Inside Appalachia

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 .

This week, punk music photographer Chelse Warren takes us into the pit. We hop a tiny train to discover the miniature wonders of a West Virginia model railroad. Then, we journey to eastern Kentucky, where they’re reclaiming their bootlegging heritage –along a new moonshine trail.

This week, we usher in the season of lights with our holiday show from 2022. James Beard-nominated West Virginia chefs Mike Costello and Amy Dawson serve up special dishes with stories behind them. We visit an old-fashioned toy shop whose future was uncertain after its owners died – but there’s a twist.  We also share a few memories of Christmas past, which may or may not resemble yours.  You’ll h...

This week, we pick up a little light reading at the Johnson City Zine Fest. And… Grab your dancing shoes and learn about a movement to make square dance calling more inclusive. Also, the perils of playing the spoons. You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia .

This week, Karly Hartzman of Asheville indie rock band Wednesday, talks about songwriting, place and spending a lot of time with a band on tour.  We also meet Emily Jones Hudson, who started a workshop to try and reinvigorate quilting in her community in Kentucky.  Also, we check in with the Alabama Astronaut and learn about a uniquely Appalachian form of art – religious music heard only in snake-...

This week, we head to the woods and take a master class in foraging for wild mushrooms. We also break bread and talk soul food with Xavier Oglesby, who is passing on generations of kitchen wisdom to his niece, Brooklynn. And we’ll hear about old-time music legend Aunt Jeannie Wilson. A marker has been set near the place where people used to hear her play. These stories and more this week, Inside A...

We'll meet a man who makes wooden turkey calls, but these aren’t just any turkey calls. Painter Brian Aliff doesn’t call himself an artist, but he intricately paints his turkey calls, which are now collectors’ items. We'll also meet people who make wooden paddles by hand and custom-decorate each one, and a man who repairs cuckoo clocks. Finally, we’ll travel to some of the most beautiful spots in...

Just in time for Halloween, we have a suite of spooky tales to make your skin crawl. We talk science fiction with Roanoke, Virginia-based writer and publisher Mike Allen, hear tales of the supernatural and learn about spiritualists coming to West Virginia. You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

Can the internet rebuild Appalachia? We ask sci-fi novelist and tech writer Cory Doctorow.   Also, fish fries have been a staple in Charleston, West Virginia’s Black community for generations. We learn more about them. And, hop on board the Cass Scenic Railroad for a visit with the people who keep the steam trains running. You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

This week, Rae Garringer felt isolated growing up and thought they were the only queer person in a small town. But they learned otherwise. Now they are collecting and sharing the stories of rural LGBTQ people from across the country. Also, surface mining changes the landscape in a way that makes flooding worse. And there’s no easy fix.  And we meet an Appalachian village witch, who wonders: How co...

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...

This week, a Pittsburgh artist channels the Steel City’s mythology and struggles — into tarot cards. Western North Carolina author Ron Rash shares his thoughts on writing about Appalachians. And we hear about efforts in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley to return a young bald eagle to the wild. These stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia .

Appalachians are often called mountaineers — but are they also "pioneers?" A new documentary reckons with what it means… to be a pioneer. In Michigan, an Appalachian mountain man competes in a championship tournament, for skipping stones — and we wade into a mountain wetland to search for one of the region’s most elusive creatures.  You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia .

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...

Rev. George Mills Dickerson of Tazewell, Virginia was born in the years after slavery ended. He’s remembered today through his poetry. And a new wave of black lung disease is ravaging Appalachia. We’ll hear more from a black lung town hall in Whitesburg, Kentucky. Coal miners have their own thoughts about black lung, too.

This week, a Virginia Tech researcher challenges deeply held ideas about the purity of natural springs. Also, meet the folks behind Angelos Old World Italian Sausage. They still use a family recipe that’s been handed down from generation to generation for over a century. Customers love it. You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.