Rural Remix

The opening discussion from this year's Rural Assembly Everywhere, Lead for America Co-founder Benya Kraus and Wahpetunwan Dakota artist, writer, and midwife Autumn Cavender — in conversation about what it takes to nurture thriving communities

Four experienced arts administrators discuss agency in storytelling and community voice. •  Francisco Guajardo , Chief Executive Officer of the Museum of South Texas History in Edinburg, Texas;  •  Madeline Matson , Executive Director of the Columbia Pacific Heritage Museum in Ilwaco, Washington; and  •  Gwendolyn Trice , founder and Executive Director of the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center...

This week on Keep it Rural, Daily Yonder reporter Claire Carlson talks about how in rural communities, where access to resources and support is already limited, the aftermath of disasters often brings a second wave of hardship.

This conversation was originally recorded for the Rural Assembly Everywhere virtual event. In this episode, Center for Rural Strategies President Dee Davis sits down with political scientists Kathy Cramer, from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Hahrie Han from Johns Hopkins University. They discuss the challenges facing American democracy, rural resentment and economic populism, and what it...

How have rural and urban economies diverged in recent decades, and what effect has that had on the geography of American politics? In this episode, Daily Yonder reporter Olivia Weeks speaks with historian Keith Orejel and journalist Nick Bowlin about the history of “small-town boosters,” the outsized effect of the Great Recession on rural America, and the lack of corporate accountability in sparse...

Hours-long lines, faulty vehicle permitting systems, and poorly maintained facilities beg one question: are there too many people visiting national parks?

Who is the rural voter and what does she stand for? In conversation with political scientists Nicholas Jacobs and Chelsea Kaufman, Daily Yonder reporter Olivia Weeks discusses the demographics of the rural electorate. In this episode, learn more about who actually turns out to the polls and the values that motivate their decisions.

Rural Assembly Everywhere virtual event is August 1st, 2024 at 1 pm Eastern. Register now ! In a year marked by elections and challenges, it’s essential to shift our focus toward envisioning what it truly means for rural areas to flourish. That’s why this year’s Rural Assembly Everywhere will explore a diverse range of topics, all centered on nurturing ourselves and our rural communities. Hear fro...

In this episode of Backroads Ballots, Daily Yonder reporter Olivia Weeks asks what the post-2016 years have taught us about progressive organizing in small-town America. With rural movement builders Annie Contractor and Anthony Flaccavento, they discuss the role of the labor movement in rural life, the “branding problem” facing Democrats, and the mismatch between short-term election cycles and lon...

Kamala Harris is most likely the new Democratic nominee for president. Does she have what it takes to win rural voters?

Daily Yonder reporter Claire Carlson's recent bat encounter on a camping trip prompted this episode all about the only mammal that flies. Over the past decade, a fungal disease has killed millions of bats in North America. The struggle to contain the disease illustrates how little control we humans have over illness and death, much to our own chagrin.

Are rural communities prone to conspiracy? Not necessarily. Daily Yonder reporter Claire Carlson breaks down this misconception by looking at the notorious Bundy family and the election denial movement.

Lois Keller is an avid baker and a spokesperson for the Kansas Wheat Commission. In this episode, she speaks about how her son’s diagnosis of Celiac disease has been a part of her baking history and all about many unique German bread recipes.  Check out recipes, show notes, and more on our website .

On this episode we are learning all about the art of making biscuits! Appalachian leader Margo Miller speaks about how a middle school competition led to a lifelong passion for biscuits and how she is returning to her roots through crafting and baking.   Check out the recipe, show notes, and more on our website .

With the recent conviction of former President Donald Trump, juries have been in the news. And on the mind of Daily Yonder reporter Claire Carlson who just reported for jury duty. In this episode, she discusses her experience and questions if certainty beyond all doubt is possible in courtrooms.

Tina Mozelle Braziel is a poet and author living in rural Alabama. In this episode she shares her secrets to cornbread, what life is like in the glass cabin she built with her husband, and some of her poetry. Check out the recipe, show notes, and more on our website .

On this episode, we are speaking with Cheryl Whitesitt about her grandmother's recipe for white bread. Cheryl is the Executive Director of the Minnesota Future Problem Solving Program where students are taught how to think, not what to think. Cheryl lives in Brownsville, Minnesota on a farm that has been in her husband’s family for many years, where she shares her love for breadmaking with her...

Our obsession with speed and efficiency might fill our stomachs, but it doesn’t do much else. Daily Yonder reporter Claire Carlson discusses   how we can slow down in a fast food culture.

On this episode we are speaking with Eliza Blue about the art of sourdough bread. Eliza is a folk musician, writer, and rancher residing in one of the most remote counties in the contiguous United States, Perkins County, South Dakota. Listen to learn how we can co-evolve with bread and how bread connects us to our ancestors. Check out the recipe, show notes, and more on  ⁠our website.

Welcome to Rural Food Traditions . We’re starting where many meals across diverse food traditions begin: with bread. On this episode we visit with Nico Albert Williams about fry bread. We discuss the bread's Native American roots, controversial history, and Nico's personal relationship to the language of food. Check out the Fry Bread recipe discussed on our website .

Extreme survival stories like the Donner Party’s expedition over the Sierra Nevada or the Uruguayan rugby team whose plane crashed in the Andes are sensationalized for the lengths they went to survive, but is what they did really so unbelievable?

Don’t be fooled by stereotypes. Rural people care about the natural resources on which their communities depend. This week Daily Yonder reporter Claire Carlson discusses the importance of specificity in environmental conversations and why environmentalists should listen to rural perspectives

Daily Yonder reporter Claire Carlson heard stories of multiple beached whales on the northwest coast in January 2023. Beached whales are not that uncommon on the shores of beaches on both coasts, but the number of dead whales has been growing. Claire's interest was piqued and thus began her whale obsession.

This episode of Rural Remix centers on the story of Jeans Corduroy and his journey as a transmasculine man in East Tennessee. Daily Yonder reporter Lane Wendell Fischer speaks with Jeans to explore growing up rural and queer, and identity’s impact on family, religion, and community.  Read the full story on  ⁠The Daily Yonder .

In the series's fifth and final episode, the narrative links back up with the present. Synthetic drugs like meth and heroin are being seized in their highest quantities to-date, and deadly overdose rates have reached new heights. What can be done? And what can the newfound popularity of harm reduction offer the debate? Learn more on our website.