LISTEN: The best episodes of WPLN’s This Is Nashville from 2022

It’s the last week of the year. That means some of us are off work, and some of us are working extra hard and long shifts. However this holiday season finds you, we thought we’d bring you something special to listen to – whether you’re on your lunch break or cozied up in front of the fireplace. For the last week of the year, we’re airing the best This Is Nashville episodes of 2022.

This was our first year on air, so why not start by throwing it back to our very first episode, right?

Tasha A.F. Lemley WPLN News

While doing community engagement before our launch, we met Marilyn Ma’at at the Local Distro. She’s a singer-songwriter who grew up in Nashville. She said she hopes that, as Nashville continues to grow, that new people moving to town treat Black Nashvillians like her like they belong.

March 1, 2022: Bridging the gap between old and new Nashville

Our first episode featured more than 50 people from across our city and region. Before our launch, the This Is Nashville team spent months out in the community asking people we met, “What do you want out of our daily show?” And, “What do you want people to know about you and your community?” The first episode was a culmination of that. It was our opportunity to air what you all asked for, to set a precedent to hold ourselves to. We invited a panel of so-called Old and New Nashvillians to reflect on our identity as a town; what we’ve been and what we’re becoming. (Also: We’d still love to hear from you.)

Jewly Hight WNXP

(Clockwise) Roberta Lea, Joy Clark, Jett Holden and Tylar Bryant played music together at the Black Opry House in October 2021.

April 18, 2022: Looking at the changing face of country music

Country music fan Holly G. founded the Black Opry in 2021 to provide a home for Black artists and Black fans of country, blues, folk and Americana music. On its one-year anniversary, we thought, what better time to talk about the changing face of country music with local musicians, and country music royalty Frankie Staton — a singer-songwriter who led the Black Country Music Association back in the 1990s. Bonus: This episode featured some great country music.

Samantha Max WPLN News

Gideon’s Army employees Hambino Godbody, right, and Mic True work to prevent violence at the Cumberland View public housing complex in North Nashville.

March 24, 2022: Keeping our communities safe

Back in March, the city was poised to distribute $1.5 million toward anti-violence work under the Cure Violence model. The approach treats community conflict like an infectious disease — by interrupting violence before it escalates. For this episode, former WPLN reporter Samantha Max spent time out in the community with one group that’s already been trying out this approach, even with limited funding: Gideon’s Army. It’s a strong episode that takes a nuanced approach to a difficult but important topic for our city.

M. V. Ingram An Authenticated History of the Bell Witch (1894)

Illustration of William Porter attempting to burn the Bell Witch in his fireplace.

October 31, 2022: Nashville ghost stories to send shivers down your spine

From the neon of Broadway to the bright lights of the Ryman stage, our city is full of happy stories. But, for Halloween this year, we decided to talk about what lurks in the shadows. And, y’all, our town has some serious ghosts. I know Halloween has come and gone, but this expertly produced episode from producer Rose Gilbert is full of spooks and giggles and great audio storytelling.

Anna Gallegos-Cannon

What is Nashville nice?

September 30, 2022: Exploring what it means to be ‘Nashville nice’

This episode was all about defining Nashville’s special brand of nice. We talk “bless your heart” and chess pie and how “maybe” is really just a polite “no.” This episode was funny, heartwarming, real, surprising … really everything you want out of live radio. Senior producer Steve Haruch and host Khalil Ekulona knocked it out of the park.

Andrea Tudhope is executive producer and director of This Is Nashville. Follow her on Twitter @andreatudhope, and email her at [email protected].