WPLN News Investigates

"Making Noise" is a four-part series by WPLN and WNXP about how the music promotion company Lovenoise has changed the music landscape of Nashville. The best way to listen is to subscribe to the WNXP Podcasts feed.

A juvenile court in Rutherford County was illegally jailing and detaining kids for 16 years before a former juvenile delinquent-turned-lawyer came up with a plan to take it on. This four-part narrative podcast builds on a joint investigation by WPLN Nashville Public Radio and ProPublica and is produced by The New York Times and Serial Productions. “The Kids of Rutherford County” reveals how this system came to be, with particular attention to the adults responsible for it and the two juvenile delinquents-turned-lawyers who try to do something about it. The podcast's host is Meribah Knight, a Peabody Award-winning reporter for Nashville Public Radio who co-reported the original investigation. Listeners can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and wherever podcasts are available. The first two episodes will premiere on Thursday, Oct. 26; parts three and four will air the following two Thursdays.

(t’s a matter of weeks before the last residents of the Riverchase Apartments have to move out before it is demolished and rebuilt. But trying to find a home has come with extreme difficulties, especially for families.

Moving can be hugely disruptive. But housing organizers are trying to minimize the impact for residents of the soon-to-be-demolished Riverchase Apartments in Nashville. In the second part of our series, learn how the developer and organizers are working together — most of the time — to help them make the move.

One by one, the brightly painted Riverchase Apartments in Nashville are getting boarded up for redevelopment. But the deterioration has been apparent to residents and even government inspectors for years. So why hasn’t the city been able to protect the people who live there? WPLN’s Ambriehl Crutchfield has been investigating.

Each day, thousands drive past the brightly painted Riverchase Apartments just across from downtown Nashville. They’ve provided a rare combination of affordable units and skyline views. But one by one, they’ve been getting boarded up, and major changes are coming.  WPLN’s Ambriehl Crutchfield reviewed more than 1,600 inspections to understand how the apartments continued to decline despite government inspections, what low-wage residents are doing to find new homes in the city’s hot housing market, and why organizers are at odds about the way forward. 

For years, Nashville’s police department has struggled to recruit women and people of color. That's eroded trust with many communities who want officers that look like them. Now, a new administration is making changes at its training academy. And they hope the updates will attract — and better prepare — a more diverse set of officers. Catch up on the full series — and how it was reported — at WPLN.org/Academy.

Research suggests the atmosphere at a police academy can affect how officers do their jobs, as well as who makes it from the classroom to the beat. Go deeper into this series at WPLN.org/Academy.

About 1,000 police recruits have dropped out of Nashville’s police academy in recent years. Women and people of color dropped out at the highest rates. So, why are so many of those recruits failing their training courses? Or flat-out giving up before they even make it to patrol? WPLN News — with help from the investigative reporting center APM Reports — examines Nashville’s challenge to diversify its police force in this three-part series. Find online extras at WPLN.org/Academy.

In WPLN News' latest investigation, we hold up a mirror to see how officers treat their own.