On this episode of The Legislature Today, News Director Eric Douglas speaks with House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay. They discuss a number of issues including education, flooding in southern West Virginia and the crisis in foster care in the state. In the House Thursday, HB 2712 was introduced on the floor and sent to the House Health and Human Re…

This week, a Hare Krishna community in West Virginia serves vegetarian food made in three sacred kitchens. Also, an Asheville musician’s latest guitar album is a call to arms. And, we talk soul food with Xavier Oglesby, who is passing on generations of kitchen wisdom to his niece. You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia. In …

On this episode of The Legislature Today, Health Reporter Emily Rice speaks with Jim Kauffman, president and CEO of the West Virginia Hospital Association, and Jessica Dobrinsky, chief of staff and certificate of need policy expert at the Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy, about changes lawmakers are proposing to state code this session. …

On this episode of The Legislature Today, News Director Eric Douglas speaks with West Virginia Senate President Randy Smith, R-Preston. Smith was elected to be the Senate President for the 87th legislature that started this year. Against the backdrop of legislative action Tuesday, much of the state is reeling from massive flooding over the Presiden…

On this episode of The Legislature Today, News Director Eric Douglas speaks with Speaker Pro Tempore and Deputy Speaker of the House Del. Matthew Rohrbach, R-Cabell. They discuss plans for legislation, the new process of debating bills in the House and legislation implementing religious exemptions from vaccines. Rohrbach is also a doctor. We also f…

On this episode of The Legislature Today, we have a roundtable with our Energy & Environment Reporter Curtis Tate, Health Reporter Emily Rice and Statehouse Reporter Briana Heaney. They discuss the first days of the 2025 state legislative session and look ahead to the remaining weeks. Also, members of the House Education Committee have wasted no ti…

On this episode of The Legislature Today, Gov. Patrick Morrisey delivered his first State of the State address to the West Virginia Legislature Wednesday night. Briana Heaney has our recap. Minority Leaders Sen. Mike Woelfel, D-Cabell, and Del. Sean Hornbuckle, D-Cabell, sat down with News Director Eric Douglas to discuss Morrisey's State of the St…

This week, we visit a summer camp that’s part of the legacy of Affrilachian poet Norman Jordan. Also, during the Great Depression, Osage, West Virginia was a raucous river town. It’s sleepier now, but music is keeping the magic alive. And, the author of an upcoming graphic novel about pipeline fighters has a message for people outside the region. Y…

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 Valle…

This week, Inside Appalachia 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. An…

This week, 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. You'll hear these…

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 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, bu…

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 Commission, a part of Lyndon B. Johns…

This week, a look back at some of the stories that shaped the show in 2024, like the story of an abandoned Fairmont Brine site in Marion County, West Virginia. It was a common hangout spot, but there’s a hidden danger. Also, food deserts are places where it’s hard to find nutritious food. Like disenfranchised neighborhoods in East Knoxville, Tennes…

This week, we go a-wassailing in Asheville, North Carolina. It’s kind of like Christmas caroling, with a kick. Also, family recipes bring generations together. But what happens when you’ve got grandma’s potato candy recipe, and it doesn’t have exact measurements? And a new book explores the magical dark side of nature. You'll hear these stories and…

This week, 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? And winter holidays are here. We’ve got some tips to keep the festivities from goin…

Crossing a river by ferry can be a special experience, and hard to come by. On the Ohio River, a retiring ferry captain passes the torch to his deck hand. And Hurricane Helene destroyed roads and knocked out power and cell service across western North Carolina. But there was still a way to keep people in touch. You'll hear these stories and more th…

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. In This Episode: What Is Foxfire? …

The chef of an award-winning Asheville restaurant says he was shaped by memories of growing up in West Virginia. The Seeing Hand Association brings together people who are visually impaired to learn the craft of chair caning. And a West Virginia community grapples with its population of feral cats. You'll hear these stories and more this week, Insi…

Morel mushrooms are a forager’s delight, but don’t shortcut cleaning them. As flood relief continues from Hurricane Helene — a musician raises money with a song inspired by West Virginia’s 2016 floods. And, not every pumpkin gets to be a jack-o-lantern. Some are used in science experiments instead. In This Episode: More About Morels Raising Flood R…

After Helene, an Asheville guitar maker grapples with how to help her neighborhood when there’s so much need. A church in West Virginia is helping turn unwanted guns into garden tools. And, for writer Wei Tchou, it took leaving her home in East Tennessee to start seeing herself in a new way. In This Episode Catching Up With Luthier Jayne Henderson …

Rock climbing gear eventually wears out, but it can still live on as art. Also, the response to Hurricane Helene shows us some of the best in people. Neighbors are helping neighbors. And surfing in West Virginia. Yeah, that’s a real a thing. In This Episode: Crafter Turns Climbing Gear Into Cozy Crafts Neighbors Helping Neighbors After Flooding Sur…

Submitted for your approval, we have a selection of spooky tales for Halloween and beyond. We have scary stories read by acclaimed sci-fi and horror authors, tales of the supernatural, and we might know someone who says they’ve seen a ghost. All this and more this week, Inside Appalachia. In This Episode: Mike Allen And “The Button Bin” Molly Born …

Textbooks have long left out an important piece of labor history that happened here in the mountains. Now, a new young adult book fills in some of what might have been missed about the Mine Wars. Also, when flooding devastates a community, people can find solace through faith and through song. And we remember songwriter Billy Edd Wheeler, who passe…

Frank X Walker is a Kentucky poet who in 1991 became a founding member of the Affrilachian poets. Walker says the word “Affrilachia” “spoke to the union of Appalachian identity and the region’s African-American culture and history.” Walker has a new book, Load in Nine Times. Inside Appalachia host Mason Adams recently spoke with him about it. This …

This week, Affrilachian poet Frank X. Walker has a new collection of poetry that looks at Black life in Kentucky before, during, and after the Civil War. We also check in with the people affected by flooding in western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee. A new collection of essays and poems remembers the 2022 flood in Eastern Kentucky witnessed b…

Hurricane Helene dumped nearly 30 inches of rain in parts of western North Carolina and east Tennessee. Communities are reeling from the devastation. We check-in with Lilly Knoepp at Blue Ridge Public Radio in western North Carolina. Also, a new book illustrates the tiny worlds of mountain critters, like a lizard that changes color. And White potte…

Inside Appalachia remembers Travis Stimeling. The author, musician and educator left a deep mark on Appalachian culture, and the people who practice and document it. And, grab your dancing shoes and learn about a movement to make square dance calling more inclusive. Plus, it’s not just you. There are more deer than ever these days. A writer explore…

This week, a poet talks about his new collection, “If Lost.” He found inspiration for it by walking around in the woods. . Also, now is a great time for mushroom hunters to head to the woods and find all kinds of fascinating fungi – even those not meant to be eaten. And, almost everybody has a favorite cup or coffee mug, but how far would you go to…

One of America’s greatest contributions to world culture … is hip hop. A new compilation documents what it sounds like across Appalachia. Also people in the region love their local water springs, but in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, they take that dedication to another level. And, congressional Republicans are trying to freeze funding for new mi…

Schoolyard games come and go, but for kids in one community, marbles still rule. Also, this year marks the anniversary of some country music milestones, including the 40th anniversary of Floyd, Virginia’s Friday Night Jamboree. And we remember West Virginia’s first person in space, Jon McBride. In This Episode Marble Madness Lives On In Boone Count…