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In Curious Nashville from Nashville Public radio, we answer your questions about the city and region. Listeners decide which question we should investigate and answer next.
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Today we shine a light on an obscure album recorded in Nashville more than 50 years ago that features a Christmas choir performing inside the lobby of a downtown bank.Local listener Matthew Bond came across the vinyl record two decades ago and wondered: Why did a bank form a choir? And what were their performances like?To figure this out, we dive into the city's banking history, glean clues from the recording itself, and learn just how popular this all-volunteer choir became.Credits: Curious Nashville is a production of Nashville Public Radio and uses music from Blue Dot Sessions. Special thanks to Nashville Public Radio's Tasha A.F. Lemley, Blakle Farmer, Mack Linebaugh, and Cynthia Abrams.Host: Tony GonzalezReporter & producer: Justin Barney
The Grand Ole Opry has elevated Nashville and its country music to a global stage and turns 100 years old this week. That much you've probably heard (WPLN has lots of Opry 100 coverage online.)But a Curious Nashville listener has a question that hits at the foundation of the Opry: What does it mean for an artist to be a “member” of the Opry? WPLN’s daily talk show, This Is Nashville, dove deep into the Opry and tapped multiple music experts to share the answer.
Some listeners could not get enough of Curious Nashville's reporting about gyros. When we broadcast the story on WPLN’s This Is Nashville program — and opened up the phone lines — some called in with first-hand intel about Chicago-Style Gyros and founder Joey Kahn.
Our question today: What is a "Chicago-style gyro," and why are there so many shops with that name in Nashville? Little did we know that trying to figure this out would take us way beyond Nashville and lead us to uncover the very creation of the gyro as we know it. And reporter Justin Barney is taking you along as he crisscrosses the country, plunges into culinary history, hits the factory floor, and gets face-to-face with the man who elevated a niche menu item into a cultural staple.You can make Curious Nashville even better by asking us a great question at WPLN.org/Curious. Credits:Curious Nashville is a production of Nashville Public Radio and uses music from Blue Dot Sessions. Another version of today’s story was also produced for the food podcast “Proof,” from America’s Test Kitchen, and you can check that out if you want to go deeper into culinary history. Host: Tony GonzalezReporter & producer: Justin BarneyEditing: Blake FarmerSpecial thanks to Nashville Public Radio's Tasha A.F. Lemley, Mack Linebaugh, and Cynthia Abrams.
WPLN is reviving Curious Nashville. The recipe is simple: Listeners ask questions and we find the answers.Learn more about the comeback in this interview between WPLN's Tony Gonzalez and Blake Farmer.
"Making Noise" is a four-part series by Nashville Public Radio about how the music promotion company Lovenoise has changed the music landscape of Nashville. The best way to listen is in the WNXP Podcasts feed. Subscribe now!
A juvenile court in Rutherford County was illegally jailing and detaining kids for 16 years before a former juvenile delinquent-turned-lawyer came up with a plan to take it on. This four-part narrative podcast builds on a joint investigation by WPLN Nashville Public Radio and ProPublica and is produced by The New York Times and Serial Productions.
“The Kids of Rutherford County” reveals how this system came to be, with particular attention to the adults responsible for it and the two juvenile delinquents-turned-lawyers who try to do something about it. The podcast's host is Meribah Knight, a Peabody Award-winning reporter for Nashville Public Radio who co-reported the original investigation.
Listeners can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever podcasts are available. The first two episodes will premiere on Thursday, Oct. 26; parts three and four will air the following two Thursdays.
Something new has hit Nashville’s hot real estate market: a beach, right smack in the middle of downtown Nashville.
But, until it’s sold, Nashvillians driving through the intersection of Lafayette, Division and 4th Avenue may wonder: What is that sandy triangle doing there?
One listener directed this question to our Curious Nashville project, so we took a brief “vacation” to SoBro to find the answer.
Photos: Visit this story at WPLN.org to see photos of the Little Chill Beach.
On a small island in the middle of Centennial Park’s Lake Watauga stand five towers of beehives. One of our listeners spotted the hard-to-reach hives and inquired about the bees: Who cares for them? What happens to the honey? Do other parks have hives?
In 2017, a listener wrote to ask: “On Sulphur Creek Road, in Coble, Tennessee, we saw what appeared to be a ‘space capsule’ with a NASA logo on the end. What is it?”
Now, for the first time anywhere, Curious Nashville has the story for the Hickman County space capsule.
Credits: Curious Nashville is a project of Nashville Public Radio. Tony Gonzalez is executive producer, and Paula Ramirez reported this story. Paige Pfleger edited this episode. The music is from the Blue Dot Sessions.
Curious Nashville turns the tables and asks you to help us solve a mystery. It involves Bob Dylan, John Cale, and Edie Sedgwick — and a song that brings them together.
This intriguing tale comes to us from Justin Barney, assistant program director for WNXP, the music discovery station that Nashville Public Radio launched in 2020.
Alongside some Tennessee roads, you might notice knee-high cement markers — usually quite weathered — that have this inscription: “H’Y R.W.” In learning what those are all about, Curious Nashville also revisits a fascinating saga from local history.
To see photos that accompany this podcast, visit www.wpln.org/curious.
Lawmakers are back in Nashville for session, and it’s busy again inside the Tennessee State Capitol. But all year round, the historic building draws interest and provides tours — and it has prompted several questions to Curious Nashville that we’re answering in a batch today.
You can see photos related to this story, and learn more, at this story on WPLN.org.
Earlier this year, Curious Nashville looked into why Arabic isn’t offered on Tennessee’s driving test. (You can read that story here.) Half a year later, a new coalition is pushing the state for changes.
Many Nashvillians are aware that the city is home to “Little Kurdistan,” which is the largest Kurdish community in America. However, it’s easy to know that fact without really understanding these neighbors.
We unpack how Nashville became a destination for Kurdish refugees starting in the late 1970s and hear from local Kurds about their future hopes and ambitions.
To hear more stories of Nashville Kurds, check out the discussion on This Is Nashville from Sept. 8, 2022.
A sixth-generation Nashvillian says she’s rarely surprised by new information about her city — but did start wondering about what she describes as a “bonsai-looking cypress tree” in her yard. Curious Nashville learns more.
You can view the tree featured in this story at WPLN.org/Curious.
Just about every day, a freight train grinds to a halt and blocks traffic somewhere in Tennessee. At times, an entire day (or longer) passes before it gets rolling again. As federal officials ramp up their tracking of this chronic problem, WPLN’s Cindy Abrams documents the concern and explains the factors that lead to blocked crossings.
Credits: Tony Gonzalez is the executive producer of Curious Nashville and WPLN Director of Digital Products Mack Linebaugh edited this episode. Julia Ritchey, Chuck Cardona, Damon Mitchell, Marianna Bacallao, and Jackie Llanos contributed voice acting; Rachel Iacovone contributed a train recording. The music is from the Blue Dot Sessions.
The way we pronounce the names of some places in Tennessee can raise eyebrows for newcomers. But even long-time residents can’t always explain why those names are the way they are. This prompted a question to our Curious Nashville project, and sent WPLN’s Marianna Bacallao [mary-AW-nuh bahk-uh-YOW] in search of the stories behind a few prominent place names.
Credits: Tony Gonzalez is the executive producer of Curious Nashville and WPLN Director of Digital Products Mack Linebaugh edited this episode. The music is from the Blue Dot Sessions.
Just after English and Spanish, Arabic ranks as the third-most spoken language in Tennessee. Nearly 27,000 people in the state speak it. But there are less common languages offered on the written driving exam in Tennessee. WPLN’s Alexis Marshall explores why, and helps a local Egyptian American man start a conversation with the state’s director of Driver Services.
Read more at the online version of this story here, and you can ask a new question at WPLN.org/curious. A transcript is available online here.
This show is a project of Nashville Public Radio. And this time, some of the sound you just heard first appeared on our daily hourlong show This Is Nashville. It’s essential listening for anyone interested in this community — and you can subscribe to it in your podcasting app. I'm Tony Gonzalez, the executive producer of Curious Nashville. Mack Linebaugh, our director of digital products, edited this episode. The music is from the Blue Dot Sessions.
Confusing road lanes and limited traffic signals can make commutes on Bell Road excruciating near Interstate 24 and Exit 59. Why was it designed this way, and will there be any relief for drivers in the Antioch area?
For photos, and to explore more of the reporting by Hallie Graham, visit this story at WPLN.org/Curious.
Curious Nashville is a project of Nashville Public Radio. The executive producer is Tony Gonzalez and this episode was edited by Director of Digital Products Mack Linebaugh.
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