Creepy Cargo Van 2.0
🎮 TN suit against Roblox moves forward · Pricing out the local honky tonk · MNPS senior leadership dropping like flies under Superintendent Battle's administration · Much more!
Upcoming Pamphleteer Activities Peter Thiel's series of lectures is sold out. But you can still join us on October 7 for a conversation with James Poulos on AI, Dostoevsky, human agency, and the spiritual stakes of technological power. Bard-level perks apply. (Buy Tickets)
Big Council Watch Update. Our council tracking tool is no longer just a campaign finance scorecard. Follow your councilmember, and we'll tell you what they actually do. (Take a look)
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Court clears path for Tennessee to pursue gaming giant Roblox over alleged misleading child-safety claims.
From Megan Podsiedlik
Tennessee’s consumer protection lawsuit against Roblox Corporation is moving forward after the Chancery Court of Williamson County denied the corporation's request to throw out the case. Back in December, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti sued the online gaming giant, alleging the company lured children into a dangerous environment while promising adequate safety measures.
“Roblox is the digital equivalent of a creepy cargo van lingering at the edge of a playground,” said Skrmetti after filing. “Roblox invites children into a fantastic online world with the promise of creativity and play, but that wonderland is a trap that lets the company sell sophisticated predators access to those vulnerable kids. Roblox worked to reduce oversight and child safety resources despite repeated warnings, because less overhead meant more profit. And the whole time, the company lied and said safety was its top priority."
Court Rejects Roblox Defense According to a recent press release, the Tennessee court rejected Roblox’s arguments that both the First Amendment and Section 230—a federal law that provides protections for online platforms regarding content posted by their users—shield the corporation from the suit. Instead, it ruled that the state’s case is about the safety features expressed by Roblox, not content posted by users.
Roblox Faces Mounting Child-Safety Lawsuits Tennessee’s case is unique in that it seeks to hold Roblox accountable for years of allegedly misleading safety claims. There have been hundreds of additional legal actions involving Roblox, with an overwhelming surge in child-exploitation litigation occurring in 2025 and 2026. In 2025 alone, Roblox itself submitted more than 65,000 reports of suspected child sexual exploitation to NCMEC's CyberTipline.
TN Seeks Accountability Roblox has announced several new child-safety measures, particularly around age verification, parental controls, and communication restrictions. But Skrmetti argues that those changes don’t erase the company’s past failures: “Roblox told parents it was a safe platform for their kids despite evidence that it wasn’t. The court's ruling means that Roblox will have to answer for those statements. We will keep pursuing accountability for Tennessee families.”
✹ THE DEER HUNTER
The fourteenth installment in Tales from the Westside
From Rachel Gladstone
Who needs coffee when you can get a shot of crazy first thing in the morning? Both options certainly wake you up. But while crazy delivers your wake-up call with a slap across the face, coffee with cream and sugar is far more palatable, and there’s often pastry involved. But sometimes you don’t get a choice; like this one morning when, much to my surprise, crazy was the only item on the menu.
My neighborhood was quiet as my dogs, and I stepped onto the front porch and headed out the gate, ready to vanquish the city streets in our little corner of the world. The lush green visage of an early summer morning washed over me like an unspoken prayer, as the light from a pink-tangerine sunrise shot through lacy tree branches like tentacles in the steamy air. The previous night’s reprieve from the sun had done nothing to cool things down, and despite the fact that it was only 5:45, it was already 80 degrees.
✹ THE LIMITS OF MASTERY
The Limits of Mastery with James Poulos As AI grows more powerful, the question is no longer just what machines can do, but whether human beings still know how to govern themselves. James Poulos argues that our technological age is forcing an older question back into view: What does real self-mastery require? Join us Wednesday, October 7 for a conversation on AI, Dostoevsky, human agency, and the spiritual stakes of technological power.
This event benefits The Pamphleteer, Nashville and is priced with that in mind. Bard-level subscribers receive free, privileged admittance.
HEADLINES
- 📈 Lower Broadway broker predicts higher prices, bigger buyers. A CBRE broker says Lower Broadway has not yet reached its pricing ceiling, despite already setting extremely high sales prices, and expects the next wave of buyers to be larger, more sophisticated investors capable of paying more for scarce properties. The shift reflects how Lower Broadway real estate is increasingly being treated as a long-term institutional investment rather than simply a collection of individual honky-tonks. (NBJ)
- 💼 MNPS Chief Financial Officer is stepping down. Metro Nashville Public Schools Chief Financial Officer Jorge Robles is leaving the district next month, with Caitlin Richard positioned to take over the CFO role. The transition is important because the CFO oversees the financial operations of Tennessee's largest school district, including budgeting and the management of the district's substantial public resources. This is the third member of Superintendent Dr. Adrienne Battle’s administration to depart from Metro Nashville Public Schools this year. (Banner)
- 🎓 MNPS guarantees pathway to Hume-Fogg for supersized Meigs Class. MNPS says students in an unusually large Meigs Middle School class will retain a pathway to Hume-Fogg Academic High School if they meet the established academic requirements, despite the enrollment mistake that created the oversized class. The decision provides certainty for the affected students but could mean fewer available seats for other students seeking admission to Hume-Fogg. (Scene)
✹ PAMPHLETEER TOOLS
Pamphleteer Tools Council Watch tells you who funds your councilmember and how they vote. The Property Tax Calculator tells you what that cost you.
DEVELOPMENT
- Birmingham developer buys raw land in Bellevue (Post)
- Art gallery owner buys Chestnut Hill building (Post)
- Avelo announces Nashville to Dallas flight (Post)
THINGS TO DO
View our calendar for the week here.
📅 Visit our On The Radar list to find upcoming events around Nashville.
🎧 On Spotify: Pamphleteer's Picks, a playlist of our favorite bands in town this week.
👨🏻🌾 Check out our Nashville farmer's market guide.
TONIGHT
🎹 Rachmaninoff & Mehldau @ Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 7:30p, $43, Info
✨ Covet x Anamanaguchi @ Exit/In, 8p, $38.60, Info
🎸 Nathan Kalish @ Acme Feed & Seed, 5p, Free, Info
🎸 Yelawolf & Highly Suspect @ Ascend Amphitheater, 7p, $35, Info
🎙️ Lil Wayne @ Bridgestone Arena, 8:30p, $59+, Info
🎸 Country Club Day ft. The Cowpokes @ Acme Feed & Seed, 12:30p, Free, Info
🎸 Kelley's Heroes @ Robert's Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
SATURDAY
🎸 Damien Jurado @ The Basement East, 8p, $33.49, Info
🌲 Cleveland Park Fall Festival @ Cleveland Park, 3p, Free, Info
🎹 Rachmaninoff & Mehldau @ Schermerhorn Symphony Center, 7:30p, $43, Info
🪕 Volume Five @ Station Inn, 9p, $25, Info
🎸 Julia Wolf @ Eastside Bowl, 8p, $125, Info
🎸 ZZ Top w/ Cheap Trick @ Ascend Amphitheater, 8p, $112, Info
🎸 Kelley's Heroes @ Robert's Western World, 6:30p, Free, Info
SUNDAY
🪕 Kacey Musgraves @ Bridgestone Arena, 7p, $52, Info
🎸 Beach House @ Brooklyn Bowl Nashville, 8p, $321, Info
🪕 Bluegrass Jam @ Station Inn, 7p, Free, Info
+ a night for musicians and singers from all over the world to gather and enjoy making music together
🪕 Sundays Between with Easy Green @ Tennessee Brew Works, 1p, Info
+ a fusion of two beloved musical genres – Bluegrass and the iconic sounds of the Grateful Dead!
📰 Check out the full newsletter archive here.
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Today's newsletter is brought to you by Davis Hunt, Megan Podsiedlik, and Camelia Brennan.