This Conversation

Delegate Sam Rasoul has family roots in the West Bank and shares his view that Israel is breaking international law and conducting a genocide in Gaza. He insists that the conflict is not one of religion and describes the long history of Christians, Jews, and Muslims living peacefully together until post World War II when Israel was formed and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were run off their land. He points to representations of Jews and Christians in current U.S. protests of Israel's war offensive that has resulted in the death of tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza.

Mr. Rasoul is one of two Muslims in Virginia Legislature.

This interview is 3rd in ongoing discussion of the Israel-Gaza war on This Conversation.

Others include Rev. Boyd Evans, Priest of St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Abingdon, Virginia, who has spent time in the West Bank and Gaza.

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/63390c14-78c5-4f5d-80ce-389115683da3

Kenny Shuman is Jewish and a life-long resident of Washington County, Virginia, also a guest on the show.

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/b1b02beb-bdd7-42ee-8e5c-4ad16cc57956

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

Kenny Shuman is Jewish -- and a lifelong resident of Washington County, Virginia. He was willing to share some of his personal story and his view of the Israel-Hamas war for listeners to This Conversation.

The show has heard from Rev. Boyd Evans, priest of Episcopal church in Abingdon, who had spent a significant amount of time in Gaza.

https://player.captivate.fm/episode/63390c14-78c5-4f5d-80ce-389115683da3

Kenny in this interview.

Next up-- an interview with Virginia Delegate, Sam Rasoul, one of two Muslims in the state legislature.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

Alan Linkous owns Adventure Diving in Bristol. He can fix you up with scuba gear, train you to dive, and help design a trip for you and your friends. At other times, he may be diving to attempt to find and recover a body. It's kind of change of pace for the show, but a refreshing look at fun and adventure.

Learn more at https://adventurediving.com/

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

Debbie Antonelli played college basketball for NC State and has developed a sports broadcasting career at the highest network levels.

She's a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame.

In This Conversation, we hear about her three sons, her activism with Special Olympics and her connection to Emory & Henry College.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

In this interview, aired on Apr. 10, 2024, Bettie Mae Fikes, known as "The Voice of Selma," tells her story of the Civil Rights struggle she lived in the 1960s. As a young girl, she sang in marches for the right to vote, the right to ride a bus, and the right to basic freedoms. She remained non-violent in the face of horrible cruelty, simply because her skin was black. She was jailed and kept in jail when she refused to say "Yes, sir" to the judge.

Bettie Mae was a strong young girl and resisted the inequality she was confronted with, but the lingering pain of her experience is evident in this interview. Yet she doesn't turn back and continues her march to college campuses to make sure that the younger generations know the struggle for simple things they may take for granted.

The conversation took place by phone shortly after she visited Emory & Henry College in April 2024. You will hear her break into song as she has always done.

Bettie Mae Fikes is perhaps the most notable historical figure to have been a guest on This Conversation. It was an honor to talk with her, and if you share this podcast, you'll be helping ensure that we don't forget the struggle that Black Americans had -- and continue to have -- for equality.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

Dr. Ed Damer, Professor of Philosophy at Emory & Henry College for 45 years, died on March 21, 2024.

This tribute presents a look at Ed through the eyes of several close colleagues and his weekly lunch group. Special attention is given to Ed's focus on logic, his love of fun conversation, and his service to the Abingdon Rotary club where he directed the annual Frolics performance.

Ed leaves behind his wife of 46 years, Nancy Jean Bradford, four children and six grandchildren.

This program originally aired on April 3, 2024, at which time a celebration of Ed's life was scheduled for May 18 at 2:00 at the McGlothlin Center for the Arts on the Emory & Henry campus.

Tributes to Ed are available through his named Rotary Scholarship at Emory & Henry.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

Local film debuts tomorrow/Thursday, March 28 at Legacy Theatres in Bristol and runs through April 4. Legacy Theatres. Bristol.

With its professional cast and local connections, early reviews say that "You won't believe it's a local film."

The film is called "Searching for the Elephant, " produced by Cross Purposes Productions.

Learn more in Teresa's conversation with filmmaker David Alford, Wednesday at 6 and Sunday at 2 on WEHC, 907, Emory -- and WISE, 90.5, Wise.  

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

March is Women's History Month and Dr. Amy Sorensen has presided over the opening of the new Helen Matthews Lewis Women's and Gender Center at Emory & Henry College.

In this conversation, Sorensen addresses skepticism about a Center that addresses women's issues along with concerns of LGBTQ students. She shares her personal history that led to her passion for helping.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

Johnny Wood is a beloved broadcasting icon in the surrounding five-state region with a 44 year career at WCYB-TV.

HIs career has been recently celebrated with the debut of an hour-long documentary honoring his career.

Hundreds of people turned out for the premier of Good Morning. I'm Johnny Wood at the Paramount Theatre on Friday, March 8, 2024.

The video is now available on WCYB's YouTube channel.  

https://youtu.be/2DAj3RAsitU?si=AIKv2pgGmKpUpH7F

WEHC's host of This Conversation Teresa Keller worked with Johnny at WCYB before she joined the faculty at Emory & Henry and talks about old times with him in this episode.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.

Virginia Delegate Isarel O 'Quinn talks about his path from Patrick Henry High school and Emory & Henry College to the state legislature with a focus on his bill to pay for development of a small modular nuclear reactor, planned for Wise County in Southwest Virginia. He shares his philosophy of working across the aisle in state government at a time of harsh political fights on the national level.

At the time of the interview, his bill regarding SMNRs was still in committee but later passed. With approval from both House and Senate, the bill was awaiting the Governor's signature at the time of the broadcast of this interview.

Final text of the bill can be found at

https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?241+sum+HB1491

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia.