Tennessee has a long history with hate groups and white nationalism. The state is the birthplace of the Ku Klux Klan, but more recently, a "White Lives Matter" protest at a Juneteenth celebration on June 18 in Franklin, Tennessee, provided a visible local example of anxieties around white identity. Another white supremacist group, American Renaissance, routinely hosts its annual conference at Montgomery Bell State Park. In this episode, we're talking with local historians about how white suprema...
Jul 05, 2022•51 min
The This Is Nashville team is off for July 4. We’re rebroadcasting an episode about women and country music, which originally aired on May 16. As the 1990s came to a close, country music’s biggest stars were women — Shania Twain, Faith Hill and the Chicks ruled the charts. Fast forward to 2021, and it’s “bro country” as far as the eye can see. Women are often the subjects of songs — wearing short shorts as they climb into pickup trucks. Women appear in as few as 10 percent of the songs on countr...
Jul 04, 2022•50 min
For decades, vinyl was the primary medium for recording and listening to music. As technology advanced, CDs and digital downloads became the norm, and records fell by the wayside. However, for the past decade or so, vinyl has enjoyed an incredible renaissance. Some people say they prefer the sound of vinyl. Others say they enjoy the ritual of selecting and playing a record. Still others say it just looks cool. In this episode, we talk to record store owners, musicians and collectors about the bu...
Jul 01, 2022•51 min
On June 21, the Nashville Metro Council passed its $2.9 billion budget for the 2023 fiscal year. Metro’s budget approval process can be difficult to navigate, and the citizen’s guide to the budget published by the city includes documents with more than 700 pages . For this episode of Citizen Nashville, we asked local experts listener-submitted questions about the budget. Later in the show, we’re joined by community members who work in public schools, emergency services, and affordable housing to...
Jun 30, 2022•51 min
Disputes between landlords and renters typically end up in front of judge and can result in an eviction. Instead of going to court, some landlords and renters are turning towards mediation to find a solution that will keep tenants in their homes while making sure property owners get paid. By design, mediation is a neutral experience that's not about one party or the other. Both sides are able to get it all out there, say how they feel and what they need. Clients often experience feeling heard an...
Jun 29, 2022•50 min
Dr. Robyn Henderson-Espinoza has been on a mission to truly understand their body. The transqueer theologian, activist and Nashville resident recently published a new book, Body Becoming: A Path to Our Liberation . It charts their journey to understanding our bodies as profoundly meaningful connection points to the world and to each other. They join us to talk about their book, their activism and how this idea of embodiment might help build a better world. But first, WPLN political reporter Blai...
Jun 27, 2022•50 min
The U.S. Supreme Court issued its decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health this morning, overturning Roe v. Wade and ending the constitutional right to abortion. In Tennessee, this means a nearly total ban on abortion will likely go into effect in 30 days as a result of a so-called “trigger law,” designed to ban abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned. More than two dozen other states have similar laws in place. To help us understand what this news means for our communities here in Tennessee, w...
Jun 24, 2022•51 min
Promise Land was established and settled by formerly enslaved people near Charlotte, Tenn., during Reconstruction. The original settlers included at least five former members of the United States Colored Troops: Clark Garrett, Landin Williams, Ed Vanleer and the brothers John and Arch Nesbitt. The community grew at one point to about 1,000 acres, home to about 50 families. It remained independent and flourished in spite of Jim Crow. But during the Great Migration, families began moving away, man...
Jun 23, 2022•51 min
Gaming = community. That’s what this is about. It’s about connecting with people, learning new skills and breaking out of your comfort zone. Throughout the pandemic, gaming brought a lot of folks together online — in an otherwise isolating time. Whether role-playing, board games, e-sports or virtual gaming, the gaming subculture is alive and thriving here in Nashville. We invited players who are passionate about their gaming communities to hear what this outlet means to them, and what it means t...
Jun 22, 2022•51 min
The This Is Nashville team is off for Juneteenth. We are rebroadcasting our episode about Fort Negley, which originally aired on April 4. Nashville is developing a new master plan for Fort Negley, one of the city’s most significant and unique historical landmarks. The fort was built during the Civil War by conscripted free Black men and women for the Union Army. The U.S. Colored Troops who defended Fort Negley during the war remained and settled Nashville’s first post-Emancipation Black neighbor...
Jun 20, 2022•51 min
If you’ve stepped outside in Nashville this week, you know the heat right now is no joke . The fire department has responded to dozens of heat sickness-related calls just this week. Residents are being asked to conserve energy to reduce strain on the grid . Forecasters expect things to cool down just a bit over the Juneteenth weekend, but then we could hit 100 degrees next week. How long has it been since that happened? We pose that and more burning questions to a meteorologist. We also talk wit...
Jun 17, 2022•51 min
In Tennessee, anyone found guilty of first-degree murder is sentenced to a minimum 51-years in prison – even if they were under 18 at the time of the crime. Al Jazeera’s “Fault Lines” series recently released a documentary about Almeer Nance — a Knoxville man who received what is essentially a life sentence for felony murder in 1997. He was 16 when the crime happened and didn’t pull the trigger. Documentarian Jeremy Young joins us to talk about his work and Nance’s case. Then we hear from Nance’...
Jun 15, 2022•51 min
From political turmoil and police brutality to inflation and an ongoing pandemic, the past few years have been incredibly stressful for many people. But for those looking for help, mental health care can be confusing to navigate and expensive to access. The stigma that surrounds discussing care and mental health challenges openly makes things more complicated. To learn more about the importance of accessing care and the difference it can make, as well how the mental health landscape has shifted ...
Jun 14, 2022•51 min
If you were to buy a ticket to the symphony right now — here in Nashville, or in another city — you likely wouldn’t see many Black performers. That won’t be the case at this weekend’s inaugural performance of the Nashville African American Wind Symphony. The group aims to challenge what has become the norm in classical spaces. We talk to members of the group about why they felt a Black symphony was needed. Then, educators and students talk about ways to bridge the gap. But first — the way we pro...
Jun 13, 2022•51 min
Note: This episode originally aired on March 4. The honky-tonks on Lower Broadway contribute to Nashville’s economy and its reputation as a destination party city. While “NashVegas” has become a playground for bachelorette parties, locals have pushed back — complaining about unruly tourists and under-regulated party vehicles . Things got so out of hand that the word “transportainment” made its first appearance in The New York Times last year. In this episode, host Khalil Ekulona talks to some of...
Jun 10, 2022•50 min
Nolensville Pike is famous in Nashville as a bustling corridor of culture and cuisine from all over the world. As Nashville grows — and becomes more expensive — some are embracing new interest and investment in the area, while others worry that development with displace existing immigrant communities. To learn more about how Nolensville Pike became the multicultural hub we know it as today, and discuss its future, we're joined by a panel of business owners, restaurant managers, community organiz...
Jun 09, 2022•51 min
Hot chicken is Nashville’s most famous dish. It has a cult following, a mythological backstory and humble beginnings. But it is much more than just a meal — it tells a story about gentrification and race in Nashville. We take a deep dive into what hot chicken says about the city’s culture. We’re joined by the matriarch’s of hot chicken – Ms. André Prince of Prince’s, and Ms. Dollye Matthews of Bolton’s – to explore the legacy of hot chicken, and what it was like to watch it spread like wildfire....
Jun 08, 2022•50 min
It’s national Pet Appreciation Week! Our pets are like family — maybe even more so after these last two years — and many of us have recently seen an addition (or two!) to our households. In this show, we hear from cat people and dog people about the work they do taking care of the furries and finding the right forever homes. But first, we talk supercomputers! Tennessee is home to the fastest computer in the world. We learn what that means and how long it might take until we have that kind of pow...
Jun 07, 2022•51 min
When Nissan Stadium, then called the Adelphia Coliseum, opened in 1999 to house the newly-arrived Tennessee Titans, the lease agreement stipulated that Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County was responsible for 80% of maintenance costs. At the time, Nashville was not a major pro sports destination, and the favorable lease agreement was an important incentive to attract the Titans to Music City. More than 20 years later, a combination of wear and tear and rising standards for fo...
Jun 06, 2022•51 min
Nashville’s independent music venues have long been a proving ground for up-and-coming artists. They’re also increasingly under threat as development and gentrification continue to put pressure on property values. Mercy Lounge, Cannery Ballroom and the High Watt recently closed , and it’s an uncertain future ahead for revered venues like Exit/In . The city is waking up to the problem. Mayor John Cooper recently declared the week before Memorial Day weekend to be “Music Venue Independence Week.” ...
Jun 03, 2022•51 min
Southern Baptists belong to a denomination that believes in the inerrancy of Biblical scripture, the autonomy of their congregations and complementarity of men and women. In light of the recent Guidepost Report , in this episode we talk about the what the Southern Baptist Convention believes in, its structure and how the absence of female presence in its leadership has contributed to the silencing and abuse of women. First, @ US!: We respond to comments we received about gun violence, news fatig...
Jun 02, 2022•51 min
Child care is often expensive, hard-to-find and deeply necessary for working parents and guardians. With schools being out for the summer, many families in Middle Tennessee are in need for child care. To help address these access issues, Metro Council approved a measure that provides $7.5 million to support child care and early childhood education in Nashville this April. Today, we’re sitting down with community stakeholders to learn what this infusion of funding means for the future of child ca...
Jun 01, 2022•51 min
As the school year draws to a close in Middle Tennessee, we check in with students to see how they’re feeling. The Uvalde, Texas, school shooting is still in the headlines and it comes so soon after another mass shooting in Buffalo. Both were perpetrated by teenagers . And an even more recent shooting in Chattanooga saw six people injured, all of them younger than 15 . How are students processing these multiple tragedies? How did they make it through this challenging year? And what are their hop...
May 31, 2022•51 min
This Is Nashville is off for Memorial Day. We are rebroadcasting our episode about Larkspur, which originally aired April 14. Death is something that’s sure. It’s also something many of us avoid. Certain people, though, have made facing death part of their everyday life. In an opening feature, we visit Larkspur Conservation – one of the only conservation burial grounds in the country as we say goodbye to one man’s son. Then we speak with a woman who recently buried her dad at Larkspur as well as...
May 30, 2022•51 min
The WNXP Artist of the Month for May is The New Respects. The Nashville band released its new single "Don't Worry" on Friday, which marks a new chapter for The New Respects since it's the band's first major independent project. In this episode, we're joined by two of the band's members to talk about their music and how their upbringing shaped The New Respects' sound. But first, we'll hear from WNXP Editorial Director Jewly Hight, who has been following the band for more than five years. Guests: ...
May 27, 2022•51 min
Goals, vision board, 5-year plan, bucket list, whatever you call it — we have many ways of trying to realize and track our passions and accomplishments. When we think of bucket lists , well, we have to admit that at some point we all kick that bucket. That’s where the urgency comes in. On this show, we talk to people with different backgrounds about the goals they’ve set and the meaningful things they have achieved so far. But first, @ US!: We had a vegan listener react to our meat episode — so ...
May 26, 2022•50 min
Losing a family member suddenly and unexpectedly is difficult. But that experience can feel magnified if that loved one is killed by the people tasked to protect us – law enforcement. On this episode, we speak with Sheila Clemmons Lee, whose son Jocques Clemmons was killed by a Metro Nashville Police Department officer in 2017; Vickie Hambrick, whose son Daniel Hambrick was killed by an MNPD officer in 2018; Brandi Johnson Neuble, whose brother William Johnson Jr. was killed in a shootout with M...
May 25, 2022•51 min
A deadly mass shooting at a Buffalo, New York, supermarket on May 14 sent shockwaves throughout the country, including in Middle Tennessee. In a document written before the attack, the gunman used rhetoric that echoed racist conspiracy theories and, in some places, the recently leaked Supreme Court draft decision overturning Roe. v. Wade . On this episode, we explore the connections between hateful rhetoric and harmful actions with someone whose community was targeted for harassment and with exp...
May 24, 2022•50 min
Note: This episode originally appeared on March 18. Nashville has changed a lot over the past handful of decades — and our city’s LGBTQ+ scene is no exception. The first gay bars popped up after World War II, and the number of LGBTQ+ establishments grew from there, peaking in the 1980s and 1990s with more than 20. None of them are still around today. In recent years, increasing social acceptance has led to the creation of new queer spaces in Nashville, like kickball leagues and roving dance part...
May 23, 2022•50 min
What does it take to get the best cut of local meat? Turns out it’s a lot. From land, to feed, to slaughter, processing, aging and cooking. We talk to farmers, producers and entrepreneurs about how and why they go the extra mile for local meat — keeping the whole animal in mind, from birth to plate. First up, we take a look into a new Vanderbilt University initiative to establish an Asian American Studies major — and one student’s role in driving the change. Guests: Juliana Kim , WPLN’s educatio...
May 20, 2022•51 min
