Inside Appalachia

People in coal country are pleading for help as coal’s decline accelerates. This week on Inside Appalachia , we explore the economic and health impacts coal has had on coal communities in Appalachia. We’ll talk  about the past and the future of this industry, through the lens of its labor history, to the climate crisis. And we’ll hear from members of Indigenous communities on how they feel about t...

In the latest episode of Inside Appalachia , we’ll hear stories from creators across Appalachia and how they process their lives through their art, including songwriting, photography and self-published zines. We’ll talk with a climber who challenged the climbing community to rename racist and sexist route names, and won. Also in this episode, West Virginia singer and songwriter John R. Miller brin...

In this week’s episode of Inside Appalachia , we explore stories about the power of memory and tradition. Listeners across Appalachia share some of their favorite traditions, and our reporters and hosts share some of our family traditions, too. We’ve got recipes for things like cranberry salad and sorghum gingerbread. Reporter Zack Harold tells us how his family began a unique tradition of hunting...

In this week’s episode of Inside Appalachia we hear a roundup of some of our region’s news, from recovery efforts in Kentucky following devastating tornadoes, to how infrastructure funding from Congress could benefit communities in Appalachia. We’ll also hear from teenagers in Western North Carolina share poetry about how they see themselves and their identities.  Communities Rally To Support Torn...

Appalachia connects mountainous parts of the South, the Midwest, the Rust Belt, even the Northeast. The Appalachian Regional Commission defined the boundaries for Appalachia in 1965 with the creation of the Appalachian Regional Commission, a part of Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. It was legislation that sought to expand social welfare, and some localities were eager for the money, while other...

This week’s episode of Inside Appalachia explores stories about families, friends, and how people on opposite ends of the political spectrum connect through music, food and conversations about tough topics. We’ll hear the story of one of the world’s best fiddlers, Clark Kessinger, from St. Albans, West Virginia. We’ll learn how he inspired his nephew, Robin Kessinger, to play the guitar.  We’ll al...

The story of Appalachia can’t be summarized in one book, one article or one movie. Our region goes beyond just ill-considered stereotypes. This week on Inside Appalachia , we’ll learn about people who are digging beneath the surface, telling authentic stories about life in Appalachia. From women who are writing a new TV show about the realities of overcoming addiction and finding recovery, to a co...

This week on Inside Appalachia , we’ll hear how women in the mountains spearheaded movements to battle racial injustice, defend healthy communities, and fight for the rights of all Appalachians. We’ll talk with the author of a book called “To Live Here You Have To Fight,” hear from podcaster Anna Sale, and visit a camp that teaches young people to play rock music. Women aren’t front and center in...

This week on Inside Appalachia, we'll hear what happens when a family with roots in Mexico and in Appalachia combines its cultural identities through music. And we have a story about a park in southwestern Virginia that was created during the Jim Crow-era as one of the only recreation areas in central Appalachia for Black residents. Green Pastures eventually fell into disrepair, but now it's seein...

This week’s episode is all about ballad singers and storytellers. If you’ve listened to  Inside Appalachia  over the past year, there’s a good chance you’ve heard music by Anna & Elizabeth. This week on  Inside Appalachia , co-host Mason Adams sits down with Elizabeth LaPrelle, who grew up in Rural Retreat, Virginia. She and her husband Brian Dolphin moved from Brooklyn back to southwestern Vi...

A few weeks ago, we asked listeners to share your favorite spooky stories from across Appalachia. This week’s special Halloween episode of Inside Appalachia is packed with ghost stories and mysteries from across the region. Museums Central West Virginia has a new monster museum that pays tribute to Bigfoot. The Sutton museum is small, and located in the back of a store that sells knick-knacks and...

This week on Inside Appalachia , we’ll hear the story of a world-renowned steelpan drum maker from Trinidad who built instruments in a former coal mining town in West Virginia, and inspired others to learn his craft. We'll also talk with a man who treks hundreds of miles to seek out long-lost varieties of heirloom apples.“West Virginia, I call it my wild-goose-chase state because I’ve gone to so m...

This week on Inside Appalachia , we’re talking with the creators of the “Black in Appalachia” podcast about their recent mountain road trip through the coalfields. “What we saw on our trip mirrors very well the things that we have been thinking about, and talking about,” said the show’s co-host Enkeshi El-Amin. “In some ways it’s affirming, but also it’s sad, that these are the struggles that Blac...

The downturn of coal in Harlan County, Kentucky has led to an exodus of Black residents in search of work. This week on Inside Appalachia, we speak with William Turner, whose new book looks at growing up in a vibrant Black community during Harlan’s boom years.  “We’re so accustomed in Appalachia’s coal camps to booms and busts,” Turner told co-host Mason Adams. “And while it may never come back wi...

People in coal country are pleading for help as the coal industry nears the end of its long decline. This week on Inside Appalachia , we explore the economic and health impacts coal has had on communities in Appalachia. We’ll talk about the past and the future of this industry through the lens of its labor history to its future amid tough talks about the world’s climate crisis. And, we’ll meet a w...

One of the biggest storytelling festivals in the world is right here in Appalachia. Each October, storytellers and audiences of all ages gather at the International Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee. This year, because of the pandemic, the festival is going virtual . It takes place the first weekend in October. We thought it was a fitting time to listen back to an episode of Inside...

This week, we’ve pulled a few gems from our archive. We’re listening back to some of our favorite Inside Appalachia stories from the past year. We’ll go on a hike in one of Appalachia’s most gorgeous wild places — West Virginia’s Canaan Valley. We’ll also meet musicians who are growing Appalachia’s hip-hop scene. Those stories and more in this best-of episode of Inside Appalachia .

Right now, Congress is debating spending trillions of dollars to boost the country’s infrastructure. That covers roads and bridges, of course, but also what’s being called “soft infrastructure” — things like childcare. During the pandemic, parents have faced pressures and decisions unlike any before in human history. How do you balance it all, and maintain positivity, in the midst of all these cha...

In the latest episode of Inside Appalachia , we’ll hear stories from creators across Appalachia and how they process their lives through their art. Everything from songwriting, to photography, to self-published zines. Suzie Kelly has been making zines for more than 20 years. She talks about how DIY publishing can connect people in unexpected ways.  “Maybe a kid in California finds an Appalachian z...

This week's episode of Inside Appalachia is an encore episode filled with rich storytelling and cross-cultural collaborations. What happens when a musician from Belarus gets together with Appalachian folk musicians? And we’ll talk with Affrilachian writer Crystal Wilkinson, who has been named this year’s Kentucky Poet Laureate. You'll hear these stories and more in this episode.

In this week’s episode of Inside Appalachia , we talk with students, educators, life coaches and psychologists about what can help more young people stay in school, and get trained so they can get jobs, and stay in Appalachia. We meet Sharell Harmon, who works for a nonprofit called Youth Build, training  young people with hands-on skills so they can get jobs to help them get a job.  Harmon was a...

This week’s episode of Inside Appalachia is all about how we interact with water and our rivers. We’ll hear from people who make their living on the water -- like Marvin L. Wooten, a longtime river boat captain. He started working in the riverboat industry in 1979. “I got two job offers the same day, and I took this job,” Wooten said. “My dad always said the river will always be there. So that’s w...

This week on Inside Appalachia , we’ve got an eclectic mix of stories from across central Appalachia. We check in with residents in Kentucky who are struggling with the aftermath of devastating floods there five months ago. We also learn about the dark history of Eugenics in Virginia. We’ll talk with author Elizabeth Catte. You might remember her as the author of “What You’re Getting Wrong About A...

This week’s episode is all about ballad singers and storytellers. If you’ve listened to Inside Appalachia over the past year, there’s a good chance you’ve heard music by Anna & Elizabeth. This week on Inside Appalachia , co-host Mason Adams sits down with Elizabeth LaPrelle, who grew up in Rural Retreat, Virginia. She and her husband Brian Dolphin moved from Brooklyn back to southwestern Virgi...

This week on Inside Appalachia , we listen to an encore episode about places in Appalachia that are drawing visitors and newcomers, sometimes at a cost. The region needs new residents to drive economic prosperity, but an influx of buyers can also squeeze out lower income people and put stress on community infrastructure. West Virginia’s New River Gorge was recently designated as a National Park. T...