WPLN News - Nashville Public Radio

12/04/2025

Every Thursday, our Roundabout panel of guests shares its perspective on the news of the week and the issues shaping our world. Today, we welcome Vanderbilt’s Phillis Sheppard, Russell Moore of Christianity Today, and Liam Adams of The Tennessean to share their thoughts on the pressing matters of faith and public life.

And we're take your calls. Call 615-760-2000 to join the conversation. Thursday, December 4, at noon on 90.3 WPLN and streaming at YouTube.com/.

12/03/2025

Republican Matt Van Epps has won Tennessee’s 7th Congressional seat, in a special election that turned into an unexpected battleground. Van Epps fended off Democratic state Rep. Aftyn Behn with nearly 54% of the vote, a much narrower margin than previous years.

The contest attracted national attention and millions of dollars from outside groups and both political parties — a departure from last year’s race when now-retired U.S. Rep. Mark Green scored a 22-point victory without much campaigning. Both parties have looked to this race as an indicator of how next year’s midterm elections may go.

Over the course of the race, nonpartisan groups like the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections changed their ratings of Tennessee’s 7th Congressional District to be less red. The latter rated the district as “leans Republican.”

12/02/2025

It's Giving Tuesday, and we are grateful for every donation, gift, membership. You power our news coverage and music discovery — make a donation today. http://wpln.org/donate

12/02/2025

It’s a special Election Day, so we’re digging into our divisions – not political ones, but Tennessee’s three Grand Divisions: West, Middle, and East. They’re the reason for our tri-star flag and a big part of our cultural identity.

Call 615-760-2000 with your questions or stories from across the state.

📻 Today at noon on 90.3
📺 Live on YouTube: YouTube.com/

12/02/2025

From solid to leaning: surprises in Tennessee’s 7th district. Green’s surprise retirement in the summer of 2025 left a seat open for newcomers. The district, long been considered “solidly Republican,” has been given a new rating by nonpartisan political groups like the Cook Political Report and Inside Elections. The latter now rates Tennessee’s 7th district as “leans Republican.”

Last year, Green’s re-election campaign hardly acknowledged his Democratic opponent, former Nashville Mayor Megan Barry. But Matt Van Epps and national Republicans have attacked Democrat Aftyn Behn, calling her a “woke liberal.”

“Both sides are going at each other,” John Geer, Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University said. “Van Epps has changed his message. He’s no longer just the candidate of Trump. He’s now the candidate who wants to bring down costs and protect Tennessee from this liberal Democratic nominee.”

No matter who wins, Geer said, this competition is good for the state’s democracy.

12/01/2025

Tuesday’s special congressional election could be a much tighter race than anticipated.

Republicans swept Tennessee’s 7th congressional district by 22 points last year, but polling by Emerson College finds that only two points separate Democrat Aftyn Behn and Republican Matt Van Epps. Van Epps leads 48% to Behn’s 46%, the poll found, while 5% of respondents were undecided.

Female voters and voters under the age of 40 prefer Behn, the Emerson poll found, while Van Epps performed better with men and older voters.

John Geer, Professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University and co-director of the Vanderbilt Poll, said he’s skeptical of polling in a race with such a short runway. However, he sees other indicators that the 7th district is more competitive this year.

“You have the Republicans pouring money in along with the Democrats, which suggests … the Republicans think there’s some chance they could lose, and the Democrats think there’s some chance they could win,” Geer said.

Tuesday’s special congressional election could be a much tighter race than anticipated. Republicans swept Tennessee’s 7th congressional district by 22

11/25/2025

We know you may need to put on your headphones during the holidays because you may need a little break from the eating, packing, traveling, thanking, cleaning, waiting, baking, making, decorating.

So we give you our annual Thanksgiving Podcast Playlist recommendations. There’s a little bit of everything on this list and every recommended episode comes from a person who listens to a lot of podcasts and radio — so you know these episodes are special, worthy of adding to your existing podcast queue.

Full Spotify list for your curious ears: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/0H2mSp7i1GwJSazhmyTZPO?si=_wcjeBHfSderL6GVN5-fSQ

11/25/2025

On today's show, we sift through the archives to highlight the Grand Ole Opry and the century of stories behind WSM Radio that laid the groundwork for what Music City has become. Join Blake Farmer today at noon for the incredible 100-year history of the Opry and WSM.

Photo of Uncle Jimmy Thompson, the first performer on the Opry, courtesy of Ryman Hospitality Properties.

11/24/2025

As the Grand Ole Opry celebrates its 100th birthday this week, we visit Whisperworld to hear from its longest-serving member.

Whisperin’ Bill Anderson hasn’t just weathered the steep hills and sharp turns that mark a 65-year music career, he’s thrived. A six-time Songwriter of the Year winner, he’s a member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. His songs have earned Grammy nominations, Dove Awards, the ACM Poets Award, and BMI’s first Country Music Songwriting Icon honor. He’s written for himself and legends like Vince Gill and Brad Paisley. He made it to Hollywood and back. Last year he released his 73rd album. Today, Blake Farmer sits down with country music royalty to hear his story – his alternate career choice, how he got his famous nickname, the Opry’s impact and more.

Photo credits:
Ryman stage circle - Daniel Hartwig
Induction - Tyler Woods

11/21/2025

You may have heard about this 50-year mortgage proposal that blew up after Trump posted a photo about it to Truth Social. Now a group of researchers from MTSU here in Middle Tennessee are also weighing in.

They're citing a report from the school's College of Business that shows a 50-year mortgage would actually end up costing homebuyers a lot more.

This is an issue that is relevant right now in Middle Tennessee as home prices continue to rise. The proposal from President Trump is an attempt at addressing the housing affordability crisis, but according to MTSU researchers, it really wouldn't move the needle even if officials were to pursue it.

Take a $400,000 home, which is roughly the median home price of a home in Tennessee. Under a 50-year mortgage, homebuyers would end up paying an additional $537,000 in interest.

Link in bio for more.

11/20/2025

We’re taking your calls on This Is Nashville with panelists Shaka Mitchell, Maryam Abolfazli & Pat Nolan. Topics: political pardons, TN’s voucher program, National Guard ruling, the tightening TN-7 race & more... 📱 615-760-2000 | 💬 http://youtube.com/

11/19/2025

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration used to publish information annually about the nation’s biggest weather and climate disasters. Earlier this year, the Trump administration ordered NOAA to stop updating the dataset.

Now, a nonprofit called Climate Central is providing this information. The group has reviewed data for the first six months of 2025 and will publish more data next year. The U.S. faced 14 events, totaling an estimated $101 billion in damages and 174 deaths during that time.

In the U.S., there were 12 severe storms, including 6 tornado outbreaks, 1 flooding and hail event in Texas and the January wildfires in Los Angeles. The wildfires alone caused more than $60 billion in damages.

The Southeast, South and Central regions of the U.S. tend to face more billion-dollar disasters than other areas. Tennessee has endured more than 100 disasters since 1980.

The data is one way of helping Americans understand the impacts of climate change. Planetary warming leads to a greater number and severity of many types of weather and climate disasters, including wildfires, drought and heavy rainfall events.