Inside Appalachia

This week, we meet a West Virginia artist who designs stickers, t-shirts, patches and pins. She draws on classic Appalachian phrases her family has used for years. They’re not all radio-friendly. Also, people who live near Indian Creek in southern West Virginia say something is wrong with the water. Tests show contamination from a nearby mine. Now people and animals are getting sick.  And, lots of...

This week, the woman behind the popular tik tok account “Appalachian Forager” makes jam from wild pawpaws … and jewelry from coyote teeth. We also talk with the hosts of a new podcast that looks at coal dust exposure beyond the mines, affecting people far downstream from Appalachia.  And, in some places, slavery continued in different forms well after the end of the Civil War. A new marker in West...

For nearly a century, the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival has staged a formal dance. We visit the festival and learn about a manual that’s been passed down for generations. Also, abortion is illegal in most cases in Tennessee. A photographer spent a year following one mother who was denied an abortion.  And we talk to Marshall University professor and poet Sarah Henning about her latest book, Bu...

This week, rock climbers with disabilities have found a home in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge, which offers some pumpy crags. Climbers have also been working to make West Virginia's New River Gorge more inclusive. And a master craftsman, who makes one of a kind whitewater paddles remembers some advice. You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia .

This week, a chef has created a hidden culinary hot spot in Asheville, North Carolina that’s attracting national attention for its eclectic menu and Filipino hospitality.  Also, every thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail (AT) begins with a first step. Famed hiker Jennifer Pharr Davis shares hers. And the holy month of Ramadan ends with a feast. But war and famine in Gaza muted some of this year’s ce...

In March, broadcast journalists from Virginia and West Virginia were recognized when the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters met to present awards for notable stories produced in 2023. This week, we listen back to some of our award-winning stories.

This week, a pair of former miners found love shoveling coal and shaped a life making wooden spoons. We learn about treenware. Also, NASCAR Hall of Famer Leonard Wood shares stories, and a bit of advice. And, group bike rides are a way to socialize and get outside. But here in Appalachia, newcomers are met with steep hills.

Spring wildflowers are in bloom, and some of the most common species play an important role in herbal medicine. This week, we learn about some of the ways people use violets. What’s your favorite style of egg roll? An acclaimed, out-of-the-way restaurant in Pounding Mill, Virginia bends culinary genres and uses an unexpected ingredient.  And, more and more school boards are pulling books from libr...

This week on Inside Appalachia, we’re talking about traditional ballads -- how they tell stories and connect us to the past.  These old tunes can mean so much. They can tap into difficult emotions and give feelings space to be heard. Some songs may even be too uncomfortable to sing. In this special episode with guest co-host, ballad singer Saro Lynch-Thomason, we explore songs about lawbreaking fo...

This week, we visit the Seeing Hand Association. They bring together people who are visually impaired to learn the craft of chair caning.   Corporate greed has been gobbling up newspapers for years. Now, some of those same companies are taking a bite out of mobile home parks. They’re raising rents and letting repairs slide. And, as the Mountain Valley Pipeline nears completion, people who live nea...

Red Terry’s property in Bent Mountain, Virginia, is in the path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. She says the place was beautiful, but she's worried about the dangers of the pipeline not far from her home. Plus, almost everybody has a favorite cup or coffee mug, but how far would you go to replace it? One woman would go pretty far. And… we explore an effort in western Virginia to make old-time mus...

This week, we’re revisiting our episode “What Is Appalachia?” from December 2021. Appalachia connects mountainous parts of the South, the Midwest, the Rust belt and even the Northeast. The Appalachian Regional Commission defined the boundaries for Appalachia in 1965 with the creation of the Appalachian Regional Commision, a part of Lyndon B. Johnson’s War on Poverty. It was legislation that sought...

Inside Appalachia remembers Travis Stimeling. The author, musician and educator left a deep mark on Appalachian culture, and the people who practice and document it.   And grab your dancing shoes and learn about a movement to make square dance calling more inclusive. Plus, it’s not just you. There are more deer than ever these days. A writer explores the long, complicated entwinement of people and...

For nearly a century, some of the best wood carvers in Appalachia have trained at a folk school in North Carolina. The Brasstown Carvers still welcome newcomers to come learn the craft. In 2021, Willie Carver was named Kentucky’s Teacher of the Year. Then he left his job over homophobia and became an activist and celebrated poet.  And, the zine Porch Beers chronicles the author’s life in Appalachi...

Step shows are a tradition at many historically Black universities, including schools in Appalachia. We hear about one that’s part of West Virginia State University’s annual homecoming celebration.  Abandoned industrial sites have long been a magnet for people to explore and turn into not-at-all-legal hangout spots, but some come with hidden dangers. We learn about the danger at Fairmont Brine, a...

Appalachians love to compete. Whether it’s recreational league softball, a turkey calling contest or workplace chili cookoffs, Mountain folks are in it to win it. But there’s more to competing than just winning or losing. In this show, we’ll meet competitors who are also keepers of beloved Appalachian traditions.

When the farming start-up, AppHarvest, launched in Kentucky, it promised good jobs in coal country — but some workers called it a grueling hell on earth. We also explore an island of Japanese culture in West Virginia called Yama.  And fish fries have been a staple in Charleston, West Virginia’s Black community for years. We visit one and learn a little about what’s made them so popular. You'll hea...

In 2016, a wildfire escaped the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It killed 14 people, injured dozens more and destroyed parts of Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. We talk with an investigative journalist who has new information on the incident. Also, four decades ago rice seeds from Laos crossed the ocean to California and made their way to a family of Hmong farmers in North Carolina. And the Appal...

Alleghany and Covington high schools were rivals for decades. But now, they’ve merged. This week, we head to a home football game and learn how it’s going.  Also, the daughter of a legendary guitar maker didn’t set out to take up her father’s craft — but she’s found it irresistible. And, we take a trip to the mushroom capital of the U.S. You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalac...

Black lung disease is back. In fact, it never went away. Now, younger and younger miners are living with a particularly nasty form of black lung disease.  Regulators and the coal industry have known about the problem for decades — but they’ve been slow to respond.  One reporter asks, “What would happen if thousands of workers in any other industry got sick and died just because of where they worke...

Since 2019, Inside Appalachia has brought you stories from our Folkways Reporting Project .  Folkways was created to boost awareness of Appalachian folk traditions and how they’re passed between people. In 2023, we added 25 stories to our growing archive that explore diverse arts, culture, food and people of Appalachia.  This week, look back at some of the past year’s Folkways highlights.

Since 1967, Foxfire has been a storehouse of traditional Appalachian knowledge that still helps people today. It continues to preserve music and history, but part of Foxfire’s heritage has been recording the stories of Appalachian women.  This week, Inside Appalachia, explores Foxfire –its past, present and future.

This week, we return to some of our favorite stories from 2023. Appalachia saw challenge and calamity, but people found joy … and strength. We learn about how an old family tradition is connecting with a new generation –and we find unexpected views and surprises just off the interstate.

This week, we go a-wassailing in Asheville, North Carolina. It’s kind of like Christmas caroling, with a kick. We also visit Kentucky’s Minnie Adkins. She’s had a long career as a folk artist, which began with a pocket knife.  And, family recipes bring generations together. But what happens when you’ve got grandma’s potato candy recipe, and it doesn’t have exact measurements?  You’ll hear these st...

This week, rock climbers with disabilities have found a home in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge, which offers some pumpy crags... Climbers have also been working to make the New River Gorge more inclusive. And a master craftsman, who makes one of a kind whitewater paddles remembers some advice. You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia .