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
R.A. Dickey on redemption, purpose and the unpredictable pitch that changed everything
Knuckleball pitchers are a small fraternity, and R.A. Dickey is one of its most notable members. R.A. Dickey learned the unpredictable knuckleball pitch as a…
- This Is Nashville
Busting the algorithm with WNXP
WNXP is the music discovery go-to in Nashville. On 91.1, listeners get exposed to all kinds of songs not in their regular feed. But it doesn't stop there. They…
- This Is Nashville
Ask the mayor: taxes, racing, childcare and you
Each month, Mayor Freddie O’Connell joins us live in the studio to take your questions –– and nothing is off the table. We're asking about the latest on…
- This Is Nashville
Nashville's buried Native American history and the repatriation movement
Much of Middle Tennessee’s important Native American history has been disturbed by development. This has prompted listeners like Kelly Cannon to wonder what’s…
- This Is Nashville
Holly Kernan on being lost, falling in love with Nashville, and what public radio is for now
Holly Kernan still needs Google Maps to get around Nashville and she's fine with that. Nashville Public Radio's new CEO came from Oakland, where she spent most…
- This Is Nashville
Two Rutherfords and a Taylor: Ask a songwriter
We’ve learned a lot this week exploring the nuts and bolts of songwriting — from the creative process to the realities of the business. But we also have more…
- This Is Nashville
Nuts and bolts: The business of songwriting
The business of songwriting is a full-blown economy of its own — chock full of jargon like “splits,” “P-R-Os,” “plugger” and “mailbox money.” But what does it…
- This Is Nashville
The art of the co-write: Luke Dick and Melody Walker
Country music songwriter Harlan Howard famously described country music as “three chords and the truth.” He makes it sound simple, but thousands know it’s much…
- This Is Nashville
Alice Randall, the griot of country music
She's a subversive storyteller, slipping in sideways with hard-to-swallow truths. Growing up in Motown, Alice Randall was drawn to the sounds coming from Music…
- This Is Nashville
Winter Profile Roundup
We started the year with a strong roster of profile episodes, each featuring an outstanding guest with a story that’s made a local impact. But six of them…
- This Is Nashville
Educated, experienced and unemployed
Unemployment rates are still quite low. But they don’t tell the whole story. The face of joblessness has changed in recent years. Mid-career professionals…
- This Is Nashville
Music Citizens, Episode 5: The Tastemaker (Re-air)
Today we travel along with Music Citizens to go inside the highest stakes job in the industry – A&R. Through the lens and life of A&R lifer Kim Buie, we get to…
- This Is Nashville
Alex and Eiman Jahangir on fulfilling their dreams and prioritizing family
Alex and Eiman Jahangir are brothers, doctors, and two of Nashville’s most remarkable public servants. Both are physicians at Vanderbilt. Alex is an orthopedic…
- This Is Nashville
The Roundabout: Property tax pinch and Boring resistance
It’s time for our weekly Roundabout where our panel with an assortment of viewpoints take on the headlines of the week. If you’re wondering why there’s so much…
- This Is Nashville
Navigating Nashville without insurance and an intro to HealthQ
This may be a healthcare town but, even here, figuring our way around the system – affordably – is a real challenge. And it's becoming a greater challenge for…
- This Is Nashville
Romance Novels: We're no longer hiding the covers
A glistening mane flowing over disproportionately top-heavy muscles, bulging under hairless and perfectly-tanned skin. This zeus of a man holds the tiniest of…
- This Is Nashville
The redemption story of RaDonda Vaught
It started with one request to speak to a group of risk analysts. Former Vanderbilt nurse RaDonda Vaught reluctantly told her story on a stage for the first…
- This Is Nashville
The Roundabout: ICE investigation, marriage equality and the Tesla loop
It’s time for our weekly Roundabout, where our panel representing views across the political spectrum dives into the biggest headlines of the week. We take a…
- This Is Nashville
Ask the Mayor: storm response, property taxes, NDOT and parks
Mayor Freddie O’Connell is back for another edition of Ask the Mayor. We’ve been through a lot since he was on the show last month. Today we start with…
- This Is Nashville
Independent theater in center stage
Independent theater could turn any one of us from a spectator into an on-stage participant. It provides a spotlight for people of all ages to share important…
- This Is Nashville
Rissi Palmer on the Black Barbie evolution of country music and other ‘Perspectives’
People come to Nashville from all over the world to make country music. Rissi Palmer is one of the many. But she’s also one of the few — one of the few to ever…
- This Is Nashville
The Roundabout: DEI backlash, race and redevelopment
It's Thursday which means it's another edition of The Roundabout. Today we focus on race, DEI backlash, race and redevelopment. What’s been your experience?…
- This Is Nashville
Our musical stops on the Civil Rights Trail
Music put Nashville on the map. And specifically, it’s our music museums putting us on the U.S. Civil Rights Trail map. Jefferson Street Sound Museum and the…
- This Is Nashville
Crime is down. Can you feel it?
Crime is down — way down. But many of us don’t feel safe. At least that’s what the latest survey data tells us. What’s going on there? Do you feel safe in your…
- This Is Nashville
The Roundabout: How are our kids?
The annual State of the Child Report released by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth shows fewer kids are living in poverty. The report also…
- This Is Nashville
ICE and your rights
As of this month, nearly 400,000 immigrants have been arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. And ICE continues to carry out public raids and…
- This Is Nashville
The Emotional Anatomy of a Collective Crisis
We just lived through the same crisis — an ice storm that froze Nashville in place for the better part of a week and caused the worst power outage the city has…
- This Is Nashville
Chef Ericka Fizer on defying the odds
Chef Ericka Fizer made it her life’s work to take care of others even as she endured her own hardships — starting with feeding her siblings when she was…
- This Is Nashville
How we fared with winter storm Fern
The streets are lined with trunks and limbs awaiting pickup. The power is back on for most — though not all. And the ice and snow is largely gone. But the…
- This Is Nashville
10 years of Curious Nashville
It’s the 10-year anniversary of Curious Nashville and we’re revisiting some of the weirdest and most surprising questions you’ve asked. This means we're going…
- This Is Nashville
Protecting Trees, avoiding scams and filing claims
We grapple with our precious and destructive trees. Winter storm Fern may have been misnamed because it was actually hardwoods and hackberries wreaking so much…
- This Is Nashville
Scott Hamilton, Olympic Gold Medalist
This city isn’t known as an ice skating mecca. Far from it. There were only a couple of places to even lace up and glide until a few years ago. But this is…
- This Is Nashville
Finite snow days, National Guard, and toxic gases
Life is starting to get back to normal for some, but not nearly for all. Power restoration is still slow-going in some communities. One in five homes in…
- This Is Nashville
Recovery update: Water woes and dampened spirits
Multiple days without power is taking its toll on both our spirits and on Middle Tennessee's infrastructure. Water main breaks and power loss to pumping…
- This Is Nashville
Winter storm update: power and emergency management
It’s day two of our live coverage of the large-scale snow and ice storm affecting all of Middle Tennessee. Hundreds of thousand Middle Tennesseans remain in…
- This Is Nashville
Middle Tennessee winter storm: coverage and updates
A large-scale snowstorm crippled much of the nation over the weekend, including all of Middle Tennessee. "This Is Nashville" provided live updates about downed…
- This Is Nashville
The Roundabout: President Trump's second first year
This week, our Roundabout panel discusses President Donald Trump’s second first year. Have we entered “The golden age of America” as President Trump said…
- This Is Nashville
Our real estate reality check
It’s hard to make heads or tails of the housing market in Nashville. You’ve got McMansions sitting for months and starter homes swept up in a flash. If you’re…
- This Is Nashville
Live with Maestro Leonard Slatkin
We bring Leonard Slatkin to our podium on the eve of his first performance in this new era at the helm of the Nashville Symphony. He’s one of the most…
- This Is Nashville
The Roundabout: State legislative preview
The Tennessee General Assembly reconvenes for another session this week. Today we take you inside the halls of power to preview the key issues, potential…
- This Is Nashville
The state of pro sports in Music City
Is Major League Baseball on the horizon? Women's basketball? Nascar? Today we check in on the professional sports eco-system in Nashville: baseball, football…
- This Is Nashville
Drying out in a drinking town
It might be hard to believe after a visit to Lower Broadway, but fewer people are drinking these days – at least that’s what folks are telling pollsters…
- This Is Nashville
Ben Slinkard is Kennedy Ann Scott...and vice versa
What kind of person can light up the stage at the Lipstick Lounge and a 7th-grade classroom? A genuine original named Benjamin Slinkard, that’s who. Ben, also…
- This Is Nashville
The Roundabout: U.S. involvement in Venezuela and potential impact on Middle Tennessee
Today our Roundabout panel of guests focuses exclusively on Venezuela, breaking down the consequences of the president’s capture and the potential impact felt…
- This Is Nashville
Ask the Mayor: East Bank development, downtown library closure, racing at The Fairgrounds and more
Freddie O’Connell is back for the first “Ask the Mayor” of 2026! Today, along with your questions, we'll ask him about East Bank development, the main Public…
- This Is Nashville
Shapes of America: A radio special about shape-note singing
Shape-note singing is one of the oldest musical traditions in this country. It’s a practice that began in colonial America, and after centuries of ups and…
- This Is Nashville
Facing the new year with Buddhist teacher and punk rocker Mikey Noechel
Our guest this hour is the frontman of the punk rock trio The RIP Taylors. Their latest album – Negativity Bias – has songs with titles like “I still don’t…
- This Is Nashville
The best of 2025...features
Although This Is Nashville broadcasts from our studios in Metrocenter, sometimes we let the producers out in the wild to collect tape. If editors find it…
- This Is Nashville
The best of...The Roundabout
Every week This is Nashville presents The Roundabout where we bring together a panel of guests spanning the political spectrum to unpack the week’s biggest…
- This Is Nashville
Our most fascinating interviews from 2025
A songwriter who climbed out of the shadow of her first song, a nonprofit leader who refuses to see his own disability, a restaurateur with a hot take on…
- This Is Nashville
Nashville's Nook and Cranny Holiday Music Traditions
Nashville has a long history of celebrating the holidays with musical performances. Nashville has a long history of celebrating the holidays with musical…
- This Is Nashville
Picturing Nashville: Ray Di Pietro on photographing local history
If you see a man with three, maybe four cameras hanging around his neck, odds are you've crossed paths with Ray Di Pietro. He's literally taken millions of…
- This Is Nashville
Middle Tennessee in memoriam, 2025
Mary Elizabeth Vinett died on November 21, 2025, and her family decided her 90 years on the planet deserved more than the average obituary. So they tried to…
- This Is Nashville
One mayor, three muppets and eight french horns. It's a This is Nashville Festivus!
A simple aluminum pole. The annual airing of grievances. The legendary feats of strength. It can only mean one thing: It’s Festivus - the holiday for the rest…
- This Is Nashville
Curious Nashville: Why did a Nashville bank release a Christmas album?
It’s Curious Nashville: where WPLN News answers your questions about Middle Tennessee and takes you on a monthly adventure to find answers. Today we’re shining…
- This Is Nashville
Marie Williams on bringing heart to Tennessee’s bureaucracy
Marie Williams came up through homeless services in Memphis and found her way to the state agency that oversees mental health and substance abuse services when…
- This Is Nashville
The Debt: What Tennessee owes its HBCU (Call-in)
What happens when government funding is withheld from a public university that’s served generations of Black Tennesseans? And what could be possible if that…
- This Is Nashville
The Debt
In this one-hour special from WPLN and the Tennessee Lookout: What happens when government funding is withheld from a public university that's served…
- This Is Nashville
Death penalty activists sit down in our studio — one for, one against
On days when someone is executed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, community members are generally allowed to gather outside the prison…
- This Is Nashville
Andi Marie Tillman and her hilarious TikTok characters
When Andi Marie Tillman moved to Nashville from Scott County, Tennessee, she had dreams of writing the next hit song. But after years of struggling, she looked…