Appalachian Firesides

Continuing our journey across the region as we document and discuss the sights to see and places to be in Appalachia, this week we're traveling to the great state of North Carolina, and visiting the North Carolina Arboretum. This more than 400-acre public space is filled with some of the most beautiful flora found throughout the region, and across the world. On your visit, you can take a serene st...

I'm joined on the podcast this week by one of my favorite authors, Jonathan Alter, who wrote my most favorite book on Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal (and that's saying something, because I've read A LOT of those). He and I have a wonderful conversation about his book, The Defining Moment: FDR's Hundred Days and the Triumph of Hope, the history behind the book and his process of writing it, th...

And just like that, summer vacation has come to a close. Between work, the LSAT, and much more podcasting than I was doing this time last year, this summer sure has flown by. By the time you all hear this, I will have moved in to my dorm at college, and have begun my senior year. I hope you all have enjoyed season three so far, and I very much hope that you all enjoy the content to come! This...

This week on Appalachian Firesides, we're covering just one of the many sagas that are part of #HotLaborSummer. I'm joined this week by Ayla Gokton, a doctoral student in Counseling Psychology and an organizer with the United Campus Workers Union at the University of Louisville. This is a wall-to-wall union comprised of workers from different backgrounds at the University — UCW has several chapter...

EASTERN KENTUCKY FLOOD RELIEF FUNDS AND RESOURCES: https://secure.kentucky.gov/FormServices/Finance/EKYFloodRelief https://governor.ky.gov/disaster-response/flood-resources https://appalachianky.fcsuite.com/erp/donate/create/fund?funit_id=1924 https://appalshop.org/news/appalachian-flood-support-resources Firstly, I'm sure that many of you have been seeing the heartbreaking news coming out of east...

This week, I'm joined on the podcast by Peter Canellos, Managing Editor for Enterprise at POLITICO and author of "The Great Dissenter: The Story of John Marshall Harlan, America's Judicial Hero". This book is a page-turner, from start to finish, and Peter tells the fascinating story of John, who was born and raised in Kentucky and served on the U.S. Supreme Court from 1877 to 1911, and Robert Harl...

Welcome to the fourth installment of the Sights to See and Places to Be in Appalachia series, where I highlight some of the many fantastic attractions, businesses, and landmarks that Appalachia has to offer, and are worthy of a visit from anyone and everyone. This week, we're once again venturing outside of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and over to the Commonwealth of Virginia, to highlight Natura...

Welcome back y'all! If you celebrated Independence Day in the U.S. this past week, I hope everything went well. If you haven't yet, be sure to watch both "National Treasure" moves—if not in celebration of the 4th of July, just because they're both amazing films. This week, I am joined by Dr. Stephen Voss, Professor of Political Science at the University of Kentucky. He and I go into a lot of topic...

For our first installment of Sights to See and Places to Be for Season 3 (man, I am killing it with these rhymes, huh?), we're venturing outside of Kentucky and to the great state of West Virginia! This week, I had a chat with Evan, he and his wife own and operate an online business called "Loving West Virginia". They have got some awesome products for sale, from t-shirts and stickers to hats, mag...

Welcome back friends, this one is a doozy. I'm joined once again in this season three opening act by my very good friend, Andy. In our conversation, we have something for just about everyone: our thoughts on the debate surrounding gun policy in the U.S., UFOs and extraterrestrial life, the Atlantis movie from Disney and the enduring legacy of Phil Collins. I have quite a few ideas for the show goi...

Here it is y'all, the final installment of season two. I think that I've grown and improved quite a bit over the last year since I started the podcast; I hope that it's  been an enjoyable experience for you all, and I hope that I've done my part in authentically showing y'all what Appalachia is like, in all of its complexity and beauty. I know that I still have room to improve, but I can't th...

Thank you all so much for tuning in this week for the second episode of our new series, The Sights. to See and the Places to Be in Appalachia. This week, we're highlighting an awesome independent bookstore in Hazard, Kentucky: the Read Spotted Newt. I hope you all enjoy this episode, and more than that I hope you'll pay a visit to the Read Spotted Newt when you get the chance! I've linked the Newt...

Y'all are gonna love this one! I'm joined this week by Lindsey Branson, Director of Education for the Appalachian Arts Alliance, based in Hazard, Kentucky. The Arts Center is a non-profit organization that seeks to promote artistic expression in Appalachian communities through lessons in voice and instruments, theatre groups and various community programs. I cannot overstate how important the work...

Y'all, I am so excited to share this new series with you! In these episodes, I'll be sharing with y'all, just some of the many local points of interest from all across Appalachia. This way, I hope that y'all will not only get a glimpse into the real places and real people that make Appalachia such an amazing place to be, but also, if you're ever in the neighborhood and feel so inclined, you can vi...

In the words of Hank Pym from Marvel's Ant Man , "Yes, I'm still alive". After an unexpected hiatus, I'm back on the podcast with my very good friend Bella. She and I have a great conversation about our home, Appalachia: our love for the region, its history, its culture, and the wonderful people who call it home. We discuss some of the challenges confronting Appalachia, and how we feel that those...

It's just me this time, but I promise not to hold y'all for an hour like I usually do. With the State Government preparing to pass a two-year budget for Kentucky, I thought it'd be a good idea to give a quick rundown of the budget proposed by Governor Andy Beshear, and its counterpart offered by the Majority Party in the Legislature. The two are pretty similar in a few ways, but it's the big diffe...

Y'all, this one is a heck of a ride. I'm joined this week by my very good friend Drew Hayden, and we discuss a whole bunch of topics. Everything from taxing Jeff Bezos and his golden-laced hot tub, the new Forward Party that's in the works by former Democratic Presidential and NYC Mayor candidate Andrew Yang, how Drew and I feel that we can create a more equitable economy, and we round it out with...

Coming in a little late here but, Happy New Year y'all! With a New Year comes new opportunities: to love our neighbors, to expand our horizons, discover what gives our life meaning, but most importantly, this new year brings with it...the opportunity to see The Batman in March. In this episode, I cover some recent news stories in Kentucky: Governor Andy Beshear has raised more than a million dolla...

Newly returned from adventuring and back on American soil, in this premier of Season 2, I give y'all a quick recap on what I feel is one of the most important lessons I learned while studying at Oxford— a lesson I feel that we can apply to any circumstance or situation in which we find ourselves. We also hear some updates on the severe storms and tornadoes which struck western Kentucky earlier thi...

If I had a dollar for every time that I said "anyway" in this episode...Anyway, remember when I said that I would try to upload every week? Those were the days, huh friends? This time on Appalachian Firesides, I give you all a bit of an update on state and national news—with all of the humor and apprehension that implies—as well as some excellent book recommendations, and a heads up on a new adven...

With Kentucky’s COVID-19 numbers almost as high as Sturgill’s newest album is on the charts, I wanted to talk to y’all about how we got here—specifically, how Governor Beshear has kicked butt, taken names, and shown what a real leader looks like—,what I think will come next, and what we can ALL do to help make things better. I promise, next time I’ll try to cover a subject that’s not as depressing...

Join Andy and I as we discuss Wes Anderson’s masterpiece film, “Fantastic Mr. Fox”, the lessons we’ve learned from it, it’s musical repertoire, and it’s ingenious humor. On a decidedly more melancholic note, we discuss the terrible state of the Coronavirus pandemic in Florida—spoiler alert: we may or may not blame a certain Florida Governor whose name may or may not appear in the title of this epi...

In this first outing, I try to lay my cards out on the table, and give you all an idea of who I am, and what I hope to do through this this podcast. And, y’all get a little history lesson for your trouble…you’ll thank me later.