The OUtlet

In this episode of "Conversations from Studio B", host Tom O’Grady of the Southeast Ohio History Center speaks with Heidi Bender Kauffman, museum educator at the Southern Ohio Museum in Portsmouth, about the region’s history and cultural resources. The conversation explores the Southern Ohio Museum’s collections, including historic photographs, regional art and Native American artifacts connected to the Portsmouth area. O’Grady and Kauffman discuss the Portsmouth Earthworks and other evidence of the region’s extensive prehistoric Native American history, as well as efforts to better understand and preserve these sites. They also examine how museums and new technologies can help researchers and the public interpret the past while acknowledging questions that remain unanswered. Kauffman also highlights the Southern Ohio Museum’s expansion and Portsmouth landmarks, including the city’s floodwall murals depicting local and regional history.

On this episode of "Echoes from the History Center", host Tom O'Grady speaks with Dr. Cicero Fain III of Marshall University and Dr. Drew Feight of Shawnee State University about the Appalachian Freedom Heritage Initiative. The discussion explores the effort to document and verify Underground Railroad sites across Ohio, West Virginia, and Kentucky through the National Park Service's Network to Freedom program.

Fain and Feight explain how historical research, archival evidence, and community partnerships have helped identify significant sites and routes while distinguishing documented history from local legend. The episode also highlights the important roles of free Black communities, interracial cooperation, and regional transportation networks in assisting freedom seekers throughout Appalachia.

Listeners will gain insight into how the initiative is reshaping public understanding of the Upper Ohio River Valley's place in the history of the Underground Railroad and expanding access to that history through heritage tourism and education.

Poets Bonnie Proudfoot, Ivars Balkits, Albert Rouzie, and Wendy McVicker read and discuss poetry.

In this episode of Conversations From Studio B, WOUB's Emily Votaw sits down with festival organizer Scott Winland to discuss the 2026 Athens Community Arts and Music Festival, taking place Saturday, August 1, on Union Street in uptown Athens. The conversation explores the festival's 26-year history, its mission of celebrating community through music and the arts, and what visitors can expect at this year's event. The 2026 festival features headliner Shannon Shaw, along with Sharp Pins, Shilpa Ray, Good Flying Birds, Golomb, Big Fat Head, Adam Remnant & The Signs, Laughing Chimes, Hutchison's Melody Makers, and Stuart's Opera House Afterschool Music Program bands Summer Formal and Blue Suburbia. Admission is free, and the festival also includes a curated art market and interactive exhibits presented by local arts organizations and community nonprofits.

In this episode of Conversations From Studio B, WOUB's Emily Votaw sits down with festival organizer Scott Winland to discuss the 2026 Athens Community Arts and Music Festival, taking place Saturday, August 1, on Union Street in uptown Athens. The conversation explores the festival's 26-year history, its mission of celebrating community through music and the arts, and what visitors can expect at this year's event. The 2026 festival features headliner Shannon Shaw, along with Sharp Pins, Shilpa Ray, Good Flying Birds, Golomb, Big Fat Head, Adam Remnant & The Signs, Laughing Chimes, Hutchison's Melody Makers, and Stuart's Opera House Afterschool Music Program bands Summer Formal and Blue Suburbia. Admission is free, and the festival also includes a curated art market and interactive exhibits presented by local arts organizations and community nonprofits.

This edition of "Conversations From Studio B" presents an episode of "Echoes from the History Center" featuring host Tom O'Grady in conversation with songwriter and musician Larry Groce and Executive Director of the Northwest Territory Museum Society Erin Augenstein They discuss "One Vote!", a new historical musical that tells the story of Marietta's founding, the Northwest Ordinance and Ephraim Cutler's decisive vote during Ohio's Constitutional Convention. The guests explore the historical research behind the production, its connection to America's 250th anniversary, and how theater can introduce new audiences to an often-overlooked chapter of Ohio and American history.

Athens poet Kristine Williams joins host Wendy McVicker to discuss "Frost Warning", her new full-length poetry collection published by Sheila-Na-Gig Editions. Williams will celebrate the release of Frost Warning with a book launch at the Bowen House (196 North Market Street) in Logan on Sunday, July 19, from 1 to 3 p.m. The event will feature readings by Jane Ann Fuller, Jean Mikhail, Deni Naffziger, Bonnie Proudfoot, Molly Schoenhoff, Renee Williams and guest poet Stephanie Kendrick.

In this episode of "Conversations From Studio B", host Tom O'Grady of the Southeast Ohio History Center speaks with Dan Rowbotham, Director of the Madog Center for Welsh Studies at the University of Rio Grande. They explore the history of Welsh settlement in Southeast Ohio, including why Welsh immigrants came to the region, how they shaped local farming and industry, and the role of Welsh-language churches in preserving community identity. Located on the campus of the University of Rio Grande/Rio Grande Community College in Southeast Ohio, the center is the only center for Welsh Studies in North America.

Poets Albert Rouzie, Wendy McVicker, Ivars Balkits, and Bonnie Proudfoot read and discuss poetry.

"Conversations from Studio B" host Emily Votaw sits down with Athens County Humane Society Garden Tour committee members Linda Sauer and Karen Isaac, along with Athens County Humane Society President Mary Connolly, to talk about the organization's largest annual fundraiser. The 32nd Annual Athens County Humane Society Garden Tour takes place Sunday, June 28, 2026, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring nine private gardens, an art display from the Athens Art Guild and a new photography contest. Connolly and the committee discuss the event's history, the animal welfare programs it supports and what keeps the community coming back year after year.