This year marks the 50 th anniversary of “Foxfire,” a collection of traditions from the folk cultures of the Appalachian Mountains. To commemorate half a century of research into the North Georgia communities, a new exhibit has opened at the University of Georgia in Athens. We speak with Mary Miller, who spearheaded the exhibition, and one of the students who contributed to its development. Then, from its earliest days as a nation, the United States has struggled with a problem that it can’t