Inside Appalachia

After a disaster, can comics help set the record straight?  Alos, sifting through Hurricane Helene’s debris, one group tries to reunite keepsakes with their owners, including love letters. And a cafe in Virginia feeds the hungry and tries to destigmatize homelessness. For its outreach manager, whose brother lived on the streets for years, it’s personal.  

This week, we’re traveling to summer attractions across Appalachia. Like a bus that sits on a rock at the West Virginia confluence of the New and Gauley rivers. Also, one person’s weedy nuisance is another’s “golden” treasure. So says a North Carolina fiber artist.    And we spill the tea on a classic roadside attraction. You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia. 

This week, before emancipation, Appalachia provided pathways to freedom for enslaved people trying to escape bondage. A new project identifies more than two dozen previously unknown underground railroad sites. Also, the Fly Around Music & Arts Festival in North Carolina was inspired by the hard work that followed Hurricane Helene. And, a ballad about floods recorded a generation ago still provides solace for people today.You'll hear these stories and more, Inside Appalachia. 

This week, in the 1920s, Oscar Micheaux was an entrepreneur filmmaker in western Virginia. He became a world-renowned director and producer.Also, Kentucky’s poet laureate lives down the road from what has been called the country’s most lethal cryptid. Attempts to spot it have led to deaths. And, we talk soul food with Xavier Oglesby, who's passing on generations of kitchen wisdom to his niece.You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

This week, some folks are working to preserve the memory of Bristol, Virginia’s Black Bottom, a largely African American community wiped out by urban renewal. Also, small food producers embrace digital technology for the humble farm stand. And Kudzu, it’s coming for us.You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

This week, ballads tell stories about all kinds of real-life events, but after Hurricane Helene, one group of ballad singers felt some topics were still too raw. Also, the author of a new book on ancient Ohio credits a former grad student with introducing him to the region’s mysterious earthworks. And, the legacy of Affrilachian poet Norman Jordan includes a summer camp for teens to study their heritage.You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia. 

This week, we’re revisiting a show featuring storytellers out loud in front of audiences. Folks like five-time champion of the West Virginia Liars’ Contest, Bil Lepp.Also, musicians Anna and Elizabeth, whose storytelling used something known as a crankie.And, we’ll head to the International Storytelling Center in Jonesborough, Tennessee.You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

This week, some of the stories on our show inspired college student art — including a vivid image of a bear smashing a clarinet.Also, a Hare Krishna community in West Virginia serves vegetarian food made in three sacred kitchens. And, COVID-19 exposed the contempt society has for marginalized people. One author says, these folks are anything but passive. You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

This week, a new roleplaying game gives folks in the workplace a chance to be a mythical Appalachian monster. Southeast Ohio’s Nelsonville Music Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary in June. We talk with the founder about what keeps people coming back. And members of a Ukrainian Catholic church in Wheeling, West Virginia, make pierogies for their community every week. What makes them so good?  You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia. 

This week, Hurricane Helene devastated central Appalachia and disrupted the lives of people in recovery. In West Virginia, fur trapping continues, even in the 21st Century. And baseball is America’s past-time. One league is making the game more inclusive.You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia. 

This week, Appalachian Dungeon Fest spotlights the fantastical music of dungeon synth. Also, every year, the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival stages a formal dance. Organizers rely on a manual that’s been passed down for generations. And, small dairy farms are closing across the country. Central Appalachia has been hit hard.  You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia. 

This week — too often, people with mental health challenges or substance use disorder wind up in jail. But crisis response teams offer another way. Also, changes to the Endangered Species Act could benefit big business. They could also kill animals like the eastern hellbender. And, in troubled times, a West Virginia writer says to find peace in nature. We talk about her collection of essays. You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia. 

This week, historian Mills Kelly’s love affair with the Appalachian trail started when he was a boy scout. He was 12. Also, central Appalachia is known for exporting coal, but it’s losing people, too.  And, Cuz’s Uptown Barbeque in southwestern Virginia fuses Asian ideas with Appalachian comfort food, like cheesy egg rolls.You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia. 

This week, in author Willie Carver Jr.'s new book, he reconsiders a negative childhood experience with a neighborhood girl who might have just been looking for a friend.     Also, a southwestern Virginia community rang the alarm after more and more of its children were diagnosed with cancer. A local journalist is trying to unravel the cause.  And, the city of Asheville has a new crusading reporter. He’s a puppet. You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.  

This week, coal power can be expensive. Utilities run coal-fired power plants harder in the winter and summer when demand is high.  Also, two films made in West Virginia shot to the top of Netflix’s streaming charts. The state wants to encourage even more movies to be made in West Virginia by helping keep production costs down. And an Eastern Kentucky pharmacist serves vegan food for the holidays.You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia. 

Our Common Nature is a podcast from WNYC. It features cellist Yo-Yo Ma and producer Ana Gonzalez, as they explore America and talk to folks like West Virginia coal miners. This week, we follow Yo-Yo and his team as they venture into Appalachia. And we talk with Gonzalez about meeting people where they are.    You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia. 

This week, having a very specific talent can lead to a dream job. It’s how cartoonist John Rose got his foot in the door to draw the comic strip Snuffy Smith. Also, there are dos and don’ts for treating poison ivy. And, a young, old-time musician wants to save her family’s lost ballads. You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

This week, a new book for young adults. Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire mixes historical fact with spooky Appalachian folklore.  Also, over 15 years, a photojournalist documented an Ohio family. Now she’s a part of their lives. And an experimental guitarist records an album intended as a call to arms. You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia. 

We meet the woman behind the popular TikTok account “Appalachian Forager.” She makes jam from pawpaw and jewelry from coyote teeth. Also, we sit in on a master class in foraging for wild mushrooms. And, when a West Virginia pastor got assigned to a new church, folks tried to warn him. You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia. 

A new novel about two girls and an astronomy textbook draws inspiration from one of the quietest places in West Virginia.Also, author Annette Saunooke Clapsaddle talks about growing up as part of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians.And, a Kentucky tattoo artist practices traditional tattooing and traditional music. He says, they’re not too different.  You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.