Sparked Podcast

Follow Sparked Podcast
Share on
Copy link to clipboard

Sparked is a podcast of West Virginia University Magazine that is all about the people who are changing Appalachia’s future for the better. We know you’ve heard about our challenges. But there’s more to the story.

WVU Magazine


    • Feb 27, 2020 LATEST EPISODE
    • infrequent NEW EPISODES
    • 17m AVG DURATION
    • 12 EPISODES


    Search for episodes from Sparked Podcast with a specific topic:

    Latest episodes from Sparked Podcast

    Episode 11 - How We Talk

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2020 15:39


    On the cusp of high school, four girls in a rural middle school talk with researchers about why they talk the way they do and how hard they’ve tried to change themselves to be accepted by their peers.

    Episode 10 - Five Milliseconds

    Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2019 25:12


    On July 24, 2001, something arrived on Earth. It would take six years for it to be noticed. And even longer to prove it existed.

    Episode 9 - Star Hunters

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 4, 2019 22:09


    Some high school students went into the mountains to learn to look for stars and discovered who they could become.

    Episode 8 - Through the Math Forest

    Play Episode Listen Later May 10, 2018 28:55


    There was this teacher who believed that the way math was taught could be different in her very rural county. That kids could better understand it and make it their own. That they could score much higher. That teachers could stay longer. She was right.

    Episode 7 - Come Home, Daddy

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2018 32:11


    Twenty-two years ago a crime took place in the middle of the night. It left a 5-year-old with scars and without her father. As she grew up, Katie Haught wanted the justice system to know the truth about her dad.

    Episode 6 - Fourth-Grade Scientists

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2018 16:38


    Two college students arrived at a school gym and showed young children how water works. By the end of it, the kids knew that water doesn't keep itself clean. And that science is this thing that West Virginians do all the time. And they can do it, too.

    Episode 5 - Full Color

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 7, 2017 15:11


    What does the word “Appalachia” conjure? For a lot of people, the answer was “black and white photography.” You can still see a lot of the old-timey photos in a Google search. Nancy Andrews and 100 Days in Appalachia are changing that.

    Episode 4 - Eyes Glowing

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 8, 2017 16:51


    After the 2016 election, everyone wanted to get to know the real West Virginia. And it turns out that there’s a book that can help them do just that – and it’s full of some of the most noteworthy and fresh literary voices from this place.

    Episode 3 - Set to Refresh

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2017 16:27


    A lot of people need jobs in Southern West Virginia. And area farmers needed to sell their food. Ben Gilmer put some skin in the game and is putting ex-coal miners back to work on mountaintop and rooftop farms.

    Episode 2 - Girls Can Code

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 12, 2017 14:11


    When Ysabel Bombardiere walked into a middle school classroom to recruit girls for a coding club, she heard boys say, “Girls cannot code.” The girls in the Kanawha County Girls Who Code club are now saying, “Wanna bet?”

    Episode 1 - Old Home Place

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 26, 2017 10:18


    You might know about Appalachian music. Kids in West Virginia sometimes don’t. Travis Stimeling and his band of college students are teaching them the music from their past and how it can be part of their future.

    Sparked Trailer

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 26, 2017 1:48


    Sparked is a podcast of West Virginia University Magazine that is all about the people who are changing Appalachia’s future for the better.

    Claim Sparked Podcast

    In order to claim this podcast we'll send an email to with a verification link. Simply click the link and you will be able to edit tags, request a refresh, and other features to take control of your podcast page!

    Claim Cancel