Investigates

(Illustration: John Partipilo)

Series: A darker shade of red

BY: and - August 7, 2023

In 2022, Tennessee became fertile ground for far-right activity and the launch of groups on the right wing of the political spectrum, an outgrowth of former President Donald Trump’s rhetoric and anti-COVID-19 measures that sparked conspiracy theories. In the five-part series, “A darker shade of red,” writer Devon Heinen unpacks how such groups have proliferated […]

U.S. President Joe Biden delivers a primetime speech at Independence National Historical Park Sept. 1, 2022 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. President Biden spoke on “the continued battle for the Soul of the Nation.” (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

In Tennessee, far-right groups flex newfound muscle

BY: - August 4, 2023

Night had fallen at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. It was Sept. 1, 2022. President Joe Biden was about to deliver a televised national primetime address there regarding the condition of the U.S.’s democracy. Independence Hall’s bricks were awash in red light, giving the president a red-and-shadow backdrop. A U.S. flag hung over his left shoulder, […]

A Thursday rally outside the Tennessee Capitol was staged to urge Lt. Gov. Randy McNally to call a special legislative session. (Staff photo)

“Medical freedom” at the forefront of 2022 Tennessee elections

BY: - August 3, 2023

Tennessee Stands — its founder and executive director is Gary Humble — didn’t slow down. It pumped out social-media posts and email newsletter updates. The group tried to shape state legislation; some of its targeted priorities in 2022 included “medical freedom” and so-called “election integrity.” It used a far-right view of Christianity as a driving […]

Dr. Michelle Fiscus was fired from her role as Tennessee's chief immunization official amid fallout over COVID-19 vaccines. (Photo: John Partipilo)

Muzzled: COVID-19 and controversy in Tennessee

BY: - August 2, 2023

Around 8, maybe 8:30 a.m. on July 6, 2021, Dr. Michelle Fiscus got to her office at the Tennessee Department of Health. She was running late. Normally, Fiscus would get there around 7 a.m., but that morning, she had a doctor’s appointment. It was her first day back in the office after visiting family out […]

Evolution of the Christian right in Tennessee

BY: - August 1, 2023

Part of the far right in the U.S. is the Christian far right. According to Philip Gorski, chair of Yale University’s sociology department — political sociology and social movements as well as religion are areas of interest for him — the Christian far right in the U.S. has evolved over hundreds of years. Its basic […]

(Illustration: John Partipilo)

Part one: A darker shade of red

BY: - July 31, 2023

It was dark by the time Michael Miller left the Williamson County Administrative Building on West Main Street in Franklin on Aug. 10, 2021. “Will not comply!” shouted a throng of angry far-right protesters in the parking lot as Miller stepped into the warm, Middle Tennessee night. “Will not comply!” Miller, masked and wearing a […]

A rural county’s choice: use opioid funds to pay off debt, or pay them forward to curb crisis

BY: - May 25, 2023

Over the past two years, rural Greene County in northeastern Tennessee has collected more than $2.7 million from regional and national settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors. But instead of helping people harmed by addiction, county officials are finding other ways to spend it. They have put $2.4 million toward paying off the county’s debt […]

After more than three decades, Kathy Walsh is out as leader of the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence. Her exit follows a federal investigation. (Photo: Tennessee Legislature)

After top departure, an interim director leads Tennessee’s domestic violence nonprofit

BY: - January 17, 2023

The Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence has a new, interim head, following the abrupt departure last month of its longtime leader. Jennifer Escue joined the nonprofit two years ago, as director of programs. Before that, she spent nearly two decades with Catholic Charities of Tennessee, overseeing programs for refugees resettling to the state. […]

After more than three decades, Kathy Walsh is out as leader of the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence. Her exit follows a federal investigation. (Photo: Tennessee Legislature)

Longtime Tennessee domestic violence leader is out following critical federal investigation

BY: and - December 14, 2022

This story was jointly reported by WPLN News and the Tennessee Lookout. The longtime leader of the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence has left the organization. The change comes less than a week after WPLN News and the Tennessee Lookout reported on federal findings of whistleblower retaliation at the nonprofit. Kathy Walsh […]

(Credit: Rachel Iacovone, Nashville Public Radio)

Investigation finds Tennessee domestic violence nonprofit retaliated against employee

BY: and - December 7, 2022

This story was jointly reported by WPLN News and the Tennessee Lookout. A federal watchdog has found that the Tennessee Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence unlawfully retaliated against and then forced out an employee who blew the whistle about potential misuse of federal funding.  The investigation by the Department of Health and Human […]

A hopper car on a train filled with coal to be delivered to a TVA coal-fired plant.(Photo: John Partipilo)

TVA sued in worker electrocution death at Bull Run plant; report warned of safety concerns

BY: - October 10, 2022

The Tennessee Valley Authority is being blamed in the electrocution death of a contract laborer at its Bull Run Fossil Plant in Anderson County. A lawsuit on behalf of the estate of Seth Black, a 29-year-old Spring City, Tenn., man who died at the plant in September 2021, has been filed in U.S. District Court […]

Southeastern Provision slaughterhouse in Grainger County. (Photo: Wikipedia Commons)

Judge rules to unseal videos in 2018 Tennessee slaughterhouse raid

BY: - August 17, 2022

A federal magistrate judge says the public has a right to see a video that purportedly shows an agent of the U.S. government engaged in excessive force in a raid at a Grainger County slaughterhouse. U.S. Magistrate Judge Christopher Steger has shot down a bid by attorneys for a slew of federal agents to keep […]