Listen When it comes to understanding another culture or even another time in history, Jennifer Justus believes in the power of food.
Movers & Thinkers: How A Collector Of Nashville’s Old Relics Tries To Keep History Alive
Listen There aren’t many people who own as much of Nashville’s history as David Ewing.
Movers & Thinkers: When Lies About The Past Are As Interesting As The Truth
Listen History is often passed down through stories: People document their memories, and those become our guide to the past. But Bradley Hanson, director of folk life at the Tennessee Arts Commission, has discovered that sometimes this kind of documentation is flawed — because people don’t always tell the truth. He talked to WPLN’s Emily […]
Renovation Of Long-Vacant Nashville Library Will Preserve Noteworthy Architecture
Listen Some credit Nashville’s Ben West library, built in 1966, for changing the experience of going to a library for an entire generation. And the man who designed it, local architect Bruce Crabtree, considered it his favorite work.
MTSU President Calls For Forrest Hall Name Change, But Calls Out ‘Unruly’ Debate
Listen The controversial issue of renaming MTSU’s Forrest Hall is now heading to the university’s governing body, the Tennessee Board of Regents. This week, MTSU President Sidney McPhee accepted the recommendation of a university task force to change the name of the school’s Army ROTC building. It currently bears the name of Nathan Bedford Forrest, […]
Andrew Jackson’s Hermitage Takes $20 Snub In Stride
The keepers of President Andrew Jackson’s home were — understandably — disappointed to hear that he will be replaced on the front of the $20 bill. Executives at the Hermitage had been lobbying the U.S. Treasury Department.
50 Years Before Rosa Parks, A Bold Nashville Streetcar Protest Defied Segregation
Listen Say the words “Jim Crow” and “protest” and you probably think of the 1950s and 60s, when lawsuits, boycotts and sit-ins began to chip away at discriminatory rules. But across the nation, the fight against segregation laws actually began as soon as they went into effect. 110 years ago this month, Nashville’s black community […]
In Tennessee, It’s Not The Rebel Flag. It’s This Confederate General.
If there is a Confederate symbol even more controversial in Tennessee than the battle flag, it’s Nathan Bedford Forrest. Many idealize the Confederate general as a brilliant tactician and clever underdog who tricked Union troops — more than once — into defeat.
Hermitage Man Who Survived Pearl Harbor Bombs On USS Tennessee Laid To Rest
Listen Taps will sound at the Middle Tennessee Veterans Cemetery in Nashville later this morning. It’s a song that World War II veteran George Westover knew very well. Nearly 75 years ago, Westover was a private first class from Wichita, Kansas who played the bugle aboard the USS Tennessee when it was based at Pearl […]
The 14 New Historical Landmarks Nashville’s Mayor Is Asking For
Listen It’s become a tradition for outgoing mayors to preserve some of Nashville’s historic landmarks: Bill Purcell did it, Phil Bredesen did it, and now, Mayor Karl Dean. On Wednesday afternoon, Dean’s plan for 14 new landmarks goes to a public hearing.
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