TheVoiceOfJoyce Public radio has it all. Kids applying to college can enter an international competition for a stem subject video competition worth $250,000 to the winner. They’re still worried about sound barriers and immigrant funding for schooling is on GOP minds. A bill is circulating to stop funding “illegal “ immigrants in schools or counting them in private schools. Do you think the emphasis is excessive. Way in !

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The NashVillager

Editorial note: Seth Thorpe is our Public Media Journalists Association newsroom intern. Help us help the next generation of journalists.Thursday, April 2, 2026Good morning! Seth Thorpe

In middle and high school, I always heard my teachers say, “this next generation isn’t ready for the world.”  

And maybe they’re right – if we believe that our current world is a fixed reality with no hope of change. 

But it doesn’t take an optimist or a historian to know that in spite of financial crisis, war and political division, there’s always light that shines through the clouds.  

At least, that’s how I felt when talking to a high school senior named Adam Rakmanov.  

He reminded me that this next generation doesn’t need to be prepared for our current world, because they’re busy building for their future – a future where the sky isn’t the limit, but the standard.  

WHAT TO KNOW

Adam Rakmanov

Adam Rakmanov is a senior from Ravenwood High School who’s waiting to hear back on two announcements that could change his life: what colleges will accept him, and if he’s the winner of the Breakthrough Junior Challenge, which would net him a $250,000 scholarship.  

The Breakthrough Junior Challenge is a global competition where students are challenged to make a two-minute video explaining complex STEM topics in a digestible manner. 

After hearing about the competition from a friend, he researched and found a complex topic he could simply explain. And found himself fixated on plastic.  

He focused on the bacteria called ideonella sakainesis, and how it can help break down plastic in a matter of six weeks.  

He then spent the next handful of weeks recording, editing, animating and praying that his video was good enough.  

Rakmanov didn’t believe he’d make it far in a sea of 3,000 submissions, but before he knew it, he was a top 16 finalist.  

Even if he doesn’t win, he’s still benefited from this competition by having his finalist placement near the top of his Ivy League applications.  

Wherever he goes, he’ll major in pre-med, with the intentions of attending medical school and making a difference in the healthcare industry. 

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

Will Tennessee become the spot where the U.S. buries its high-level radioactive waste? Spent fuel from nuclear power plants has to go somewhere. Right now, there’s a push to make that place Tennessee. Plus the local news for April 2, 2026 and new music from Chuquimamani-Condori. 

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MORE TO KNOW

  • Residents along Briley Parkway have long complained about the constant noise. Some have told WKRN that it sounds like gunshots almost every night. Council member Jeff Gregg says cars with modified mufflers are actually the main noisemaker. Part of the Parkway — between Elm Hill Pike and Lebanon Pike — has sound barriers.  But not the other areas. Gregg is calling for more barriers to be installed, especially near McGavock Pike, which he says is inundated with constant noise.  As a short-term solution, Gregg wants local law enforcement to increase patrolling the area.  The long-term solution will be securing federal grant money for the barriers.   
     
  • Children weren’t wearing seatbelts during the bus crash last week that killed two middle schoolers. Clarksville-Montgomery County school authorities told WSMV that full size buses don’t have seatbelts, even though federal rules require seatbelts on smaller buses.  The deadly crash happened Friday, when a school bus struck a dump truck and another vehicle on the way to a field trip in West Tennessee. Federal investigators say a full report could take a year or two, but a preliminary report could come out within the month. [Action News 5]
     
  • Tennessee’s House of Representatives could craft a bill that combines two of the GOP’s top priorities — and two of the most controversial education proposals this year. An amendment to the House’s school voucher expansion bill would also require proof of students’ immigration status. Here’s how it works: Tennessee gives money to public schools based on the number and needs of students that attend. And the state currently makes up for lost revenue if a school loses students, for example, to private schools. The proposed amendment, obtained by the Tennessee Lookout, would require public schools to prove that the students they lost were citizens, legal residents, or in immigration proceedings without a final deportation order. The bill was set to heard yesterday. [Tennessee Lookout]
     

FROM THIS IS NASHVILLE

You could start listing the locally owned restaurants that have closed already this year and tell a pretty dire story: Margot, Varallos, Pelican & Pig. And we’re just three months into the year. But restaurants that are part of out-of-town investment groups have closed too — all while new concepts are opening up. Is it simply natural churn in a volatile business? We know it’s more expensive than ever to open and maintain a restaurant, so we’re looking at the economics and the local food scene with the people who watch it most closely.

Stream This is Nashville with host Blake Farmer on YouTube, or listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

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