Nearly all counties in Western Carolina are now home to self-serve kiosks where people can learn more about mental illness – and determine whether they might be suffering from one. The kiosks are really just a computer screen, with no keyboard and a phone is attached to the screen. With just a few touches on the screen, users can learn the symptoms of several common mental health conditions says Jessie Smathers of Vaya Health , which helped place the kiosks around the region. “This has

Hemp, Hops and Truffles – sounds like an ingredient list for a new craft beer All three are being studied as potential alternative cash crops here in Western North Carolina. BPR's Helen Chickering takes us on a field trip to the Mountain Research Station in Waynesville.

Experts predict the upcoming fall leaf season in Western North Carolina will be considerably better from last year’s, and you can thank all the rain the region received in 2017 for that. BPR’s Davin Eldridge has more…

After cutting its way through the South, Hurricane Irma left a large swath of devastation in its wake in Western North Carolina. On Wednesday Governor Roy Cooper toured a part of the region hit particularly hard by the storm. BPR's Davin Eldridge was there.

Recent hurricanes Irma and Harvey were a stark reminder of the catastrophic impacts of climate change. But the words “climate change” have become so politically polarizing that some even avoid saying them. In Asheville, that’s not the case.

We’ve become accustomed to hearing the one to five rating for hurricanes, but do you know what those categories mean? BPR’s Helen Chickering set out to find the answer and talked to a local hurricane researcher who thinks the rating scale is misleading.

Progressive groups in Western North Carolina are pushing back against the Trump administration’s decision to end the DACA program in six months. BPR’s Davin Eldridge has more… Well over a hundred demonstrators, mostly students, turned out to protest the administration’s decision at Western Carolina University. They made their objections heard next to the college’s so-called Fountain of Wisdom, in the center of campus. The crowds chanted "si se puede". The event was organized by the local chapter

Bookings through Airbnb skyrocketed in the past year in Buncombe County. A study commissioned by the Buncombe County Tourism Development Authority showed demand for rentals through the site increased 105% in the past year. Hotel room bookings grew only 3% during the same time. The growth in Airbnb demand comes despite its murky legal status in Asheville. Airbnb rentals are legal in "commercial" parts of the city, but illegal in "residential" parts. Whether to expand or contract Airbnb

It used to be going out to the movies was a distinctly American pastime. But movie theater attendance is down to a 19-year low, according to the Motion Picture Association of America. In the mountains of Western North Carolina however, that hasn’t been the case. BPR’s Davin Eldridge explores why…

September will be Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery month in North Carolina. Governor Roy Cooper signed the proclamation designating alcohol and drug addiction recovery month at Vaya Health in Asheville. The organization helps connect people with health insurance, including for addiction and recovery, something the governor says is crucial in a state where the opioid crisis is growing. “A lot of people know vaguely of the opioid crisis but they don’t understand the depth of it. That almost