Every week This is Nashville presents The Roundabout where we bring together a panel of guests spanning the political spectrum to unpack the week’s biggest news and hear directly from listeners across Middle Tennessee. For this special “Best of…” episode we revisit some of the most timely conversations, surprising moments of agreement, and thoughtful opinions.

Featuring

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 of our weekly profile interviews, all in one episode. 

Further listening:

Nashville has a long history of celebrating the holidays with musical performances.

Nashville has a long history of celebrating the holidays with musical performances. Belmont’s Christmas Eve concert played on their tower’s 42-bell carillon dates back to 1929. Amy and Vince have been gracing the Ryman Stage since 2008. Today we feature holiday music traditions that exist beyond the mainstream, in pockets throughout the city. A Longest Night Solstice Eve gathering and Moon Requiem at St. Augustine's. A sampler of holiday songs released by indie label yk Records. And a holiday shopping anthem by local Post-punk/power-pop legends, Tower Defense.

Guests

If you see a man with three, maybe four cameras hanging around his neck, odds are you've crossed paths with Ray Di Pietro.

He's literally taken millions of photos of Nashville, documenting anything from historic moments to flowers on the sidewalk. He follows three mantras in his profession: do the work, show up, and be kind. Now, he shows up in our studio to kindly share what makes him so passionate about his work in Nashville and how a visual rendition of the city’s history adds to the local fabric. 

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan.

Guest:

Mary Elizabeth Vinett died on November 21, 2025, and her family decided her 90 years on the planet deserved more than the average obituary. So they tried to capture her essence starting with the first paragraph. 

"Beth was loved by all, perhaps because she was so outrageously funny," they wrote. "A storyteller extraordinaire who changed the essence of a room just by entering it. She smoked with a style and elegance that made you wonder why you ever quit."

May we all be remembered so colorfully.

The end of the year puts us in a reflective mood, so collectively we're remembering those we've lost in Middle Tennessee during 2025. With the help of listeners submitting one-minute memorials or calling in live, we’re celebrating long lives and lives cut short and remembering their contributions to our community, large and small.   

Plus, a visit to the East Nashville wind telephone, where calls connect to lost loved ones.

Guests:

Further reading:

A simple aluminum pole. The annual airing of grievances. The legendary feats of strength. It can only mean one thing: It’s Festivus - the holiday for the rest of us. 

And to kick the Festivus season off right this year,  Mayor Freddie O’Connell will be here to take your questions and comments…and maybe demonstrate a few feats of strength. Now, the very first Festivus may not have included Ask the Mayor…or the Muppets…or 8 french horns…but ours does. It’s Festivus for the Rest of Us!

Call 615-760-2000 to ask Freddie — or pop your question into chat — we’re streaming live today at youtube.com/@wpln.

Special thanks to Mark Lemley and Daniel Jones.

Guests

• Elaine Braun - Conductor

• Emma Supica (Gonzo)

It’s Curious Nashville: where WPLN News answers your questions about Middle Tennessee and takes you on a monthly adventure to find answers. 

Today we’re shining a light on an obscure album recorded in Nashville more than 50 years ago that features a Christmas choir performing inside the lobby of a downtown bank. Astute local listener Matthew Bond came across the record two decades ago and wondered: Why did a bank form a choir? And what were their performances like? In today's story, we revisit the city's banking history and learn just how popular an all-volunteer choir became.

We're also talking with two gurus of Christmas music collecting, and taking your calls and questions — live!

Guest experts on Christmas music:

Further listening:

• Sound Opinions: Andy Cirzan’s 2023 Holiday Spectacular

Marie Williams 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 agency she’s now been a part of for 25 years. She talks about her life, her work and her philosophy that has guided her career trying to fight off the stigma of the heartless bureaucrat.

What happens when government funding is withheld from a public university that’s served generations of Black Tennesseans? And what could be possible if that debt were finally paid?

Today's This is Nashville call-in episode is a companion to the one-hour radio special from WPLN News and the Tennessee Lookout. Listen now or though the WPLN podcast feed.

From Nashville Public Radio and the Tennessee Lookout, The Debt traces Tennessee State University’s decades-long fight for fair funding — through an overlooked Civil Rights lawsuit, a historic merger with a predominantly white university, a dramatic student hunger strike, and a lawmaker who discovered his father’s old research on underfunding.

This episode was produced by Camellia Burris.

Guests:

In this one-hour special from WPLN and the Tennessee Lookout: What happens when government funding is withheld from a public university that's served generations of Black Tennesseans? And what could be possible if that debt were finally paid?