Things are getting messy in this year`s primary election for the governor`s office. From the crumbled fortune cookies to AI attack ads, this last week before election day sees us firmly in the mudslinging stage.
But believe it or not, it could be more intense.
It has been more intense.
This month on The Backstory, we`re looking at bad behavior by early state leaders, including this story of what happened after a governor`s reelection stump speech took a wild turn.
Historic images in this video were sourced via Wikimedia Commons and the Tennessee Electronic Virtual Archive.
The Backstory is funded by the state of Tennessee through the Tennessee Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial.
Tap link in the bio for more and to subscribe to the Nashvillager podcast and newsletter.
Nashville is an alt-country town right now.
A new class of artists represent a new Nashville.
The city has always attracted musicians who love a pedal steel and a broken heart. Now they are adding distorted guitar and pointed lyrics.
This year there has been a handful of stand outs and there are some big releases in the genre coming out this fall.
Tap link in bio for the full story and a playlist from Music and Culture reporter Justin Barney.
Elon Musk’s sprawling xAI campus in the Memphis area is the second-largest climate polluter in the Tennessee Valley Authority’s region.
xAI currently has two buildings, Colossus 1 and Colossus 2, both located in Memphis, that support Grok, the AI for the social platform X.
The second data center is powered across the state line in Mississippi by 59 gas turbines.
Those turbines alone will cause more than 7 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in a given year, according to calculations by the Southern Environmental Law Center, assuming that they operate full-time.
That level of emissions is at least equivalent to the annual energy use of nearly 1 million homes.
Only the TVA’s largest coal plant, the Cumberland Fossil Plant, produces more climate pollution than xAI. No other power plant across TVA’s seven-state region created as much planet-warming emissions in 2023, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s latest data available.
But the xAI facility does create more of one kind of air pollution. The Colossus 2 turbines produce more nitrogen oxide emissions than any facility in Tennessee, Mississippi or Arkansas. This type of smog-forming pollution is linked to higher rates of heart disease, lung disease and asthma, and causes over 100,000 premature deaths in the U.S. each year.
The NAACP, represented by the Southern Environmental Law Center and Earthjustice, sued xAI in April for Clean Air Act violations.
Tap link in bio for more from environmental reporter Caroline Eggers.
More than 30 U.S. states have banned AI from campaign ads without disclosing to voters that the footage isn’t real. But enforcement varies from state to state. In Tennessee, Marianna Bacallao reports that candidates might not face any consequences for breaking the law.
Two Republican frontrunners for Congress have both used AI against the other. In one ad by former Congressman Van Hilleary, he shows an AI-generated version of his opponent, state Rep. Johnny Garrett, at a gay Pride parade.
The ad intentionally misrepresents Garrett, who has campaigned against DEI and LGBTQ rights. Garrett also uses AI in his ad, showing Hilleary driving a campaign bus into a swamp.
For either candidate to face consequences, they’d either have to sue each other, or a voter would have to formally file complaint. So far, neither has happened. Both campaigns have said they must comply with federal, not state, election law – which has yet to address AI in ads.
Tap link in bio for more.
Early voting in Tennessee kicked off a week ago, and so far it’s off to a strong start. The number of early voters statewide is higher than previous years, according to information on the Tennessee Secretary of State website.
More than 252,000 voters had cast ballots by day 6 of early voting—up more than 45% over the same period in 2022.
WPLN reporters have visited several polling locations in Middle Tennessee, to hear first-hand from early voters.
While many chose to vote early due to convenience accessibility, there is a noticeable intent to make sure their votes are counted during a season marked by drastic changes in voting districts and locations.
August 1 is the last day for early voting. The general election is August 6.
Tap link in bio for election coverage.
Photo: Cynthia Abrams / WPLN
Nashville’s Metro Council passed new regulations for data centers last night, but the fight is ongoing.
Caroline Eggers reports the new rules regulate where data centers can go, along with their use of on-site power from sources like natural gas turbines. But critics argue Nashville needs to add stronger guardrails, like restricting the use of generators to true emergencies.
The council also advanced an effort from the mayor to use eminent domain to thwart construction of a data center near the Nashville Zoo. The data center company went ahead and bought that property last week for $23 million.
Tap link in bio for more of our coverage on data centers or head to wpln.org.
Photos: Elizabeth Burton / WPLN, Metro Council Website
It`s a Hot Bear Summer in Tennessee.
Bears scrounge through trash, cars and sometimes even homes for an easy source of calories. Their sense of smell is seven times better than the best smelling dog. Ever seen a police dog doing it`s sniffing duty? Bears are 7 times better than those dogs at smelling - they can even smell from a a mile away says Janelle Musser, a biologist at the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency. Bears can smell even through a trash bag and a closed trash container.
Dryness in the landscape can stress bears during the spring when natural food sources are already scarce, according to Greg Grieco, a longtime park ranger who now supports orphaned cubs through the Appalachian Bear Rescue. That type of natural vegetation scarcity may push bears to look for food around people. So bears sorting through trash may seem like a nuisance, but the behavior can escalate into them breaking into cars or homes.
Tap link in bio for more of our coverage about bears in our Signal Species stories. And if you see bears in your area, we`d love it if you would record that observation (needs a photo!) in our Appalachian Signal Species project in the iNaturalist app (free download!).
Data center developer DC BLOX may be planning a bigger facility near the Nashville Zoo than the company initially revealed.
Or it may be smaller.
As Caroline Eggers reports, details of the planned project have rapidly shifted in recent weeks, sparking widespread concern for project transparency, electricity costs and environmental impacts.
DC BLOX plans on building a data center facility, split between two buildings, with a power capacity of 50 megawatts.
The company had planned to incrementally increase capacity to 100 MW but has since downsized the project scope, according to DC BLOX.
Mayor Freddie O’Connell said he had “no idea” the company had considered expanding to 100 MW, a size only disclosed through public information requests, and expressed concern for company transparency.
Tap link in bio for more.
Photos: George Walker IV / AP, TVA
Curious Nashville Returns!
Back by popular demand, the WPLN fan favorite series Curious Nashville is here to investigate oddities, share local history, tell stories of interesting people, and explain how local institutions operate.
You ask the questions, and we answer.
More Headlines
NashVillager Podcast: Oil, water and Tennessee coal
Tennessee among 5 states offering to accept nuclear waste
MNPS denies renewed application of four charter schools, citing financial strains on the district
Nashville is an alt-country town right now
What Where When-sday: “Showmance, A Musical about a Musical” by The Theater Bug
No predictions, just urgency: Titans start camp looking for another reset
WPLN Originals
Topics
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM
