The Talking Appalachian Podcast

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In this episode, we head back to May 2, 1929, when a deadly tornado tore through the small mountain community of Rye Cove, Virginia, claiming the lives of 12 schoolchildren and one teacher and leaving lasting scars on the region.

We explore:

• What happened that spring afternoon in Rye Cove and the impact on the community.
• How the tragedy inspired a haunting ballad by the Carter Family, written by A.P. Carter who witnessed the storm and its aftermath.
• A little-known legal battle that followed: a surprising lawsuit settled in 1931 that raised questions about school safety, weather preparedness, and district accountability.

From the winds of tragedy to the echoes in old-time music and the courtroom, this episode weaves together history, culture, and Appalachian resilience.

To see photos of the storm's aftermath and hear a full account of the tornado from one of the schoolchildren subscribe to Talking Appalachian on Patreon

🎶 Featuring clips from "The Cyclone of Rye Cove" by the Carter Family.

📚 For more on the history of Rye Cove and its legacy, see my full interview on YouTube with WCYB's Kristen Quon

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*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)!
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*Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: [email protected] or message me at the link here or on social.

Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain

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Outlander fans will enjoy this episode, where we trace the winding trail of language from the misty Highlands of Scotland to the shaded hollers of Appalachia. Along the way, we unpack double modals like “might could,” trace the evolution of the word highlander and outlander, and reflect on how language becomes a legacy you carry in your mouth. Hear about the real-life Scottish festival held in July, called the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, which was featured in season 4 of Outlander.

Plus, if you're a fan of traditional Appalachian music, I've got a road trip for you that you won't want to miss.

Music featured in this episode:

Master of the Feast by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Support the show

*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)!
*Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social
*Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: [email protected] or message me at the link here or on social.

Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain

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Have you ever tried text to speech with your accent, only to find your message garbled? In this episode of The Talking Appalachian Podcast, we'll explore speech technology and how AI interacts (and doesn't) with the unique accents found across America, including those in Appalachia. We discuss the 30 most misunderstood American accents by AI, trace the timeline of how AI speech recognition has developed, and uncover the struggles faced by speakers with regional accents. Finally, we spotlight the efforts researchers are making to train AI to better recognize and understand these accents that don’t always conform to “standard” English, and why it matters.

To register for the Appalachian Writing Project's institute for educators on Harnessing the Power of AI, follow this link

Research for this show: Which Accents Does AI Find Hardest to Understand? [Survey]

Support the show

*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)!
*Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social
*Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: [email protected] or message me at the link here or on social.

Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain

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Jeannette Walls is hailed as one of the world's most gifted storytellers, and she's been sharing her remarkable story of resilience and redemption with audience since her memoir, The Glass Castle, was published in 2005. The book chronicles her dysfunctional and nomadic upbringing, part of which took place in Welch, West Virginia. It was a NYT bestseller for over eight years. In 2017, the Glass Castle was made into a movie starring Brie Larson, Woody Harrelson, and Naomi Watts.

Listen as we talk about this incredible story with parents who, despite their flaws, taught Walls and her siblings to embrace life fearlessly. She offers a unique perspective on overcoming unimaginable obstacles, confronting challenges, and pursuing a life of authenticity.

Thank you to Andy Bracken for his song "On Diamond Creek."

Support the show

*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)!
*Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social
*Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: [email protected] or message me at the link here or on social.

Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain

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In episode 50, we will talk about the word "Melungeon," its multiple meanings, and the history of a mysterious Appalachian people known as the "lost tribe" (who claim Elvis and Abraham Lincoln among their members.) Appalachian historian Dr. Brian McKnight joins me as we dive into a dark part of Virginia's history, the 1924 Racial Integrity Act and Walter Plecker's policies, and what that meant for Melungeon people. We'll also explore what the latest DNA studies say about their ancestral background, and learn about one of the most storied Melungeons, moonshiner Mahalia "Big Haley" Mullins.

Research for this episode comes from:

New DNA study on Melungeons attempts to separate truth from fiction

Melungeon Heritage Association | Document. Preserve. Sustain

Support the show

*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)!
*Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social
*Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: [email protected] or message me at the link here or on social.

Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain

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Listen to find out what word people are replacing with the euphemism "dadgum." Then, author and Kentucky Poet Laureate Silas House reads from his essay "In My Own Country," about how his parents learned to defeat those who were making fun of their accents....one word at a time.

Listen to holocaust survivor Yvette Purdue's story of escaping the nazis to find refuge in the Appalachian mountains, now on Patreon. (If you don't want to subscribe, you can purchase it for a one-time donation to her favorite charity.)

Support the show

*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)!
*Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social
*Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: [email protected] or message me at the link here or on social.

Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain

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You know the phrases "How do you like them apples?" and "Them's fightin' words!" We'll talk about the Scotch-Irish roots of them for these and those. Then, I'll tell you three of the top reasons why Appalachian speakers won't give up their dialects despite the risk of stigma. Then listen to an excerpt from the essay "Southern Exposure" by the wonderful Appalachian author Lee Smith, as she describes how she came to own her voice as a writer and explains why her accent is a means of power.

Sources: The Yale Grammatical Diversity Project and Dictionary of American Regional English

Barbara Kingsolver announced the opening of Higher Ground Women's Recovery Residence in Lee County Virginia, this week (my native county.) She calls it "the house that Demon built." 

Help HGWRR by making monetary donations through their secure link or by mailing a check to their Post Office Box 3, Pennington Gap, VA 24277. All donations are tax deductible. Another way to help is by purchasing from their Amazon Wish List, as items can be sent directly to the residence at shipping address: 10 Spring St., Big Stone Gap VA, 24219. Additionally, consider giving the gift of self. The women of Higher Ground need volunteers to help integrate them into their new community.

To learn more, go to www.hgwrr.org and find out how you can help families.

Support the show

*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)!
*Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social
*Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: [email protected] or message me at the link here or on social.

Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain

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"Here's you a piece of pizza. Where's me some silverware? There's us a table." We'll talk about this common grammar pattern and where it's spoken. Then, we'll switch to the word "wool," a word used as a verb in vernacular southern Englishes since the 19th century, as in, "The little boy is wooling that kitten."

Research for this episode comes from the Yale Grammatical Diversity Project and Dictionary of American Regional English.

Support the show

*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)!
*Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social
*Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: [email protected] or message me at the link here or on social.

Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain

What did you think of this episode?

Listen to more of the best clips from 2024's podcast episode, including:

• Jack Beck talking about the influence of Scots Gaelic;
• Jane Hicks reading from her book of poetry, The Safety of Small Things;
• The origins of the word "redneck,";
• A conversation with Hillbilly documentary director Ashley York;
• Adriana Trigiani on what it means to be Appalachian;
• Appalshop and 50 years of storytelling about the region;
• A conversation with the editors of Appalachian Reckoning and what it means to keep our authentic voices;
• Mourning and death rituals with Burke Greear;
• "Needs washed" and "directly";
• Washington Irving's connection to Appalachia, and a mailbox by the sea;
• the tradition of the "Christmas poke" in Appalachia

Music courtesy of: Tiffany Williams, Jack Beck, Andy Bracken, and Appalshop archives

Support the show

*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)!
*Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social
*Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: [email protected] or message me at the link here or on social.

Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain

What did you think of this episode?

This episode includes highlights from some of the best episodes of 2024, which include:

• my interview with Pulitzer-winning reporter and memoirist Rick Bragg;
• a study of two letters written a century apart and their dialect similarities;
• what I learned about an ancient Pictish language during a visit to Ireland;
• my interview with co-researcher Will Isom and the story of a mysterious burial ground;
• the fight to save the Cherokee language from extinction
• and the one and only Barbara Kingsolver, author of the Pulitzer-winning book Demon Copperhead.

I hope you enjoy Part I of 2024's highlights!

Support the show

*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review the podcast (if you like it)!
*Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social
*Subscribe to support the podcast on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: [email protected] or message me at the link here or on social.

Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Freight Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain