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
Next Age Episode 5: Lifelong learning
It’s back-to-school time, and that includes older adults! An increasing number of people 50 and older are actively learning new things (55% of Americans age 45…
- This Is Nashville
In defense of fertility treatment
This year, Tennessee became the first state in the South to pass legislation specifically protecting in vitro fertilization — and the debate between…
- This Is Nashville
Tom Morales, entrepreneur and restaurateur
If you’re really looking for the hardest working man in showbusiness, he might not be on camera. It might have been our guest this hour – Tom Morales. He made…
- This Is Nashville
The Roundabout: News of the Week
It’s Thursday and time for another episode of The Roundabout. The Roundabout is your news of the week, analyzed by our panelists from the points of view that…
- This Is Nashville
Ask the Mayor, plus Shades of Black Theatre Festival and more community events
Freddie O’Connell is back for another round of “Ask the Mayor.” There are questions about a win for Metro's transit plan in the state's high court, airport…
- This Is Nashville
When lice happens
We’re facing the four-letter word no parent wants to hear — lice. Updated guidance from federal health authorities and the American Academy of Pediatrics…
- This Is Nashville
Kevin Wilson: On a rural Tennessee upbringing, writing and how fiction is like professional wrestling
Local, award-winning author Kevin Wilson has deep Tennessee roots: he grew up in Franklin County, attended Vanderbilt, and today, teaches at Sewanee: The…
- This Is Nashville
The Roundabout: News of the Week
It’s the weekly Roundabout. From the uniquely Nashville to the national conversation, our guests today – left, right and center – will help us chew on the big…
- This Is Nashville
The film scene in Tennessee
In 2021, the Tennessee State Government introduced new tax incentives to encourage film productions to make their next project in the Volunteer State. On…
- This Is Nashville
Home, herd, rest and refuge: The Elephant Sanctuary turns 30
On the eve of World Elephant Day, we celebrate with one of Tennessee’s best kept secrets — The Elephant Sanctuary. Nestled in the woods and knolls of…
- This Is Nashville
Garrison Keillor: On the Opry, #MeToo and octogenarian wisdom
Garrison Keillor is still performing, even as he turns 83 this week. He sat down with This Is Nashville in the greenroom at City Winery before his performance…
- This Is Nashville
Screen rules in our schools
It’s one of the toughest balancing acts of our time – kids and their screens. With most young teens having their own cellphones, screen usage is an unavoidable…
- This Is Nashville
Ear Hustle, plus Choosing Justice Initiative
If you’ve ever wondered what it’s really like to live behind bars, any episode of “Ear Hustle” will give you a pretty good idea. It’s basically “This American…
- This Is Nashville
In My Place, Episode 15: Two steps forward. Now what?
Welcome back to our second season of In My Place. This special series educates listeners on what communities like Nashville can do to prevent and end…
- This Is Nashville
Tia Sillers: GRAMMY-winning songwriter
Tia Sillers has written her fair share of hit songs — most notably, “I Hope You Dance,” performed by Lee Ann Womack. From her beginnings as a songwriter to…
- This Is Nashville
Public Media at Risk: The Impact and Uncertainty of Federal Funding Loss
t’s not just a one-year budget crisis. Federal support for public media may be a thing of the past. And it’s hardly just WPLN at risk. Leaders of public media…
- This Is Nashville
Facing eviction in Nashville
As rent in Nashville remains close to its all-time high, some affected tenants rush to court to contest their eviction notices. They may have medical issues…
- This Is Nashville
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
Pastor Glenda Sutton moves Nashville families through their challenges
Pastor Glenda Gleaves Sutton arrived in Nashville with her two sons in tow. She had left a stressful but steady life as an air traffic controller and was on a…
- This Is Nashville
Ask the Mayor + The impact of a reduced Metro Council
It’s that time again! Time for you to talk with Mayor Freddie O’Connell. Do you have a concern you would like him to address? Do you have a question about the…
- This Is Nashville
Music Citizens: The Wrangler
When you go to a live show these days, you expect to see a spectacle — an artistic production that will blow you away. Behind the scenes, there’s one person…
- This Is Nashville
Hospice care: learning what you need to know when the time comes in NEXT AGE episode 4
There is no more tender time than the months, weeks and days before a loved one's passing. More likely than not, hospice care is going to be involved. Still…
- This Is Nashville
Candice Lee, Vice Chancellor Athletics & Athletic Director, Vanderbilt University
Candice Lee is a Vanderbilt Commodore through and through. In the late 90’s and early aughts, she played for the women’s basketball team. She endured injuries…
- This Is Nashville
School vouchers are here. What now?
The school voucher debate has been raging in Tennessee for almost two decades... but it was just this year the Tennessee State Legislature successfully passed…
- This Is Nashville
Kustom Kulture in Nashville
In 1960s Southern California, a movement called "Kustom Kulture" emerged. Its mission: restore and refurbish cars. Since then, thousands across America have…
- This Is Nashville
We're seeing double! Identical twins in Middle Tennesee
Today we’re talking with identical twins who live here in Middle Tennessee - including two who work at the same local police department- to learn about how…
- This Is Nashville
Tequila Johnson, co-founder of The Equity Alliance
For many people, getting involved in your community is something they would like to do — but don’t have much time to do. For Tequila Johnson, though, community…
- This Is Nashville
The Country in our Hearts, Ep. 4: The Kurdish American Dream
For over three decades Kurdish refugees have found a safe place to land in America. The latest wave of Kurds is arriving from Turkey – fleeing political…
- This Is Nashville
The Country in our Hearts, Ep. 3: Safety Zone
When a wave of Kurdish refugees came to Nashville, they quickly got to work. They opened businesses and raised their kids. As those kids grew up, they had to…
- This Is Nashville
The Country in our Hearts, Ep. 2: The Ones Who Face Death
Revealing all this family lost to war and displacement. But also, what they are determined to reclaim and rebuild. The Country in our Hearts is the story of…
- This Is Nashville
The Country in our Hearts, Ep. 1: The Enemy Within
We dive headlong into one family’s migration odyssey from Iraqi Kurdistan to Nashville. To really understand what this family — and so many others — were…
- This Is Nashville
The Scopes Trial at 100
Science and religion are in a constant state of friction. But 100 years ago, that friction flared into a firestorm in Tennessee. In 1925, John Scopes, a…
- This Is Nashville
Money Moves for longevity is the focus of Next Age episode 3
Do you want to live to 100 or longer? It’s possible and could be commonplace within the next couple of decades. The new longevity requires serious money moves…
- This Is Nashville
In My Place, Episode 14: Puzzle Pieces
Welcome back to our second season of In My Place. This special series educates listeners on what communities like Nashville can do to prevent and end…
- This Is Nashville
Charlie Peacock – singer, songwriter, producer and author
Charles William Ashworth is Charlie Peacock. And vice versa. Encouraged to move to Nashville in late eighties, Charlie steadily built a stellar career. As a…
- This Is Nashville
Ask the Mayor, plus the Metro Human Relations Commission at 60
Do you have a concern you would like him to address? Do you have a question about the direction of the city? Every month, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell…
- This Is Nashville
Nashville's underground. Literally.
One thing is true. What goes up must go down. That goes for relationships, that basketball you like to play with and even the city of Nashville. Recently, a…
- This Is Nashville
Bob Clement, career public servant
Bob Clement’s life has been a fascinating one. At 29, he became the youngest Tennessean elected to statewide office, a title he still holds today. After his…
- This Is Nashville
The snakes in our grass
Like it or not, it’s snake season. They eat rats, mice and moles. Some good snakes even eat "bad" ones! They help keep lakes and rivers clean. Their venom has…
- This Is Nashville
Theater of War: Rural Tennesseans, Hollywood actors and a live studio audience
Last month, rural Tennesseans, Hollywood actors and a live studio audience in New York City came together. On the agenda were issues that bind us. Theater of…
- This Is Nashville
J. Percy Priest: Nashville's Lake
We’re sailing over to Nashville's waterfront. Percy Priest is a local's lake — and the experiences there are as diverse as the growing communities surrounding…
- This Is Nashville
Samar Ali, peacemaker
Growing up as an Arab-American woman in rural Waverly — and traveling for her career — have shaped Samar Ali's life as a peacemaker. Her journey includes stops…
- This Is Nashville
Your Turn to Talk: The $3.8 billion dollar Metro Budget
Fifty-seven percent of the mayor’s recommended budget for next year comes from property taxes. Another almost twenty percent comes from local sales tax. But…
- This Is Nashville
Happy 35th birthday, Athena!
Every year, thousands enter the temple in Nashville's Parthenon to view the nearly 42-foot statue of Athena. But this year, she turns 35 years young. The Greek…
- This Is Nashville
How do rites of passage mark important milestones?
Across cultures, rites of passage often honor a transition from one cycle of life to another. On today's show, three Nashvillians share their own experiences…
- This Is Nashville
Maryam Abolfazli, activist and community leader
For over two decades, native Tennessean Maryam Abolfazli has been a leader in economic development and the nonprofit sector. Then in 2023, she became a leading…
- This Is Nashville
Latine country musicians navigate the music industry on their own terms
The Nashville-based country music industry has been slow to truly embrace the impact of the wide array of Latine artists actively making country music both…
- This Is Nashville
Who Cares? Family caregivers share stories and struggles in our monthly series NEXT AGE
Let's talk about the C-word: Caregiving. In this episode, we continue our monthly series, NEXT AGE, with stories of people who are caring for an older adult…
- This Is Nashville
In My Place, Episode 13: The Waiting Period
Welcome back to our second season of In My Place. This special series educates listeners on what communities like Nashville can do to prevent and end…
- This Is Nashville
After moratorium, Tennessee executes Oscar Franklin Smith
Tennessee put a hold on executions in 2022 due to concerns about its lethal injection protocol. This morning, the state resumed executions, using lethal…
- This Is Nashville
All about accents!
On today’s show, we speak with experts in the fields of dialect coaching and sociolinguistics to learn the cultural and scientific aspects of what we call an…
- This Is Nashville
Giancarlo Guerrero, Music Director at the Nashville Symphony
For sixteen years Giancarlo Guerrero has captivated audiences with his charismatic conducting — all while championing the works of prominent American composers…
- This Is Nashville
Béla Fleck's Banjo legacy
GRAMMY winner Béla Fleck has taken the art of playing the banjo to stellar heights. He's here to share about his journey playing music professionally for more…
- This Is Nashville
The Belcourt Theatre celebrates its 100th birthday
Nashville’s non-profit film center The Belcourt Theatre turns one hundred this month and there's no denying its long and positive impact on this city. Over the…
- This Is Nashville
Defending our neighbors: advocates for immigrant rights
Mister Rogers once told his young viewers to “look for the helpers” in times of crisis. On this episode we talk with advocates who work every day with some of…
- This Is Nashville
Ask the Mayor, plus Vivian Wilhoite, Metro Property Assessor
Do you have a concern you would like him to address? Do you have a question about the direction of the city? Every month, Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell…
- This Is Nashville
Bill Birdsong Miller keeps finding joy in music
Bill Birdsong Miller has been playing and creating music for over 50 years. He might be having more fun now than ever before. Nashville-based musician Bill…
- This Is Nashville
After the Gavel, Part 2: Post-Session Analysis
Yesterday, reporters assigned to cover the Tennessee State Capitol joined us for a legislative wrap-up. Today, we go a bit deeper with a post-session analysis…
- This Is Nashville
After the Gavel, Part 1: Legislative Wrap-Up
The Tennessee legislature recently wrapped up the first half of the 114th General Assembly, and there is a lot to digest. Today, we bring you the first of a…
- This Is Nashville
Re-Air: Tennessee’s wetlands are at risk
Tennessee has a precious natural resource: wetlands. We even have wetlands right here in the heart of Nashville. And they are at risk. During the 2025…