Inside Appalachia

01/31/2025

This week on 🌄, 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 near it say government officials are ignoring their concerns about pollution.

Click/tap the link below 👇 and listen to this episode now. 🎧

https://buff.ly/3YiPGnS

01/30/2025

We’re proud to have 89.7 WSHC Shepherdstown, West Virginia, as a partner. Thank you for helping us reach new listeners with Appalachian stories.

Tune in to WSHC on Sundays at 7am or 6pm to catch the latest episode of Inside Appalachia.
https://bit.ly/4eaP4c0

01/29/2025

The West Virginia Mine Wars are an important but little known piece of American history. Coal miners in southern West Virginia had been trying to organize a union, while coal companies tried to stop them. Strikes and violent clashes ensued, culminating in the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921. A version of the story is told in the new graphic novel “Black Coal and Red Bandanas: An Illustrated History of the West Virginia Mine Wars.”

Mason Adams spoke with its author, Raymond Tyler.

This story and more this week, 🌄

The West Virginia Mine Wars are an important but little known piece of American history. Coal miners in southern West Virginia had been trying to organize a union, while coal companies tried to stop them. Strikes and violent clashes ensued, culminating in the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921. A vers...

01/29/2025

ICYMI 👇 Check out one of our recent Folkways stories from Zack Harold. There’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls straight out of the oven. A baker in West Virginia borrows from her Finnish family roots to put a new twist on this traditional treat.

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There’s nothing like the smell of freshly baked cinnamon rolls straight out of the oven. A baker in West Virginia borrows from her Finnish family roots to put a new twist on this traditional treat. Folkways Reporter Zack Harold has the story.

01/24/2025

This week, 🌄 speaks with the author of a new graphic novel about the West Virginia Mine Wars. The labor struggle culminated in the largest armed uprising since the Civil War.

Also, professional storyteller James Froemel invents quirky characters, like a sign maker who can’t spell. Froemel’s stories are drawn from small town life.

And, one of the most common animals to get hit by cars are possums. But, there’s a kind of animal rescue called pouch picking. We talk with author Laura Jackson.

Click/tap the link below 👇 to listen now. 🎧

https://buff.ly/3PPVFPk

01/20/2025

Inside Appalachia brings Appalachian culture to life. If you enjoy the show, share it with a friend and spread the word about these incredible stories. ✨

When Lee Orr goes fly fishing, he doesn’t haul his rod in one of those racks on the front bumper of his pickup. He doesn’t wedge it into the back seat. He doesn’t throw it in the bed to rattle around with his tackle box and cooler. Orr keeps his fishing rods in a hard plastic case.

https://bit.ly/4f8jrB2

01/17/2025

This week on 🌄, a West Virginia baker draws on her Finnish heritage to make a different kind of cinnamon roll.

Also, for nearly a century, some of Appalachia’s best wood carvers have trained at a North Carolina folk school. Newcomers are still welcomed in to come learn the craft.

And, a conversation with Kentucky poet Willie Carver Jr.

Listen to Inside Appalachia SUNDAYS at 7AM & 6PM on WVPB Radio. Tune in to your local WVPB radio station 📻, our live stream at wvpublic.org, with our WVPB app 📱, or ask your smart speaker to play West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Or listen on your own time wherever you get your podcasts. 📱🎧

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01/10/2025

This week on 🌄, a talented, young folk singer looks for the balance between making music and making a living.

Also, after six generations, keeping the family farm going can be rough. We hear the story of the Wakefield family in Pennsylvania, which has farmed for six generations.

And the Hellbender Salamander is the largest amphibian in North America, but they’re picky about where they live, and their habitats are threatened.

Click/tap the link below 👇 to listen now. 🎧

This week, a talented, young folk singer looks for the balance between making music and making a living. Also, after six generations, keeping the family

01/08/2025

Ready to dig deeper into Appalachian culture? Visit our Folkways page for stories that go beyond the surface and into the heart of the region.

Follow the link here! https://bit.ly/3NV7ClY

01/02/2025

These are the voices of Appalachia. Listen as our Folkways reporters bring you stories from this side of the mountain.

Listen to episodes here! 🎧 https://spoti.fi/4emfSGB

Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

12/21/2024

Shout out to all our stations bringing Inside Appalachia to listeners far and wide.

To see a list of all our affiliate stations follow the link here! https://bit.ly/3YUpYKc

12/19/2024

The heart of Appalachia is in its stories. Listen to Inside Appalachia and connect with the people and traditions that keep our culture alive.

Listen to all available episodes here! 🎧 https://spoti.fi/3CdY2b6

Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

12/18/2024

Shout out to Blue Ridge Public Radio in Asheville, North Carolina, for carrying Inside Appalachia. Tune in and discover the stories behind Appalachian traditions.

Episodes air on Sundays at 2pm!
https://bit.ly/3NTk7ON

12/16/2024

The stories from this side of the mountain are as rich and diverse as the people who live here. Tune in and explore what makes this region so dynamic.

For all listening options visit our website here! 🎧 https://bit.ly/3YUpYKc

12/15/2024

Appalachia is more than a place—it’s a culture, a community, and a story. Hear the voices that are shaping its future on Inside Appalachia.

Listen Sundays at 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. on West Virginia Public Broadcasting's statewide radio network.
https://bit.ly/3YUpYKc

12/14/2024

Inside Appalachia is best when shared. Tell a friend about the show and explore Appalachian stories together.

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In late winter in Highland County, Virginia, maple syrup production is a visible part of the landscape. There are maple trees everywhere, adorned with metal buckets and laced with blue tubing.

Clara Haizlett reports from Highland County, Virginia.
https://bit.ly/4faoH7r

12/13/2024

This week on 🌄, we learn about the online world of Appalachian memes — and what they tell us about folks who live here.

Also, parts of West Virginia have been radio silent since the 1950s for scientists to monitor the skies. 🔭 So, what does that mean for first responders in an emergency?

We also remember poet Nikki Giovanni who passed away on Nov. 9. We revisit an interview with her from 2022.

And winter holidays are here. 🎄 We’ve got some tips to keep the festivities from going up in smoke.

👉 Listen to Inside Appalachia SUNDAY at 7AM & 6PM on WVPB Radio. Tune in to your local WVPB radio station 📻, our live stream at wvpublic.org, with our WVPB app 📱, or ask your smart speaker to play West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

Or listen on your own time wherever you get your podcasts. 📱🎧

📷 Pictured:

1. A photo of Andi Marie Tillman as “Papaw” showing off some of Little Bubby Child’s merch; a shirt that says, “Meemaw Tried.” Photo courtesy of Little Bubby Child

2. A photo of poet Nikki Giovanni in 2015 at Shepherd University. Photo Credit: Shepherd University

3. A photo of hands checking a smoke detector. Photo Credit: Alexander Raths/Adobe Stock

4. The Inside Appalachia logo in a light pink color against a green background.

12/12/2024

Tune in for Inside Appalachia on WMMT FM in Whitesburg, Kentucky.

Catch a show—Sundays at 11am and Tuesdays at 5pm!
https://bit.ly/3CmS0Vv