Mountain News & World Report

In this episode, we hear stories about the importance of clean water, a Letcher County walking program in conjunction with the Farmer’s Market that may help prevent Type 2 Diabetes, and in honor of Women’s History Month, from the Appalshop Archive we bring you audio from a Headwater’s episode circa 1980 featuring The Reel World String Band – an all women band.

In this episode we’ll hear about The STAY Project's Appalachian Love Fest in Harlan, KY on February 15th, 2020. Then, we’ll learn about how community groups in Wise County, VA are working with Montgomery Alabama based Equal Justice Initiative to acknowledge the history of lynchings in their county through research and public markers. And last, from the Ohio Valley Resource, we’ll learn about a recent report citing the Ohio Valley region as home to some of the most disadvantaged communities in the country.

In this episode we bring you a medley of local, regional, and national news: from voting predictions as caucus season begins, to an inaugural meeting between mine agencies in an attempt to tackle black lung. And, from the Appalshop Archive, in honor of Black History Month, we’ll bring you audio from the late blues musician, Nat Reese, performing live at the Seedtime on the Cumberland Festival in 1993.

In this episode (from August 22, 2019) we bring you the personal story of one miner living with Black Lung who recently travelled to Washington, D.C. to ask Congress to uphold the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. Then, from the Ohio Valley Resource we learn how HIV rates are on the rise in counties hard hit by the opioid epidemic while some community members still remain skeptical of harm reduction programs meant to curb the spread of infectious diseases. And, from WEKU’s Eastern Standard we hear about the history of the proposed Bunches Creek Dam that would have been situated just above Cumberland Falls.

In this episode (from July 25, 2019) we bring you updates and stories about changing regional & federal policies that could impact working families in central Appalachia. First, WMMT’s Sydney Boles speaks with Virginia congressman Morgan Griffith over his recent participation in a hearing on the black lung epidemic. Then, WMMT’s Mimi Pickering interviews Dustin Pugel, a policy analyst at the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. Pugel talks about the potential impact that changes to state and federal food assistance programs could have on families in eastern Kentucky.

In this episode (from July 11, 2019) we bring you a medley of local & regional news stories. First from the Ohio Valley Resource - Reporter Liam Neimeyer brings us a story about shifting federal law around “ephemeral waterways” and how that may impact waterways throughout the Ohio Valley. Then from OVR Reporter Becca Schimmel, we’ll hear about how laid-off employees of the now bankrupt Blackjewel coal company are seeking answers and back-pay. Then we’ll hear about Pikeville’s upcoming Pride Prom event, a fundraiser for Pikeville’s second ever Pride festival happening in the fall of 2019. We wrap this episode up with WEKU’s Tom Martin interviewing Brent Hutchinson, the director of the Hindman Settlement School about his recent selection as an Obama Foundation Fellow.

In this episode we explore environmental & economic pressures in the region, as well as learn about pre-diabetes and diabetes prevention. From the Ohio Valley Resource we learn about new communities where toxic fluorinated chemicals have been found in the water, how crashing hemp prices have some farmers worried, and about the challenges faced by some rural groceries in coal communities. Then, we'll hear about prediabetes and Type 2 diabetes prevention and about economic development efforts in Pound, VA.

In this episode we bring you stories about economic development initiatives in Harlan County, KY and Pound, VA. And, from the Ohio Valley Resource we’ll learn about innovative approaches to addressing the addiction crisis in our region.

In this episode we bring you stories on regional history, and innovative new approaches to meeting the healthcare needs of east Kentuckians. First, from Ohio Valley Resource Reporter, Brittany Patterson, we look back on Two Decades Of Resistance to Mountain Top Removal with the Coal River Mountain Watch. Then, WMMT's Sydney Boles brings us an interview with Bella Black about a project that gave young people in Letcher County, KY cameras to document potential causes of lung disease. And finally, Parker Hobson brings us the second in his series on diabetes and prediabetes in eastern Kentucky. Music on this episode features Jean Ritchie with a tune called Stream of Time from her album Sweet Rivers. Sweet Rivers was released by Appalshop’s own JuneAppal Recordings in 1981.

In this episode we’re talking about coal company bankruptcies, creative uses for abandoned mine lands funds, and diabetes prevention. First, we hear WMMT’s Sydney Boles interviewing Cornell University professor Josh Macey about the ways coal companies use bankruptcy to avoid cleaning up the land and paying employees. Then, from Ohio Valley Resource Reporter Becca Schimmel we learn about how Murray Energy’s bankruptcy could bring a collapse of coal miners’ pensions. And, from OVR Reporter Brittany Patterson we learn about Harlan County, Kentucky’s Portal 31 Coal Mine Tour. And last, for National Diabetes Month Parker Hobson brings us a story about pre-diabetes, and diabetes prevention.

In this episode we bring you stories about WV Senator Joe Manchin's pledge to defend coal miners' pensions, Bev May & Nell Fields' research into respiratory health in eastern Kentucky coalfields, and an interview with Geonovah - a 23 year old hip-hop artist from Big Stone Gap, VA.

In this show we learn about the history of Letcher County’s Bookmobile. And, we’ll celebrate American Archives Month by listening back to an oral history interview from the Appalshop archives. Last, but not least from the Ohio Valley Resource & the Center for Public Integrity we’ll hear about the intersection of pollution, climate change, and floods in Central Appalachia.

In this episode we’ll hear stories of eastern Kentucky’s second ever pride festival, hemp growers in the region forming cooperatives, a memorial dedicated to miners who’ve died of black lung in Letcher County, and some results of a survey by a group called “What’s Next EKY."

This episode is chock full of local & regional history! We’ll hear about a celebration of Carr Creek Kentucky history through a dinner performance based off a poem by Margaret Humes Collins. Then, we’ll hear historian Ron Eller’s thoughts about what works and what doesn't in terms of development in the region. And finally, we’ll learn about a celebration of the 90th anniversary of the Johnson City Sessions recordings by Columbia Records taking place October 2019.

In this episode we bring you stories about challenges to rural healthcare in the region, the last Neon Days Festival, and mine lands sitting idle across the country. First, Appalshop's Tayna Turner & Taylor Pratt spoke with women leading the 141-day-long-and-still-going-strong 24/7 peaceful protest outside Holston Valley Medical Center in Kingsport, TN. They are there to publicly oppose Ballad Health’s decision to close the neonatal intensive care unit (or NICU) and to downgrade other services. Then, WMMT's Rachel Garringer spoke with Dr. Sam Quillen at Neon Days 2019 about the history of the festival, the town, and the uncertain future of small-town festivals. And finally, from Ohio Valley Resource reporter Britanny Patterson we learn about mine lands sitting idle across the region. Music on this episode features Music on this episode features Anna & Elizabeth with a tune called “The Very Day I’m Gone” from the JuneAppal Album by the same title which features songs of Addie Graham performed by contemporary musicians.

In this episode we bring you interviews from the Blackjewel Miners Blockade in Harlan County, KY, an interview with Kentucky artists Ken Swinson & Lacy Hale about printmaking & collaborative zine-making, and in honor of International Cat Day on August 8th... a story about...CATS!!!

In this episode we bring you stories about Benham, KY’s recent re-launch of an energy efficiency program “Benham Saves"; the Hemphill Community Center & Black Sheep Bakery's June 21, 2019 celebration of their brand new solar panels! And updates about Central Appalachian organizing around the RECLAIM Act - proposed federal legislation that would more rapidly release funding from the 2.5 billion dollar Abandoned Mine Lands Trust Fund for regional reclamation & redevelopment projects.

In this episode we're exploring local history and regional news. First, WMMT’s Ohio Valley Resource Reporter Sydney Boles sets out to learn the history behind the RC Cola signs around Whitesburg. Then, from the WMMT archives, we revisit a story about the Houndog Hookers, rug makers from Blackey who grew to national notoriety during the 1950s and 60s. And finally from the Ohio Valley Resource, some recent regional news.

This episode previews multiple upcoming events in Letcher & Perry Counties in late May and early June 2019: -a film screening of "Coal's Deadly Dust" followed by a panel discussion hosted by long-time NPR Reporter Howard Berkes at Appalshop on May 31st -a Healthy Communities Forum hosted by the Foundation For a Healthy Kentucky at CANE Kitchen on June 6th, -a weekend of free healthcare in Hazard, KY June 8-9 with the Remote Area Medical Clinic - and Appalshop's 33rd annual Seedtime on the Cumberland Festival, June 7-8, 2019 under our brand new solar pavilion!

In this episode we bring you recent news from the Ohio Valley Resource, an exploration into some curious billboards scattered around eastern Kentucky, some youth produced audio from the Appalachian Media Institute Library, and a story about this year’s free Levitt Amp concert series!

This episode begins with a celebration the craftsmanship of southwest Virginian musician and instrument builder Wayne Henderson, whose birthday is May 3rd. Then, we hear excerpts from an interview with Ash-Lee Woodard Henderson just days after a fire destroyed the main office building at the historic Highlander Center in New Market, TN on March 29, 2019. Henderson talks about the legacy of southern movements' resistance and resilience that Highlander has witnessed over its 87 year history. And finally, we visit the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative's Fire Summit in Pikeville this April, where high school students from across Eastern KY shared their inventions and ideas for economic and environmental changes in the region.

In this episode we’re remembering the Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster in Raleigh County, WV in 2010, celebrating the life and musical legacy of Addie Graham with her grandson Rich Kirby, and reviewing some federal bills related to land and health here in the coalfields.

In this episode we’re talking about artistic collaborations, as well as the various ways people come to experience the unique culture of southeastern Kentucky. Whitesburg has hosted artists from all over the country and all over the world this month, and as more and more visitors come to eastern Kentucky, some Knott Countians are developing a visitors center and regional tourism website to welcome folks to our mountains and help them plan their visits. First, we’ll hear sounds from earlier this March when a group of international and national musicians and artists visited Whitesburg for a week of musical and cultural exchange through the Mosaic Interactive Project. Then, we visit the Carr Creek Community Center in the old Carr Creek High School, for a recent press conference announcing the launch of a regional tourism initiative and visitors center. And last, we bring you a brief interview with Natalia Zuluaga, the Great Meadows Foundation’s 2019 Critic in Residence. Zuluaga will spend two months in Kentucky researching arts in the commonwealth, and as part of her fellowship she visited Appalshop to learn more about the organization’s history.

In this episode we bring you a variety of stories about research, events, and solutions to issues facing eastern Kentucky and the Appalachian Region. First, Bev May and Nell Fields talk about their work with the Mountain AIR Project - researching and treating respiratory health issues in Letcher and Harlan Counties. Then, from the Ohio Valley Resource we’ll hear three regional news pieces exploring: new online approaches to providing therapy for survivors of domestic violence in rural areas, updates on new federal funding to expand broadband to rural communities, and questions around the economic relationship between state prisons and county jails in rural Kentucky counties. We’ll wrap this show up with a short interview with Crystal Kinser about TEDxCorbin, which is taking place on Saturday March 9th.

In this episode we bring you stories - past and present - on health, the economy and education in the mountains. We begin with four pieces from the Ohio Valley Resource and wrap up with the fourth in a six-part series from Michael & Carrie Kline with Talking Across the Lines about race and class in Mt. Hope, WV in the 1960s.

In this episode we bring you two stories highlighting how the economic decline here in eastern KY is being talked about at a national level. Then, in honor of Black History Month, this episode wraps up with the third in a 6-part series from Michael & Carrie Kline, exploring the history of desegregation in Mount Hope, WV.

In this episode, we bring you stories of sickness and health in Appalachia. First, from WMMT’s own Ohio Valley Resource reporter, Sydney Boles - we’ll hear from widows of miners with Black Lung about how effects of the deadly disease ripple out into the community. Then, also from OVR we’ll learn about a vaping company that in marketing products to teenagers, is creating a major health risk for youth. While the first two stories focus on challenges to health in the region, we’ll finish this episode on a positive note with the second in a 6 part series from Michael and Carrie Kline. In this edition Fayetteville, WV residents Bernice Clayton and Nathan Shelton, describe their older family members’ ability to make do from scratch, from the land, with local and healthy home grown foods.

In this episode we bring you recent news from the Ohio Valley Resource on a proposed bill to shore up miners pension benefits and reinstate the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund. Then, WMMT’s Mimi Pickering takes us back a gathering of business women in Harlan County KY in November 2018. We finish this episode with the first in a 6 part series. Hope Shorts: Wit & Wisdom on Race Class & Community Survival from Mount Hope WV - was produced by Michael and Carrie Kline.

In this episode we bring you a range of stories past and present about some of the joys and challenges of life in Central Appalachia. WMMT reporter Sydney Boles brings us two recent stories: first about the struggle for clean drinking water in Wyoming County, WV in a community with lots of Mountain Top Removal mines, and then about a new LGBTQ+ safe space in Pikeville, KY. In the second half of this episode, we bring you two youth-produced stories made during the 2007 Appalachian Media Institute's Audio Lab. "Aunt Carol" celebrates a dear family member, and "Bluegrass Loving Girl" explores what it was like for a young woman to love bluegrass even when her peers didn't.

This episode features stories centering the land we live on, and how we craft healthy lives for our families and communities on that land. From the archives we’ll hear a delightful story produced during the Appalachian Media Institute's 2009 Audio Lab. Sarah Craft recorded her family on hog-killing day. Then, WMMT reporter Sydney Boles brings us an update on Letcher County’s CANE commercial kitchen. Last, we’ll hear three pieces from the Ohio Valley ReSource. The first focuses on state policies across the region that restrict the expansion of renewable energy sources like solar. In the second, we learn about record breaking rates of Sexually Transmitted infections across the U.S. And last, we’ll hear about some ideas for how to clean up and re-purpose abandoned mine lands throughout Central Appalachia. Photo of Letcher County Farmers Charlie and Joyce Pinson at the CANE Kitchen, by Sydney Boles.

It's been a heavy week in national news, so in this episode of Mtn. News we’re bringing you a hopeful story about the first ever pride festival in eastern KY, which took place in Pikeville on October 20th. And, from the Ohio Valley Resource, How is Healthcare shaping this mid-term election?

First, in this episode we bring you an update on the water crisis in Martin County, from WMMT’s new Ohio Valley Resource reporter, Sydney Boles. Then, from OVR, a piece about Dr. Rahul Gupta - Chief Health officer for the State of WV. And last, but not least, we’re in the midst of our Fall 2018 Fund Drive, so we wanted to share some clips from WMMT’s history with our listeners. We’ll hear an excerpt from a 2012 Mtn. Talk featuring stories of the early days here at the station.

In this episode we bring you two recent stories from the Ohio Valley Resource, and, we dust off a piece from our archives. First, we learn about a recent lecture at West Virginia University by David Zatezalo - Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Administration. Zatezalo lays out the Trump Administration’s priorities for MSHA. Then, we learn about the challenges facing one West Virginia woman in recovery. Wendy Crites was stopped for driving under the influence of suboxone - even though it’s a prescribed medication aiding in her recovery. And last, from the archives, we’ll hear a 2014 interview that Sylvia Ryerson did with Tom Brown - an apple grower from Clemmons, NC who has saved hundreds of varieties of Heirloom apples.

In this episode we bring you stories of Letcher County events aimed at supporting local community members. First, we'll hear audio from the recent Black Lung Town Hall hosted by the Appalachian Citizens' Law Center which brought together researchers, health care providers, lawyers, and community members affected personally by Black Lung to discuss the current epidemic, and strategies towards gaining government support for miners and their families. Then, we'll learn about the recent opening of a brand new commercial kitchen run by Community Agricultural Nutritional Enterprises, Inc. or CANE. The kitchen is located at the old Whitesburg High School and aims to support local farmers in producing value added products to expand their economic possibilities.

In this episode we bring you two stories about local efforts to invest in our towns and communities, both recorded by WMMT’s Mimi Pickering. First we’ll learn about the recent Naloxone Training held at the Letcher County Health Department, which provided attendees with a free training on how to spot and respond to an opioid overdose, and upon completion of the training a free Naloxone nasal spray. In the second piece we learn about the first ever Great Mountain Mega Mural Fest held in Harlan County, KY in early August.

In this episode we bring you stories, history, and dreams for the future of the STAY Together Appalachian Youth Project. STAY is a regional youth network that has been working to create mountain communities where young Appalachians can and want to stay for the past 10 years. In July of 2018, STAY celebrated it’s 10th birthday at the Highlander Center in New Market, TN. We spoke with STAY members, and alums about what STAY means to them and to the region. Join us for the next hour as we celebrate the power and vision of mountain youth.

In this episode we bring you four stories exploring challenges to community health in our region. First we hear about the ACLU of VA's recent report on the use of solitary confinement in VA Prisons. Then from the Ohio Valley Resource we hear three stories about: Pension Problems, Spiking Black Lung Rates, and Climbing Hepatitis A cases in the Ohio Valley.

In this episode we bring you two stories about families in crisis. The first from right here in KY focuses on Governor Bevin’s cuts to Medicaid Vision and Dental Benefits which has left nearly 500,000 Kentuckians without coverage. The second features audio from a recent rally in Big Stone Gap VA, where nearly 60 community members came out in protest of the Trump Administration’s separation of immigrant children from their parents at the border.

In this show we bring you stories of historically marginalized communities creating space in the mainstream. First, WMMT’s Rachel Garringer brings us along for the opening of Letcher County, KY’s first ever LGBTQ Safe Space. Then from the Ohio Valley Resource we’ll learn about the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival, and, the UN’s report on Poverty in the U.S.

First, in this episode, we'll hear recent news from the Ohio Valley ReSource on the new Appalachian Regional Commission appointment, and an outbreak of Hepatitis A in the region. Then, we hear audio from a 2017 ARC health roundtable presentation about "diseases of despair" in the mountains. Finally we'll hear audio from the "What's Next EKY?" gathering in Hindman, KY last week.

This episode of Mountain News focuses on caring for our communities past, present and future is now up over on the website. Give it a listen for stories about #ChildAbusePreventionMonth, community efforts to clean up a historic Black cemetery in SWVA, & a cross-cultural conversation on empathy between Letcher County's own Gwen Johnson and Milmon F. Harrison - Professor of African-American and African Studies at the Univeristy of California in Davis from the Imagining America StoryShare Project.

This episode of Mountain News and World Report begins with a remembrance of the Buffalo Creek Disaster, which took place 46 years ago on February 26. Then, we hear two stories from Ohio Valley ReSource about the Black Lung Epidemic and Data Analysis of the WV Drug Overdose Epidemic. Finally, Rich Kirby brings us a story of a new restaurant and hotel in St. Paul, VA aiming to increase tourism to SWVA.

It’s been a big week in Kentucky, from right here in Letcher County all the way to Frankfort-- stories happening in our communities have been making waves and getting national attention. From the KY teachers rally in Frankfort on April 2nd to local efforts to feed students while teachers strike. From the U.S. Bureau of Prison's record of decision signaling plans to move forward with construction of a Federal Prison in Letcher County, to KY state lawmakers passing legislation that makes it harder for miners to access treatment for black lung. April is in with a bang.

On this episode we’re exploring issues in education. First, we’ll hear from Letcher County Teachers who rallied in support of public education and in opposition to Governor Bevin’s proposed pension reforms on Monday, March 19th. This episode ends with a piece about students organizing against gun violence in the wake of the Parkland School Shooting in Florida last month.

This week on Mountain News & World Report we hear interviews with WV Teachers about why they went on strike. Then, we hear 3 pieces from the Ohio Valley ReSource about issues in rural community health: pesticides, HIV, and water. Photo by Greenbrier County Teacher, Emily Haas.

In this episode we remember tragic news from our region’s past, and we explore current news about public health crises in our mountains, and of new economic development projects. February 26 marks the 46th anniversary of the Buffalo Creek Disaster in Logan County, West Virginia. We begin our program with a piece from the WMMT Archives produced by Mimi Pickering. Then, we bring you two pieces from the Ohio Valley Resource. The first focuses on the unprecedented Black Lung Epidemic in Central Appalachia today. The second brings us information about a new data analysis system being used to address the opioid epidemic in West Virginia. Finally, Rich Kirby brings us the story of a new restaurant and hotel in St. Paul, Virginia which aims to increase economic development through tourism in the region.

In this episode of Mountain News we bring you multiple pieces with a theme of reflecting on the past. First, we hear from current & past members of the Stay Together Appalachian Youth Project, a Central Appalachian regional youth organization celebrating its 10th anniversary this year! STAY members joined us to talk about their upcoming Appalachian Love Week - which aims to lift up stories of our complex active love for the mountains we call home. Then, we bring you a series of four pieces from the Ohio Valley Resource - which focus on Trump’s first year in the White House - measuring his campaign promises against outcomes.

This week we bring you stories about community health, from the ground up! First we’ll hear about a new bakery which aims to provide Letcher County residents with healthy, locally sourced breads and baked goods while supporting Drug Court participants in their journeys to recovery. Then, we’ll hear Whitesburg’s own Dr. Van Breeding speaking on a panel presentation at Appalshop last week, in which local media makers, lawyers, and healthcare providers talked to students with the Harvard Kennedy School of Governance about healthcare needs in EKY.

In this week's Mountain News and World Report we look forward towards possibilities for economic development in the region, and we look back, remembering two great writers, readers, and supporters of justice and education in Appalachia. Our first story features a new workforce training and economic development program called the Southeast KY Revitalization Project. Then, we’ll hear two remembrances of great mountain writers who’ve recently passed away. The first, of Paul Nyden - a journalist at the Charleston Gazette for over 30 years who is infamous for holding those in power accountable to the people. And the last, of Anne Caudill - best known as the wife of writer Harry Caudill - but also a writer, thinker, and lover of learning herself.

On this episode we bring you two stories from the Archive. One was produced by Kelli Haywood in 2016 and features the history of Joe Packs - a Letcher County favorite restaurant in Isom, KY. The other - produced by Beth Bingman - is an exploration into the history of the Fellowship House Day Camp, an integrated summer camp hosted in Knoxville during the 50s and 60s. But first, we bring you a recent news story from the Ohio Valley Resource about the possibilities of marketing rare earth elements in acid mine runoff.

This week's program brings together stories that question what comes next for our region. As coal jobs decline throughout Central Appalachia - communities, scientists, and schools work to develop innovative approaches to economic transition. First, we’ll hear a story from the Ohio Valley Resource about the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative’s work to provide relevant, effective education in uncertain economic times. Then, we’ll hear an excerpt from an interview with Dr. Jeremy Richardson from the Got Science Podcast. Richardson is a senior energy analyst in the Climate and Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists - and he speaks about his research on economic diversification in the West Virginia coal fields. And finally we bring you an interview with Brett Ratliff and Abby Huggins at the Hindman Settlement School about the upcoming 3rd annual Dumplins and Dancin event- a weekend celebration of the rich food and traditional dance communities in our mountains.