A new podcast from WPLN News
The story of how Nashville became home to the largest Kurdish diaspora in America is an epic one. A tale of bloody genocide, of freedom fighters, of stunning perseverance.
But the story of the Kurdish people, no matter where they are, is a story about a country that only exists in the hearts of its people. And the lengths they’ll go to make it real.
Listen and follow:
Episode 1: The Enemy Within
Publish Date: June 5, 2025
We dive headlong into one family’s migration odyssey from Iraqi Kurdistan to Nashville. To really understand what this family — and so many others — were fleeing from, we need to go back to one terrible, pivotal day in 1988. And to do that, we need to go to Kurdistan.
Louisville, Kentucky native Rose Gilbert is a reporter who covers breaking news, nuanced community stories and everything from arts and culture to the state legislature. Before that, she was one of the founding producers of WPLN’s daily show, This Is Nashville. She spent a month in Erbil, Kurdistan to visit some of the great landmarks in the shared history of our sister cities, including family homes, government offices and ancient cultural sites. The Country In Our Hearts is the result of her reporting in Nashville and in Kurdistan.
Series Credits:
- Reported and produced by Rose Gilbert
- Edited and co-produced by Meribah Knight
- Additional editing by Tony Gonzalez, LaTonya Turner, and Rachel Iacovone, with help from Marianna Bacallao, Char Daston and Justin Barney
- Mack Linebaugh is Nashville Public Radio’s Vice President of Audience – and supported this project in many ways
- Our community and cultural advisors on this project were Dr. David Romano and Dilman Yasin
- Sound Design was done by Martin Cruz
- Fact checking by Daniel Potter
- And Original logo artwork is by Nuveen Barwari
- Traditional music by Arkan Doski
- With additional music from Blue Dot Sessions
Special thanks to Paul McAdoo, Jennifer Nelson and to the village of Chalke, and the people there who showed Rose so much hospitality.
from NASHVILLE to ERBIL
Two cities, three generations, and 50 years of shared history
DISPATCHES FROM ERBIL
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Introducing ‘The Country In Our Hearts’ podcast series
In 1988, hundreds of thousands of Kurds fled northern Iraq as Saddam Hussein’s armies hunted them down. Many ended up in Nashville, making this southern city home to the largest Kurdish community in America.
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‘You can get people killed,’ and other advice.
Suha and Hanna have both reported extensively on Iraqi Kurdistan’s refugee camps, on their own and as fixers. They had a great deal of advice on how to report within these camps: how to act, what to say, what information to censor to protect the people who lived there.
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An extremely grand bazaar
The Qaysari Bazaar is an absolute marvel. Nestled in the heart of old Erbil, this sprawling covered market sits in the shadow of the city’s ancient citadel, which is perhaps the oldest continuously inhabited place on earth.
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The generous journalists of Erbil
So, I had made it to Erbil. I had dinars, I had a working phone, and I had meetings set up with sources for weeks to come. Now, I needed to get a real understanding of local politics. I needed to find a good translator or two. I needed to make some friends. In short, I…
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Liquor stores and LED crosses
I spent my first few mornings in Erbil taking long walks, trying to explore my new neighborhood before the full heat of the day.
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Welcome to the Classy Hotel Ankawa
In this first travelogue from WPLN’s Rose Gilbert, we arrive with her in Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, for her five-week reporting trip.
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Heading farther into the field than ever before
In just a couple short weeks, I will be traveling to Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan and Nashville’s newest sister city.
Timeline: the shared history of Nashville and Kurdistan
This project is funded in part by a grant from Humanities Tennessee, an independent affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The findings and conclusions of this project do not necessarily represent the views of Humanities Tennessee or of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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