Blankenship On Trial

On this West Virginia Morning, not much has been known about Appalachia’s contributions to the Underground Railroad, but a Marshall University historian is documenting that history. The post The Underground Railroad’s Route Through Appalachia, This West Virginia Morning appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting .

On this West Virginia Morning, affordable dental care is a little-talked-about challenge low-income families face in this state, but there is an effort underway to change that. The post Mobile Dental Care A Lifeline In Rural Communities, This West Virginia Morning appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting .

On this West Virginia Morning, many people are looking towards the country's future after the nation's 250th anniversary. A group in West Virginia is talking to the region’s youth to capture their voices and perspectives about what comes next. The post How Appalachia’s Young People See The Next 250 Years, This West Virginia Morning appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting .

On this West Virginia Morning a new musical, written right here in our region, takes a look at a small Ohio town, just across the river from West Virginia, that played a significant role in the development of the nation. The post Larry Groce On His New Ohio History Musical, This West Virginia Morning appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting .

On this West Virginia Week, bats play a critical role in our ecosystems and agriculture, but their numbers are declining in the face of a changing climate and disease. The post Studying Endangered Bats, A Pioneering Appalachian Filmmaker And The Supreme Court Rules On Local Sports, This West Virginia Week appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting .

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. Th...

This week, Inside Appalachia discusses the influence and contributions of Oscar Micheaux, an African American filmmaker who lived in Virginia in the 1920s. Mason Adams speaks with Roanoke historian Jordan Bell about Micheaux's life and career. The post A Look At Filmmaker Oscar Micheaux’s Impact, This West Virginia Morning appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting .

On this West Virginia Morning, both the U.S. and Japan are considering robots as a potential solution to an aging population amidst a caretaker crisis. The post The Robotic Future Of Caring For The Elderly, This West Virginia Morning appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting .

As baby boomers in West Virginia and nationwide continue to age, more Gen X and Millennial adults are finding themselves as caregivers for their parents. Pittsburgh’s major health systems are designing a new program alongside federal agencies aimed at keeping seniors at home for as long as possible. The post New Program Aims To Keep Seniors At Home, This West Virginia Morning appeared first on Wes...

Bats are the subject of myths and legends, often in a negative light. But that goes against the reality of their role in ecosystems, including critical agricultural services for humans. Bat populations have dropped significantly in the face of a changing climate and disease.  The post Appalachia’s Declining Bat Population, This West Virginia Morning appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcast...

On this West Virginia Week, the world’s largest transportable Ferris wheel arrives in Charleston, the SNAP ban on soda is blocked, and we look at an effort to expand local medical care through EMS.  The post A Very Big (Ferris) Wheel And Soda On SNAP, This West Virginia Week appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting .

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. The post Kudzu, Farmstands And Bristol’s ‘Black Bottom’ Community, Inside Appalachia appeared first on West Virginia Publi...

Urban renewal in the last century was supposed to revitalize struggling cities, but it often sacrificed Black neighborhoods and business districts, like Black Bottom in Bristol, Virginia. Inside Appalachia’s Mason Adams spoke with organizer Tina McDaniel about “The Souls of Bristol’s Black Bottom,” a project in Bristol that remembers the community through interpretive signs, public art and digital...

On this West Virginia Morning, federal cuts and changes to state law focused on Medicaid programs could undermine West Virginia’s drug addiction and treatment system for 50,000 residents. The post Federal Cuts To Medicaid Endanger Addiction Treatment, This West Virginia Morning appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting .

West Virginia leads the nation in overdose deaths, but not everyone experiences the crisis the same way. In this Regional Edward R. Murrow Award-winning episode of Us & Them, Trey Kay examines the unique challenges Black West Virginians face in addiction treatment and recovery — and what happens as the state changes how those services are funded. The post Us & Them Encore: Black West Virg...

A $1 million initiative through the Rural Health Transformation Program aims to help rural EMS agencies expand access to health care in rural and underserved areas of West Virginia. We spoke with Secretary of Health Dr. Arvin Singh to understand how the program is designed to work – and who it will focus on first. The post Improving Health Care Access In Rural Communities, This West Virginia Morni...

On this West Virginia Morning, our partner HealthQ explores why embracing the title of “caregiver” matters—and how recognition and support can make a difference in this phase of life. The post Caring For The Caregivers Of Aging Adults, This West Virginia Morning appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting .

On this West Virginia Morning, freshwater mussels play a vital role in the health of the region's waterways, but their populations have dwindled over the years. The post Protecting Appalachia’s Flexing Mussels, This West Virginia Morning appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting .

An heir files suit to keep his community hospital open, disparities in the distribution of school choice vouchers, and a West Virginia lawmaker is among those targeted in White House UFC fight plot.  The post Community Hospital Concerns, School Choice Vouchers And A Town’s Hidden History, This West Virginia Week appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting .

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 he...

Indigenous people created hundreds of earthen monuments in what is now Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. John E. Hancock, a professor of architecture and design at the University of Cincinnati, spent years studying these earthworks. He published a guidebook for visiting them. Inside Appalachia’s Bill Lynch spoke with Hancock about the book.   The post A Guidebook For Visiting Ancient Earthworks, T...

On this West Virginia Morning, State Sen. Ryan Weld has written a history of Wellsburg through a unique lens -- he focused on 14 homes in the town and the people who lived in them. The post New Book Charts Town’s History Through Its Homes, This West Virginia Morning appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting .

On this West Virginia Morning, an Appalachian distillery has rediscovered an old technique for aging their bourbon and whiskey products. The post A Forgotten Secret Of Bourbon Aging Rediscovered, This West Virginia Morning appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting .

On this West Virginia Morning, the nine-banded armadillo has become an indicator of rising temperatures in Kentucky and the surrounding region. The post Climate Change Brings Armadillos To Appalachia, This West Virginia Morning appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting .

On this West Virginia Week, the unhoused population in the state declines, child well-being remains the same, and just how many abandoned gas wells are there?  The post Abandoned Gas Wells And The Unhoused Rate Declines, This West Virginia Week appeared first on West Virginia Public Broadcasting .