This Conversation

Gene Copenhaver is President of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association and is also a resident of Washington County, Virginia.

In This Conversation, he details the efforts of the association to lobby Congress and to use research to improve the industry, including making genetic changes to cattle.

He describes his farming operation that has been in his family for many generations and also addresses the larger economic challenges of the industry, including labor issues as they relate to immigration, the cost of diesel and fertilizer as affected by the War in Iran, President Trump's effort to lower the cost of hamburger by directing a massive import of beef from other countries, and the industry view of climate change regulation.

Joy Powers, a farmer from Bedford, Virginia, is a Democrat, running against Republican Congressman Morgan Griffith in the Nov. 3 mid-term General Election of 2026 to represent the 9th District of Virginia. Griffith won his last election with 72.5% of the vote. He has served in Congress for 15 years and is remembered for his vote to reject legally certified electors from Pennsylvania on Jan. 6, 2020. Powers discusses the challenges of running against an entrenched and powerful lawmaker as well as concerns about election integrity in the impending election.

In addition to details about her work on the farm and concerns about broader agricultural issues, she outlines her platform, labeled HOME: for Health, Opportunity, Market Affordability, and Education.

Congressman Griffith declined the invitation to be interviewed in a separate episode of This Conversation.

Opera and rock seem like a somewhat unlikely combination for a concert, but this interview features one of the two performers who both found national and international success in two different kinds of music -- and who come together for a concert because of a friendship that started at Emory & Henry.

Michael Fath has been called "quite possibly the most versatile rock guitarist on the planet." He's the rock star. Mike Austin is the opera star whose rise began when a friend overheard him singing in the shower at Emory & Henry and urged him to join the choir. Choir director Chick Davis recognized the talent and mentored Austin. Not long after graduation in Emory, Austin attended Julliard and then moved on to opera stages around the world. He is known for his performance as the first African American to play the role of Othello in the U.S.

Their concert is scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the McGlothlin Center for the Arts in Emory. Tickets at https://www.emoryhenry.edu/mca/

Phone: 276-944-6333

People, Inc. is a community action agency, headquartered in Abingdon, Virginia that now serves wide areas in Virginia with the motto of Building Futures and Realizing Dreams. For the purpose of this episode, People, Inc helps low-income citizens find affordable places to rent -- at a time of a major housing crisis.

With more than a thousand properties to manage and more to develop, People, Inc. VP of Development Bryan Ailey, walks us through the steps and challenges of the process.

It's called the Battle of Kings Mountain and was credited by Thomas Jefferson as turning the tide of victory over England.

Even though the 1780 battle took place in South Carolina, the march of patriots that won that important battle began at a mustering location on Colonial Road in current-day Abingdon.

In this episode, we talk with Leigh Ann Hunter who details the battle and the 20th Century efforts to honor those who fought there. For a time she worked in the Blair Keller Interpretive Center at the Abingdon Muster Grounds. She continues to guide large events at the Center, such as hosting all of Washington County, Virginia 4th Graders to pass along the important local history.

Special note: Blair Keller, for whom the Interpretive Center is named, is the father of This Conversation host Teresa Keller. This information is noted during the interview. Here is a link to more information about the battle and the Center.

https://www.nps.gov/places/muster-grounds-in-abingdon-virginia.htm

Vicki Pope is CEO of Winterham Alpacas in Abingdon, Virginia.

For those walking on the Virginia Creeper Trail from Abingdon, the alpacas are a familiar site, along with the dogs that guard them.

In this interview, Pope describes the gentle, eco-friendly animals that she found to be the addition her family was looking for at their Abingdon property.

She shares the animals with adults and children who want to visit and perhaps take a walk with the alpacas.

Information is available at winterhamalpacas.com

This week's conversation is with Brad Kreps of The Nature Conservancy where we learn about how our local river mussels clean water and protect fish and humans. However, they're endangered. Conserving these mussels, land, and the exceptional biodiversity of this area is the work of Brad Kreps and the global organization he works for. How and why does he maintain optimism and how did a boy from coastal Virginia become such a devotee of the mountains?

Learn more:

https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/virginia/stories-in-virginia/clinch-valley-program/

This week, we hear from a retired woman, living in a high rise building in the center of Caracas, Venezuela.

Bernice Urbina talks about changes in the country since the U.S. invasion and capture of President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3, 2026.

We hear about the effects of the two earthquakes that struck the country on June 24.

And, what is Bernice's request of the American people?

Although Bernice is retired, she helps meet her financial needs by teaching online Spanish classes to private clients.

She can be reached at [email protected].

"Free Frozen Embryos -- and an IVF Baby."

Tracey Mercier and her husband Greg had every challenge imaginable in wanting to have a baby.

For a while they had given up. Then, a series of events presented the possibility that they could have a child.

With pursuits of doctors and treatments from here to California -- and across the border to Mexico, the Merciers found a total of 5 embryos. Two failed. Of the other three, one became their daughter Lily.

You'll hear why the trip to Mexico resulted from restrictions in the United States. From her experience, Tracy Mercier has become politically active. In this conversation, she speaks out about the proposed amendment to Virginia's Constitution on the November ballot in the midterm elections on November 3rd. The change is supposed to protect personal decisions in a wide range of reproductive health care. Virginiaans will choose YES for protection of personal freedom vs. NO, which could result in leaving the decision to state government. She says VOTE YES on Amendment #1 on Nov. 3.

More information from Virginia's Department of Elections

https://www.elections.virginia.gov/election-law/proposed-constitutional-amendment-question-1/

Han Jones is campaign director with Virginians for Reproductive Freedom, an organization that is encouraging Virginians to vote YES on a proposed state constitutional amendment to assure that the government does not have a role in a woman's reproductive health decisions. The decision will be made in the November 3 mid-term elections.

This interview explores the views of the organization.

Links below give more detail about VfRF and about the language of the amendment.

https://ballotpedia.org/Virginia_Question_1,_Right_to_Reproductive_Freedom_Amendment_(2026)

https://va4reprofreedom.org/