conversations about the dangers of playing tackle football. In th...

Ever since the first Air Jordan model dropped in 1985, sneakers have played a huge role in fashion, music and popular culture. So what does sneaker culture look like here in Nashville? Last fall, Tennessee State University got its own Nike Dunk model, and people lined up for hours to cop a pair. Retros and collaborations drive the hype cycle, and rare models are bought and sold like investment com...

Artificial intelligence and apps like Lensa and Midjourney allow anyone with an internet connection to create award-winning art works . However, for artists and illustrators who have spent years perfecting their style, AI-generated art potentially threatens their livelihood. Local artists have also seen their work scraped by AI. In this episode, we talk to artists and engineers about how AI works...

The makeup of Tennessee Supreme Court is set to change this year. Justice Sharon Lee will retire from the state's highest court after 14 years on the bench. In 2008, Gov. Phil Bredesen appointed Lee to the court, and her departure means that all of the five justices will have been appointed by a Republican governor. In this episode, we take a look at the process for selecting a new justice. We als...

In 2022, our first year on air, the  This Is Nashville  team went out all across this city and region getting to know you and your community better. From the start, we wanted to deliver you a variety of voices and perspectives in a fresh and dynamic way. Most of all, we set out to meet you, our community, where you are. For this special episode, we retraced some of the steps we took last year to b...

It's a new year, and we've got big plans for 2023. But before we get the ball rolling on our first full year on the air, we want to take you ... back in time. When we were gearing up to launch WPLN’s first daily show, one of the challenges we got: help set and keep a record for our city. We’ve been working to do this in many ways. One of them is by dropping a pin at various locations across our ci...

The This Is Nashville team is closing out 2022 by revisiting our best episodes. We'll be back on the air with a new episode on January 4. Until then, happy listening and happy holidays! This episode originally aired on September 29.   When it comes to manners and etiquette, every city has its local quirks. So we explore the question: What is “Nashville Nice”? This is the South, so you’re likely to...

The This Is Nashville team is closing out 2022 by revisiting our best episodes. We'll be back on the air with a new episode on January 4. Until then, happy listening and happy holidays! This episode originally aired on October 31.   Happy Halloween! This spookiest of holidays has changed  a lot  over the years, transforming from an ancient Celtic festival to a parade of adorable trick-or-treaters....

The This Is Nashville team is closing out 2022 by revisiting our best episodes. We'll be back on the air with a new episode on January 4. Until then, happy listening and happy holidays! This episode originally aired on March 24.   Everyone wants to live in a safe community. The big question is, what is the best way to prevent violence? The 2020 murder of George Floyd created new urgency across the...

The This Is Nashville team is closing out 2022 by revisiting our best episodes. We'll be back on the air with a new episode on January 4. Until then, happy listening and happy holidays! This episode originally aired on April 18.    In a time of racial reckoning, the Black Opry has resurfaced and re-centered a longstanding conversation about diversity — or lack thereof — in country music. It has al...

The This Is Nashville team is closing out 2022 by revisiting our best episodes. We'll be back on the air with a new episode on January 4. Until then, happy listening and happy holidays! This episode originally aired on March 1.   Welcome to the first episode of  This Is Nashville . Today the show explores how the region’s explosive growth has led to a sense of disconnect, between the old Nashville...

We're talking about Kwanzaa! This celebration of African American culture begins December 26 and ends January 1. Our host, Khalil Ekulona, is out of the office this week. However, he is joining us as a guest alongside his parents to share how they started celebrating Kwanzaa as a family and what the holiday means to them. Then, we're joined by local community leaders to learn more about how Kwanza...