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Char Daston

Char Daston

Char Daston is a reporter and newscast writer for WPLN. Char got his start in public radio at WYSO public radio in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he answered questions sent in by listeners for a program called WYSO Curious. He went on to work at St. Louis Public Radio and WBEZ Chicago, where he produced the daily talk show Reset and reported for the education desk. His work has appeared nationally on shows like Morning Edition and The World. A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Char attended college and grad school at the University of Chicago, where he wrote his master’s thesis on the politics of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. Unable to settle on one creative project, Char enjoys writing poetry, plays and video essays in his spare time. You’ll likely find him rushing to choir rehearsal or seeking out Nashville’s best Thai and Korean food.

‘Where’s the meaning in everything?’ Lessons learned from a week as a Buddhist monk

Char Daston

June 4, 2025

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For Don Srisuriyo, a Thai American from Murfreesboro, becoming a Buddhist monk was unexpectedly challenging, and changed his relationship to his heritage.

Filed Under: Features Tagged With: Buddhism, Buddhist, Middle Tennessee State University, MTSU, Murfreesboro, religion, Thai

Appeals court finds Tennessee can cut size of Nashville Metro Council, reversing lower court ruling

Char Daston

June 3, 2025

Nashville Metro Council October 2023

The Tennessee Court of Appeals has ruled that the state can go forward with a plan to cut the Nashville Metro Council membership in half.

Filed Under: Metro, Politics, WPLN News Tagged With: Angie Henderson, courts, Nashville Metro Council, William Lamberth

Nashville hotels seeing chart-topping demand for meetings and events

Char Daston

May 27, 2025

An event-planning company says the four U.S. hotels with the most demand from the event-planning industry are all in downtown Nashville.

Filed Under: Business, WPLN News Tagged With: hotel, hotels, Nissan Stadium

Federal funding clawbacks cause cuts, fear, creative alternatives in Nashville’s arts community

Char Daston

May 16, 2025

Nashville's Nutcracker (Dec. 2023)

Many arts organizations learned that their grant funding from the National Endowment for the Arts was being canceled. That includes at least five arts nonprofits in Nashville.

Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Music, Politics, WPLN News Tagged With: Belcourt Theatre, Metro Arts, Metro Arts Commission, Nashville Ballet, National Endowment for the Arts, OZ Arts, OZ Arts Nashville

Tennesseans have dim view of U.S. economy, poll finds

Char Daston

May 8, 2025

The majority of Tennesseans from across the political spectrum say the U.S. economy is in bad shape, according to a new poll from Vanderbilt University.

Filed Under: Business, Politics, WPLN News Tagged With: Bill Lee, Donald Trump, economy, Gov. Bill Lee, Vanderbilt Poll, Vanderbilt University

Nashville’s in-depth affordable housing strategy is ready for public review

Char Daston

April 30, 2025

construction tractors Nashville
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The mayor’s plan is meant to address Nashville’s rapidly rising housing prices and rents, which are burdensome for low- and even middle-income residents.

Filed Under: Metro, Politics, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: affordable housing, Freddie O'Connell, Housing, Nashville mayor, Unified Housing Strategy

This Tennessean’s undocumented mom left the U.S. and came back legally. Here’s why that’s so rare.

Char Daston

April 29, 2025

Two women, one in blue, one in white, sit at a wooden table with tortilla chips and a red plastic water glass.
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Many mixed-status families have just one way to prevent being separated by deportation. But the process is complicated and comes with risks.

Filed Under: Politics, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: illegal immigration, Immigration, Latino, Nolensville Pike, Tennessee Justice for Our Neighbors

Nashville’s new Office of Youth Safety has its first director

Char Daston

April 28, 2025

Phyllis Hildreth will lead Nashville’s new Office of Youth Safety. Mayor Freddie O’Connell announced the office’s first director last week.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, Metro, WPLN News Tagged With: Delishia Porterfield, Freddie O'Connell, office of youth safety, Phyllis Hildreth, restorative justice, Southern Movement Committee

Metro plans to clear a decades-old Nashville encampment

Char Daston

April 3, 2025

A large dwelling made out of plywood with a fence, two stories, and a garage.

Nashville’s Office of Homeless Services plans to clear out Old Tent City. The encampment south of downtown near the Cumberland River and Interstate 24 has been a community for unhoused Nashvillians for over 40 years.

Filed Under: Metro, Race & Equity, WPLN News Tagged With: homelessness, Office of Homeless Services

As Tennessee prisons phase out physical mail, prisoners weigh in

Char Daston

March 18, 2025

Listen

The Tennessee Department of Correction is phasing out physical mail and deploying table-style computers to all people in prison.

Filed Under: Criminal Justice, WPLN News Tagged With: prisons, TDOC, Tennessee Department of Correction, Turney Center Industrial Complex

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