This week on Inside Appalachia, we’re talking with the creators of the “Black in Appalachia” podcast about their recent mountain road trip through the coalfields.

“What we saw on our trip mirrors very well the things that we have been thinking about, and talking about,” said the show’s co-host Enkeshi El-Amin. “In some ways it’s affirming, but also it’s sad, that these are the struggles that Black folks are having across the board.”

Also in this episode, we learn about how debates over LGBTQ issues are playing out on the Qualla Boundary, in Western North Carolina. The Eastern Band of Cherokee doesn’t recognize same-sex marriage. But some LGBTQ members have spent the last several months trying to change that. We’ll also hear how some renters in Pittsburgh don’t feel safe in their homes, due to rodents, roaches and leaky roofs. And a nurse in Appalachian, Tennessee shares her memories of growing up in the 1930s, and how she found her profession.