Episodes

Briyana Baker on Rural Leadership in North Carolina 22.10.2026 23:11

How do small rural communities in North Carolina influence decisions about healthcare, economic development, and public resources? In this episode of Rural Narratives, host Layna...

The community efforts behind bridging western NC’s digital divide 07.10.2026 15:11

Across western North Carolina, residents are working alongside local government, churches and other organizations to identify where people are being left offline and find ways...

Bridging the Digital Divide in Rural North Carolina | Through The Trees 23.09.2026 12:00

What does it take to participate fully in community life when so much of it happens online? In rural western North Carolina, digital access can...

Public Health Is Human Health: A Story from Columbus County, NC 10.09.2026 9:26

In Columbus County in rural North Carolina, the COVID-19 pandemic changed how Lisa Richey thought about public health. Lisa came to Columbus County as a...

What We Carry With Us 26.08.2026 10:11

Vicki Wiggins worries about what happens when young people grow up surrounded by violence and become “unfortunately unfazed” by it. In Hertford County, Mayors Weyling...

Stories from Hertford County: How Public Health Shows Up Every Day 29.07.2026 11:43

How do we build strong public health systems? In rural Hertford County, North Carolina, the answer begins with people. These stories emerged from community story...

Beyond the Rankings: Stories from Columbus County 17.06.2026 14:50

What does health look like in a rural community? In Columbus County, North Carolina, it looks like a long drive to specialized medical care. It...

The Hands Behind Our Food: Farmworker Stories from Rural North Carolina 03.06.2026 13:29

Agriculture contributes billions of dollars to North Carolina’s economy and helps put food on tables across the country. Yet many of the workers who plant,...

The Stories We Tell About Rural Health 13.05.2026 9:06

Across this series, we’ve explored the stories told about rural communities. This episode examines how rural health is framed — and what those narratives reveal...

How trusted messengers in eastern North Carolina are building faith in public health 06.05.2026 12:45

Public health depends on science. But science alone doesn’t build trust. In rural eastern North Carolina, trust is shaped by lived experience — by whether...

What does it take to strengthen the systems people rely on in southeastern NC? 22.04.2026 15:50

Health is often talked about as a matter of personal choice. But the truth is, our well-being is shaped by much more than individual decisions...

Inside Black Rural Life: What We Miss When These Stories Aren’t Told 08.04.2026 17:55

Black communities have long been central to rural life in the South, helping shape the culture, economy and civic life of the places they call...

How Access Shapes Trust in Rural Health Systems 25.03.2026 11:58

In southeastern North Carolina, residents in Columbus County face some of the steepest challenges to living a healthy life. They consistently have the lowest health...

Building rural power with Down Home North Carolina 12.03.2026 13:34

In this week’s episode, we visited Down Home North Carolina, a non-profit organization that builds rural, multiracial and working-class power across the state through local...

Who Gets to Define Rural Communities? 25.02.2026 12:46

In our first episode, we ask: Who gets to shape the stories that define rural communities? Welcome to Rural Narratives, a new podcast about public...