Inside Appalachia

Something About The Water In Berkeley Springs There are natural springs all over Appalachia. The deep folds of rock that make up our mountains bring water from the depths to trickle out of our hillsides. That's where many people got their fresh water in the years before indoor plumbing. But in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, people are still filling jugs with spring water to lug back home. Why? Folkways reporter Zack Harold decided to fish around for some answers. Keeping the Fires Lit On The Cass Railroad Since 2019, our folkways team has produced more than 100 stories about Appalachian folklife — that is, traditions that are being passed down from one generation to the next. Passing down those traditions is important. In our story about the Cass Railroad, you’ll meet railroad senior employee Rex Cassell. He passed away during the making of this story. But during his life, he was a crucial part of why visiting the Cass Railroad in Pocahontas County, West Virginia, feels like you’re stepping back in time. Folkways Reporter Lauren Griffin brought us this story. “Lark Ascending” Amid extreme weather events like floods and fires, a new literary genre is emerging, called cli-fi. Short for climate fiction. Cli-fi tells stories about the effects of climate change on people and society. And Appalachian writers are penning their own works in the genre, including one of the region’s premier writers, Kentucky author Silas House. His new novel is “Lark Ascending” which tells the story of a climate refugee from Appalachia.   The Message Behind The Music At “Healing Appalachia” The Healing Appalachia music festival returned to Greenbrier County in September. Headlined by eastern Kentucky’s Tyler Childers, the festival went from a single day to two and included performances by Arlo McKinley, Margot Price and Galactic, among others.  But the festival has a larger mission than just having a good time. Producer Bill Lynch spoke with organizer Charlie Hatcher about what the festival hopes to accomplish. Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Appalachian Road Show, The Company Stores, June Carter Cash and Tyler Childers. Bill Lynch is our producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Zander Aloi also helped produce this episode.

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.

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 library shelves. We’ll speak with a reporter in a Virginia county where 57 titles were yanked. 

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 folk heroes, runaway trains and murder ballads.

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 near it say government officials are ignoring their concerns about pollution. You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

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 music more available to Black musicians. 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 to expand social welfare, and some localities were eager for the money, while others resisted the designation. The boundaries and definition of Appalachia can now only be changed by an act of Congress. Politically, Appalachia encompasses 423 counties across 13 states — and West Virginia’s the only state entirely inside the region. That leaves so much room for geographic and cultural variation, as well as many different views on what Appalachia really is. For Inside Appalachia, we turned our entire episode over to the question, “What is Appalachia?” With stories from Mississippi to Pittsburgh, we asked people across our region whether they consider themselves to be Appalachian.

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 Appalachia — including a move from Huntington to Chattanooga, and back again. You're hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

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 site in West Virginia that processed liquid used in hydraulic fracking.   You'll hear these stories and more this week, 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 hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

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 Appalachian trail has been exhaustively hiked, explored and written about, but it’s still got a few secrets left. You'll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

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 Appalachia.

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 worked?”  This week, we’re talking about the black lung epidemic, Inside Appalachia.

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 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 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-handling churches.