Ready to play the HealthQ quiz with @caraanthony and @flakebarmer?

Here’s the deal: More than a dozen kinds of cancer are on the rise in American adults under 50. Colorectal and breast cancers have increased the most, and colorectal is now the deadliest cancer for Americans ages 18 to 49.

So what does this mean for you? At-home testing kits, which vary in accuracy, can provide additional information ... but not enough to replace personalized medical advice. If you’re concerned about cancer — because you have a family history, or because you have disturbing symptoms — you gotta talk to a doctor.

HealthQ is a project from Nashville Public Radio and @kffhealthnews designed to boost your healthcare know-how. Hosts Cara and Blake are your approachable guides to an unapproachable healthcare system.

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Illustration: Candice Evers

Did you see Brad Paisley talking about the proposed data center near the Nashville Zoo? Lots of people did.

And hundreds of people stood in line for hours on Thursday to speak at the city’s first public hearing on proposed regulations for data centers, reports Caroline Eggers. Many people voiced opposition to a data center proposed near the Nashville Zoo, which created a petition earlier this month that now has nearly 400,000 signatures. Some people also expressed concern about the data center proposed at Fisk University.

Data centers are rapidly spreading across our nation, and the greater Nashville area has at least 27 facilities in operation. More proposals are in progress. Amid public backlash, the city is considering a five-month moratorium on data centers while officials weigh how to define and regulate them.

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It wasn`t country music`s current popularity that motivated the LGBTQ+ chorus Nashville In Harmony to devote this Sunday`s concert to country songs.

Senior Music Writer Jewly Hight reports that Wesley King, the group`s artistic director, noticed a troubling trend of the country music industry retreating from recent efforts to diversify. He wanted the singers he leads to stake their claims to Kacey Musgraves, Chicks, Beyoncé and Little Big Town songs that pushed against mainstream boundaries, and lend their 120 voices a couple of queer country artists who aren`t yet household names: Lauren-Michael Sellers and Brent Snyder.

Country music stardom has been Snyder’s lifelong dream.

Snyder set it aside for half a decade when he came out at the age of 25. But country music is such a part of him that he returned to performing. And after hearing that other “out” country singers and allies call Nashville home, made the move himself.

After years of networking, hustling for gigs, refining his songcraft and cutting independent recordings in his rippling tenor, the work is still hard. Bookings have become harder to come by, and he’s had conversations with industry contacts that yield little more than the suggestion that he should play Pride events.

The invitation to perform with Nashville In Harmony brings welcome recognition. It’s also Snyder’s first opportunity to give one of his songs the choral treatment, “something that I’ve always wanted,” he says. The group will sing on “Michigan,” a brand new ballad examining wounds caused by conditional love and acceptance.

Tap link in bio for the full story (and to hear Snyder`s songs). Follow along for more from Jewly Hight.

Does Team Japan have the juice to go all the way this year in the World Cup? Fans believe it. One goal, one play. is all it would take for the Samurai Blue to be in the top teams, despite the recent retirement of injured captain Wataru Endo.

This week in 90 degree heat, traditional taiko drums thundered as Japan’s World Cup team took the pitch in Geodis Park in Nashville and fans screamed in delight.

Justin Barney reports that people flew in from Austin and New York. They drove in from Indiana. And all were elated to meet players Wataru Endo, the “second Messi” Takefusa Kubo and maybe the biggest star, Japan’s former player now coach, Hajime Moriyasu. Jerseys, shoes, flags, and signs were signed by the Japanese players as the crowd yelled for attention and encouragement. As disappointed as Endo fans may be, Mike Woitalla, executive editor of Soccer America noted the Samurai Blue is "a dynamic team and very skill-based. Every player in a Japanese system is expected to be technically good with their feet." Fans agree noting that "they collaborate very well with good pressure."

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"I am as American as anybody," Pynk Beard declares. "And I also think that to a degree, the iconography of the American flag has kind of been... I guess you can`t really hijack something that you`re a citizen of, but it`s kind of been like sequestered to one side."

The American flag is an undeniable and powerful icon. The flag has been emblazoned on countless products and has served as fodder for all manner of artistic expression. But in recent years, some feel the stars and stripes have become a symbol of political division more than national unity. For an artist who finds that troubling, what is there to do?

Pynk Beard, an independent country artist from Alabama, is disinterested in drawing battle lines. His song “Ice On the Road” is an appeal to meet differences between people with compassion. He paired his song with a pensive portrait of himself in a straw cowboy hat and sleeveless American flag western shirt. This is a guy who dyes his beard fuchsia — nothing about his look is accidental. It all has meaning, reports our Senior Music Writer Jewly Hight (@jewlyhight).

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A South Nashville middle school is named after a segregationist, JT Moore. Can it be changed?

The answer is complicated, reports Camellia Burris. Renaming the school is not easy, thanks to a state law protecting memorials.

“[Moore] wrote that the history of Tennessee begins with white people,” said Larry Woods, civil rights attorney and criminal justice professor at Tennessee State University. “He said that only the ‘pure breed’ — referring to white people — can ever reach the stars.”

The school district could request a name change from the state’s Monuments and Memorials Commission. But those requests typically get denied. A WPLN review couldn’t find one example of the commission approving a renaming a request.

Some historians worry this sends a message of endorsing these views.

This story came to us from an audience question — a Curious Nashville listener. Curious Nashville is a show where we take YOUR questions and find out the answers.

Follow along for more from education reporter Camellia Burris, and tap the link in bio for this and more of our stories.

Nashville wasn`t on FIFA`s list of approved base camp cities. Nope. Team Japan went off-book to choose Nashville, y`all.

And it was because of a Nashville metro employee and Japanese native, Masami Tyson.

When the Japanese Football Association found out that they would be playing in the southern region of the United States, they reached out the the Nashville tourism board. who put them in contact with Masami Tyson. She`s the chief of staff to Mayor Freddie O`Connell. The team was drawn to Nashville`s advantageous location and Nashville SC`s 15 acre practice facility in Antioch as the place where their team would eat, sleep and train between games.

Then Masami Tyson gave the Japanese Football Association a pitch in Japanese while she was in Japan last year. She talked about how President Jimmy Carter forged a relationship that has lasted over 60 years. She talked about the cherry trees throughout the city that represents that relationship. In the end, her pitch was the deciding factor.

The team, Samurai Blue, gets to town June 8 and might be here until July 17 if they make it to the World Cup finals. Follow us for more from reporter Justin Barney.

Correction: Jimmy Carter in the 1970’s, not 60’s.