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Today, we have a special crossover episode between Appodlachia and the incredible podcast, This Guy Sucked! This Guy Sucked is a history podcast that brings on historians (and Chuck) as guests, and discuss historical figures that sucked!We're discussing the Baldwin-Felts Detective Agency — an objectively detestable bunch of union busting thugs who terrorized workers in Appalachia during the mine wars in the early 1900s. They sucked big time. They're available on all streaming platforms, and you can find their links via their website below. https://www.thisguysucked.com/https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-guy-sucked/id1800530353-----------------------------------------------HELP SUPPORT APPODLACHIA! patreon.com/appodlachia-----------------------------------------------The views and opinions expressed on this show are the personal opinions of the host, Chuck Corra, and do not represent the opinions of his employer. This show is an opinion and commentary show, NOT a news show. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Send us a textSupport the show
Steve is joined once again by Cathida Katt Gray to discuss legends and folklore from Appalachia. Find Cathida on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GhostLoreYTBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/missing-persons-mysteries--5624803/support.
D.C. attorney general sues Trump administration over 'hostile takeover' of police; Trump departs for high-stakes meeting with Putin in Alaska; Appalachia's gas boom fails to deliver jobs, economic growth in Ohio; Why some IL farmers rely on synthetic fertilizers; Social Security rallies planned for UT and across the country.
Even as efforts to transition Appalachia out of coal receive broad policy support, the fate of the landscape is ultimately driven by incumbent actors used to getting what they want. Dr Lindsay Shade and Dr Karen Rignall discuss their research about how legacies of land ownership frustrate equitable and effective transition strategies. While an "Abundance" argument suggests that "the Democratic fetish for legalistic procedure has in so many places, made it impossible to get stuff done," the afterlives of coal provides a stark reminder of the deeper powers that control what happens on the land. Confronting the legacies of landownership may be the only path to meaningful landscape transformation. Episode Links Dr Lindsay Shade Dr Karen Rignall Shade, L., Schwartzman, G., Rignall, K., Slovinsky, K., & Johnson, J. (2025). Afterlives of coal: land and transition dynamics in Central Appalachia. Environmental Research: Energy, 2(1), 015015. Also see: Shade, L., Rignall, K., Tarus, L., & Starr, C. (2025). The role of land in a just transition: the Appalachian Land Study collective. Environmental Research: Energy, 2(2), 025010. The ongoing Appalachian Land Study and the historic Appalachian Land Ownership Study Martin County solar project on the former Martiki mine The Cumberland Forest Project (The Nature Conservancy) Congressman Hal Rogers and prison development Carbon sequestration court case: Pocahontas Surface Interests and Forestland Group The Alliance for Appalachia The Appalachian Rekindling Project The Abundance critique of process The Heavens, by Sandra Newman Landscapes is produced by Adam Calo. A complete written transcript of the episode can be found on Adam's newsletter: Land Food Nexus. Send feedback or questions to adamcalo@substack.com or Bluesky Music by Blue Dot Sessions: “Kilkerrin” by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue). Podcast Guest Correction: "At minute 26.41 - 27.55 it is implied that The Nature Conservancy (TNC) acquired all 253,000 acres as a single parcel and that it all passed through Pocahontas Land Company and Heartwood Forestland Fund, and also that The Forestland Group "sold" land to the former. Heartwood Forestland Fund is managed by The Forestland Group and holds land under various subsidiaries. In the three states where TNC brokered land deals for the Cumberland Forest Project, the land is held by various LLC's that TNC controls, all of which purchased land from subsidiaries of either The Forestland Group or Molpus-Woodlands, two different timber investment management organizations (TIMO's). These TIMO's previously bought land and/or timber rights from various coal and natural resource landholding companies in the region, including Pocahontas. As we describe in our paper on p. 8, the trajectory of the land in our case study in East TN is as follows: the land was first consolidated by the 19th century British coal company and land speculation firm "The American Association Ltd," later sold to JM Huber Coal, and then to Molpus-Woodlands, before being acquired by Cumberland Forest LLC, which The Nature Conservancy has a controlling share and manages."
D.C. attorney general sues Trump administration over 'hostile takeover' of police; Trump departs for high-stakes meeting with Putin in Alaska; Appalachia's gas boom fails to deliver jobs, economic growth in Ohio; Why some IL farmers rely on synthetic fertilizers; Social Security rallies planned for UT and across the country.
Welcome to another season of our connected culture, this one focused on unmasking the past to imagine better futures. Join us in the coming days and weeks to explore how we can learn from hard human history while growing the community we need to grow a kinder world together. We are again returning to Rockbridge Regional Libraries, which joined us in hosting a screening of documentary the indelible Appalachians and a virtual conversion with filmmaker Frederick Murphy. The film explores the history, present, and future of Black identity in Appalachia – and we're sharing our conversation with Murphy where we explore both the content of the film and his experience as a creative documenting difficult history related to slavery in the American South. That fellowship cohort included author Paul Park – who listeners may remember from our first season as a peer and close friend of the late Terry Bisson – who helped us with the future and fiction-focused elements of the conversation. Plus, the fellows were also joined by local black history scholar Dr. Nneka Dennie – an expert on abolitionist Mary Ann Shadd Cary, a key figure in the MidMountain produced folk opera “Save from Oblivion” that we'll discuss more at length later in this season. Also, speaking of community: if you're listening to this as it's being released you can join us in person for our MidMountain Masquerade on October 25 from 2pm through 10pm! There'll be opportunities to make your own masks and marionettes, a harvest potluck to share meals, a masquerade with costume contest, live music, and more. Find out more at midmountain.org/masquerade. As a reminder, Our Connected Culture is a production of MidMountain, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, arts collective, and agricultural project operating out of MidMountain Retreat, a five acre riverfront arts space in the Blue Ridge Mountains near Natural Bridge, Virginia. You can check our community calendar for upcoming events or other opportunities to visit, like residencies where we offer discounted stays for folks who want to work on creative projects. Plus, MidMountain Retreat is also available for rent out on Airbnb and VRBO for non-art stays!
In this episode Jessica and Brooke talk teen boys -- when to discipline, when to give them freedom, when and how to pray for them. It's an encouraging and helpful episode! About Brooke Brooke McGlothlin is the original founder and former leader of Million Praying Moms, and author of 8 books including her latest, Praying for Teen Boys: Partner with God for the Heart of Your Son. She serves as Client Services Director at Blue Ridge Women's Center, a nonprofit ministry assisting women in crisis pregnancy. A wife of 23 years, and mom to two young men ages 18 and 20, Brooke makes her home in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Appalachia. About Jessica Jessica is a wife, homeschool mom of three, author, and blogger. She lives in sunny North Carolina on a big family farm with chickens, goats, cousins, and lots of mud. Resources Praying for Teen Boys Connect Brooke McGlothlin | Instagram Jessica Smartt | Instagram | Facebook | Website Homeschooling.mom | Instagram | Website Subscribe to our YouTube channel | YouTube Have you joined us at one of the Great Homeschool Conventions? We hope to see you there! For more encouragement on your homeschooling journey, visit the Homeschooling.mom site, and tune in to our sister podcast The Charlotte Mason Show. View full show notes on the blog.
I've been following Tyler Childers for quite a while now. He's always been an impressive songwriter to me, telling stories of his native Appalachia with his own twists and turns. His new album Snipe Hunter just takes things to the next level. He writes about deer hunting, foraging mushrooms, exploring Hinduism and Australia. The album is all over the place, but in a really fascinating way. As a guy who grew up in a hunting family, exploring nature this album makes me feel seen. I just don't have enough good things to say about this record, and I say a lot! I hope you dig it!
#19 in our series, "The Book of Romans: A Theology of Hope"
Creepypasta Scary Story
Matthew Sparks and Oliva Sizemore join Jana Byars for a fun, chilling, and thoughtful discussion about about Haint Country: Dark Tales from the Hills and Hollers (University Press of Kentucky, 2024). The hills of the Appalachia region hold secrets—dark, deep, varied, and mysterious. These secrets are often told in the form of eerie, thrilling, and creepy folk tales that reveal strange sightings, curious oddities, and commonly serve as cautionary tales for eager and curious ears. These spine-tingling stories have been told and retold by family members, neighbors, and "hillfolk" for generations. Haint Country: Dark Folktales from the Hills and Hollers is a collection of weird, otherworldly, and supernatural phenomenon in Eastern Kentucky—tales that have been recorded and documented for the first time. Collected and adapted by Matthew Sparks and Olivia Sizemore, the anthology explores stories of ghosts or "haints," strange creatures or "boogers," haunted locations or "stained earth," uncanny happenings or "high strangeness," and humorous Appalachian ghost stories. Contemporary yarns of black panthers, demons, and sightings of ghostly coal miners are narrated in the first person, reflecting the style and dialect of the collected oral history. Though comprised of a mixture of claimed accounts and fabricated lore, the locations and people woven throughout are very real. Complemented with evocative watercolor illustrations by Olivia Sizemore (who was inspired by the work of Stephen Gammell) and a compendium that provides additional context, Haint Country is a thrilling and bone-chilling excursion to the spooky corner of Appalachia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
In our latest episode, we talked with Tiffany Joy and Shiloh Delaronde of the Appalachian Rekindling Project. The Appalachian Rekindling Project is based in southeast Kentucky and southwest Virginia. Its mission is to restore Indigenous relationships with the land, support cultural revitalization, and foster ecological care in Appalachia. In the interview, Joy and Delaronde share about their work around seed saving and other growing practices.
On this episode, host Katy Starr chats with Mike Toberer, founder of Mountain Mule Packers and Mission Mules about: Unique differences between horses and mules on tough terrainThe worst mistake new packers make and how to avoid itHow their efforts in the Hurricane Helene response changed their purpose From his early days navigating the Sierra Nevada Mountains to training elite military teams and delivering life-saving supplies after Hurricane Helene, Mike shares how mules do more than carry gear, they carry purpose.
Matthew Sparks and Oliva Sizemore join Jana Byars for a fun, chilling, and thoughtful discussion about about Haint Country: Dark Tales from the Hills and Hollers (University Press of Kentucky, 2024). The hills of the Appalachia region hold secrets—dark, deep, varied, and mysterious. These secrets are often told in the form of eerie, thrilling, and creepy folk tales that reveal strange sightings, curious oddities, and commonly serve as cautionary tales for eager and curious ears. These spine-tingling stories have been told and retold by family members, neighbors, and "hillfolk" for generations. Haint Country: Dark Folktales from the Hills and Hollers is a collection of weird, otherworldly, and supernatural phenomenon in Eastern Kentucky—tales that have been recorded and documented for the first time. Collected and adapted by Matthew Sparks and Olivia Sizemore, the anthology explores stories of ghosts or "haints," strange creatures or "boogers," haunted locations or "stained earth," uncanny happenings or "high strangeness," and humorous Appalachian ghost stories. Contemporary yarns of black panthers, demons, and sightings of ghostly coal miners are narrated in the first person, reflecting the style and dialect of the collected oral history. Though comprised of a mixture of claimed accounts and fabricated lore, the locations and people woven throughout are very real. Complemented with evocative watercolor illustrations by Olivia Sizemore (who was inspired by the work of Stephen Gammell) and a compendium that provides additional context, Haint Country is a thrilling and bone-chilling excursion to the spooky corner of Appalachia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/literary-studies
Even though Bonnaroo 2025 was cut short, we're bringing you the unforgettable moments we captured during our time on the Farm. In this first part of our Audio Postcards from the Farm series, Daniel shares unforgettable recordings with fellow Bonnaroovians, including the crew from Church Boners, Caleb from the Bonnaroo Yearbook, and many more friends we met at the legendary Monkey Bar.We reminisce about our favorite moments from the Farm, talk about what fans are most excited to see at Bonnaroo 2026, and even dive into some of Sharla's wild and hilarious Roo dreams. Part two, featuring Sharla's recordings, drops next week - don't miss it!Support the showProceeds from Story Time at the Roo Bus support The TOTEM Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to supporting underserved individuals through music communities. Donate below, or support TOTEM monthly by becoming a Patreon of the show.
Matthew Sparks and Oliva Sizemore join Jana Byars for a fun, chilling, and thoughtful discussion about about Haint Country: Dark Tales from the Hills and Hollers (University Press of Kentucky, 2024). The hills of the Appalachia region hold secrets—dark, deep, varied, and mysterious. These secrets are often told in the form of eerie, thrilling, and creepy folk tales that reveal strange sightings, curious oddities, and commonly serve as cautionary tales for eager and curious ears. These spine-tingling stories have been told and retold by family members, neighbors, and "hillfolk" for generations. Haint Country: Dark Folktales from the Hills and Hollers is a collection of weird, otherworldly, and supernatural phenomenon in Eastern Kentucky—tales that have been recorded and documented for the first time. Collected and adapted by Matthew Sparks and Olivia Sizemore, the anthology explores stories of ghosts or "haints," strange creatures or "boogers," haunted locations or "stained earth," uncanny happenings or "high strangeness," and humorous Appalachian ghost stories. Contemporary yarns of black panthers, demons, and sightings of ghostly coal miners are narrated in the first person, reflecting the style and dialect of the collected oral history. Though comprised of a mixture of claimed accounts and fabricated lore, the locations and people woven throughout are very real. Complemented with evocative watercolor illustrations by Olivia Sizemore (who was inspired by the work of Stephen Gammell) and a compendium that provides additional context, Haint Country is a thrilling and bone-chilling excursion to the spooky corner of Appalachia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/folkore
On the latest episode of Now, Appalachia, Eliot interviews book publicist and author Joe Walters about his latest book THE TRUTH ABOUT BOOK REVIEWS. Joe is the founder of Independent Book Review: A Celebration of Indie Books. He's been on the marketing teams of indie presses like Sunbury Press, Paper Raven Books, and Inkwater Press, and he is the author of The Truth About Book Reviews: An Insider's Guide to Getting and Using Reviews to Grow Your Readership. When he's not writing, assigning, or editing reviews in a Pennsylvania Panera Bread, he's playing with his daughters or reading indie books by Kindle light. Look for more of his book marketing tips on the IBR blog and the Write Indie newsletter.
If you mention Appalachia to many people, they may immediately respond with the "Deliverance" dueling banjos theme. Unfortunately, this is an example of how the region is stereotyped and misunderstood, particularly in films. In her book, Unwhite: Appalachia, Race, and Film(University of Georgia Press, 2018), Meredith McCarroll, Director of Writing and Rhetoric at Bowdoin College, describes Appalachian people as being shown as different from both white and nonwhite groups, often considered as belonging to the worst of each group. Her book discusses specific film examples that help to illustrate the negative connotation heaped upon Appalachia, and also presents where filmmakers treat them more fairly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies
Matthew Sparks and Oliva Sizemore join Jana Byars for a fun, chilling, and thoughtful discussion about about Haint Country: Dark Tales from the Hills and Hollers (University Press of Kentucky, 2024). The hills of the Appalachia region hold secrets—dark, deep, varied, and mysterious. These secrets are often told in the form of eerie, thrilling, and creepy folk tales that reveal strange sightings, curious oddities, and commonly serve as cautionary tales for eager and curious ears. These spine-tingling stories have been told and retold by family members, neighbors, and "hillfolk" for generations. Haint Country: Dark Folktales from the Hills and Hollers is a collection of weird, otherworldly, and supernatural phenomenon in Eastern Kentucky—tales that have been recorded and documented for the first time. Collected and adapted by Matthew Sparks and Olivia Sizemore, the anthology explores stories of ghosts or "haints," strange creatures or "boogers," haunted locations or "stained earth," uncanny happenings or "high strangeness," and humorous Appalachian ghost stories. Contemporary yarns of black panthers, demons, and sightings of ghostly coal miners are narrated in the first person, reflecting the style and dialect of the collected oral history. Though comprised of a mixture of claimed accounts and fabricated lore, the locations and people woven throughout are very real. Complemented with evocative watercolor illustrations by Olivia Sizemore (who was inspired by the work of Stephen Gammell) and a compendium that provides additional context, Haint Country is a thrilling and bone-chilling excursion to the spooky corner of Appalachia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-studies
This week, Cy ponders life in the Appalachia and Chad's had a busy month. This episode is brought to you by Chime! --- Follow us on Instagram! Chad Daniels (@ThatChadDaniels) is a Dad, Comedian, and pancake lover. With over 750 million streams of his 5 albums to date, his audio plays are in the 99th percentile in comedy and music on Pandora alone, averaging over 1MM per week. Chad's previous album, Footprints on the Moon was the most streamed comedy album of 2017, and he has 6 late-night appearances and a Comedy Central Half Hour under his belt. Cy Amundson (@CyAmundson) With appearances on Conan, Adam Devine's House Party, and Comedy Central's This is Not Happening, Cy Amundson is fast-proving himself in the world of standup comedy. After cutting his teeth at Acme Comedy Company in Minneapolis, has since appeared on Family Guy and American Dad and as a host on ESPN's SportsCenter on Snapchat. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Belief Hole | Conspiracy, the Paranormal and Other Tasty Thought Snacks
Join us as we journey deep into the haunted heart of Appalachia as we explore dangers lurking along the Appalachian Trail, the chilling mysteries of missing persons, phantom hitchhikers, and the infamous curse of Dudleytown, with legendary storyteller Steve Stockton. From tales of haunted schools and bewitched mirrors to seances and spiritual architecture, Steve drives this Belief Hole bus deep into mysteries of the Smokies. So Buckle up, because Appalachia's backroads are calling! TIMESTAMPS 02:01 | Introduction to Steve Stockton 09:35 | Dangers of the Appalachian Trail 12:48 | Young Steve Searches for Dennis Martin | 1969 |TN 23:17 | Concept: Containment Theory in Appalachians Mountains 31:36 | Phantom Motorcycle 35:15 | Granny's Ghosts and Running Water 38:00 | Barricading the Boogeyman & Spirit Architecture 41:30 | Expansion Preview | Freaks in Las Vegas 43:52 | Recap | Steve's Second Sight | Granny and Steve's Seances 52:23 | Curse of Dudleytown 1:06:36 | The Smoking Ghost | 1973 | Halloween 1:12:34 | Hauntings of Fairview Elementary 1:22:15 | The Bewitched Mirror Encounter 1:28:02 | Mirrors and Nails (Listener Story) | Oyster Creek, TX | July 2018 1:29:56 | Witch Bottles - More Spirit Architecture 1:32:34 | Haunted Las Vegas House Steve's Channels Missing Persons Mysteries | YT Tales Untold | YT 13 Past Midnight | YT Steve's Books My Strange World National Park Mysteries & Disappearances: The Great Smoky Mountains National Park National Park Mysteries & Disappearances: California National Park Mysteries & Disappearances: The Pacific Northwest Strange Things in the Woods SteveStocktonBooks - Etsy SHOW NOTES: EXPANSION LINK: https://expansion.beliefhole.com/7-9-exp-freaks-in-las-vegas-alien-imposters-and-abductions-on-the-strip
Get your raffle ticket here!For just a moment, put yourself in the shoes of a person who plays music, whether they're professional, amateur or just getting started. Imagine what it would be like to lose the instrument that helps you understand your life, to make sense of the world. Now, imagine losing it and most of what you own during the most traumatic event of your life. Who is going to help you get music back? This is the mission of ReString Appalachia. An initiative that started with American Songcatcher after Hurricane Helene, ReString is now a 501(c)3 nonprofit who has given over 800 instruments to musicians from natural disasters in Appalachia and Los Angeles, and soon, the Texas Hill Country. You can help us accomplish this by buying a raffle ticket to win a signed, one of a kind bluegrass banjo from world renowned banjoist Béla Fleck. This fundraiser is in partnership with the Henhouse Prowlers, their nonprofit Bluegrass Ambassadors, ReString Appalachia, and American Songcatcher. Raffle ends Sept 1st! www.ReStringAppalachia.orgWe'll be back VERY soon with a few interviews, and we'll have a very special field recording and feature on the Earl Scruggs Music Festival and his legacy. See you next time, on American Songcatcher.
In this episode, It's Cryptic Out There rides into the shadowed highways of Appalachia to explore one of America's most notorious outlaw biker clubs—the Pagan's Motorcycle Club. Founded in the late 1950s, the Pagans carved their way into history with a strict, often brutal code that governs loyalty, secrecy, and brotherhood. But in the rugged, tight-knit communities of Appalachia, that code takes on a unique life of its own. We uncover how the club's presence blends into the region's culture of independence, resilience, and mistrust of outsiders—while also examining the myths, the crimes, and the rituals that keep the Pagan name feared and respected. From their biker “colors” to their rules about loyalty, retribution, and respect, this is an unflinching look at the world of an outlaw MC where the mountains hide more than just winding roads.itscrypticoutthere@gmail.comCryptic Hotline: (615) 447-8258
A cabin in the mountains. A neighbor who shouldn't be there. And something in the hollow that knows your name. In this chilling installment of Drew Blood's Dark Tales, journey deep into the heart of Appalachia, where the forests are older than memory and the wind carries more than just a song. What begins as a quiet mountain retreat quickly unravels into a waking nightmare, as ancient whispers, local legends, and impossible encounters close in on one unsuspecting visitor. Lock the doors. Kill the lights. And listen closely — because once the mountains start singing, it's already too late. To watch the podcast on YouTube: http://bit.ly/ChillingEntertainmentYT Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: https://bit.ly/DrewBlood If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be amazing! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: https://bit.ly/DrewBlood Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
If you mention Appalachia to many people, they may immediately respond with the "Deliverance" dueling banjos theme. Unfortunately, this is an example of how the region is stereotyped and misunderstood, particularly in films. In her book, Unwhite: Appalachia, Race, and Film(University of Georgia Press, 2018), Meredith McCarroll, Director of Writing and Rhetoric at Bowdoin College, describes Appalachian people as being shown as different from both white and nonwhite groups, often considered as belonging to the worst of each group. Her book discusses specific film examples that help to illustrate the negative connotation heaped upon Appalachia, and also presents where filmmakers treat them more fairly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network
We're back in Appalachia! This recording captures about an hour on the banks of the New River in the southeastern part of West Virginia's pan — you can call it a pan right? When I lived in Jefferson County folks to the west called us panhandlers.You'll hear Sandstone Falls, the calls of local birds and insects, and a couple of trains rumbling by (midway and end).This week's episode was recorded by regular uncommon ambience contributor Dr. April Blakeslee (who is a researcher and associate professor of Biology at Eastern Carolina University). Her travels brought her recently to New River Gorge and specifically the Sandstone Falls area. Thank you Dr. April!(obviously the New Rive Gorge Bridge is twenty miles as the crow flies from the Sandstone Falls but as a bridge freak I couldn't resist adding a fave bridge to my episode cover... and don't get me started about CBBT).
If you mention Appalachia to many people, they may immediately respond with the "Deliverance" dueling banjos theme. Unfortunately, this is an example of how the region is stereotyped and misunderstood, particularly in films. In her book, Unwhite: Appalachia, Race, and Film(University of Georgia Press, 2018), Meredith McCarroll, Director of Writing and Rhetoric at Bowdoin College, describes Appalachian people as being shown as different from both white and nonwhite groups, often considered as belonging to the worst of each group. Her book discusses specific film examples that help to illustrate the negative connotation heaped upon Appalachia, and also presents where filmmakers treat them more fairly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology
If you mention Appalachia to many people, they may immediately respond with the "Deliverance" dueling banjos theme. Unfortunately, this is an example of how the region is stereotyped and misunderstood, particularly in films. In her book, Unwhite: Appalachia, Race, and Film(University of Georgia Press, 2018), Meredith McCarroll, Director of Writing and Rhetoric at Bowdoin College, describes Appalachian people as being shown as different from both white and nonwhite groups, often considered as belonging to the worst of each group. Her book discusses specific film examples that help to illustrate the negative connotation heaped upon Appalachia, and also presents where filmmakers treat them more fairly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/communications
If you mention Appalachia to many people, they may immediately respond with the "Deliverance" dueling banjos theme. Unfortunately, this is an example of how the region is stereotyped and misunderstood, particularly in films. In her book, Unwhite: Appalachia, Race, and Film(University of Georgia Press, 2018), Meredith McCarroll, Director of Writing and Rhetoric at Bowdoin College, describes Appalachian people as being shown as different from both white and nonwhite groups, often considered as belonging to the worst of each group. Her book discusses specific film examples that help to illustrate the negative connotation heaped upon Appalachia, and also presents where filmmakers treat them more fairly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/american-south
If you mention Appalachia to many people, they may immediately respond with the "Deliverance" dueling banjos theme. Unfortunately, this is an example of how the region is stereotyped and misunderstood, particularly in films. In her book, Unwhite: Appalachia, Race, and Film(University of Georgia Press, 2018), Meredith McCarroll, Director of Writing and Rhetoric at Bowdoin College, describes Appalachian people as being shown as different from both white and nonwhite groups, often considered as belonging to the worst of each group. Her book discusses specific film examples that help to illustrate the negative connotation heaped upon Appalachia, and also presents where filmmakers treat them more fairly. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/popular-culture
===== MDJ Script/ Top Stories for August 8th Publish Date: August 8th Commercial: From the BG AD Group Studio, Welcome to the Marietta Daily Journal Podcast. Today is Friday, August 8th and Happy Birthday to Roger Federer I’m Keith Ippolito and here are the stories Cobb is talking about, presented by Times Journal Charges dropped against man accused in Cobb Walmart kidnapping case Cobb hosts annual night of unity between residents and public safety officials Traffic stop in Austell leads to meth trafficking charges Plus, Leah McGrath from Ingles Markets on peaches All of this and more is coming up on the Marietta Daily Journal Podcast, and if you are looking for community news, we encourage you to listen and subscribe! BREAK: Ingles Markets 10 STORY 1: Charges dropped against man accused in Cobb Walmart kidnapping case After months of stress, accusations, and uncertainty, Mahendra Patel is finally free. On Wednesday, prosecutors dropped all charges against the Cobb County man, who had been accused of attempting to kidnap a toddler at a north Cobb Walmart back in March. Patel, who spent 45 days in jail and lost 17 pounds surviving on bread and peanut butter, called the ordeal “a punishment in itself.” His mugshot? Still everywhere. His reputation? Shattered. But now, at least, he can breathe. Surveillance footage, which Patel’s attorney Ashleigh Merchant said was key to clearing his name, showed Patel briefly interacting with the child’s mother, Caroline Miller, while searching for Tylenol. What prosecutors initially called an attempted kidnapping was, in Patel’s words, “a misunderstanding blown out of proportion.” A Change.org petition supporting Patel gathered over 92,000 signatures, and even inmates who once threatened him apologized after reading about his case. STORY 2: Cobb hosts annual night of unity between residents and public safety officials Badges, block parties, and a whole lot of community spirit filled Jim Miller Park for Cobb County’s National Night Out. Since 1984, this nationwide event has been all about building bridges between public safety officers and the people they serve. And on Tuesday night? It was all smiles, dunk tanks, and even axe throwing. Families wandered through booths from the Cobb Sheriff’s Office, Fire Department, 911 dispatchers, and more. Kids laughed, parents asked questions, and stuffed K-9 toys were sold to support the real-life furry officers. For Zanetia Henry, the night was personal. After losing her son Dre to gun violence in 2019, she’s dedicated herself to uniting communities through her nonprofit, Operation Recovery. “Unity takes everyone,” she said, presenting awards to officers who’ve gone above and beyond. Cobb Police Capt. Jason Best, reflecting on his 28 years of service, said it best: “We usually see people at their worst. Tonight, we get to just talk—no tickets, no arrests. Just people connecting.” STORY 3: Traffic stop in Austell leads to meth trafficking charges Jack Randall Roberts, 68, and Justin Daniell Roberts, 30, both from Gay, Georgia, were arrested on July 31 after police allegedly found them with about a kilogram of methamphetamine. It all went down around 4 p.m. at the intersection of Garrett Road and C.H. James Parkway in Austell. Jack, driving a 2008 Ford Focus, reportedly stopped too far past the stop line—an innocent enough mistake, right? Except during the traffic stop, officers discovered the drugs, according to the warrant. Both men were booked into the Cobb County jail that evening. No bond. No release. Just a whole lot of trouble. We have opportunities for sponsors to get great engagement on these shows. Call 770.799.6810 for more info. We’ll be right back. Break: COBB INT. FESITVAL STORY 4: Expect lane closures as Atlanta Gas Light begins major pipeline work Atlanta Gas Light is gearing up to kick off the Wade Green Road Phase II Pressure Improvement Project this month—a big deal for Cobb and Cherokee counties. The plan? Lay down 5.5 miles of new natural gas pipeline. Construction crews will be working near Moon Station Road, Baker Road, Woodstock Road, and Highway 92, Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Heads up: expect lane closures and some traffic headaches through late 2025, with cleanup stretching into spring 2026. The city says the project will boost system reliability during high demand and create jobs. Got questions? Check out atlantagaslight.com or email wadegreen@southernco.com. STORY 5: Community Colleges of Appalachia sign transfer agreement with WGU Leaders from Community Colleges of Appalachia (CCA) and Western Governors University (WGU) just inked a deal that could be a game-changer for Appalachian students. The agreement lets residents earn WGU’s accredited online degrees and certificates without leaving their hometowns—no uprooting, no long commutes. CCA, with 85 member colleges from Mississippi to New York (including five in Georgia), is all about serving local communities. This partnership? It’s about making higher education more accessible. Graduates and employees of CCA schools can transfer credits to WGU, skip redundant coursework, and even apply for $3,000 Learn Where You Live Scholarships. WGU’s flexible, competency-based programs—spanning business, tech, healthcare, and education—are designed for busy lives. Tuition? About $4,000 per six-month term, and students can tackle as many courses as they’re ready for. For details, check out ccofapp.org or wgu.edu. And now here is Leah McGrath from Ingles Markets on peaches We’ll have closing comments after this. Break: Ingles Markets 10 Signoff- Thanks again for hanging out with us on today’s Marietta Daily Journal Podcast. If you enjoy these shows, we encourage you to check out our other offerings, like the Cherokee Tribune Ledger Podcast, the Marietta Daily Journal, or the Community Podcast for Rockdale Newton and Morgan Counties. Read more about all our stories and get other great content at mdjonline.com Did you know over 50% of Americans listen to podcasts weekly? Giving you important news about our community and telling great stories are what we do. Make sure you join us for our next episode and be sure to share this podcast on social media with your friends and family. Add us to your Alexa Flash Briefing or your Google Home Briefing and be sure to like, follow, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. 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Kayla (@corporatespiritguide), if you didn't know, is part of the KILLR team! Today she joins Alessandra for a fun conversation on how she's been dealing with haters, how people should educate themselves with history of the Appalachia, and shares her diverse background from being adopted to corporate lawyer.To write in about your dating experiences or for any advice, email vibinandkindathrivin@gmail.com and make sure to check us out @vibinandkindathrivin!To support the show please check out the sponsors!Earnin': Download Earnin today on the google play and apple app stores.Shopify: Start your $1 a month trial period at shopify.com/vibinSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Barbara Kingsolver joins co-hosts Whitney Terrell and V.V. Ganeshananthan to discuss her support of Higher Ground, a long-term residence for women recovering from addiction. Kingsolver talks about Lee County, Virginia, which is both Higher Ground's location and the setting for her wildly successful novel Demon Copperhead, which transforms Charles Dickens' David Copperfield into a story of the opioid epidemic in Appalachia. Kingsolver explains how she came to use profits from the novel to found Higher Ground, as well as the local partnerships and conversations that made the project possible. She also reflects on Purdue Pharma's exploitation of Appalachia; her views on ethical philanthropy; her worries about what the Big, Beautiful Bill will do to rural America; and her opinions on Vice President J.D. Vance's authenticity. She considers how she developed the voices of her novel's characters, and reads from Demon Copperhead. To hear the full episode, subscribe through iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, Spotify, or your favorite podcast app (include the forward slashes when searching). You can also listen by streaming from the player below. Check out video versions of our interviews on the Fiction/Non/Fiction Instagram account, the Fiction/Non/Fiction YouTube Channel, and our show website: https://www.fnfpodcast.net/ This podcast is produced by V.V. Ganeshananthan, Whitney Terrell, Hunter Murray, Janet Reed, and Moss Terrell. Barbara Kingsolver Demon Copperhead Higher Ground Women's Recovery Residence Unsheltered Flight Behavior The Lacuna Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life The Poisonwood Bible Pigs in Heaven Others: "‘I've dealt with anti-hillbilly bigotry all my life': Barbara Kingsolver on JD Vance, the real Appalachia and why Demon Copperhead was such a hit" |The Guardian Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America by Barbara Ehrenreich Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
In this compelling episode of The Articulate Fly fishing podcast, host Marvin Cash teams up with renowned guide and instructor Mac Brown for another insightful Casting Angles segment focused on high water fishing strategies in the Great Smoky Mountains. Mac, who lives on Deep Creek in Bryson City and has been guiding Appalachian waters since the 1980s, reveals why experienced anglers should flip conventional wisdom during big rain events and head to lower elevations rather than seeking high mountain streams. Learn how massive brown trout emerge from hiding during flash flood conditions, creating feeding frenzies that represent some of the best fishing opportunities in Appalachia. Mac shares specific streamer fishing techniques including his go-to Black Ghost pattern, the importance of color contrast in turbid water and why upsizing flies becomes critical during high water events. Discover proven bank fishing tactics using jig hooks for fast-moving water, plus Mac's upcoming fall instructional offerings including his September advanced casting school, October guide school and a special wet fly fishing workshop with legendary angler Davy Wotton on Arkansas' White River - where Mac first learned to fly fish as a child.All Things Social MediaFollow Mac on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.Support the Show Shop on AmazonBecome a Patreon PatronSubscribe to the PodcastSubscribe to the podcast in the podcatcher of your choice.Advertise on the PodcastIs our community a good fit for your brand? Advertise with us.In the Industry and Need Help Getting Unstuck?Check out our consulting options!
Christian Historical Fiction Talk is listener supported. When you buy things through this site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Sarah Loudin Thomas returns to the podcast this week to chat about her latest release, These Blue Mountains. It's a stunning story about German POWs in the US during WWI and a young woman's search for her missing fiancé in the time between the two wars. We talk about what the times were like, what Sarah would have done if she found herself in the heroine's position, and allow her to brag about her sweet dog. Patrons will hear her opinions on the Rocky Mountains vs. the Appalachians. These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin ThomasA moving story of love, betrayal, and the enduring power of hope in the face of darkness.German pianist Hedda Schlagel's world collapsed when her fiancé, Fritz, vanished after being sent to an enemy alien camp in the United States during the Great War. Fifteen years later, in 1932, Hedda is stunned to see Fritz's name in a photograph of an American memorial for German seamen who died near Asheville, North Carolina. Determined to reclaim his body and bring closure to his ailing mother, Hedda travels to the US. Her quest takes a shocking turn when, rather than Fritz's body, his casket contains the remains of a woman who died under mysterious circumstances.Local deputy Garland Jones thought he'd left that dark chapter behind when he helped bury Fritz Meyer's coffin. The unexpected arrival of Hedda, a long-suffering yet captivating woman, forces him to confront how much of the truth he really knows. As they work together to uncover the identity of the woman in the casket and to unravel Fritz's fate, Hedda and Garland grow closer. But with Hedda in the US on borrowed time while Hitler rises to power in Germany, she fears she'll be forced to return home before she can put the ghosts of her past to rest."These Blue Mountains is a masterful tale that weaves together two continents, two wars, and two lives defined by longing and resilience."--PATTI CALLAHAN HENRY, New York Timesbestselling author"North Carolina's mountains hide the secrets of a war long past and a young love cut short in this atmospheric tale of unexpected hope."--LISA WINGATE, New York Times bestselling authorThis inspirational historical fiction is set in the mountains of North Carolina in the tumultuous years before World War II. With threads of intrigue, romance, and an international cast of characters, These Blue Mountainsis the perfect book club pick and Southern fiction read.Get your copy of These Blue Mountains by Sarah Loudin Thomas.Sarah Loudin Thomas grew up on a 100-acre farm in French Creek, WV, the seventh generation to live there. Her historical fiction is often set in West Virginia and celebrates the people, the land, and the heritage of Appalachia.Sarah is the director of Jan Karon's Mitford Museum in Hudson, NC. She holds a bachelor's degree in English from Coastal Carolina University and is the author of the acclaimed novels The Right Kind of Fool–winner of the 2021 Selah Book of the Year–and Miracle in a Dry Season–winner of the 2015 Inspy Award. Sarah has also been a finalist for the Christy Award, ACFW Carol Award and the Christian Book of the Year Award. She and her husband live in western North Carolina.Visit Sarah Loudin Thomas website.
In THE FAMILY DYNAMIC: A Journey into the Mystery of Sibling Success (Crown; on sale May 6, 2025), the acclaimed New York Times journalist Susan Dominus offers compelling profiles of six such families in search of the factors that led to their success—was it an inherited quality, a specific way of parenting, the influence of a sibling, or a twist of luck? Inspired by the iconic Brontë sisters, whose remarkable literary success prompted endless speculation, Dominus, the mother of twin teenagers, sought out contemporary high-achieving families who shared intimate stories of their upbringing. She introduces us to the Chens, young parents who fled their country's one-child policy to open a Chinese restaurant in Appalachia—then sent four children to elite colleges and on to careers that give back in technology and medicine; the Groffs, whose claim to fame is not just an award-winning novelist but an Olympic athlete and a notable entrepreneur; the Wojcickis, whose daughters made inroads as STEM pioneers in Silicon Valley; and the Murguias, who rose from exceptionally humble origins to become powerful jurists and civil rights champions. Woven into these and other stories is an account of centuries of scientific research into the ongoing question of nature versus nurture. Elegantly written and extensively researched, The Family Dynamic is more than a checklist of how-to's. It's a deep and moving exploration of the complexity of family life and the rewards—and burdens—of ambition.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/arroe-collins-unplugged-totally-uncut--994165/support.
listener comments? Feedback? Shoot us a text!Today, we're tackling a really fascinating and, frankly, provocative topic. We're going to be talking about an article by Stephen Pearson titled “Indigenizing Settlers: The White Appalachian Self and the Colonialism Model of Appalachian Exploitation.” And it's a deep dive into how a specific group of people—White Appalachians—have, in some ways, come to see themselves as an Indigenous population. Your Hosts:Kurly Tlapoyawa is an archaeologist, ethnohistorian, and filmmaker. His research covers Mesoamerica, the American Southwest, and the historical connections between the two regions. He is the author of numerous books and has presented lectures at the University of New Mexico, Harvard University, Yale University, San Diego State University, and numerous others. He most recently released his documentary short film "Guardians of the Purple Kingdom," and is a cultural consultant for Nickelodeon Animation Studios.@kurlytlapoyawaRuben Arellano Tlakatekatl is a scholar, activist, and professor of history. His research explores Chicana/Chicano indigeneity, Mexican indigenist nationalism, and Coahuiltecan identity resurgence. Other areas of research include Aztlan (US Southwest), Anawak (Mesoamerica), and Native North America. He has presented and published widely on these topics and has taught courses at various institutions. He currently teaches history at Dallas College – Mountain View Campus. Find us: Bluesky Instagram Merch: Shop Aztlantis Book: The Four Disagreements: Letting Go of Magical Thinking
#18 in our series, "The Book of Romans: A Theology of Hope"
Genevieve Barbee-Turner, creator of Killerpancake Illustration, is a tarot card illustrator and two-dimensional artist based in Pittsburgh. She creates cursed occult wares including taro decks, stickers and stationery, fine art prints, and other decor inspired by horror stories, folklore, and ghost stories from across history and pop culture. Killerpancake blends contemporary Appalachia and queer/femme identity with a splash of gothic aesthetic. killerpancakeillustration.comIG: @killerpancake_illustrationTiktok: @killerpancake_tarot
In 1918, the mountains of North Carolina erupted in quiet rebellion. Dozens of young men dodged the World War I draft, hiding in the backcountry with help from friends and family. When a deadly shootout left two men dead on a remote mountain road, Governor Thomas Bickett launched an unprecedented campaign to bring the deserters in, using not just raids and arrests, but public persuasion designed to get these men to turn themselves in, no questions asked.And it worked.It's another one of the Stories of Appalachia.Be sure to subscribe to the Stories podcast wherever you get your podcasts so you don't miss a single one of our stories.Thanks for listening!
Happy Leo season! This month Eva got Appalachia on the horn for a creepy batch of listener stories from one of Christine's favorite spooky regions. This month's haunted tales include some terrifying “not-deer” encounters, mysterious orbs, tales of long lost gold, and even a true crime adjacent story! So buckle up for the paranormal hoopla, and look out for not-a-deer… and that's why we drink! Photo Links:Not a deer___________________To get 6 bottles of wine for $39.99, head to http://NakedWines.com/DRINK and use code DRINK for both the code AND PASSWORDFor And That's Why We Drink listeners. Cure is offering 20% off your first order! Stay hydrated and feel your best by visiting http://curehydration.com/DRINK and using promo code DRINK at checkout. Get $5 off your next order at MagicSpoon.com/DRINK. Or look for Magic Spoon on Amazon or in your nearest grocery store. Get 35% off your entire order at Lolablankets.com by using code DRINK at checkout. Experience the world's #1 blanket with Lola Blankets. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Every day, with few exceptions, I eat a handful of nuts. Usually a combination of almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, and pistachios. And they taste good for sure. But I'm responding mainly to research showing that consumption of nuts is related to less chronic disease. In particular, eating nuts lowers levels of inflammation related to heart disease and diabetes, and may improve cholesterol levels among other benefits. So, I saw it as welcome news that someone has just published a book about nuts, all aspects of nuts, actually. Today we're joined by NPR, food Writer Elspeth Hay author of a new book called Feed Us with Trees- nuts, and The Future of Food. And I had no idea. Nuts were so interesting until I dove in a little bit. Elspeth has gathered stories from dozens of nut growers, scientists, indigenous knowledge keepers, researchers and food professionals. She writes that humans once grew their staple crops in forest gardens of perennial nuts, such as oaks, chestnuts, and hazelnuts in these species. Particularly important to the environment as well as to human wellbeing. Interview Summary Elspeth, thanks so much for joining us and for writing such an amazing book. Thank you so much for having me. And it sounds like you have the same habit as my dad. He makes sure to eat a little bit of mixed nuts every night, ever since I can remember for his health. Let's start by having you describe your book. Tell us about Feed us with Trees. Why did you write it and what's it about? I wrote it because I've been reporting on food in the environment for a long time, a little more than 15 years. And I had never heard anyone mention anything about eating acorns until a few years ago. And someone sent me a TEDx talk by a woman in Greece named Marcie Mayer, and she said, you can eat acorns. And not only that, but they're a super food nutritionally, and one of humanity's oldest foods. And I live in this giant oak forest that's protected on Cape Cod as part of the Cape Cod National Seashore. And I had always seen this forest as a sort of impediment to local food production, right? There's all this land that can't be farmed. And all that time, it turns out there was food literally raining down on my roof, underfoot in my driveway, and I just wasn't equipped to see it. The stories that I had grown up with hadn't mentioned that. And so that was a real eyeopener for me and I just couldn't stop thinking about it and I kept researching. So, have you started consuming acorns? I have, yes. I've collected them the past probably five falls and, you know, oaks do something called masting. Some years they have a really big production and some years smaller production. Some years I've gotten more than others. But I have started processing them at home and experimenting with different ways of using the flour. And I've also ordered online acorn oil. There are actually three food products that you can make from acorns. You can make starch, which works just like corn starch or potato starch. Thickens things. You can make flour and with some species you can make oil. It's actually a pretty diverse crop. That's so interesting. You know, I have a series of oak trees right outside my window and I never thought that they might be producing food I could consume. It's so interesting to hear your history with that. Yes, I mean I had no idea. And it turns out that actually acorns are very similar to olives in the way that they need to be processed. They're very high in these compounds that are very bitter, called tannins, just like an olive. I had the experience once of going to Italy with my husband, and we saw this olive grove and we thought, oh cool. Olives growing right here. And we picked one off the tree and he put his in his mouth and immediately spat it out and said, oh, that's awful. Tannins are not something that we want to eat. They don't taste good, but obviously they haven't hampered the olives rise to glory in terms of a human food source. And Acorns need the same kind of processing. So, tannins are water soluble. You pull them out with water. You know, you always get olives in brine, right? And so Yes, just started learning more about how to work with them and then also more about our relationship with oak trees. And I started seeing them differently in that light too. Going from sort of the species that I'd always seen as natural and wild and better off without humans, to actually understanding that we have a really long history with oak trees and in some places, they actually really depend on us. So that was total game changer for me. There's more to the story than oaks and acorns. Tell us what you learned about the history of humans eating nuts like acorns, but also things like chestnuts and hazelnut. Yes, I was really surprised. At first, I thought, okay, this is going to be an isolated thing where some people in really hilly areas or areas that aren't good for row crops are eating these nuts as staple foods. But when I looked back, actually all over the Northern Hemisphere in a huge variety of cultures, people have been in relationship with these nut trees as a staple food for a lot of the past 12,000 years. So, there's records in Japan of this ancient society that was sort of the first known chestnut cultivators in Japan. The burr size increased a lot. The nut size increased a lot during that early era of cultivation. There's a really interesting history of chestnut cultivation throughout Europe during what we call the quote unquote dark ages, although I'm starting to think maybe it was lighter than we thought during that time. There was a lot of cool stuff happening with Agroforestry. And in some areas of Europe, people ate an average of 330 pounds of chestnuts per person, per year. To put that in perspective, today, the average American eats about 150 pounds of grains per person per year. So that is a pretty serious level of chestnut consumption. You know, it's called in some places the bread tree. And I just started finding all these examples. There was a time in the British Isles known as the Nut Age, between about 7,000 and 5,000 years ago. There were just all these examples of different people at different times tending to these trees and harvesting a huge amount of food from them. You've written that trees like oaks and chestnut and hazels and also humans are what ecologists call keystone species. Yes. Tell us what you mean by that and how such species play an outsized role in local ecosystems. So, a keystone species, the first time I ever heard of them I think I was in Jamaica, and someone was talking about the sea urchins on the reef and the beach there. And it turned out that when they disappeared, for a variety of reasons, this whole ecosystem fell apart. And there's different types of keystone species, but a keystone species is as important to its ecosystem as the keystone in a Roman arch, right? So, if you pull that keystone out, you have this cascade of effects where everything kind of falls apart. And oaks are a huge life support tree. I don't know if listeners have heard of the work of entomologist, Doug Tallamy. He's done some really interesting studies on different families of plants and how much life they support by looking at insects. And in most counties where they occur, oaks are the top life support plant in North America. They're this incredibly important basis of the food chain. They provide food for a ton of insects. Those insects in turn feed birds and mammals and other creatures. And you know, at first as I am learning all this, I thought, okay, great oaks are important. Well, you know, I kind of already knew that, but that's exciting that we can eat from them. But then I started getting to know some fire practitioners. Especially an indigenous man in present day Northern California named Ron Reed. And he's a member of the Karuk Tribe there. And he started telling me about the relationship between cultural fire, prescribed fire, and oak trees. And what I learned is that oaks and human fire have actually been in relationship for millennia. And there's this whole, on the east coast, this hypothesis called the Oak Fire Hypothesis. And most ecologists that I've spoken with ascribe to it and believe that the reason that white oak and hickory have been this sort of dominant forest type through a lot of Eastern North America for the past 9,000 years, despite some really dramatic climate changes, is because humans have burned to keep them dominant on the landscape. And that in doing that we actually play a role as a keystone species too, right? So, if our fire is supporting this incredibly important keystone species, oaks, and other nut trees, we're in the category that they call ecosystem engineers. Mm-hmm. So, a beaver is an example of an ecosystem engineer, right? You take the beaver out of the wetland and the whole thing falls apart. And a lot of fire historians and ecologists see us as the fire animal. And historically, in a lot of different ecosystems, that has been our largest and most important role is creating ecosystems for other wildlife habitat, for other wildlife, with fire. So, it sounds like there was a time in human history when humans would selectively burn other things in order to protect these trees. Yes, and truly not just these trees. If you look at other places, other continents, there's human burning in Australia, there's human burning in the Amazon, there's tons of examples. But around here where I live, at least in New England and in the East, fire has been used intentionally to keep these nut trees dominant. Because what happens is. oaks are a mid-succession species. If folks don't know a lot about succession, early is like bare dirt, right? When we have an open field that's been plowed up, that's the beginning of succession. And then it proceeds all the way to an old growth forest. And oaks, if they get shaded out, they're not a particularly shade tolerant species. So, a lot of these nut trees like that kind of middle, sweet spot of succession. Where it's still a little open, there's still plenty of sun for regeneration. And so that can be intentionally preserved with fire or with other methods. But that's been a major one historically. Well, that's so interesting. In your book, you draw a comparison between the yield from these trees to more modern agriculture or industrial farming of things like corn and soybeans. That tell us about that. That's a very interesting point to make. Yes. I spent a lot of time on what I started calling the yield thing because it seemed really important, right? If these trees are actually a viable alternative to the industrial monocultures that we're struggling to maintain, well then, they need to really feed us, right? There needs to be enough food. And there are a number of different ways to look at it. I think, you know, one thing that we don't talk about a lot is when we talk about a monoculture of corn, for instance, I think the record, I'm not going to remember the exact statistics. But the average is maybe12,000 tons per acre or something. But there have been these huge records, and what we don't talk about is that yield is a ratio, right? If land is the limiting factor for us to produce food. And we're just talking about what's coming off this one acre, but we're not talking about the land it took to produce the fertilizer. We're not talking about the land it took to produce the tractor or the fuel or all these other inputs. And when you factor those in, those high yields completely disappear. When we actually look at how much land we need to produce food, an ecosystem based on these keystone trees will always produce the most because they produce the most life, right? And, you know, we tend to get caught up in other measures, but ultimately life comes from photosynthesis and these relationships between different species. And when you have a piece of land that is producing an abundance of life, you also have an abundance of food. And I broke the yield question down in a lot of different ways, but there have been some direct comparisons between oak savannah versus cornfield ecosystems and the amount of photosynthesis and food production that's happening. And the oak ecosystems, I mean, if you just think about the size of an oak tree and its photosynthetic capacity versus the sort of short grass, it can do a lot more. Well, if you happen to park your car under an oak tree, you get a good sense of exactly how many acorns one can produce. Yes, it's quite a bit. And actually, another cool thing about acorns, is that because of the tannins, which are kind of a pain, right, for processing. People often wish they didn't have these tannins. But tannins are an incredible preservative. So, from a food security standpoint, if you gather some acorns and you dry them out a little, just by letting them sit in an airy, dry spot, they can store for decades. So, even if the acorn production isn't consistent year to year, like say a hazelnut or a chestnut or a field of corn might be. Those fluctuations are not as big of a deal because of that food security potential. There's a lot of different ways to break it down. But I was a skeptic, a yield skeptic. And by the end of the research, I felt quite confident in saying that these trees produce plenty and it's definitely not a yield issue why we moved away from them. Well, I'm glad you decided to dive into the yield thing because it's actually very interesting once you get into it. Let's talk about something else that you wrote about. A little-known part of US history. You wrote that in the not-so-distant past, the US government considered keystone nut trees as a solution to some of our biggest environmental and economic challenges. I had no idea about that. Tell us about it and what happened. I had no idea either. When I first started researching the book, I went on this trip through Appalachia talking to different people who had some knowledge of this stand of trees that was planted in between the late 1920s and the 1960s by a guy named John Hershey. And I just thought, oh, cool, I'll go see these old nut trees. This sounds really interesting. But what I learned when I got there and started talking to the folks who had found where the trees were and were sort of caretaking them, was that Hershey was part of, Roosevelt's depression recovery plan. And he had this experimental fruit and nut tree nursery where he had ads in the newspaper and people all over the eastern seaboard were sending in entries of their best nut seeds, best trees. He got these genetics that probably represented, you know, hundreds if not thousands of years of human breeding in the east. And he started planting these experimental nurseries. And as part of Roosevelt's tree army, not only were they planting trees to try to prevent erosion and reforest areas that have been cut over. They were also planting these nut trees and seeing them as a really viable solution to hunger, to environmental crises, and to reviving rural economies. And unfortunately, Hershey ended up getting cancer. His other buddy who was doing the program with him got in a fight with one of the Roosevelt administrators, and the program fell apart. Also, World War II began. So that was another reason that things kind of fell apart. But for a moment there it was at the highest levels of government. The officials saw, wow, this could actually solve a lot of problems at once. And I think it's a bummer that it didn't catch on then. But it's not too late now. We still have a lot of problems as we unfortunately all know. And these trees still offer a lot of solutions. So given the long human history of this, the story of indigenous cultures becomes really fascinating. And you've talked about how the indigenous cultures tended oak trees and other trees with what you called forest farming. And I'm interested in that concept and if you would tell us what that means and also, why haven't these things caught on? And why don't most Americans eat acorns or even know that one can eat them? So, the history of forest farming in the US is pretty long and violent. Our government has pursued a policy of trying to eradicate a lot of these indigenous food production systems because people are easier to control when they're hungry and when they don't have access to the resources that they need. We often talk about our industrial style of farming that we have today as inevitable, right? Oh, well, these older methods didn't produce enough food and so we had to transition from quote unquote hunting and gathering to farming. And what I found as I looked through the history is that is a completely made-up story. Instead, what was happening is that as Euro-American colonists kept trying to expand our land base, you know, kept trying to move West, force into new areas, is that it was very hard to gain access to more land without also using violence and a tactic that, some historians have called a feed fight. Targeting indigenous food production and then forcing survivors to assimilate into grain crop culture. And that, we've been told was because it was a way of producing more food. But in fact, often it yielded less food and was actually a war tactic. And there's a lot of talk right now about regenerative farming and there's also a lot of talk about racial healing and having real conversations about racial history in the US and trying to move forward. And I think that this food aspect is really key to that conversation. And if we want to build a better future, it's something that we really have to reckon with and talk about, you know? We can't change what happened, but we also can't move forward without knowing what happened and really understanding it. So interesting how the history of this particular food was so shaped by politics, colonialism, things like that. And also by things like Mr. Hershey getting cancer and, you know, his, his colleague having a fight. I mean, it's just an incredibly interesting history and it's too bad that it played out like it did for a million tragic reasons. But whoa, that's interesting. I found some of the historic literature just totally confounding and fascinating because there would be, you know, sometimes the same people would be commenting on how they'd gotten to present day California. You know, these Euro-American soldier, settlers, they got there. They couldn't believe how much food there was. You know, wild geese, as far as you can see, wild oats as far as you can see, salmon filling up the rivers. And then in the same letter sometimes saying these indigenous people don't know how to produce food. They have nothing to eat. It was a really important reminder to me of the importance of stories and the stories that we internalize. Because I can now think of examples in my own life of, you know, I live in this national park and on the website of the National Park, there's one page about the importance of human fire in the ecosystem of this place over the past 10,000 years. And on another page of the same website, there's a description of this natural, pristine wilderness, that is supposedly also here. Of course, those two things can't really both be true. But until I started learning all this about oaks and these other trees, that didn't set off any alarm bells in my head. And we all have internalized narratives that we forget to question. For me, for whatever reason, these acorns have been this huge opener of like, okay, what else am I missing? What else do I need to reexamine about the stories around food that I've grown up with and the stories around our relationship with the living world around us. Because there's a lot of layers there to unpack. Well, there sure are. One other thing I wanted to ask you about, because you brought up this issue earlier of forest succession. And in that context, tree pruning is an interesting topic. And you write that tree pruning, this could happen by fire, or it could also happen with other things like pollarding. I didn't know what pollarding was. But those could hold some surprising opportunities when it comes to food production and climate change. And you write that regularly pruned and burned landscapes aren't like the typical old growth forest that we often associate with climate solutions. So why is this? So, we often think of old growth forests as simply a forest that looks really old, right? The trees are tall and they're broad. And there are forests that can be really old but can be in an earlier stage of succession. So, what happens with a lot of these interactions over time where people are either burning or coppicing or pollarding, which I'll define for your listeners. Because I also had no idea what those words meant when I first started researching. But coppicing is where you cut a woody plant back to the ground year after year. It could be every year. It could be in a rotation of every eight or 15 or 20 years to produce new stems. Like it's a plant that will resprout. And pollarding is the same idea but was often done in systems where livestock were also involved. You're cutting much higher off the ground, typically above animal head height, so that they can't graze those tasty young shoots. And there are a lot of traditionally managed forests in Europe that have been managed with coppice and pollard. What's happening is when we produce food in a farm field, right? We're taking succession back to zero every year. We're re plowing the field. Every time we do that the carbon that the plants had stored in their roots and had sent down to the soil gets burped back out into the atmosphere. I talked to a great soil scientist about this, and he was just like, oh, it's carbon dioxide burps everywhere. It's awful. But when we work with these woody plants where you're not taking out the roots, you're not taking out the trunk necessarily, if you're pollarding, right? You're leaving these trees. And these trees can get really old and really big around the trunk, and then they're getting pruned up top and sending out these new shoots. It is more like giving the plant a haircut. You're not killing it back. You're not losing all that carbon that's stored in the soil. And you're kind of renewing its youth and vigor. There are some studies indicating that trees that are coppiced and pollarded can actually live longer than trees with no human interaction. And so, there's this really fine line between, you know, too much interference where we're messing up the succession cycle of the forest and taking it back to zero. And maybe some interference, but not going all the way back to zero. And that has huge climate implications. Bio Elspeth Hay is the author and creator of Feed Us with Trees and the Local Food Report on NPR, and proponent of place-based living. Deeply immersed in her own local-food system, Elspeth's work focuses on food, the environment, and the people, places, and ideas that feed us. She spent the past 15+ years interviewing local food producers, harvesters, processors, cooks, policymakers and visionaries about what it means to be human and live thoughtfully in place. In the process, she's come to understand that we humans are, in fact, perfectly adapted to a wide range of places—and to believe that reconnecting with our home ecosystems is both the great challenge and great joy of our times. In addition to her work as a writer and public radio host, Elspeth is deeply immersed in the local food system of her own home community of Wellfleet, MA on the Outer Cape. She is part of the team behind the Wicked Oyster restaurant in Wellfleet, a co-founder of the Wellfleet Farmers Market, co-founder of the newly launched Commons Keepers, and a passionate student and teacher of place-based living.
This week features a deep dive into the deep hollers of the Appalachians with a local to the mountains, fishing guide, and friend of the show Nick T. The guys start with a strange correlation with the country of Georgia cuisine, why younger brothers can never win, and a “small world” story between a TV host and Big Money Banks. Next the three get into the correct pronunciation, Jrad's time with the Appalachian Service Project, driving ATV's with snakes, life in the hollers, the best Appalachian food like pickled eggs, wild true and ghost stories alike only possible in this part of the country, associating with your county not city,
We are back and as good as ever, as we welcomed John Reid to the show, the man running to keep radical progressives away from Richmond and in the swamp from which they came, for a discussion on his plans as the Republican Candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. We talked about his experience in politics, his radio show based out of Richmond, why he made the plunge into this race, Appalachia struggles, education, and much much more.Support the show
Welcome to the Most Haunted Podcast in America... Each week, join us as we explore the deepest, darkest, spookiest places in the world, delivering doses of research, history, and spine-tingling tales. Stories of demonic possessions, glitches in time, alien abductions, cryptids, haunted Appalachia and so much more. With new episodes released every Thursday and Sunday, and literally hundreds of episodes to explore, you're bound to find something to scratch that spooky itch. But be warned: side effects may include a haunting or two. Listen at your own risk. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This week, Nathan and B.R discuss the latest 'Sig-cident' involving an Sig P320 / M18 handgun, with this particular uncommanded discharge resulting in the death of a U.S. Airman station in Wyoming. The lads talk bluntly about the on-going lack of accountability from Sig in regards to these incidents and scapegoating via blaming the holster or user. Also discussed: The 'Tim-cident', AKA, Tim Kennedy publicly apologizing for lying about receiving the Bronze Star for Valor and the years of inflating his service record publicly and to his own profit and the implications of this and how American hero worship continues to create those who tell exaggerated and embellished tales of war for their own gain.On a more casual note, B.R celebrates carving out two acres for himself and achieving a small slice of the 'American dream' in Appalachia, and Nathan attempts to explain Death Stranding and Kojima to B.R. All that, and much more!All information discussed is open source and available to anyone with an internet connection, documents can be found below for reference and independent assessment.Any legal action pursued due to this episode will be met with more memes. :)SIG INTEL REPORT:https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Ozkb5vouKqtVeHxGBtRJ5z9BVlHMF6k4Uf3gsnLe9Zc/edit?invite=CPu87poP&tab=t.hdaevbdop0sfSIG P320 US I.C.E. Report:https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TayAopJKjz_vspCPnAAuZ_vx5s75T8Vn/viewQuality and Safety Problems with the Beretta M9 Handgun:https://www.gao.gov/products/t-nsiad-88-46US Army M17/M18 Modular Handgun Systems Report:https://www.dote.osd.mil/Portals/97/pub/reports/FY2017/army/2017mhs.pdfWashington Criminal Justice Center Report:https://cjtc.app.box.com/s/xt4cmgmo3ass0bqcwzwf75hk8279c1a1Indian Manufacturing Company at SHOT Show Brandon mentions: https://www.indo-mim.comCheck out the guys that put together the SIG report:Brandon - https://www.instagram.com/bsel107/Drew - https://www.instagram.com/dfz_engineering/Follow the lads on IG: Nathan / Main Page: https://www.instagram.com/cbrnart/?hl=en B.R: https://www.instagram.com/br.the.anarchLucas: https://www.instagram.com/heartl1ne/
In this episode we tell the story of Michael Stoner, a German-born frontiersman, longhunter, and close companion of Daniel Boone. From his early days in Pennsylvania to brutal battles like Blue Licks and Boonesborough, to his final expedition up the Missouri River, Michael Stoner was the definition of Appalachian exploration and settlement, making his story one of the Stories of Appalachia.Be sure to subscribe to the podcast if you haven't done so already. You'll find us on Spreaker, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Audible and on our YouTube channel.Thanks for listening!
Tweet tweet, weirdos! This is a bird show now! Just kidding. Kind of. Welcome to Keep It Bird the podcast about all things feathered and beaked, squawking and flapping, and everything that has plumage that chirps or clucks! Nah, we're still the podcast for all things strange and unusual and this week we are getting to the bottom of ALL THINGS PARANORMAL!! That's right-- we're answering every question we've ever asked on this show because it turns out the supernatural is as natural as can be. Lauren starts us off by going DOWN THE RABBIT HOLE and exploring the nature of our very own star. Not only did the sun create our planet but it provides our planet with energy, influences our climate and weather patterns, can mess with our technology and can even rewire our BRAINS!! AND DONT EVEN GET HER STARTED ON THE ROCKS! Ashley swoops in (bird reference) with a WHERE IN THE WORLD as we travel to America's creepiest playground-- APPALACHIA! The Appalachian Mountains are some of the oldest mountains on the entire planet-- predating trees, dinosaurs and even BONES. It's no wonder it's full of ghosts, cryptids, witches and UFOs! We did a TON of research this week so CHECK THE LINKS BELOW if you want to do some more reading on today's topics. FOLLOW US on social media @keepitweirdcast SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube Channel youtube.com/keepitweirdpodcast RATE US on iTunes and Spotify JOIN OUR PATREON at patreon.com/keepitweirdpodcast and you'll get BONUS EPISODES every month, discounts on merch and free tarot card readings! Also don't forget to check out the FULL DIVINATION EPISODE if you want to hear all of the tarot readings we did this month for our lovely listeners. FROM THE SUN TO SINBAD https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-59633-z https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-migrating-birds-use-quantum-effects-to-navigate/ https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/did-you-know-general-science/story-behind-21-grams https://www.cuyamungueinstitute.com/articles-and-news/rhythmic-sound-trance-states-and-the-brain/ https://www.biotonomy.com/post/how-electromagnetic-pollution-in-buildings-effect-our-wellbeing SPOOKY MOUNTAIN HIGH https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/649146/appalachian-mountains-facts https://www.thewanderingappalachian.com/post/legends-and-folklore-uncovering-appalachian-myths-and-mysteries https://gotmountainlife.com/6-mysterious-creatures/ https://www.worldhistory.org/article/2560/tsulkalu-the-slant-eyed-giant/#:~:text=Tsul'k%C4%83l%C3%BB'%2C%20The%20Slant%2DEyed%20Giant%20is%20a,and%20power%20could%20be%20felt. https://criticalcountry.medium.com/the-mysterious-brown-mountain-lights-fba405425dd3 https://allthatsinteresting.com/moon-eyed-people https://folklife.si.edu/magazine/appalachian-folk-magic https://oasis.library.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5992&context=thesesdissertations https://columbusfreepress.com/article/ohio-against-universe-50th-anniversary-ufo-wave-during-halloween-1973 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pascagoula_Abduction
September 12, 1952. A quiet evening in the small town of Flatwoods, West Virginia, was shattered by a flash in the sky followed by one of the most eerie close encounters in American UFO lore. In this episode of Brief Encounters, we retrace the footsteps of a group of frightened children, a local mother, and a National Guardsman who claimed to come face to face with something not of this world. What they described defied logic: glowing eyes, a metallic dress, claw-like hands, and a floating motion that suggested it wasn't walking, but gliding. Was it a government experiment gone wrong, a misidentified owl, or something much stranger? Join us as we examine why the legend of the Flatwoods Monster still haunts the hills of Appalachia.Brief Encounters is a tightly produced, narrative podcast that dives headfirst into the world of UFO sightings, the paranormal, cryptids, myths, and unexplained legends. From ancient sky wars to modern close encounters, each episode takes listeners on a journey through some of the most mysterious and compelling cases in human history. Whether it's a well-documented military sighting or an eerie village legend whispered across generations, Brief Encounters delivers each story with atmosphere, depth, and cinematic storytelling. Episodes are short and binge-worthy perfect for curious minds on the go. In just 5 to 10 minutes, listeners are pulled into carefully researched accounts that blend historical context, eyewitness testimony, and chilling details. The series moves between eras and continents, uncovering not only the famous cases you've heard of, but also the forgotten incidents that deserve a closer look. Each story is treated with respect, skepticism, and wonder offering both seasoned enthusiasts and casual listeners something fresh to consider. Whether it's a 15th-century sky battle over Europe, a cryptid sighting in a remote forest, or a modern-day abduction report from rural America, Brief Encounters is your guide through the shadows of our world and the stories that refuse to be explained.UFO Chronicles Podcast can be found on all podcast players and on the website: https://ufochroniclespodcast.comBecome a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/ufo-chronicles-podcast--3395068/support.
This week, we explore the legend of Axe Murder Hollow — the chilling tale of a jealousy crazed, axe-wielding farmer that has passed down through generations in Erie Pennsylvania, and spread through northern Appalachia. What began as a ghost story passed between teens in the 1940s has since become one of the state's most infamous tales — blending true crime, folklore, hauntings, and ghostly revenge. We'll get into the rumors and theories that sprung up about what haunts Axe Murder Hollow. From the tale of Billy the Butcher to a 1963 double homicide that might have cemented the Hollow's deadly reputation. Plus: High school newspaper gossip columns (1940s Gossip Girl vibes) turned paranormal record-keepers, vanishing spirits, phantom footsteps, and a spectral man in white with a headlamp and a gun. It's part haunted history, part local lore, and all chills.