NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — It's "must-see T-V" for Tennessee political junkies, and also for everyday viewers who just want answers from state and local leaders.
“Inside Politics with Pat Nolan” airs every Friday on NewsChannel 5 Plus, where Nolan, our longtime political analyst, draws big newsmakers to discuss and debate big issues.
Now, the program is also available as a podcast, ready to reach a wider audience.
I sat down with Nolan to talk about the podcast and the past.
He has hosted the popular, weekly interview show since 2006. Prior to that, it was called “Inside This Week With Chris Clark.” Clark was responsible for first hiring Nolan as a news reporter back in 1975… a day Nolan remembers well.
“Chris Clark called me up at the station there one day and said, have you ever thought about being in television? And I didn't expect him to ask me that. And I said, well, yeah," Nolan explains.
He stayed for 10 years, then moved on to various jobs in Nashville, including a stint at another television station, a job working with Mayor Richard Fulton in the late 1980s, and finally a position in public relations.
Nolan returned to NewsChannel 5 as a part-time legal analyst in 1999. As Clark prepared to retire in 2007, management asked Nolan if he would take over the weekly program.
He tells me at first, he wasn’t sure he was qualified.
"I had done interviews, but I had never done an ongoing program like this when I was a reporter before. Didn't think my interviewing skills were all that great. But she [late NewsChannel 5 Plus Executive Producer May Dean Eberling] thought I'd do very well. And so I took over the program. We renamed it into Inside Politics."
18 years later, the program has become one of the “go-to” political talk shows in Nashville, with an impressive track record of drawing the big newsmakers.
"I'm proud to say that we've had every mayor since I took over the show, on the show multiple times. We've had every governor since then. We've had almost all the congressional members here and the senators," Pat said.
Among his most memorable interviews was in 2018. A face-to-face talk with a former Nashville mayor, who was in the midst of a personal and political crisis.
"I mean, when Megan Barry was having her difficulties, she gave one of the first in-depth interviews about her scandal," Pat explained. "That was probably, given what was going on at that time, that was probably the toughest interview I've done."
Now, Inside Politics is also a podcast, with new audio versions uploaded every Friday evening, on every major platform.
Nolan says he’s excited these important discussions will reach a wider audience.
"I think you'll find an ability to go behind the soundbite, behind the headlines,” Nolan said. “I want people to be able to see and get behind what's going on and get a little bit more in-depth about it. Because there aren't very many shows that are going to give you 22 minutes of a newsmaker in one episode."
Podcast episodes will drop weekly. There are a few already online. Just search "Inside Politics Nashville" on any major platform. You can also sign up for notifications when the latest episodes are online.
