Inside Appalachia

This week, on Inside Appalachia, we visit a cemetery in Bluefield, Virginia, and learn how racial segregation followed some people to the grave. Also, we continue our series on greyhound racing. Most states have closed down their race tracks. So, what’s the future of the sport in West Virginia?

And we’ll revisit a conversation with America’s last World War II Medal of Honor recipient — Hershel “Woody” Williams, who died recently at the age of 98.

A Conversation With An American Hero

Last year, for Veterans Day, Us & Them host Trey Kay talked with Williams about his time in the military. Memorial services were held for Williams over the July 4th weekend, with public visitation held at Capitol Rotunda in Charleston.

You can hear the entire Us & Them podcast episode. It’s called “Last Man Honored.” Find it at wv public dog org, or through your favorite podcast app. 

Reactions In Appalachia About Roe v. Wade

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade sent shockwaves across the country — including here in Appalachia. WEKU reporter Stan Ingold brought us reactions from Kentucky. 

Trouble With Plastic

Shell is expected to begin operations this summer at its ethane cracker plant on the Ohio River. The plant will use natural gas to make tiny plastic pellets — which can wind up in waterways. For StateImpact Pennsylvania, the Allegheny Front’s Julie Grant took a boat ride with people surveying the river for plastic. 

Water Woes Everywhere

According to the U.S. Census, more than a million and a half people in the U.S. live without running water or flush toilets. But a recent study found the number was a lot higher. Jessica Lilly recently spoke with George McGraw, CEO of Dig Deep — a water advocacy organization that took a closer look at the numbers. 

Covering More Ground About Greyhound Racing

By the end of the year, West Virginia will be the only state that still has a greyhound racetrack. One of the biggest questions driving the national push to end greyhound racing — is can the sport be run in a humane way? Or is it inhumane by its very definition? Reporter Chris Shulz took us to a veterinarian’s office and a breeder’s farm.

Healing Through The Hills

Herbal remedies have been experiencing a nationwide renaissance for several years now. But here in Appalachia, those remedies have been a path to wellness and independence for centuries. From Tennessee, Folkways reporter Heather Duncan has more.

That story originally aired last summer, as part of our Folkways Reporting Project. The project documents arts and culture across the region. You can hear all of our Folkways stories at wvpublic dot org. 

Righting A Wrong

America has a history of segregating Black and white people — in restaurants, schools, buses … even in death. For decades, graves of the Black residents who helped build the community were neglected in the town’s segregated cemetery. And it might have stayed that way if it hadn’t been for the efforts of one persistent woman, whose family was buried there. Folkways reporter Connie Bailey Kitts brought us this story.

This week on Inside Appalachia, we listen to stories from 2021 that tackle everything from the challenges that came with virtual schooling to using poetry to change public perception. 

Matriarchal Moonshiners

Legend has it Mahalia Mullins once beat 30 men in a wrestling match and sold them all whiskey afterwards. Mullins was born in 1824 into a poor family and died a folk hero. The cabin where she lived has even become a tourist destination in East Tennessee. But who’s the woman behind the myth? We’ll travel to the Mahalia Mullins cabin to learn her story.

Appalachia’s Bad Men 

The summer of 2021 marked the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Blair Mountain — the largest armed uprising in America since the Civil War, and a major event in West Virginia history. A few months before Blair Mountain, the spark was lit with the Matewan Massacre.

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

The opioid epidemic is forcing many grandparents, even great-grandparents, to become parents again to a new generation. In a recent episode of the “Us and Them” podcast, host Trey Kay spoke with West Virginia grandparents about the challenges of raising children during COVID-19.

If you’re a grandparent or a great-grandparent raising children, we’d like to hear from you. Write us a letter — we’re at Inside Appalachia, 600 Capitol Street, Charleston, WV. 25301. Or send an email to [email protected].

Novel Concludes Robert Gipe’s Trilogy

We also hear about another multigenerational family, who are the main characters in Robert Gipe’s illustrated novels, set in Eastern Kentucky. The books combine funny, heartbreaking writing and cartoony drawings. The first book in the series, “Trampoline,” came out seven years ago. That novel introduced Dawn Jewell — a teenager growing up with a mother addicted to pain pills. Robert Gipe spoke with Inside Appalachia just after Trampoline was published in 2015.

From Recycling To Musical Instruments

Many people have been relying on online shopping these days, but who knew all that leftover cardboard had a use? This week on the show, we learn about dulcimers that are made out of cardboard, and even banjos made out of coffee cans. As part of our Inside Appalachia Folkways series, reporter Rachel Moore spoke to two instrument-makers in Western North Carolina who are carrying on the DIY instrument legacy.

Dispelling Stereotypes

We all know the stereotypes people use to paint Appalachia as a cultural backwater. But as WEKU’s Cheri Lawson reports, a dedicated group of fierce women are using the arts to fight back.

We had help producing Inside Appalachia this week from the Us and them podcast, which is supported by The West Virginia Humanities Council and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

This week on Inside Appalachia, we hear from a radiologist in eastern Kentucky who says he’s seeing a rise in cases of black lung among young coal miners. 

We’ll also the first part of a new series from reporters Randy Yohe and Chris Shulz about the dog racing industry in West Virginia.

Then, we’ll travel to Monaca, Pennsylvania where Shell plans to begin operations at its massive ethane cracker plant. 

Finally, our host Mason Adams speaks with Barbara Ellen Smith -- the author of one of the definitive books on black lung, “Digging Our Own Graves: Coal Miners and the Struggle Over Black Lung Disease.”  

That and more as we journey through Appalachia.

This week on Inside Appalachia, we’ll hear about a farm in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania that can grow a lot of agriculture on one acre of a former industrial site. 

And, we’ll hear about a team of entomologists who documented dozens of new species of millipede across Appalachia. One of them used the opportunity to pay tribute to a surprising influence. 

That and more as we journey through Appalachia.

On this week’s episode, we’re journeying far and wide through Appalachia and beyond.

Author Mesha Maren takes us from the hills of West Virginia to the Texas/Mexico border -- the land of the Luchador. We’ll also hear about what West Virginians are doing to help Ukrainian refugees from the war with Russia. And, we’ll learn about what doctors are saying about medical cannabis in the Mountain State, where it is available to over 8,000 patients.

We’ll round out our tour of Appalachia with a chat between our host Mason Adams and East Tennessee native Amythyst Kiah, whose 2021 record “Wary and Strange” was released last year.

On this week’s encore episode of Inside Appalachia, we’re dedicating the show to children's authors. Hear from Cynthia Rylant, author of “When I Was Young In The Mountains,” “Messy Larry” author David J. Perri and storytelling champion Bil Lepp reading from his children's book “The Princess And The Pickup Truck.”

We’ll also hear Lyn Ford -- a professional storyteller and children's educator -- telling a story she wrote, called "The Old Woman and Death."

We learn that while these stories are written for children, they carry messages for all of us, even grown-ups.

Today, we’re dedicating our entire show to the art of telling stories- out loud, in front of audiences. We’ll hear five-time champion of the West Virginia Liars’ Contest, Bil Lepp, learn how music duo Anna and Elizabeth met and began performing their harmonies, using something known as a crankie. And we’ll travel to the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough Tennessee to hear a man reminisce about his dear Aunt Eloise.

This week, we’ll meet a man who has struggled with substance use disorder. Now, he’s a recovery coach.

We’ll also meet a woman who started a farm and culinary training program to help people in recovery.

And childhood friends who first started singing together 70 years ago show why it’s never too late to begin again …

You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

This week on Inside Appalachia, we’re talking about traditional ballads -- how they tell stories and connect us to the past.

These old tunes can mean so much. They can tap into difficult emotions and give feelings space to be heard. Some songs may even be too uncomfortable to sing.

In this special episode with guest co-host, ballad singer Saro Lynch-Thomason, we explore songs about lawbreaking folk heroes, runaway trains and murder ballads.

This week, we begin our journey throughout Appalachia in Floyd County, Virginia, home of Earl White. White is working to amplify the often-overlooked participation of Black musicians in old-time music. Then, we’ll travel back to the early 20th century, when nurse Mary Breckenridge launched a midwifery program in Eastern Kentucky. That program would become known across the world for its positive impacts on infant survival rates. We hear from the director of the film, Angels on Horseback to learn more. Today , births by midwives are less common but we  learn about that from Lauren Santucci, a film director whose documentary “Birth Place” follows a mother in Parkersburg, West Virginia. We’ll also meet two student reporters at the Fayette Institute of Technology, who bring us stories about Anstead, West Virginia and about safety concerns along Route 60. And finally, we meet journalist Kim Kelley, who recently authored “Fight Like Hell: The Untold History of American Labor,” to learn about the pro-Union history of Appalachian people.