Christa Pike is the first woman in more than 180 years to face the death penalty in Tennessee. She’s also a practicing Buddhist, which has formed much of her legal battle for how she will be put to death.
In a story from Tasha A.F. Lemley, Pike’s spiritual advisor, Rev. Mikey Noechel, is a Buddhist teacher who will be with her as she’s executed for her part in the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer.
“We`ll be walking in with this practice of loving kindness, blessing the whole room… creating this environment of care,” says Rev. Noechel.
“Christa`s dying. That`s okay… because we will all face the same fate. The way it`s done will have karmic outcomes. I`m not a fan of that.”
Rev. Noechel says society should pay more attention to the needs of marginalized people and provide them support early on, so they don’t go on to create more harm in the world.
Pike was abused as a child, emotionally and sexually. But Rev. Noechel says she owns up to what she did as a teen and hopes her death will bring solace to the family of Slemmer.
“Yes, she is responsible, but... everybody should feel responsible… When we take responsibility, it gives us the empowerment to respond.... so we never have to experience murder on this level ever again.
Tap link in bio for the full story.
Producer: LaTonya Turner
Photos: Tasha A.F. Lemley
Editor: Megan Jones
In 2021, Dolly Parton had a message about the importance of public media with NPR. We’re showcasing her quote today, because community support has never been more important.
After federal funding was cut, leaving a $400,000 hole in our budget, our community held us up. Our journalists never stopped reporting.
Now Nashville Public Radio has been 100% community funded. No money from Washington. No corporate owner.
Tap link in bio to give now to support the local stories and information that is here for you, because of you.
And if you can’t afford to give right now, please engage with this post! Drop a comment about why public radio matters to you and share this post.
Photo: Marianna Bacallao
How important do you think your vote is? How do you talk about voting with your friends and family? Does a single vote really matter in Tennessee? Elections can either seem like a nothingburger or all important. So let’s talk about it.
We cover elections and voting as part of our duty to public service and our community. So we are opening our doors and having an interactive event to talk about elections and voting with the people who run elections and the people who cover elections.
This event is free and open to the public. We are able to do this because of our members and support from the community. This week is our fund drive and every dollar a person contributes helps us to not only cover the important elections stories, but to have community involvement and dialogue.
It’s Oct 6th from 6 - 8pm at our station here on Mainstream Drive in MetroNorth Nashville. We have convenient free parking and an equally free outlook on what we will discuss — no question is too basic to cover.
Tap link in bio to RSVP to the Oct 6th event. And if you can’t make it but want to support this and future events and our local reporting, you can hit the link in bio to donate to us today. We are grateful for our local community and support!
Today is 9/25, and in Nashville, Tennessee, it’s “9-to-5 Day,” commemorating the life of country music legend and philanthropist Dolly Parton, who died one month ago at age 80.
Downtown, that’s meant an official proclamation from the mayor, bands covering her music everywhere you look, and drinks and other festivities honoring the late Tennessee icon. Many people have also written “kindness pledges” on sticky notes in the shape of butterflies – one of Parton’s signatures. They’re vowing to be kinder today than they were yesterday, and to love God and love people, among other things.
As Marianna Bacallao (@ba.marianna) reports, Dolly Parton has been Tennessee’s great unifier.
People across the political spectrum love Dolly. Nashville is a Democratic-led city in a red state, and Nashville and state lawmakers are often at odds. A few years ago, a state senator tried to rename Nashville’s airport after Donald Trump, and received a lot of local pushback. Now, the airport is in the process of being renamed for Dolly Parton with overwhelming bipartisan support.
Follow for more and tap link in bio for the full story.
Photos: Marianna Bacallao
Producer: Daniel Potter
Editor: Megan Jones
Notable quoatables this week come from a conflict between two of Tennessee’s gubernatorial candidates. Independent Lauren Pinkston found herself ensnared in the discourse, after she posted a video about Andrew Jackson, saying he had experienced damaging trauma and coped poorly. Democratic candidate Jerri Green’s camp accused her of excusing Jackson’s atrocities and called on her to drop out.
Peter Frampton is the subject of “FRAMPTON,” a documentary that debuted at the Nashville Film Festival this week.
A Georgetown project documenting deaths in youth correctional facilities examines one site in Tennessee. The James M. Taft Youth Development Center opened as the Tennessee Reformatory for Negro Boys in 1911. It housed youths between the ages of 11 and 23, and it forced the boys to labor in nearby coal mines. Living conditions were cramped, dilapidated, and unsanitary. It changed names several times over the decades, but all along maintianed a cemetery for boys who died there. The total number of graves, including those that have gone unmarked, is unknown.
Samira Hardcastle resigned after her school’s administration ordered her to change a student’s grade, and not give them a zero for a late assignment.
Producer: Catherine Sweeney
Editor: Megan Jones
Peter Frampton is rare in that he is one of the only artists whose most popular record is a live album. In 2019 Peter Frampton was diagnosed with Inclusion Body Mitosis. The disease turns his muscle into fat and its slowly taking away his ability to play live.
“Frampton” is a documentary where the famously live musician decides to put on a final tour and confront the disease. The documentary kicks off the Nashville Film Festival tonight at Regal Green Hills.
Following the farewell tour Frampton decided to continue performing. He tells reporter Justin Barney about the diagnosis and why he decided not to stop.
Tap link in bio for the full story.
Photos: Documentary stills courtesy of the artist
For decades, celebrities signed their autographs on marble slabs inside the Belle Meade Theatre. But it`s been vacant, so one fan of Curious Nashville asked: Whatever happened to the "wall of fame?"
Cynthia Abrams tracks down the celebrity slabs, unearthing local cinematic history along the way.
Photos: Cynthia Abrams; Tennessee State Museum
Shade can lower ambient air temperatures while also cooling surface temps by as much as 45 degrees.
Half of Nashville’s parks have less than 33% shade, a new report from the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps found.
“There`s not enough places for kids to play,” said Chris Leonard, the group’s board chair. “The playground equipment this time of year is boiling.”
Leonard is a parent. He commissioned the report while taking his kids to parks and watching families struggle amid longer, increasingly dangerous summers.
The report is based on the city’s latest study, which used 2021 data. The city has since had a major ice storm, and the Nashville Electric Service changed its tree-trimming policy. The city’s post-ice data will come out in 2028.
In the meantime, Leonard recommends asking local tree groups and city leaders for specific plantings and dedicated park funding for trees. “Every kid should have a shaded, pleasant place to play in the summer, especially in a wealthy city,” Leonard said.
Tap link in bio for the full story from environmental reporter Caroline Eggers
Photos: Caroline Eggers / WPLN, Daniel Potter / WPLN
Image: Caroline Eggers with data from the Nashville Tree Conservation Corps and Metro Nashville
-
‘They’re putting kids’ lives at risk’: How abuse in a Tennessee businessman’s juvenile prisons remained under wraps
Tennessee’s highest-security youth prisons are operated by a single private company. Former staff say they felt pressure to hide abuse and other serious incidents from the state and to handle medical emergencies without calling 911.
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
Tennessee set to carry out rare execution of a woman
Trump can’t force election changes by blocking counterterrorism funds to states, judge says
Nashville Symphony suspending season amid ‘financial emergency’
A surprising number of Americans use AI for spiritual reasons. Here’s what they told us
Preschoolers at the Goddard School of Gallatin act as ‘kid journalists’ for World News Day
Americans are confused and worried about elections. Will that impact turnout?
WPLN Originals
Topics
On Air - 90.3 WPLN-FM
