TheVoiceOfJoyce The NashVillager show us what can be done. They’re teaching police crisis intervention, they have a special program for drug and alcohol free New Year’s Celebrations and they’re tracking Ice Age fossils. Since I enjoy reading their progress, I’m sharing their newsletter with you.

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If you have a bunch of This Is Nashville interviews in your ever-growing podcast queue, I have good news for you:

Yesterday’s episode compiled the best excerpts of the year, all in one listen. It includes a restaurateur with a hot take on tourism, a forward-thinking physician who rediscovered her mom’s herbal remedies, the sentimental saint of the Opry, and several others.

And as host Blake Farmer and managing editor Tasha A.F. Lemley discuss at the end of the show, all these varied people have something in common: They all were profoundly shaped by our unique city.

Listen to the latest episode — and then I give you permission to clear out your podcast queue and start fresh in 2026.

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WHAT TO KNOW

Don Hurst runs the goldfish tent at the Nashville Fair. Credit: Cynthia Abrams / WPLN News2025 was a year of a lot of heavy news stories — internationally, nationally and right here in Middle Tennessee.

But part of the mission of Nashville Public Radio, and indeed public radio more generally, is to reflect the full range of our human experience. And the range includes levity and joy.

Adventurous bus rides, mysterious foods and the niche world of kustom kulture cars — these were the subjects of some of our most joyful human interest reporting by WPLN in 2025.

News director Tony Gonzalez gathered up his five favorite storiesabout local culture, including This Is Nashville‘s stand-up comedy special from February and Jewly Hight’s profile of Big Freedia. They’re a good reminder that our society and neighbors contain multitudes.

The NashVillager is supported by

and Nashville Public Radio members

On today’s episode of the NashVillagerpodcast with host Nina Cardona 🎙️ 

Why aren’t there more dinosaur bones in Tennessee? There are some Cretaceous Period remains in the Volunteer State, but the Ice Age left much richer deposits here. Plus the local news for Dec. 30, 2025, and red tape that could save lives.

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MORE TO KNOW

  • People abstaining from drugs and alcohol will have a spot of their own at Nashville’s New Year’s Eve celebration. The Cumberland Heights Foundation is again providing an area at the public event dedicated to a substance-free celebration. Along with the rest of the Music City Midnight party, the space will be located at Nashville’s Bicentennial Mall. Entertainment will include performances by Lainey Wilson, Jason Aldean and Bailey Zimmerman.
     
  • It’s been about five years since Nashville began a 911 co-response program for mental health crises, and the programs are still seeking to expand their coverage. According to the Nashville Scene, REACH (Responders Engaged and Committed to Health) began offering 24/7 services to the entire county earlier this month. Partners in Care operates five days a week, and is looking to expand to the weekends this summer. Just 600 out of MNPD’s 1,700 officers are trained on crisis intervention work, and roughly 300 of those are patrol officers.
     
  • Starting Jan. 1, new training requirements go into effect under Tennessee law.Commissioners in Tennessee’s executive branch and cabinet-level staff members in the governor’s office will have to take annual ethics trainings. Tennessee drivers will need to understand cycling hand signals — like when they’re turning, slowing down and stopping — for a new version of the of the driver’s license exam. Bicyclists often use the signals to indicate when. And tattoo artists will be required to get training on recognizing signs of human trafficking. 

FROM THIS IS NASHVILLE

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. 

Your input is central to our show. Call (615) 751-2500 to leave us your thoughts or feedback. Submit your idea through our Pitch Form or email us. Stream This is Nashville with host Blake Farmeron YouTube.

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