Shows / This Is Nashville
This Is Nashville
This Is Nashville is a live one-hour daily show driven by community, for community. This flagship program of WPLN News will become your one-stop-shop for news in Nashville and Middle Tennessee, as we continue to show up each day.
Episodes
- This Is Nashville
Microplastics: the invisible agents in and around us
Like we need one more thing to worry about. Microplastics are showing up in high levels in Middle Tennessee. The Cumberland River is at the top end of American…
- This Is Nashville
Justin Lee Williams: from realtor to line dancer
Justin Lee Williams didn’t set out to become an in-demand line dancing instructor. Actually, it was a real estate career that didn’t quite materialize…
- This Is Nashville
Multigenerational living: The future of Nashville housing?
As the cost of home ownership grows beyond the reach of a single family, multiple generations are finding ways to live together and split that mortgage…
- This Is Nashville
Evolving portrayals of Nashville’s Black history
How do we honor people who were enslaved when the enslavers are at the center of so much of our history? For generations, Nashville’s portrayals of its Black…
- This Is Nashville
Buc-ee's v. Dolly's and the economics of TN roadtripping
The tank is full. The open road calling. Before you hit the highway, though, you have to make a few decisions about what you want to see, how much you can…
- This Is Nashville
Allison Russell, 'In the Hour of Chaos'
A quote got back to Allison Russell from her daughter talking to the daughter of another artist: My mommy “just sings sad songs about her sad past.” She did…
- This Is Nashville
AI near the zoo, swarm drones and UFOs in nature
Nationally, sparkler injuries accounted for 1,700 ER visits in 2024. This year, without much debate, the state legislature passed a new law this year allowing…
- This Is Nashville
Hot chicken fest at 20, parting words from a moderate state rep, sick kids and immigration enforcement
It's been twenty years since the first Music City Hot Chicken Festival. Today, we get a little spicy with founder former mayor Bill Purcell and second…
- This Is Nashville
Restricting THC, debating Fisk's data center, and remembering Tay Keith and Rosetta Miller-Perry
A batch of new laws take effect July 1, including rules that will reshape Tennessee's burgeoning hemp business. Many hemp producers are heading to friendlier…
- This Is Nashville
HealthQ Special: Caregiving in the Sandwich Generation
If you are taking care of a child and you have a parent over 65, you’re among millions across the U.S. in the same life stage. Nearly a quarter of all American…
- This Is Nashville
Protecting the safe spaces of Nashville's queer community
Pride Month brings rainbow flags, parades, and celebration. But for many queer people in Middle Tennessee, it also raises a more complicated question: where do…
- This Is Nashville
The Roundabout: The Promise of America at 250
America's independence turns 250 this year, and the country is abuzz with commemorations, flags flying, and patriotic-fueled pride. But as we mark this…
- This Is Nashville
How to be a backyard naturalist in Tennessee
Maybe you get overwhelmed at the enormity of climate change and the effects on our environment. But try not to despair. Today we’re talking about the little…
- This Is Nashville
Re-air: NextAge: Proud love and mighty hurdles
Love, romance and intimacy can look very different in the second half of life — no matter your gender or sexuality. Today we get stories of gay men growing…
- This Is Nashville
Answering your data center questions
Tech developer DC Blox has filed permit applications for a tentacular data center to be built right next to the Nashville Zoo. A 'Quantum Leap' data center is…
- This Is Nashville
American patriots, then and now
The descendants of the American Revolution are the keepers of our personal histories, saving the stories of ancestors whom time might have forgotten. Two…
- This Is Nashville
Nashville under the microscope
Have you ever looked closely at your Tennessee driver's license? There might be something surprising in the fine print. Curious Nashville listener Sam Barocas…
- This Is Nashville
Celene Aubry, the steward of Hatch Show Print
Long before she ever heard of Hatch Show Print, Celene Aubry fell in love with letterpress printing. Fascinated by the smell of ink, the feel of paper, the…
- This Is Nashville
Healthcare Hollow: Uninsured in rural Tennessee
Healthcare is all about who is going to pay for it. Because if you can’t afford to go to the doctor, you probably won’t until it becomes an emergency – which…
- This Is Nashville
An alternative soundtrack for America at 250
“All-American Girl.” “God Bless the U.S.A.” “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue.” You'll hear these songs many times this summer as we celebrate America's…
- This Is Nashville
Our racing roots
With one of the oldest tracks in America, racing is part of our city's fabric as one of Nashville's earliest professional sports. Even as diehard fans say it’s…
- This Is Nashville
Perspectives on life and fatherhood featuring David Fischette and Robert Taylor
With Father's Day on the horizon, two dads join us to share their perspectives on love, loss, priorities and fatherhood. After David Fischette stepped away…
- This Is Nashville
The Roundaboot: Cowboy boots and country music
CMA Fest is upon us. How you feel about that will inform whether or not you're hitting up Broadway this weekend. But the festival has a storied past in…
- This Is Nashville
The Middle Tennessee of 1776
This summer, much of the nation is commemorating 1776, the year the Thirteen Colonies declared their independence from Great Britain. Tennessee would not…
- This Is Nashville
Taking cues from the black bear and other signal species
We’re surrounded by wildlife that tells us something about our ecosystem if we’ll take just a moment to stop and smell the roses (or, in this case, take a…
- This Is Nashville
Jim Palmer on deconstruction and what's next
Jim Palmer was a crusader for Christianity. He accepted the calling in East Tennessee, went to seminary, and started preaching in one of the largest mega…
- This Is Nashville
Lamar Alexander on his memoir, career and the politics of now
It takes more than 500 pages for Lamar Alexander to tell the story of his political career, and that’s understandable given his 26 years as Tennessee governor…
- This Is Nashville
Ask the Mayor, plus Curious Nashville asks why one local school still bears the name of a segregationist
Once again, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell joins This Is Nashville live on the air to answer your questions. From traffic headaches and development concerns…
- This Is Nashville
During the World Cup, Samurai Blue calls Nashville home
Nashville is still stepping onto the global stage during the World Cup. Years ago, uncertainty surrounding the future of Nissan Stadium kept Nashville from…
- This Is Nashville
NextAge: Call and Response
We’ve done enough tapdancing around touchy words in this important conversation about intimacy and romance in the second half of life. It’s time to hear you do…
- This Is Nashville
NextAge: Changing how we talk about The Change
Menopause is having a moment! After generations of misunderstanding, myths and mockery, menopause and perimenopause is starting to get the attention and…
- This Is Nashville
NextAge: The Talk 2.0
It’s not that what we learned about the birds and the bees was all wrong. It’s just that it was mostly about procreation and – more likely – focused on how not…
- This Is Nashville
NextAge: George Rowe and his multi-dimensional life
We’re kicking off Week 2 of our NextAge season on romance, intimacy and our bodies with one of our city’s most interesting citizens: George Rowe. A man who has…
- This Is Nashville
NextAge: Proud love and mighty hurdles
Love, romance and intimacy can look very different in the second half of life — no matter your gender or sexuality. Today we get stories of gay men growing…
- This Is Nashville
NextAge: Looking at love from both sides, now
Second half of life companionship may look a lot different than the first. Procreation is off the table, merging households holds new logistical challenges…
- This Is Nashville
NextAge: Deep connections in the digital age
NextAge Season 2, our series on romance and intimacy in the second half of life, continues with a deep dive on technology and dating apps. Smart phones…
- This Is Nashville
NextAge 2: The Jugg Sisters will make you blush
Today we kick off NextAge Season 2, a series focused on romance, intimacy, and relationships in the second half of life, with a personal and hilarious…
- This Is Nashville
Re-air: Opryland’s Lasting Legacy
Opryland has been closed for nearly 30 years, and as the producer of a new documentary puts it, some people are still “butt hurt” about it. Maybe we didn’t…
- This Is Nashville
Class of '26: Highs and loans
The job market seems to be on the downturn, especially if you’re a young person. College graduates are scrambling to get their hands on just about any kind of…
- This Is Nashville
From disruptive toddlers and overwhelmed parents to teens in crisis, Tennessee's expanding resources
It’s tough to be a kid. It’s tough to be a parent of a kid. And nothing is tougher than when a kid is having a tough time. May is a month set aside for Mental…
- This Is Nashville
The wisdom of a seasoned clerk, Brenda Wynn
Business licenses, marriage licenses, license plates. For some of us, this is our primary interaction with local government – standing in line, navigating the…
- This Is Nashville
State legislative wrap-up: immigration, vouchers and preemption
The dust is starting to settle after the annual whirlwind that is the final days of the legislative session at the Tennessee State Capitol. Today we take you…
- This Is Nashville
Curious Nashville: Digging in the dirt
As usual, it all starts with a question to Curious Nashville: "I live in East Nashville, on Sharpe Avenue. We adopted a hound mix and she digs up bizarre…
- This Is Nashville
Ready for NextAge, Season 2: Love, body, and belonging
Our need and desire for connection doesn’t retire as we grow older. NextAge Season 2 explores love, intimacy, and companionship in the second half of life…
- This Is Nashville
Valerie Cordero on helping kids from lower-income families become musicians
We call ourselves Music City. But for a lot of kids growing up here, music lessons are simply out of reach. There’s a place in Edgehill where lessons still…
- This Is Nashville
Ask the Mayor, plus Curious Nashville ponders, "What would it take to put electrical lines underground?"
Mayor Freddie O’Connell joins us live in the studio to take your questions –– and nothing is off the table. Today we're asking about Waymo, the Superbowl and…
- This Is Nashville
Book challenges, censorship and age-appropriate reading
For some, a book is just a book. For others, it can be life-changing, or controversial, or both. When the Age-Appropriate Materials Act was signed into law by…
- This Is Nashville
Hallelujah: The Nashville Chorus Scene
We’re bringing our voices together in harmony. It’s a show where everyone has a part. This is a choir town, after all. And choral music is a communal act…
- This Is Nashville
Biochemist Billy Hudson on his awards, his Aspirnauts and his own self-care
At 84, biochemist Billy Hudson is still at it, researching collagen and kidney function. He's been named as a 2026 medal of honor recipient by the Ellis Island…
- This Is Nashville
The Roundabout: moving out, rolling in, and staying put
It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for our weekly roundtable discussion featuring a variety of voices. Otherwise known as The Roundabout. Today is for anyone…
- This Is Nashville
Tennessee expats
Folks are flocking to Nashville from around the country — and even around the world. Today we explore the other side of the story. As Middle Tennessee’s…
- This Is Nashville
Healthcare Hollow: Federal rural health funding sounds good, so why are there concerns?
Tennessee could get about $1 billion to invest in its rural health care over the next five years. Gov. Bill Lee and his administration are drumming up…
- This Is Nashville
Former Titan Kevin Dyson still has something to prove in education
Kevin Dyson was part of the biggest play during the biggest season the Tennessee Titans have had to date. He saw the highs of the Music City Miracle and the…
- This Is Nashville
What, where, when to plant: A gardening Roundabout
It’s now or never to plant something if it’s going to survive the Middle Tennessee summer. Today, we dedicate our weekly roundabout to the when's, where's and…
- This Is Nashville
Two new reports and the critical questions about equity, opportunity and inclusion facing the city
Tasked with overseeing Title VI compliance, the Metro Human Relations Commission works to ensure that the city’s 10,000 employees can do their jobs free from…
- This Is Nashville
Healthcare Hollow: Linden's reopened hospital shows hope for rural health
America’s rural hospitals are closing at an alarming pace, and Tennessee holds the highest closure rate. In a series of reports this month, WPLN takes an…
- This Is Nashville
From buttoned up to chaotic to human connection: Wu Fei’s extraordinary musical journey
Today we meet Wu Fei, a master of the 21-string Chinese zither known as the guzheng. A classically trained composer and singer, Wu Fei was educated in China’s…
- This Is Nashville
The Roundabout: Dark money, an ousted library director and a Kid Rock fly-by
It’s time for our weekly Roundabout – a chance to step back and make sense of the biggest local headlines shaping Middle Tennessee. This week, we unpack the…
- This Is Nashville
Restaurant closing time? Not so fast.
You could start listing the locally owned restaurants that have closed already this year and tell a pretty dire story: Margot, Varallos, Pelican & Pig. And…
- This Is Nashville
The thorny issues that remain: Immigration, vouchers and a $58B budget
The White House is experimenting with state-level immigration laws in Tennessee, but most of those proposals have hit resistance, and it's now do-or-die time…