End of the Line

The Means of Production - Episode 10 by pipelinepodcast.org

The Means of Production - Episode 9 by pipelinepodcast.org

The Means of Production - Episode 8 by pipelinepodcast.org

If you're wondering how WRIR has changed Richmond in the last 20 years, look no further than the legacy of their local news and talk programming. In this almost final episode of the series, we're taking a look at WRIR's impact on Richmond through the example of one of its longest running local - and live - talk shows, The Defenders Live, with host Ana Edwards. For over 20 years, Ana has made Richm...

After 20 years on the air, it's easy to forget that WRIR's existence wasn't always a matter of course. Were it not for a serendipitous mix of people and circumstances, WRIR likely wouldn't exist at all. With just three months left on their FCC deadline, their biggest make or break hurdles were still in front of them. And future DJ Dustin Richardson was eagerly waiting to put his energy and kitchen...

Like any project that takes the cooperation of many hands, building a community radio station is really, really hard work. WRIR was not the only LPFM station getting started in the 2000s that ran into road bumps along the way. With 18 months to get on the air, Radio Free Richmond was a "work in progress" almost until their FCC deadline. In this episode, we meet the space that would one day become...

Do we know how Richmond's independent community radio station really came to exist? From a country station out of Hampton Roads to George W. Bush, to the many people drawn to the Radio Free Richmond project, we're continuing to break down the strange alchemy of factors contributing to WRIR's existence, and how close they came to never making it to the air. Original air date: July 4, 2025 Also airi...

In this episode, we learn how FCC Chairman William Kennard was convinced by the radio pirates to open up the FM airwaves for communities to start their own low power radio stations, and why the major broadcasters were so opposed to the concept of low power community radio. Original air date: May 2, 2025 Also airing on WRIR-LP 97.3 FM every First Friday at 9am right after Democracy Now! Stream ever...

In Episode 2, we travel back to the Richmond of the 80s and 90s, a time of experimentation and pushing the boundaries in local art, music, and independent radio. We hear from radio pirates in Richmond and beyond who were bucking the FCC’s corporate controlled media and how their actions inspired a growing movement to put the public back into “public airwaves.” We also learn more about what inspire...

Welcome to Richmond, Virginia’s “radio wasteland” - a dark time for music lovers and talk radio aficionados alike. It was a time of “tinned and programmed” playlists, a desert of “homogenous sound” on airwaves across the country. In this bleak desert, a band of media activists came together to create a radio oasis, a community radio station “for the rest of us” that would eventually become WRIR-LP...

Wrapping up our regular installments of End of the Line, we will return for quarterly longer-format episodes in the future. For now, we speak to some familiar voices about where the pipeline struggles stand right now, and what lies ahead. Original air date: 07/05/19

In this episode, pipeline opponents talk about "hope", how to see uncertainty in an emergent way, and what it takes to keep fighting giants. Original air date: 4/5/19

Hear Reverend William Barber's full speech at the Moral Call for Ecological Justice in Buckingham County, VA. Original air date: 3/15/19

Reverend William Barber of the Poor People's Campaign of North Carolina, and former Vice President Al Gore, recently visited the community of Union Hill in Buckingham County, VA for the Moral Call for Ecological Justice. Original air date: 3/1/19

Neal and Beth take us on a walk through the woods, teaching us about medicinal plants in Appalachia, and how their recent experience with Mountain Valley Pipeline has changed their approach to fighting back.

With the new tree sits in Elliston, VA, the Mountain Valley Pipeline blockades have now seen every season, shape and shade of Appalachia. Original air date: 10/5/18

Environmental lawyers explain all of the recent developments around stop work orders for the Mountain Valley Pipeline ahead of the next State Water Control Board meeting. Original air date: 08/17/18

In the final episode of "Season 2", pipeline fighters talk teacher strikes, remembering histories of resistance, and what winning really looks like. Original air date: 08/03/18

EPISODE 20: Stay by pipelinepodcast.org

Pipeline fighters are keeping their promise to watch Mountain Valley Pipeline's every move, catching almost daily construction failures that are damaging their creeks and streams, and doing the job that Virginia DEQ is either unable - or unwilling - to do. Original air date: 7/6/18

In this episode we hear folks at the "Hellbender Autonomous Zone" talk about the problems around private property and notions of ownership, and how we use collective resistance to fight not just pipelines but the systems that allow for exploitation and extraction that have been allowed to destroy communities in the North America for hundreds of years. Original air date: 6/1/18

"Nutty" has been living at the top of a 50 foot pole on the forest service road in Giles County for over 6 weeks. The forest service continues to impose order by drawing lines and then re-drawing them, and arresting anyone who crosses the line. Original air date: 5/4/18

As more eyes turn to pipeline resistance in Virginia, how does that resistance take root, and in what ways can community subvert the structures of power? Original air date: 4/20/18

Treesitters on top of Peters Mountain Stand have wondered if their action might be a spark to inspire pipeline fighters. Now others have answered their call, taking to the trees in the wetlands of Bent Mountain. Original air date: 4/6/18

Through wind storms, snow storms, two court hearings, and a temporary restraining order, the support for the treesitters at Peters Mountain Stand has only grown. Have they sparked something beyond just protecting these two trees? Original air date: 3/30/18