Vital Voices

World War II historian Dr. Stephen Fritz discusses Adolf Hitler's role as military leader.

We take a tour through Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia with Robert Sorrell, author of the book Secret Appalachian Highlands: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure.

In this edition of “Vital Voices,” we examine the problem of hunger in Appalachia and what one organization is doing about it. Feeding Southwest Virginia is marking 45 years of service to a region where one child in every five is facing hunger. Our guest is Rachel Garnett with Feeding Southwest Virginia.

On December 18, 2025, the Lumbee Fairness Act was signed into law, giving full federal recognition to the tribe for the first time. Our guest, Dr. Lawrence Locklear, is an enrolled citizen of the Lumbee Tribe and Director of Southeast American Indian Studies at the University of North Carolina Pembroke.

We discuss the life and legacy of Ron Gonnella, one of Scotland's most influential fiddlers. Our guest is Dr. Jane MacMorran, a former United States National Fiddling Champion and Director of Appalachian, Scottish, and Irish Studies at East Tennessee State University.

Knoxville author Marilyn Mascaro writes of the coming of the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, through the perspective of her ancestors.

In East Tennessee, Roxanne McDaniel is leading a dulcimer revival. We talk with her about the traditional Appalachian instrument and hear some samples of her artistry.

With recent reports of power blackouts in Cuba, we revisit an interview we did last year with Alex Fraga, owner of Hemingway's Cuba in Asheville, North Carolina. His father, the late Tony Fraga, was forced to flee Cuba because of the policies of dictator Fidel Castro.

East Tennessee State University President Emeritus Dr. Paul E. Stanton, Jr., died on March 5, 2026, at the age of 81. Dr. Stanton was the institution’s eighth president, serving from 1997 until 2012. In this interview from 2007, Dr. Stanton talks about one of his hobbies and how it was centered around family. A native of Georgia, Dr. Stanton was passionate about boiled peanuts.

March is National Kidney Month, and in recognition of the observance, we speak with Dr. Douglas Hale, a transplant surgeon with Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He describes how kidneys are transplanted and talks about the importance of organ donation.

We reflect on the career of Renee Montagne and her 40 years in public broadcasting.

We visit the Johnson City, Tennessee, Police Department to learn about the work of K9 Buck, the department’s first electronic storage detection dog. Joining us for the interview is K9 Buck’s partner, Sgt. Tim Hensley.