podcast Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginia’s state employee health insurance agency canceled a pilot program that covered weight-loss drugs due in part, to the program’s cost to the state. But advocates say the state will end up paying more for the health complications caused by obesity.

Also, two years since a near-total ban on abortions in West Virginia, loopholes and travel funds have allowed abortions to continue. Pro-choice religious leaders are joining forces to facilitate access to abortions, just as they did in the days before Roe v Wade.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Maria Young produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

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. 

In This Episode

Hip hop has been in Appalachia for about as long as the genre has been around, about 50 years. A new compilation from June Appal Recordings, “No Options: Hip-Hop in Appalachia” 24 tracks from across the region. Mason Adams spoke with executive producer JK Turner, and rapper Eric Jordan, also known as Monstalung. 

There are natural springs all over Appalachia. Before indoor plumbing, that's where most folks got their fresh water. In Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, people still fill jugs with spring water to lug back home. In 2022, Folkways reporter Zack Harold visited the springs and brought us this story.

As Appalachian miners cut into increasingly thinner seams of coal, they’re encountering more silica dust from rock. The dust contributes to an advanced form of black lung disease. Coal miners and advocates have spent decades negotiating with the federal government to add safety rules. When a new rule was finalized in April, advocates celebrated, but before it could take full effect, opponents threw up another roadblock.

Emily Rice reported.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Joshua Outsey, Monstalung, Tim and Dave Bing, Deep Jackson and Dinosaur Burps.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. We had help this week from folkways editor Chris Julin. You can find us on Instagram and Twitter @InAppalachia.

You can send us an email: [email protected].

You can find us on Instagram, Threads and Twitter @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.

Sign-up for the Inside Appalachia Newsletter!

Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

On this West Virginia Week, we’ll tell you about a very popular nutrition assistance program at local farmers’ markets that has been temporarily paused because of a lack of funding.   

Plus, Gov. Jim Justice formally calls a special session of the legislature, and lawmakers discuss what they want to accomplish.

We’ll also hear a conversation with the director of a local food bank about hunger in West Virginia.

Also, we have stories on efforts to address mental health issues in the state’s military veteran community, rate hikes at one power utility company and avoiding head injuries.

Chris Schulz is our host this week. Emily Rice produced this episode.

Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert.

West Virginia Week is a web-only podcast that explores the week's biggest news in the Mountain State. It's produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Caelan Bailey, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick and Maria Young.

Learn more about West Virginia Week.

On this West Virginia Morning, “No Options: Hip-Hop in Appalachia” is a compilation album from Appalshop showcasing Appalachia’s long running hip hop scene. For Inside Appalachia, Mason Adams spoke with executive producer JK Turner and rapper Eric Jordan about the recording.

Plus, this week's broadcast of Mountain Stage brought together an array of artists at the Culture Center Theater in Charleston, West Virginia.

Among them was the band of John R. Miller, a singer-songwriter from the Eastern Panhandle. “Basements,” a track from Miller's 2023 album “Heat Comes Down,” is our song of the week.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.

West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Caelan Bailey, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick, Maria Young and Randy Yohe.

Eric Douglas is our news director. Teresa Wills is our host. Maria Young produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

On this West Virginia Morning, a 2022 report from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs indicated that veterans remain more likely to die by suicide than their civilian peers.

In the Eastern Panhandle, advocates say this requires new conversations on mental health. Jack Walker stopped by the Martinsburg VA Medical Center to learn more.

Also in this episode, storytelling and the arts can help build community and that’s just one of the goals of a popular FestivALL Charleston program. Recently Us & Them host Trey Kay joined other guests to explain what inspires them. We'll hear an excerpt from the latest Us & Them episode.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Maria Young produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

On this West Virginia Morning, Christopher Rowe is a nationally recognized science fiction and fantasy writer. He imagines the future not in cities or outer space, but in rural areas like the one he grew up in.

Kentucky Public Radio’s Sylvia Goodman spoke with Rowe just after he moved back to the Kentucky county where he grew up.

Plus, September is Hunger Action Month, a campaign meant to raise awareness about hunger and food insecurity in the United States.

Reporter Jack Walker talked to Chad Morrison, development director at Mountaineer Food Bank about hunger in West Virginia.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Maria Young produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

On this West Virginia Morning, a government program that can triple nutrition assistance benefits for shoppers at local farmers markets has been temporarily paused because of a lack of funding. Emily Rice reports that the problem centers around the program’s popularity.

Plus, Chris Schulz reports that Wheeling University has named a new president.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Maria Young produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

On this West Virginia Morning, a hiker was rescued earlier this month after going missing in Kentucky's Red River Gorge for two weeks. Shepherd Snyder has more on what it takes to pull off these rescues.

Also, young people in rural communities are just as likely to exhibit risky behaviors as their urban and suburban peers but may have less access to help. West Virginia University is part of a coalition developing resources to change that nationwide.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Maria Young produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning

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 This Episode

Marble Madness Lives On In Boone County

Some playground games never go out of style – hide and seek, tag, and Duck, Duck Goose. Kids today still play those classics. Every spring, the students of one Boone County elementary school still get excited for a game that’s over a hundred years old. Folkways reporter Zack Harold had the story.

The Vaccine Divide In WV

West Virginia lawmakers have been arguing over whether to loosen long-standing vaccination requirements. But how do parents and doctors feel about that? Emily Rice visited a pediatrician’s office to learn more. 

Country Music Milestones And The Floyd Country Store

This year is the anniversary of many country music milestones, among them the Friday Night Jamboree at the Floyd Country Store in Virginia. Mason Adams took us there for a visit in 2022.

The Blue Ribbon Queen Of Russell County, Virginia

A staple of county and state fairs are the annual craft competitions, where everyone from 4H kids to the local dentist brings their finest quilts, pumpkins or peanut butter fudge to be judged for cash, prizes and bragging rights.

Few have been as successful as Virginia’s Linda Skeens, who has won hundreds of blue ribbons. 

In 2023, producer Bill Lynch spoke with her about competing at the fair and her favorites.

Remembering Jon McBride

NASA astronaut Jon McBride died August 7. He was 80. McBride was the first astronaut from West Virginia, and the only West Virginian to pilot a shuttle mission. Jennifer Levasseu is curator of space history at the National Air and Space Museum. She spoke with WVPB’s Curtis Tate about McBride’s legacy.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Paul Loomis, Frank George, John Blissard, Dinosaur Burps and Blue Dot Sessions.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. We had help this week from folkways editors Nicole Musgrave and Chris Julin. You can find us on Instagram and Twitter @InAppalachia.

You can send us an email: [email protected].

You can find us on Instagram, Threads and Twitter @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.

Sign-up for the Inside Appalachia Newsletter!

Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

On this West Virginia Morning, some playground games never go out of style. From the latest episode of Inside Appalachia, Zach Harold has the story of the students of one Boone County elementary school that still get excited for a game that’s over a hundred years old.

Also, our Song of the Week is “My Uncle Used to Love Me But She Died” by The Sweetback Sisters. This week's show is a compilation episode of Mountain Stage featuring odd, unusual and hilarious takes on familiar subjects from Randy Newman, Todd Snider, Julia Sweeney, Jeff Daniels, and many more.

West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.

Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.

Appalachia Health News is a project of West Virginia Public Broadcasting with support from Marshall Health.

West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Briana Heaney, Chris Schulz, Curtis Tate, Emily Rice, Eric Douglas, Jack Walker, Liz McCormick and Maria Young.

Eric Douglas is our news director. Teresa Wills is our host. Maria Young produced this episode.

Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning