When Vanderbilt polled Nashvillians in March about top priorities for city investment, there was near unanimity around one issue. Nearly 90% wanted investment in more affordable housing. But when the questioning hit closer to home, the support waned. According to this same poll, 56% of residents support allowing multifamily housing "everywhere in my city to revitalize neighborhoods and local economies."

If Nashville is going to have more affordable housing, residents also have to live closer together. It's not just apartment buildings and not just in some parts of town. It’s townhomes. It’s a garage unit in the backyard. It’s density. And when that density is proposed next door, you get a lot of folks who may agree in principle but find themselves saying “not in my back yard.” What does it take to get more YIMBYs (yes in my back yard)?

When Stuart McWhorter gets introduced on stage, at some point he feels the need to cut off the emcee. 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. This week, he takes on yet another a new role in Gov. Bill Lee’s administration — deputy governor. But he’s been Lee’s right hand man since he decided to run for office. Before government service, he was a second generation entrepreneur who credits working with his late father, Clayton McWhorter, for much of the success he has experienced.

The Roundabout is your news of the week, analyzed by our panelists from points of view that span left, right and center.

Congressional District 7 candidate Rep. Jody Barrett, Owen School professor and Tennessee Lookout contributor Bruce Barry, and @WPLN's Marianna Bacallao join today to help us think through the biggest news – including the special election in the 7th congressional district. We’ll digest the primary results with the help of Barrett, who was the focus of much of the money spent in the race. We'll also look at how the state ended up banning more books than almost any other state — as well as Vanderbilt’s latest moment of decision. Plus, we're hearing from you. Call 615-760-2000 to join the conversation!

You can also check us out visually by joining our YouTube stream.

Guests

Further reading

Not long ago, everybody seemed to want to get in on Pride month festivities. Then the political winds shifted.

Companies that were proudly flying the rainbow flag decided to fold up their colors this year, or at least drop their financial support — including Vanderbilt Medical Center, Nissan, Cracker Barrel, Dollar General and Jack Daniel’s. So Nashville Pride has been scrambling to fill the gap with a symbolic deadline of Saturday 10/11, which is National Coming Out Day. In this episode, we get an update from Pride organizers and explore the history of gay pride in our town.

Stream the show live on YouTube.

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan.

Guests

Nothing remains of Roger Williams University except a couple of historical plaques tucked away on Vanderbilt’s Peabody Campus. Founded in the wake of the Civil War alongside Fisk and Meharry, this historically Black institution once thrived before being destroyed in two suspicious fires in 1905. Today we uncover the forgotten history of Roger Williams, visit the nearby The Curb Center for Art, Enterprise & Public Policy, and meet artists and scholars working to both memorialize the university as well as honor their ancestral heritage through monuments and art.

Guests

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 phone call from actor and singer/songwriter Kris Kristofferson, and the rest is a history that’s in her new memoir, "Poets and Dreamers." 

Produced by Blake Farmer

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The Roundabout is your news of the week, analyzed by our panelists from points of view that span left, right and center. Joining us today are Mark Rogers, Republican Party advisor; Dahron Johnson, chaplain and co-chair of the Nashville committee of Tennessee Equality Project; And Meribah Knight, reporter and producer of special projects for WPLN.

What stories are making the rounds in your circle? Call 615-760-2000 to join on air or pop a question into the chat during the broadcast on the YouTube video stream.

This episode was produced by Mary Mancini.

Guests:

There’s a poster in the This Is Nashville studio that says “Our City, Our Stories.” And today it could say “Nuestra ciudad, nuestra historias.”

Eleven percent of Nashvillians identify as Hispanic or having Hispanic heritage and today we're spending the hour with some of our Spanish-speaking neighbors: a coffee shop owner who can be found some days passing out free sweet bread to drivers stuck in traffic, a community health worker who brings care to people who need it most and a business leader who helps Hispanic entrepreneurs plug into the city’s power circles. Esto es Nashville.

You can also join us live on YouTube to get the visual show experience and share your thoughts.

This episode was produced by Josh Deepan. 

Guests

In My Place is a series that educates listeners on what communities like Nashville can do to prevent and end homelessness — while caring for our neighbors who are still unhoused.

In our last episode, we celebrated getting those keys!

In this episode, we’re talking about the difficulties of having a home.

It’s easy for those of us who have never been homeless to celebrate someone getting housed, breathe a sigh of relief, and then stare in disbelief when things don’t go smoothly. Today, we sit down with those who have gone through the housing process to talk about barriers that remain — and unexpected issues that may arise after people move into permanent housing.

This series was created thanks in part to support from Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and was produced by Judith Tackett.

Guests:

Further listening:

Fred Bailey didn’t just defy the odds. He didn’t see his circumstances as a deck stacked against him. In fact, he couldn’t see at all, which was one of the challenges you’d expect to hold someone back. "You’re Black, blind, and poor," his father told him, adding that hard work was going to be the only way out. 

And he lived it out. 

In this profile interview, Bailey talks about his memoir, his career and his nonprofits that help at-risk youth in Gallatin.

More on Fred Bailey: