Inside Appalachia

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...

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 a woman who’s helping write a new TV show about the opioid crisis, to a community theater company in Harlan C...

The natural world can be a source of food and medicine along with a place to escape and unwind. There are people who know plants like they’re old friends, complete with stories and histories. These experts can also help guide us to recognize how plants can even help us in times of need. This week, we're listening back to an encore edition of Inside Appalachia about getting outside to embrace our w...

In the latest episode of Inside Appalachia , we’ll meet a man who makes wooden turkey calls. However, these aren’t ordinary turkey calls — they’re hand-crafted and feature intricate paintings. “Truthfully, I never called myself an artist, ever,” said Brian Aliff. But now, through a twist of fate, his turkey calls have become collectors’ items. Also on this week’s show, if you’ve spent any time flo...

When people talk about Appalachian music, banjos and fiddles are often the first things to come to mind. But what about hip-hop? Hip-hop lives all over, including in small towns and hollers across Appalachia. In this episode of Inside Appalachia , we’ll meet hip hop artists in southwest Virginia. Folks like Geonoah Davis, aka geonovah, who discovered rapping by way of poetry. “I always wanted to s...

The pandemic continues to inspire more people to go outside. One result? They’ve found more baby animals. This week on  Inside Appalachia , we’ll hear how everyday folks have helped rescue a record number of baby owls. And we’ll meet a woman who moved from L.A. to rural West Virginia. “It’s very wild here. It’s like the Wild West except we’re east of the Mississippi,” said Margaret Bruning, who’s...

Over Memorial Day weekend, airports across the country reported the highest numbers of people flying in more than a year. As more of us are dreaming once again of flight, we thought this would be a good time to listen back to an episode of Inside Appalachia that originally aired last summer. We’ll hear stories about flight: legendary aviators, fighter pilots, and a plane ride that didn’t quite go...

Our Inside Appalachia team recently won several awards for our reporting. This week, we’re listening back to some of these stories, including one about the John Denver classic, “Take Me Home Country Roads,” which was first recorded 50 years ago in 1971. “There was this overall mood of homesickness, not just for West Virginia but for our country. The song was born into that,” said Sarah Morris, an...

This week we're revisiting an episode of Inside Appalachia that features children's authors in and from our region. We'll hear Cynthia Rylant, who wrote "When I Was Young In The Mountains," David Perri, author of "Messy Larry," and Bil Lepp reading from his recent children's book "The Princess And The Pickup Truck," and Lyn Ford, a professional storyteller and children's educator, telling a story...

Many oil and gas workers come into contact with a fracking byproduct called brine. The gas industry says it’s safe. But is it really? This week on Inside Appalachia , we’ll talk with reporter Justin Nobel, who says some workers are being exposed to dangerous levels of radioactivity, which could be making them, and their families, sick. And, as we head into garden season, we’ll check in with an upd...

West Virginia native Anna Sale is host of the popular podcast “Death, Sex & Money.” It's a podcast that talks about, as she says, “the things we think about a lot and need to talk about more.” Sale’s new book, “Let’s Talk About Hard Things,” is about having frank conversations about topics that can make us uncomfortable, including relationships and death. “If you are ill, what are the kinds of...

In this era, kids spend so much time looking at screens. This week on Inside Appalachia , we’ll meet a storyteller and songwriter who inspires kids to get outside and explore nature. And we visit a former strip mine where Elk are being reintroduced. This episode explores stories about humans and nature, and what experiencing the outdoors means to different people.

Lots of rural communities in Appalachia also have unsafe drinking water. This week on Inside Appalachia , we’ll hear from people in Appalachia who are trying to bring clean drinking water to their friends and neighbors. President Joe Biden’s “American Jobs Plan” includes billions of dollars that would go to fixing water systems, but will it be enough to fix the underlying issues? And will it make...

This week's episode of Inside Appalachia is a mix of 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 just been named Kentucky’s Poet Laureate. You'll hear these stories, and more, in this episode.

We’ll hear an interview with historian Bob Hutton, who recently wrote an article about the Baldwin-Felts gunmen, who did the dirty work of Appalachia’s capitalists, even against their neighbors. We’ll also meet instrument-makers who are determined to find a way, even if it’s using the remnants of a refrigerator box, and women who are using poetry to undercut the wrong ideas people have about mount...

This week on Inside Appalachia , we talk with folks who are planting seeds of change — literally and figuratively. While many are finding joy through their gardens and food work, there are some people in Appalachia who are going through some of the most challenging times of their lives. We dig into the story of a tomato — and not just any tomato. There's a mystery behind an heirloom tomato, called...