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Profiles

Facing the new year with Buddhist teacher and punk rocker Mikey Noechel

By Blake Farmer

January 5, 2026

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Our guest this hour is the frontman of the punk rock trio The RIP Taylors. Their latest album – Negativity Bias – has songs with titles like “I still don’t believe in you,” “I gotta bad attitude,” and “I’m not like…ya know…whatever.” It’s the passion project of Mikey Noechel, who thinks a lot about our […]

Filed Under: Profiles

Our most fascinating interviews from 2025

By Blake Farmer

December 29, 2025

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A songwriter who climbed out of the shadow of her first song, a nonprofit leader who refuses to see his own disability, a restaurateur with a hot take on tourism, a humorist who leaned into her heritage, a forward-thinking physician who rediscovered her mom’s remedies, and the sentimental saint of the Opry. It’s the best […]

Filed Under: Profiles Tagged With: 2025 Year In Review

Marie Williams on bringing heart to Tennessee’s bureaucracy

By Blake Farmer

December 15, 2025

Commissioner Marie Williams with Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee
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Marie Williams is the kind of state official who will get choked up on stage talking about the passion of her team. She came up through homeless services in Memphis and found her way to the state agency that oversees mental health and substance abuse services when Gov. Bill Haslam appointed her to lead the […]

Filed Under: Profiles Tagged With: mental health

Vandy neurologist Britt Stone on coming back around to ‘bush medicine’

By Blake Farmer

December 1, 2025

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When Dr. Britt Stone was growing up in Tupelo, Mississippi, her Bahamian mother made her choke down a spoonful of cod liver oil each morning. That daily ritual was part of a “bush medicine” philosophy incorporating an array of natural supplements and remedies. While training at Meharry Medical College, and later specializing in neurology, Stone […]

Filed Under: Profiles, Programs Tagged With: Britt Stone, Meharry Medical College

Whisperin’ Bill Anderson, the Grand Ole Opry’s longest serving legend

By Mary Mancini

November 24, 2025

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As the Grand Ole Opry celebrates its 100th birthday this week, we hear from its longest-serving member.

Filed Under: Profiles, Programs Tagged With: Grand Ole Opry, Opry 100, Opry at 100, Whisperin' Bill Anderson

Music City’s benevolent mogul, Mike Curb

By Blake Farmer

November 17, 2025

Mike Curb
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It might look like anything Mike Curb touches turns to gold. But he says he’s never been great at anything – just passionate. After more than 60 years in the record business, Curb is still looking for the next big hit. He’s also looking for a way to preserve the thing that brought him to […]

Filed Under: Profiles, Programs Tagged With: country music, Curb Records, Mike Curb, Music Row, preservation

Tennessee’s pandemic chief Dr. Lisa Piercey on her post-COVID career change

By Blake Farmer

October 27, 2025

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When Dr. Lisa Piercey left state government after guiding Tennessee through the pandemic, she decided to turn over an entirely new leaf. She was tired of working for someone else. So she got into the business of buying businesses. And even though she’s only a few years in, she also wrote a book about it. […]

Filed Under: Profiles Tagged With: Lisa Piercey

Charles “Wigg” Walker, legendary R&B and soul artist

By Mary Mancini

October 20, 2025

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There’s one man ensuring rhythm and blues gets some airtime on Lower Broadway, even if it’s a Saturday morning brunch crowd.

Filed Under: Profiles, Programs Tagged With: Charles "Wigg" Walker

Stuart McWhorter on business, divisive politics, and carrying on his father’s legacy

By Blake Farmer

October 13, 2025

Stuart McWhorter and Bill Lee
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When an emcee introduces Stuart McWhorter on stage, at some point he feels the need to cut them off. From his resume, it starts to sound like he either can’t hold a job or he’s always looking for the next thing — a joke that he makes about his own varied career. Before government service, […]

Filed Under: Profiles Tagged With: Bill Lee, Clayton McWhorter, Stuart McWhorter

Tamara Saviano on a fateful firing and finding Americana music

By Blake Farmer

October 6, 2025

Guy Clark, Tamara Saviano and Kris Kristofferson
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Americana often becomes a place for artists or music industry types who don’t fit neatly elsewhere. And for Tamara Saviano, it was a place for a writer and publicist who was shunned by country music. Saviano moved to Nashville and quickly found herself crossways with industry heavyweights. A fateful firing over politics led to a […]

Filed Under: Profiles Tagged With: Americana Music Awards, country music, Tamara Saviano

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