This Conversation

Yogev Von Kundra had thought of himself as half-Jewish -- until he made a trip to Israel with the Birthright Program in 2018. The trip transformed him. He describes powerful experiences, especially visiting the wailing wall in Jerusalem and shares his views on the Israeli-Hamas war. He now operates a farm in Washington County Virginia, influenced by Jewish history, practices, and spirituality. At...

The Digital Marketing and Advertising Manager of the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Bristol says she loves her job. Lindsay Powers is also a graduate of Emory & Henry's Mass Communications Department and explains how all the skills from her undergraduate education plus her career experience came together for the opportunity to market the large gaming and entertainment facility in Bristol. Men...

Retired criminal defense attorney Jay Steele reflects on his 44 years of practice in Southwest Virginia, representing those facing both federal and state charges. The big question people always want to know: how can you defend people who may be guilty of serious crimes? And why, in Steele's case, is it more challenging to defend someone you believe to be innocent? What cases stand out? What concer...

Los Angeles Pro Wrestler CEREAL MAN graduated from Emory & Henry College in 2008. Hear the story of Derek Smith's journey from College to the Pro Wrestling Circuit. You can find his costume and prop creations on Etsy at the Sweat Monster Shop. https://www.etsy.com/shop/SweatMonsterShop Mentioned in this episode: WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia. Stay tuned, connected, informed a...

Marika Katanuma is a Japanese journalist, working on both the English and Japanese branches of Bloomberg news in Tokyo. She quickly rose through the ranks at Bloomberg to hold responsibility for news stories, websites, and making major news judgments. One of her investigative projects explored the gender gap in pay between women and men in Japan. Hear how she chose Emory & Henry College for he...

This week's interview delves into the pros and cons of the proposed Virginia Constitutional Amendment that will appear on ballots for the November 2024 Election Ballot. The Amendment intends to expand a current tax exemption on homes owned by spouses of members of the military who die "in the line of duty." Previously, the exemption was only extended to spouses of those who were "killed in ac...

Democratic Congressional Candidate for the 9th District in Virginia addresses her positions and answers questions about major issues in the Tuesday, November 5, 2024 election. Incumbent Congressman Republican Morgan Griffith declined to be interviewed for This Conversation unless another host would conduct the interview, believing that I cannot conduct an impartial interview. His staff reports tha...

Washington County Virginia Democrat Party Chair Susan Stancil talks about the party platform that makes her feel connected: An economy that lifts up the middle class and doesn't cater to the wealthy; the right for a woman to determine her own reproductive health and not leave abortion decisions to the government; support for the 2nd Amendment; support for public education; a mission to protect Dem...

In the first of a two-part series, we hear from Republican Mark Matney about why he finds Republican values align with his personal beliefs. He cites small government and low taxes as a top priority and credits former President Donald Trump with improvement in jobs. He sees support for his religious beliefs of anti-abortion and sinfulness of homosexuality and people who seek transgender care. Matn...

Washington County Virginia Voter Registrar Derek Lyall addresses accusations that voting results cannot be trusted. You will find much additional info about your candidates and information about where you vote at Vote411. https://www.vote411.org/ Here is a link to Cardinal News' coverage of the 2024 election with information about Virginia candidates and the intent of the proposed Constitutional A...

Dr. Ed Davis, Professor of Geography and Environmental Science, is an optimist. He is one of 97% of those in the scientific community who believe that dangerous climate change is caused by human behaviors. He will talk about increasing and more dangerous floods, storms, droughts, hot temperatures, and rising water levels. But, he believes that humans have a notable record of doing the right thing...

We are dedicating this episode of This Conversation to another show on WEHC: Keys to the Game with Gary Lester. Keys to the Game is celebrating ten years on the air with its focus on the inside view of Emory & Henry football where Gary talks to the coach. With the trust the coaches have for him, he gets the explanations of what happened in the previous game -- and what to expect in the next ga...

Sally's story of alcoholism began with a wine cooler at the age of 13 -- the drinks provided by a mother of her teenage friend! Her story is quite different from "Eric's" who told us in Part 1 of this four -part series about being a high-functioning alcoholic. He operated mostly under the radar until a serious health issue ultimately led him to Alcoholics Anonymous and sobriety. https://player.cap...

If one in ten American adults is an alcoholic, that means there are lots and lots of friends, family members, spouses and others who love them and live with them and who have resulting struggles of their own. In this episode, "JANE" talks about the help she gets through Al-Anon, an organization that focuses on relatives of alcoholics. She's also a member of Adult Children of Alcoholics because of...

To conclude our four-part series on alcoholism, we talk with Professor Matthew Tirrell, Director of Addiction Counseling at the Emory & Henry School of Health Sciences. How do we know that alcoholism is a disease? Why is it a family disease? What works and what doesn't in counseling sessions? What behavioral patterns emerge in families of alcoholics? Mentioned in this episode: WEHC 90.7 FM is...

This conversation with "Eric" begins a four part series focusing on alcoholism. Many estimates say that one adult in ten of American adults is an alcoholic. Eric's story is one of a high-functioning alcoholic who operated mostly under the radar until a serious health issue ultimately led him to Alcoholics Anonymous and sobriety. He learned that alcoholism is a disease. He agreed to this interview...

Police in Saltville arrested a man for disorderly conduct for trying to sit at a table designated for "Press" at the Saltville Town Council Meeting on July 9, 2024. David Huff said he was a reporter. The police officer did not accept the Press Pass he showed that identified him with a website. Mr. Huff was given approval for a court-appointed attorney at his arraignment date on...

Odd connections: St. Paul attorney, activist and author Frank Kilgore died on Sunday, July 14. On July 15, former president Donald Trump picked JD Vance as his VP running mate for the Republican ticket in the Presidential race for November 2024. This show is a rerun of the October 2022 interview with Frank Kilgore about his book JD Vance is a Fake Hillbilly. Kilgore's book was in response to JD Va...

Scientists are constantly searching for ways to reduce the amount of carbon in the air to help combat climate change. In this episode, Dr. Alex Lewis talks about Electro-Active Technologies, the company he co-founded in Knoxville, TN, and the initiative to produce carbon-free hydrogen energy. The sophisticated process relies on microbes eating massive amounts of food waste. Electro-Active Technolo...

The Mel Leaman Free Medical Clinic is located in Marion, Virginia and serves those without insurance from Washington, Smyth, and Grayson Counties. The Mel Leaman Free Clinic offers general medical care and includes oral surgery, orthopedic care, mental health counseling, flu shots, free lab work, and free medicines. Volunteer professors and clinicians from Emory & Henry's College of Health Sci...

Appalachian Sustainable Development is bringing a new $12 million dollar farm to Washington County, Virginia. In this conversation, ASD Director of Development Sylvia Crum brings to life the vision of helping farmers expand the market for their products to the entire Northeast region -- so they make more money, farming practices are improved, and the regional economy grows. Mentioned in this episo...

Pop Quiz: What's the difference between a county attorney and a commonwealth attorney? That's how this interview begins and moves on to the duties of a county attorney, including responsibilities related to Washington County's proposed solar farm. Brandon Snodgrass walks us through his journey to the County Attorney's Office and the reward he finds in his work. Mentioned in this episode: WEHC 90.7...

Why would a D-I coach take a paycut for a job at a small university in southwest Virginia? You'll find the answer in This Conversation with Emory & Henry's new head basketball coach Jimmy Allen. According to Emory & Henry news: "Jimmy Allen  ’93 has been selected as the next Head Men’s Basketball Coach. Allen returns to his alma mater with 31 years of coaching experience and a career...

Chris Kolakowski is Director of Wisconsin Veterans Memorial and author of three books on military history. He's also a graduate of Emory & Henry College. In this interview, Chris traces his path from growing up in Fredericksburg, Va. through Emory & Henry and into the world of presenting history to the public. Mentioned in this episode: WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia. Stay...

Karen Baker, a current resident of Floyd County, Virginia, brings a background as a trial lawyer and an Administrative Law Judge to her campaign to unseat Virginia's 9th District Congressman Morgan Griffith. In this interview, she talks about her desire to serve people with examples of national laws she helped change related to age discrimination -- and how she prepared for nursing school while se...