Inside Appalachia

Rock climbing gear eventually wears out, but it can still live on as art. 

Also, the response to Hurricane Helene shows us some of the best in people. Neighbors are helping neighbors. 

And surfing in West Virginia. Yeah, that’s a real a thing.

Submitted for your approval, we have a selection of spooky tales for Halloween and beyond.

We have scary stories read by acclaimed sci-fi and horror authors, tales of the supernatural, and we might know someone who says they’ve seen a ghost. 

Textbooks have long left out an important piece of labor history that happened here in the mountains. Now, a new young adult book fills in some of what might have been missed about the Mine Wars.

Also, when flooding devastates a community, people can find solace through faith and through song.

And we remember songwriter Billy Edd Wheeler, who passed away last month. Dozens of musicians have covered his songs including Kenny Rogers, Johnny Cash and June Carter and Elvis Presley.

This week, Affrilachian poet Frank X. Walker has a new collection of poetry that looks at Black life in Kentucky before, during, and after the Civil War…

We also check in with the people affected by flooding in Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee.

A new collection of essays and poesm remembers the 2022 flood in Eastern Kentucky witnessed by writers trapped at the Appalachian Writers Workshop.

And bird watching only sounds relaxing. Sometimes, it can get a little wild.

Hurricane Helene dumped nearly 30 inches of rain in parts of Western North Carolina and East Tennessee. Communities are reeling from the devastation. We check-in with Lilly Knoepp at Blue Ridge Public Radio in western North Carolina.

Also, a new book illustrates the tiny worlds of mountain critters, like a lizard that changes color.

And White potters co-opted the African art of face jugs in the 1800s. A modern-day Black potter says his art can’t be replicated. 

Inside Appalachia remembers Travis Stimeling. The author, musician and educator left a deep mark on Appalachian culture, and the people who practice and document it.  

And, grab your dancing shoes and learn about a movement to make square dance calling more inclusive.

Plus, it’s not just you. There are more deer than ever these days. A writer explores the long, complicated entwinement of people and our wild kin.  

This week… we talk with a poet about his new collection, titled “If Lost.” He found inspiration for it… by walking around in the woods. .

Now is a great time for mushroom hunters to head to the woods and find all kinds of fascinating fungi – even those not meant to be eaten.

And, almost everybody has a favorite cup or coffee mug, but how far would you go to replace yours? 

One of America’s greatest contributions to world culture … is hip hop. A new compilation documents what it sounds like across Appalachia. 

Also people in the region love their local water springs, but in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, they take that dedication to another level.

And, congressional Republicans are trying to freeze funding for new mine safety rules. Advocates are concerned. 

Schoolyard games come and go, but for kids in one community, marbles still rule. 

Also, this year marks the anniversary of some country music milestones, including the 40th anniversary of Floyd, Virginia’s Friday Night Jamboree. 

And we remember West Virginia’s first person in space, Jon McBride. 

In 2016, a wildfire escaped the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It killed 14 people, injured dozens more and destroyed parts of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. We talk with an investigative journalist who has new information on the incident.

Also, four decades ago rice seeds from Laos crossed the ocean to California and made their way to a family of Hmong farmers in North Carolina.

And the Appalachian trail has been exhaustively hiked, explored and written about, but it’s still got a few secrets left.