Inside Appalachia

Many oil and gas workers come into contact with a fracking byproduct called brine. The gas industry says it’s safe. But is it really? This week on Inside Appalachia, we’ll talk with reporter Justin Nobel, who says some workers are being exposed to dangerous levels of radioactivity, which could be making them, and their families, sick. And, as we head into garden season, we’ll check in with an update on a mystery about mortgage-lifter tomatoes.

West Virginia native Anna Sale is host of the popular podcast “Death, Sex & Money.” It's a podcast that talks about, as she says, “the things we think about a lot and need to talk about more.” Sale’s new book, “Let’s Talk About Hard Things,” is about having frank conversations about topics that can make us uncomfortable, including relationships and death.

“If you are ill, what are the kinds of last conversations you want to have with the people you love? And not try to act like it’s not happening,” Sale told Inside Appalachia co-host Caitlin Tan.

We’ll be talking about some hard things ourselves in this episode. We’ll hear two difficult conversations—one with a person locked in prison, and another with teenagers who lost a friend to gun violence. 

We’ll also hear stories that are about lighter topics, like the history behind Mother’s Day, and we’ll go on a nature hike with biologists who are restoring wetlands for frogs and salamanders.

In this era, kids spend so much time looking at screens. This week on Inside Appalachia, we’ll meet a storyteller and songwriter who inspires kids to get outside and explore nature. And we visit a former strip mine where Elk are being reintroduced. This episode explores stories about humans and nature, and what experiencing the outdoors means to different people.

Lots of rural communities in Appalachia also have unsafe drinking water. This week on Inside Appalachia, we’ll hear from people in Appalachia who are trying to bring clean drinking water to their friends and neighbors. President Joe Biden’s “American Jobs Plan” includes billions of dollars that would go to fixing water systems, but will it be enough to fix the underlying issues? And will it make a difference in the lives of the poorest, most vulnerable people?

This week's episode of Inside Appalachia is a mix of rich storytelling and cross-cultural collaborations. What happens when a musician from Belarus gets together with Appalachian folk musicians? And we’ll talk with Affrilachian writer Crystal Wilkinson, who has just been named Kentucky’s Poet Laureate. You'll hear these stories, and more, in this episode.

We’ll hear an interview with historian Bob Hutton, who recently wrote an article about the Baldwin-Felts gunmen, who did the dirty work of Appalachia’s capitalists, even against their neighbors.

We’ll also meet instrument-makers who are determined to find a way, even if it’s using the remnants of a refrigerator box, and women who are using poetry to undercut the wrong ideas people have about mountaineers. And author Robert Gipe has just completed his trilogy, which concludes the turbulent story of several generations of an eastern Kentucky family. At the center of his first book “Trampoline” is Dawn Jewell, a spitfire whose mother struggled with addiction. Gipe’s new book “Pop” follows Nicolette, the daughter of Dawn Jewell. Nicolette struggles to cope with her environment, and her family, while working to make something for herself. In this case — an artisanal soda pop business.

This week on Inside Appalachia, we talk with folks who are planting seeds of change — literally and figuratively. While many are finding joy through their gardens and food work, there are some people in Appalachia who are going through some of the most challenging times of their lives.

We dig into the story of a tomato — and not just any tomato. There's a mystery behind an heirloom tomato, called the Mortgage Lifter. These tomatoes are big, pink and sweet. And they were so popular in southern West Virginia — sold at $1 a pop, no less —  that they helped their creator pay off his mortgage. A farmer named Radiator Charlie bred two tomato varieties in Logan Country, West Virginia, and sold the plants at his local famer’s market to great success. Except, that’s not the end of the story. There is another “mortgage lifter” tomato. Folkways reporter Zack Harold looked into how we ended up with different tomatoes with the same name.

This is an encore episode we originally aired last November. It was the first episode Mason Adams and Caitlin Tan ever hosted together, and they began by asking each other a little about their back stories, and what they look forward to about hosting Inside Appalachia.

Foster Care in a Pandemic World

The pandemic has reshaped so much of our lives, and that was true for families fostering and adopting children, too. In Eastern Kentucky, 22-year-old Hannah Adams found herself with a front-row view of the process, after she was sent back home from college and moved back in with her mom, who was in the midst of adopting a foster child. 

As a result, Hannah made a 12-minute audio documentary about the experience for the Appalachian Media Institute, called “Foster Care in a Pandemic World.”

New Fathers and Quarantine Babies

Becoming a parent can be scary. Add a global pandemic into the equation and that can make things even scarier. This week, we check back in with new fathers, including Joe Buckland, of Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. His fiancé gave birth to their daughter in early 2020, just before the global pandemic. 

Buckland reflected on the memories that stand out to him from the past year, including moments where he and his family found peace together. He recalled an evening last summer when he was rocking his daughter Olivia to sleep. “And she just nuzzled in. And it just felt complete.”

Teens in Wales and Appalachia Share Commonalities

Appalachia’s had hundreds of years of connection to Wales; why should the pandemic get in the way? A group of teenagers from Wales and Appalachia have been sending each other audio letters over the last year. Sam McCarthy and Ela Cudlip are from Merthyr Tydfill, Wales. And Brooke Thomas and Mackenzie Kessler are from Fayette County, West Virginia.

They shared their stories about how their family and school lives have been impacted by the pandemic, and it turns out, much of what they’ve experienced is universal. Their past year has been marked by upended milestones, like delays in getting their driver’s licenses.

Road to Recovery

Going forward, there’s a long road to recovery, whether it’s of our social lives, our jobs, or our health. We’ve lost over half a million Americans, and some COVID long-haulers are still dealing with lingering health effects. Others have made a full recovery after fearing for their lives.

That was the case for Robert Villamagna, who lives in Wheeling, West Virginia. He got a serious case of COVID-19 and was hospitalized twice. Last year, we twice featured Villamagna on Inside Appalachia. In this episode, we catch up with him again to see how things are going now.

Dealing with COVID-Related Burnout

The past year has been tough on all of us. Many people are starting to feel pandemic-related fatigue. Carol Smith, professor of counseling at Marshall University, said it’s normal to feel burned out. Issues have compounded on each other and have left people feeling down. Smith said being kind to ourselves is key to getting through social isolation. She also suggested against scheduling tasks back-to-back, as it doesn’t give our brain time to rest.

If you or someone you know need to talk to a mental health professional, call the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s National Helpline. The number is 1-800-662-4357.

Messes Are A Part of Life

If you’ve spent time with toddlers, you know that messes are a part of creativity and life. During the pandemic, many parents are juggling working from home while also watching after children -- which can sometimes lead to messes. Producer Roxy Todd sat down with author David Perri to discuss his book “Messy Larry,” a book about a larger-than-life bear named Larry who learns that it’s okay to make messes and mistakes.

Growing Up In The Mountains

Author Cynthia Rylant has written more than 100 books since she began a professional career as an author -- from picture books, easy readers, chapter books, and even novels. She is the recipient of the Caldecott Honors for her book “When I Was Young in the Mountains.” Rylant was raised in West Virginia and spent time with her grandparents in Raleigh County, which inspired her beloved book. This week, we talked with Rylant and learned more about her childhood and heard her read an excerpt from “When I Was Young in the Mountains.”

“The Princess And The Pea” With An Appalachian Twist

Those familiar with Bil Lepp’s storytelling style know he writes in a way best heard aloud. Lepp is a storyteller who has won the West Virginia Liars’ Contest five times. This week on Inside Appalachia, we hear Lepp read his newest book “The Princess and the Pickup Truck.” The book is based on “The Princess and the Pea,” with Lepp’s own personal twist on the classic tale. 

Storytelling As A Connection To History

Lyn Ford is a professional storyteller who grew up in Appalachian Pennsylvania and spent many summers in East Liverpool, Ohio. Many of Ford’s stories are adapted from folktales she heard as a child. Ford identifies as Affrilachian, a term that combines African American and Appalachian identities. She said because history books don’t often include African American history, she didn’t begin learning about it until she found some of her aunt’s books. In this week’s show, we hear Ford telling one of her stories “The Old Woman and Death,” at the Timpanogos Storytelling Institute in Utah in 2016.

What is a Crankie?

When traditional Appalachian musician Anna Roberts-Gevalt first showed ballad singer Elizabeth LaPrelle a crankie, Elizabeth was speechless.

“I really freaked out,” LaPrelle told WUNC’s Laura Candler in 2013. 

Crankies, which originated in Europe, have been used for years to enhance the art of live storytelling. A crankie consists of long rolls of fabric that are rolled up on either side,  decorated with scenes and images that tell a story. The operator of the crankie then turns the crank as they sing or tell their story. Think of it as a small, tiny theater. 

Roberts-Gevalt and LaPrelle met during a show in Virginia and combined their talents to form Anna and Elizabeth. The duo decided to incorporate crankies in their performances to help bring them to life. And though they are no longer performing together, their three albums and countless performances left a lasting imprint on the Appalachian music scene. 

In this week’s episode, we listen back to a 2013 interview where Roberts-Gevalt and LaPrelle describe how they met and their inspiration behind incorporating crankies into their performances. 

Triangle of Skunks

Bil Lepp has made a name for himself as one of the region’s most famous storytellers. Lepp is a five-time champion of the West Virginia Liars Contest. He has also been described as “a side-splittingly funny man” by the Smithsonian Center for Folklife.

One example is a hilarious story Lepp tells about summer camp and a family of skunks. He performed the story “Skunks” during a Mountain Stage performance at the West Virginia Culture Center. Listen to this week’s Inside Appalachia to hear it. 

Sweet Tea and Red Wine

Michael Reno Harrell is a storyteller from Burke County, North Carolina. His mother’s family, including his aunt Eloise, spent most of their life in Buncombe County, just outside Asheville. Harrell, like so many others, hasn’t had the chance to see anyone in his extended family during the past year. So, when we asked Harrell which story of his he’d like to share, he chose one called “Sweet Tea and Red Wine,” about his mom, and her sister-in-law, his aunt Eloise. We’ll listen to a performance of the story from the 2017 International Storytelling Center.

Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Tyler Childers, as heard on Mountain Stage, Dinosaur Burps, Michael Reno Harrell and Anna and Elizabeth.

Roxy Todd is our producer. Jade Artherhults is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Andrea Billups. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Zander Aloi also helped produce this episode. You can find us on Twitter @InAppalachia.