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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Elm Hill Pike may be an industrial artery in Nashville now, but it was once a main thoroughfare with a rich history. But listener Chad Smith wonders: “Elm Hill Pike is very hilly. Where is the actual elm hill?” The investigation pushes WPLN’s Blake Farmer to hop on a bike and ride the length of the road. The journey takes him into some rich city history and to a dead end across the county line — but that doesn’t mean the answer is elusive.
If you know where to look, there's a god frolicking amid Nashville's skyline. It's the mythological messenger Mercury, gleaming at the top of the Union Station clock tower. But he's had his share of ups and downs, and once fell in 1952. WPLN listener Christina called to ask: "We have a very primitive replica up there. But the original, I'm wondering where it could be!?" Curious Nashville chases down what happened next, some interesting ties to local history and landmarks, and even an infamous storm.
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 used his microscope to find it. And then he asked: Why is there a microscopic typo on the Tennessee driver’s license? In some instances — likely on millions of licenses — a thin ribbon of text reads “The VolunDeer State.” With a ‘d.’ Among the theories: It’s a genuine mistake. It’s an intentional security feature. It’s an easter egg tucked in by a mischievous designer. WPLN’s Justin Barney helps Curious Nashville get to the bottom of thi
Kudzu is a woody, hairy vine with distinct three-pronged leaves. During the blooming season in late summer, the plant produces grape-smelling purple flowers. And, always, it has a way of crowding out other plants. "Kudzu is like a glamorous villain ... ‘the vine that ate the South,' " says Ben Nanny, the conservation director at Ijams Nature Center. This ubiquitous vine prompted this question: How did that annoying "kudzu" first get introduced to the area? The answer ties back to the late 1800s, reports Jacqui Sieber with WUOT in Knoxville. You can learn more in our "signal species" series.
J.T. Moore Middle School in Nashville is named after John Trotwood Moore, an author and prominent landowner. He was also openly racist, a proponent of lynching, and an apologist for the "Old South". This sparked a question to Curious Nashville: Please help us understand why schools in Metro are named after people with such heinous records and what can be done to correct this. The answer, in part, has ties to the state's Tennessee Heritage Protection Act. (You may recall this prior episode: Why is it so hard to alter Confederate monuments in Tennessee?) Today, WPLN Education Reporter Camellia B
There’s a piece of infrastructure in downtown Nashville that is about to go away. When it does, there may not be any clues left from a fascinating — and brief — chapter in the city’s transportation history. Do you remember when WeGo had a fleet of super-quiet all-electric buses running for free throughout downtown? Bus commuter Joe Pagetta does. He wrote to Curious Nashville with this question: In the not-so-distant past, Nashville used to have a free electric bus circuit called the Music City Circuit, which connected downtown to Bicentennial Mall and the Gulch. And then it just disappeared so
It all starts with a question: “I live in East Nashville, on Sharpe Avenue. We adopted a hound mix and she digs up bizarre trash. Did people bury their trash? Was there no trash pick up? Auto parts, beer bottles, air gun cartridges, porn videos. Others in East have described similar experiences.” We’ve learned this is not an isolated experience. You folks are obsessed with what you find in the dirt. So, why do we dig what we dig? We’re unearthing some answers with metal detectorist Whit Hill, landscaper Matt Pilcher, and Ben Nance with the Tennessee Division of Archaeology. This episode was re
There's a hot topic after the ice storm response this winter, and guest Wade Sexton has 30 years of experience working in the utility industry. He's here to answer a question that’s been on our minds: What would it take to put electrical lines underground? And, would it even be worth it? This segment was produced by WPLN's Cynthia Abrams and hosted by Blake Farmer.
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 been lost. She asked Curious Nashville about something she’d heard about the Brentwood Library: “A colleague recently told me that when the Brentwood Library was built remains were found of ancient Mississippian people, along with evidence of ancient mounds. Is this true? Where were the bodies moved to? Who took responsibility for the remains?” WPLN’s Cynthia Abrams went to find the history of that site and shares the story — and its con
We got a question about a grass-covered mound — or building? — at the corner of Thompson Lane and Vultee Boulevard, near Nashville's airport and the iconic gold box of a building known as International Plaza. Educator and sixth-generation Nashvillian Sonia Fernandez LeBlanc is a big Curious Nashville fan — such a fan that she knew we had slowed down on answering questions in the last few years. But she said to herself that if we ever revived the project, she was asking about this mysterious mound she just began to notice. I know it's probably mundane, but they are working hard to make it just
What are the pictures on the front of the Metro Courthouse that appear to be outlined in gold? Are they ever going to be restored? This question came to Curious Nashville way back — in 2016 — during the first year of the project. As the series is now marking 10 years of answering your questions, it's finally time to tackle this answer. And we're getting research help from Harpeth Hall "Winterim" intern Allyson Mao. Learn more, and see photos, at Curious.WPLN.org.
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 underground to a fallout shelter, to the top of a skyscraper, and in between we’ll visit beehives, talk about dump trucks, and revisit some infamous pranksters. And you get to go behind the scenes of the reporting with WPLN Metro Reporter Cynthia Abrams and host Tony Gonzalez. This episode highlights these seven stories: How One Man Created A Peace Sign Visible From The Sky What’s Inside The Governor’s Old Fallout Shelter In The Woods? W
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 t
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
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 P
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.
