Rural Remix

This week on Everywhere Radio, Whitney talks with political scientist and author Hahrie Han about democracy in a changing nation and what the rural “agora” means in the 21st century. As a professor and faculty director at John Hopkins University, Han studies civic and political participation, social movements, collective action, and organizing, particularly as it pertains to democratic revitalization.

Reverend Claire Brown is an Episcopal priest, writer, facilitator, wife, and mama living and ministering in rural Tennessee. She talks with Whitney about how rural churches and faith communities are called to show up on the front lines of social healing work in this moment — facing the challenges of the pandemic, responding to calls for social and racial justice, and grappling with how we build more just and inclusive communities.

This week, Whitney checks in with her neighbor Jeff Eastman, who is also CEO of the nonprofit Remote Area Medical (RAM). Whitney and Jeff discuss RAM's efforts to provide Covid-19 vaccines at its pop-up clinics, and how to overcome vaccine hesitancy in rural areas.

This week, Whitney welcomes Krista Tippett, the founder and CEO of The On Being Project and host of On Being. Whitney and Krista discuss the Covid-19 pandemic, the fiction of blue and red states, developing moral imagination, and creating the conversations you want to be hearing.

This week, Whitney talks with Eliza Blue, a shepherd, writer, and folk singer who lives on a ranch in South Dakota with her husband and two children. The ranch has been in her husband's family for five generations, but Eliza took a more circuitous route to South Dakota. She is a contributing columnist to our media partner, the Daily Yonder, and calls herself the "Accidental Rancher." Whitney and Eliza talk about the gift of outsider status and how a sabbatical from the city turned into life on the prairie.

You'll find the award-winning writing of Deb and James Fallows in publications across the web, from The Atlantic to National Geographic and more. Together, they are the authors of the bestselling book, "Our Towns: A 100,000 Mile Journey Into the Heart of America," now a documentary film on HBO. This week, Deb and James talk with Whitney about showing up and finding hope while telling the complex stories of America's small towns.

This special episode of Everywhere Radio features two speakers set for April's Rural Assembly Everywhere virtual festival: First, Harry Gottlieb, founder of Jackbox Games and a new organization called Unify America, talks with Whitney about making the US a country of problem solvers. Then, Kiran Singh Sirah, president of the International Storytelling Center, talks with Whitney about the healing power of stories, the art of the "porch sit," and the glory of Saint Dolly.

How did planning for a potential ICE raid lead to a festival celebrating immigrant communities in rural Nebraska? Hear this and other stories about living as an immigrant in rural America as community organizer Gladys Godinez and host Whitney Kimball Coe discuss the importance of inclusion, welcoming, and being seen.

For the inaugural episode of Everywhere Radio, Whitney interviews Wendy Feliz, the Founding Director of the Center for Inclusion and Belonging at the American Immigration Council. Whitney and Wendy talk about building common purpose between new immigrant communities and long-time rural residents, the prospects for progress on national immigration policy, the importance of welcoming and inclusion, and much more. 

Don't miss a new podcast from the Rural Assembly. Launching Thursday, March 4, Everywhere Radio, hosted by Whitney Kimball Coe, spotlights the good, scrappy, joyful ways that rural people and allies are building a more inclusive nation. Our first slate of episodes features guests like Wendy Feliz of the American Immigration Council, Krista Tippett of the On Being Project, Kiran Singh Sirah of the International Storytelling Center, rural community organizer Gladys Godinez, and more.