Grab your earbuds — or make sure your Bluetooth is connecting in your car — because our fifth annual Nashville Public Radio podcast recommendations have arrived just in time for your Thanksgiving holiday and travels.
This tradition is always evolving, and this year, we’re welcoming the suggestions from several new staffers who have joined our newsroom at WPLN and our music discovery station at WNXP. And, yes, you’ll spot a couple of Nashville-made shows on our list, which we’re proud to rank among some of the best audio journalism anywhere!
To listen, you can follow each link below, or check them out in this Spotify playlist. You can also search them out in any podcasting app on a smartphone. And since the best stories never get old, you can revisit our past lists from 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018.
Archetypes with Meghan
S1 E2: “The Duality of Diva with Mariah Carey”
There’s no shortage of podcasts featuring celebrities interviewing their celebrity friends, but hear me out. Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, is a fabulous podcast host. She listens to her subjects and asks hard questions of them. The idea behind her new podcast, Archetypes, will resonate with any woman who has been wrongly labeled or stereotyped. The episode that clinched this as my weekly must-listen was the deconstruction of the word “diva” and all the negative perceptions it conjures. It features the surprisingly funny, irreverent and self-aware Mariah Carey. This is a conversation that had me hooked from beginning to end. — Julia Ritchey
Scene on Radio: The Repair
Co-hosts John Biewen and Amy Westervelt connect the dots between Enlightenment thinking, the manifest destiny of the American frontier and extractive capitalism. This season of Scene on Radio, like other seasons, gives us rich historical contexts for modern societal ills like sexism, racism or, in this case, our current climate crisis. I like this episode because it bridges the gap between this religious idea of dominion to our current climate crisis. It’s not the most joyful thing I’ve listened to all year, but I’m very thankful that there are audio journalists doing this work. — Magnolia McKay
This Is Nashville
‘What We Wish Were True’: Tallu Schuyler Quinn’s thoughts on life and death
There’s a long tradition of ascribing wisdom to people who die young — so it can be easy to view their advice with cynicism. But this episode of This Is Nashville thoroughly conveyed the depth of Tallu Schuyler Quinn, the Nashville writer, nonprofit leader and minister who died of brain cancer in February. Her commitment to the belief that “what is broken can be made whole” even in death becomes clear as Khalil Ekulona compassionately discusses her legacy with her husband and others who loved her. — Chas Sisk
The Trojan Horse Affair
Part 1: The Letter in the Brown Paper Envelope
A British doctor-turned-journalist teams up with a seasoned American podcaster to investigate a letter that started an Islamophobic panic and fundamentally changed the British school system for Muslim students. This is just the first episode in an eight-part series that has everything: Dramatic twists and turns, co-hosts arguing with one another and a window into how journalists approach the stories they tell. — Marianna Bacallao
This American Life
#774: “The Pink House at the Center of the World”
This episode is a reminder of all that has made This American Life such a radio and podcasting giant: in-depth reporting, excellent sourcing, and empathetic, emotional storytelling. The episode begins and ends with documentarian Maisie Crow, who provides exclusive reporting from inside the Pink House, better known to the rest of us as Jackson Women’s Health. We listen as volunteers and leadership process the Dobbs decision in real time, scrambling to identify alternatives for anxious patients. — Tori Hoover
Heavyweight
With just a description of a “blonde woman” and the name of a restaurant that she ate at one time, in Israel, some 19 years ago, host Jonathan Goldstein somehow tracks down the subject of this story to get a photograph that she took of his friends at the time. It’s low-stakes investigative journalism that Goldstein makes thrilling by adding heart and humor. No one quite nails tone like Jonathan Goldstein. — Justin Barney
No Small Endeavor
S7 E2: Kristin Du Mez sits with David French
Now with its new name, the podcast and radio show formerly known as Tokens has really hit its stride. I particularly enjoyed hearing the interview with Kristin Du Mez, author of “Jesus and John Wayne” and Middle Tennessee Christian conservative pundit David French. If you count yourself as part of what French calls the “exhausted majority” and might enjoy a critical look at some parts of the evangelical world, this is a great listen for you. — Blake Farmer
On Being
“Kate DiCamillo: For the Eight-Year-Old in You”
I’ve been meaning to revisit Kate DiCamillo’s work ever since reading Ann Patchett’s “Why We Need Life-Changing Books Right Now” back in 2020. It wasn’t until I heard DiCamillo in conversation with Krista Tippett that I went ahead and checked out all my childhood favorites — and was reminded of how characters like Despereaux Tilling and Edward Tulane led me to an early love of reading. This episode is a great example of all that the On Being podcast can be — heartwarming, poetic, wise. — Cindy Abrams
Normal Gossip
S3 E6: “In Defense of Children with Youngmi Mayer”
This show is my new podcasting obsession. It’s a chance to delight in a morsel of juicy gossip without the stress of knowing the involved parties. This particular story has everything: Y2K nostalgia, family rivalry, a deathbed confession and a decades-old secret. Can you uncover who tried to flush a hot dog down the toilet on Christmas Eve? This one’s sure to keep you guessing — and laughing — as you travel this holiday season. Disclaimer: There is explicit language, so maybe not ideal for young listeners. — Alexis Marshall
Sound Opinions
Show 847: “The Legacy of J Dilla with Dan Charnas”
This show builds on the biography of the late hip-hop instrumentalist J Dilla, and uses music to elevate far above a typical interview. It’s an instance where hearing the music is essential to understanding what was so awesome about J Dilla’s beatmaking and sampling. (It’s also fun to hear, in this case, their attempts to use words to describe it.) The show also connected a lot of dots between artists, sending me off to explore many more albums. — Tony Gonzalez
La última copa/The Last Cup
This fully bilingual podcast snuck in at the last second to take the year’s top spot for me, much like I’m now hoping for Lionel Messi to do in the World Cup over the next month. The Last Cup isn’t a technical look at him as a player, but a look at him as a person, as an immigrant and as a national symbol as the soccer star in Spain heads into his last chance to win the World Cup for his home country, Argentina. As host Jasmine Garsd says from the start, “It’s about what it means to leave home, and whether or not you can ever really go back.” And if that isn’t an arrow straight through the heart for all us from immigrant families out there. ¡Pa’lante, La Pulga! — Rachel Iacovone
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