Why is a Nashville middle school named after a racist segregationist? | Curious Nashville

Why is J.T. Moore Middle School named after an openly racist segregationist — and could it be changed?

As Elon Musk’s xAI supercomputer rankles Memphis, Nashville looks to regulate data centers

The city’s Metro Council will be considering legislation next week that would regulate and restrict some types of data centers in Nashville.

Nashville musician Caroline Carter turns childhood etiquette classes into noisy empathy on ‘Fetch’

Nashville musician Caroline Carter has come a long way from a West Texas upbringing focused on Southern hospitality. Her new EP, “Fetch,” grapples with finding her own identity while being a people pleaser.

Turning points in Tennessee history from the NashVillager Podcast

From the Civil War to the Civil Rights Movement, here are four times Tennessee history was changed forever.

Former U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander talked with our daily show This Is Nashville this week. The fallout from Tennessee’s failed execution of Tony Carruthers continued, as calls for another lethal injection moratorium ramp up. The latest installment of Healthcare Hollow dropped, and it looks at the latest rural hospital closure in Tennessee.

Tap link in bio for our in-depth stories and to sign up for the NashVillager newsletter, a human-powered 5-day-a-week email direct to your inbox with local stories, info, and ticket giveaways.

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Senator @lamaralexander gets philosophical over cookies with @flakebarmer, answering why wait 20 years after his death to release his diary from the Senate?

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Senator @lamaralexander gets philosophical over cookies with @flakebarmer, answering why wait 20 years after his death to release his diary from the Senate?

You may have already noticed it. More bugs than last year? Bears encroaching on urban areas? Seeing armadillos in the road? Kudzu as far as the eye can see? What about bats?

We’ve got a story series on signal species — plants, animals, insects — and what they are telling us with their adaptive behaviors. Some of it is due to the changing climate. Some of it is due to human development. Some of it is due to disease. But all of these signals are revealing ways that nature is changing around us and how we are interacting with those changes.

Over the course of June, our team at WPLN, This is Nashville and our collaborative newsroom hub, the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, will bring you a new story each week.

Turn on notifications and be sure to follow along for this 4-part series about bears, bats, armadillos and kudzu. You won’t want to miss it. Stay with us until the end to see how you can participate in documenting what you see around you with @iNaturalist.

Photos: Jacqui Sieber, Michael Snead/iNaturalist/Creative Commons, niff82/iNaturalist/Creative Commons, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

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You may have already noticed it. More bugs than last year? Bears encroaching on urban areas? Seeing armadillos in the road? Kudzu as far as the eye can see? What about bats?

We’ve got a story series on signal species — plants, animals, insects — and what they are telling us with their adaptive behaviors. Some of it is due to the changing climate. Some of it is due to human development. Some of it is due to disease. But all of these signals are revealing ways that nature is changing around us and how we are interacting with those changes.

Over the course of June, our team at WPLN, This is Nashville and our collaborative newsroom hub, the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, will bring you a new story each week.

Turn on notifications and be sure to follow along for this 4-part series about bears, bats, armadillos and kudzu. You won’t want to miss it. Stay with us until the end to see how you can participate in documenting what you see around you with @iNaturalist.

Photos: Jacqui Sieber, Michael Snead/iNaturalist/Creative Commons, niff82/iNaturalist/Creative Commons, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

More details about Tennessee`s failed execution are becoming available.

Defense attorneys argue the event proves the state`s lethal injection protocol is causing pain and suffering.

The Tennessee Department of Correction attempted to execute Tony Carruthers on May 21. Prison staff struggled to establish an IV line in his arms, so attorneys say a doctor cut into the man’s chest.

Eventually, a phone call into the room prompted the warden to call off the lethal injection.

Attorneys are calling on Gov. Bill Lee to halt all executions until the courts can decide a longstanding lawsuit that’s challenging the constitutionality of Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol.

Tap link in bio for more stories.

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More details about Tennessee's failed execution are becoming available.

Defense attorneys argue the event proves the state's lethal injection protocol is causing pain and suffering.

The Tennessee Department of Correction attempted to execute Tony Carruthers on May 21. Prison staff struggled to establish an IV line in his arms, so attorneys say a doctor cut into the man’s chest.

Eventually, a phone call into the room prompted the warden to call off the lethal injection.

Attorneys are calling on Gov. Bill Lee to halt all executions until the courts can decide a longstanding lawsuit that’s challenging the constitutionality of Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol.

Tap link in bio for more stories.

What if you have a medical emergency, drive dozens of miles to the nearest hospital only to find a closed sign on the entrance?

In Jellico, Tennessee, that’s reality. It’s one of many towns in Tennessee impacted as tthe healthcare industry cuts unprofitable rural hospitals.

The National Rural Health Association says at least 91 rural hospitals have closed in the last decade. Tennessee has the most closures per capita, with nine. In Jellico, hospital operators cite a lack of demand.

Residents like Debbie Stanaford remember when the Jellico Community Hospital opened in 1974. It was a small, 25-bed hospital with limited services. But it helped save lives in a community that otherwise faced an hour-long drive away to Knoxville.

Jellico’s small-town government is struggling to reopen its only hospital.
It has become a polarizing issue for locals as city officials brought in multiple operators, each with lofty promises, before being abruptly shut down two years ago.

To help keep rural hospitals open, the Biden administration introduced new healthcare subsidies if they met certain criteria. Jellico’s hospital satisfied all but one: the federal government doesn’t consider the town to be rural because its lumped into the Knoxville metropolitan area.

Debbie Stanaford hopes the hospital will ibe restored to the way it was. She says she’s unhappy with the mayor’s handling of the situation.

“I really, honestly had high hopes for the mayor, I really did, about opening the hospital and just doing different things for our town … it’s let me down a little bit.”

Tap link in bio for more and also get links to more in our Healthcare Hollow series.

Photos: Pierce Gentry / WPLN News

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What if you have a medical emergency, drive dozens of miles to the nearest hospital only to find a closed sign on the entrance?

In Jellico, Tennessee, that’s reality. It’s one of many towns in Tennessee impacted as tthe healthcare industry cuts unprofitable rural hospitals.

The National Rural Health Association says at least 91 rural hospitals have closed in the last decade. Tennessee has the most closures per capita, with nine. In Jellico, hospital operators cite a lack of demand.

Residents like Debbie Stanaford remember when the Jellico Community Hospital opened in 1974. It was a small, 25-bed hospital with limited services. But it helped save lives in a community that otherwise faced an hour-long drive away to Knoxville.

Jellico’s small-town government is struggling to reopen its only hospital.
It has become a polarizing issue for locals as city officials brought in multiple operators, each with lofty promises, before being abruptly shut down two years ago.

To help keep rural hospitals open, the Biden administration introduced new healthcare subsidies if they met certain criteria. Jellico’s hospital satisfied all but one: the federal government doesn’t consider the town to be rural because its lumped into the Knoxville metropolitan area.

Debbie Stanaford hopes the hospital will ibe restored to the way it was. She says she’s unhappy with the mayor’s handling of the situation.

“I really, honestly had high hopes for the mayor, I really did, about opening the hospital and just doing different things for our town … it’s let me down a little bit.”

Tap link in bio for more and also get links to more in our Healthcare Hollow series.

Photos: Pierce Gentry / WPLN News

For many, youth baseball is a rite of passage: full of home runs, walk-up songs and teamwork.

And now, WPLN’s Cynthia Abrams reports, there’s a different kind of baseball field growing in popularity: it’s called a “Miracle Field.” These are accessible baseball facilities that can accommodate players with disabilities.

The first field was built in Georgia in 2000, but these have been popping up more and more — and, today, there are now hundreds around the country.

Tap link in bio for more.

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For many, youth baseball is a rite of passage: full of home runs, walk-up songs and teamwork.

And now, WPLN’s Cynthia Abrams reports, there’s a different kind of baseball field growing in popularity: it’s called a “Miracle Field.” These are accessible baseball facilities that can accommodate players with disabilities.

The first field was built in Georgia in 2000, but these have been popping up more and more — and, today, there are now hundreds around the country.

Tap link in bio for more.

This week was very newsy — from a failed execution to lawsuits on redistricting to an outcry about NES tree trimming and no screens and schools.

We also threw in a little Summer Joy for good measure!

Tap link in bio for our in-depth stories and to sign up for the NashVillager newsletter, a human-powered. 5-day-a-week email direct to your inbox with local stories, info, and ticket giveaways.

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Tennessee halted a man’s execution on Thursday morning after being unable to find a vein for lethal injection.

An attorney who was present for the planned execution of Tony Carruthers in Tennessee on Thursday said it was called off after officials struggled to find a vein for an hour.

Maria DeLiberato, an attorney for Carruthers, said she saw Carruthers “wincing and groaning” and called it “horrible” to watch.

Tap link in bio for more.

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Tennessee halted a man’s execution on Thursday morning after being unable to find a vein for lethal injection.

An attorney who was present for the planned execution of Tony Carruthers in Tennessee on Thursday said it was called off after officials struggled to find a vein for an hour.

Maria DeLiberato, an attorney for Carruthers, said she saw Carruthers “wincing and groaning” and called it “horrible” to watch.

Tap link in bio for more.

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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.

ASK YOUR QUESTION