Curious Nashville
Education & Explainer
About
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.
Episodes
- How did WeGo’s electric buses end up as urban decay?
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…
- Why do buried treasures turn up in our backyards?
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 v…
- What would it take to bury the power lines in Nashville?
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 l…
- What happened to the ancient Mississippian town beneath the Brentwood Library?
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 Bre…
- Unearthing the secrets of a grassy mound at Nashville's airport
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…
- What are those gleaming golden portraits on Nashville's historic courthouse?
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 se…
- Best of 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 underground to a fallout shelter, to the top of a skyscraper, and in between we’…
- Why did a Nashville bank release a Christmas album?
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 ag…
- Grand Ole Opry: What does it take to be an Opry member?
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 questi…
- Bonus: Still hungry for gyro facts
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 Gy…
- Why are 'Chicago-style' gyros everywhere in Nashville?
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…
- Curious Nashville returns!
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.
- Coming Soon: "Making Noise" — How a Sunday night party changed Nashville
"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!
- You might also like: The Kids of Rutherford County
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 investigati…
- For sale: one beach. How did this sandy triangle come to be in downtown Nashville?
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…
- Who cares for Centennial Park’s bee colony?
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 park…
- Searching for the 'space capsule' in rural Hickman County
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…
- Reverse Curious Nashville: Can YOU help us answer this question about a Bob Dylan song?
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…
- What’s with these cryptic cement markers around Tennessee?
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 loca…
- Burials, lawn pranks and other answers about the Tennessee State Capitol
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…
- Update: No progress adding languages to Tennessee’s driving test, but pressure is growing
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.
- How Nashville became a destination for Kurdish families, and how the community is evolving
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…
- How an ornamental tree led neighbors to their street’s hidden history
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…
- Why do freight trains stop and block Tennessee streets so often?
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,…
- Tennessee's strange pronunciations — explained!
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,…
- Why isn't Arabic available for Tennessee's driving exam?
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 Ma…
- Can traffic improve at one of Nashville’s most baffling interstate exits?
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 exp…
- Who decides which ‘I Voted’ stickers are at my polling place?
Nicholas Qualls, a voter in Antioch, wants to know more about voting stickers. He asks: What determines what location gets what “I Voted” sticker? My location had a pretty generic oval sticker, but I see several people at other locations g…
- This Is Curious Nashville
After a brief intermission, Curious Nashville returns to the airwaves to answer listener questions about Middle Tennessee. WPLN Special Projects Editor Tony Gonzalez joins This Is Nashville host Khalil Ekulona to share some of his favorite…
- Coming Soon: Behind The Blue Wall
In this series, we're going to tell you about what's been described as a toxic culture of misconduct and retaliation within the Metro Nashville Police Department. And the disciplinary system that has allowed that culture to thrive.
- How Stick Figures Spotted Downtown Fit Into A Global Street Art Project
If you glance down at the street at the right moment in Nashville, you might spot a “stikman.” This little street art character appears in thousands of places around the world, but the artist behind them remains mostly unknown. Thanks to a…
- Whatever Happened To Nashville’s Revolving Restaurant?
Nashville was right on-trend in 1975 when the revolving Polaris restaurant opened atop what was then the Hyatt Regency hotel. It quickly became the go-to destination for special occasions and marriage proposals. But the restaurant has navi…
- How Overlooked Buildings And Trees Can Reveal Wonderment Around Us
To combat our feelings of isolation and everyday repetitiveness, we present four short stories that deliver surprises about things we might otherwise overlook: What a tree in the backyard can tell us about environmental changes How the pas…
- How Black Political Power Changed In Nashville After Government Consolidation
A simple question about some of Nashville’s suburban pockets opens a deeper review of how the Metro government formed in the 1950s and 60s. WPLN News reporter Ambriehl Crutchfield finds that the combining of the city and county had implica…
- Tennessee Voting Rules Are Causing Confusion, So We're Answering Your Questions
As a crucial election approaches, Tennesseans have reached out to WPLN News and Curious Nashville with their pressing questions. In this special crossover with The Tri-Star State podcast, Sergio Martinez-Beltran and Rachel Iacovone provide…
- How A Handmade Sign On A Dead-End Road Had Us Searching For A Tennessee Cult
When a resident notices an unusual sign at the end of her cul-de-sac — it says ‘The Gathering’ — she wonders if there’s a cult operating. To find out what’s really going on, WPLN News contributor Tasha Lemley takes up a cryptic search. It…
- Why Is It So Hard To Alter Confederate Monuments in Tennessee?
Confederate monuments have triggered debates, protests, and even the murder of a demonstrator in Virginia. The unrest in Tennessee has prompted questions about how monuments are governed. In this episode, Curious Nashville reexamines what…
- The True Stories Behind Nashville’s Claims To Fame (Live Taping)
There are some assumptions that people have about Nashville that aren’t quite right — and plenty of quirks that baffle all the tourists who visit. So in this special episode taped live on stage, three local experts unravel some of the most…
- Inside The Governor’s Defunct Nuclear Bomb Shelter
Out in the thick woods of West Nashville there’s an epic remnant of Cold War history. But it is largely unknown. The former fallout shelter where Tennessee’s governors would have gone in the case of nuclear attack has rarely appeared in ne…
- The Construction Pit That Became Known As A Lake — And What’s Happening Now
A massive Nashville development includes a construction pit that is eight stories deep. It looks like a quarry, with sheer cliffs carved into the gray limestone. But when the project stalled, the hole filled with water, and it became nickn…
- Whatever Happened To The Red Grooms Carousel, And Why It Could Come Back
It’s been 15 years since the Tennessee Foxtrot Carousel — a whirling artistic marvel by pop artist Red Grooms — was taken down from the Nashville riverfront. Its wild figurines, which depict famous Tennesseans, were put into storage. Yet t…
- Curious Convo: The Do’s And Don’ts Of Nashville Recycling
From plastic straws to old lightbulbs and shredded paper, it’s not always obvious what we’re allowed to recycle in Nashville. So after another wave of recycling questions to Curious Nashville, we’re back with a “lightning round” of fast an…
- Piranhas, Pink Elephants, And Other Wild Animal Mysteries Explained
Animals prompt unusual questions to Curious Nashville , so we delve into three: a rumor about piranhas, the history of the city’s first zoo, and the reason a large pink elephant has stood alongside Charlotte Pike for decades.
- How One Man Created A Peace Sign Visible From The Sky
From the proper vantage point it materializes unmistakably: A gigantic peace sign, cut into roughly 3 acres of forest next to the Nashville International Airport. It can appear to anyone browsing satellite photography, and to air travelers…
- What Happens When The Wrong Stuff Gets In The Recycling Bin?
For most people, recycling means placing an empty soda can or some scrap paper in a blue bin. They might take that bin to the curb or to a drop-off site. But beyond that, the process is mysterious, filled with arbitrary rules and a vague r…
- Remembering America’s Deadliest Train Crash
Even many Nashville natives don’t know about the head-on train crash at Dutchman’s Curve on July 9, 1918. It killed 101 people — mostly African Americans — and by most counts remains the deadliest train accident in American history. We sta…
- The Life And Death Of An Old House In Boomtown
We tackle a question that’s elemental to Nashville these days: What happens to the waste when old houses get demolished? To explore the subject, WPLN’s Meribah Knight picked a house in Inglewood and followed it from demolition permit to la…
- The Year Jimi Hendrix Jammed On Jefferson Street And How It Still Reverberates
Before he was an international superstar, Jimi Hendrix spent a year on Nashville’s Jefferson Street. It’s a chapter in Hendrix’s musical life that many biographers gloss over. We explain why he came here — and what it says today about the…
- ‘Water Witching’ And The Search For Unmarked Graves
This episode wanders into supernatural territory in the search for unmarked graves. It began innocently enough: A listener asked us about Nashville’s oldest structures. But as we visited some of the city’s oldest homes, we found family gra…
- How We Got Left With A Nice Station And No Passenger Train
The Curious Nashville inbox has received several variations on the same question: What happened to passenger rail service in Nashville? Residents are right to be curious. Nashville is one of the largest cities in the country to have no rai…