Just before Christmas 2008, Appalachia became the site of the largest industrial spill in U.S. history. A dam holding back coal ash at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant ruptured. The break released over a billion gallons of toxic coal ash slurry. The spill — and what came after — are the subject of a recent book, Valley So Low: One Lawyer’s Fight for Justice in the Wake of America’s Great Coal Catastrophe. Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams spoke with its author, Jared Sullivan.
This episode of Inside Appalachia is about returning home. For some people, timing and circumstance force you back. It is only then that you realize how much you missed home. Others spend decades longing to return.
There are many songs about that longing. One of the most famous is “Take Me Home, County Roads,” a song that has come to represent the feeling of homesickness that many Appalachians know so well.
In this episode of Inside Appalachia, we will hear from people who recently moved to Appalachia, either as a return or for the first time. There are also stories about people learning homesteading skills that helped our great-grandparents’ generation survive the Great Depression and have sustained many Appalachians for years.
Taffy Nivert and John Denver playing “Country Roads” at the Cellar Door in Washington D.C., in December 1970, one of the first times the song was performed in public. Bill Danoff’s guitar is to the left.
Take Me Home
John Denver’s song “Take Me Home, County Roads,” has been a worldwide anthem since its release in April 1971. The song is one of the things people across the globe connect with West Virginia. But there’s a debate about whether the lyrics were really even written about the state.
For some people, returning home means going back to a place. For others, it means connecting to traditions or homesteading roots. With a little more time on our hands, a lot of us have turned to traditional skills and practices as one way of coping with the challenges.
Some folks in Appalachia have returned to community traditions of raising and butchering livestock at home. Folkways corps reporter Nicole Musgrave found two people in Floyd County, Kentucky who are teaching others how to process meat at home.
How About Them Apples?
Credit Connie Kitts / For Inside Appalachia
/
For Inside Appalachia
Renee Halsey enjoys one of the few Early June Transparent apples that survived the mid-May freeze of the 2020 apple season.
Homecoming and the cool fall air may bring to mind foods like apple strudel or cider making. But apples are more than just a fall treat. Summer varieties of apples are an important ingredient for some applesauce or breakfast apple recipes.
Due to the pandemic, many people have asked themselves why they are living in cities if they can work from anywhere. That has caused an outmigration from city centers into suburbs and small towns. Kara Lofton caught up with some folks who’ve recently moved to the Mountain State.
We had help producing Inside Appalachia this week from the West Virginia Music Hall of Fame, West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Southern Coalfields Reporting Project, which is supported by a grant from the National Coal Heritage Area Authority. Special thanks to the West Virginia Folklife Program at the West Virginia Humanities Council.
Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Dinosaur Burps, John Harrod from his recording with Appalshop’s June Appal Records, the late Wade Ward and also, John Denver.
Roxy Todd is our producer. Eric Douglas is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Andrea Billups. Kelley Libby edited our show this week. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Zander Aloi also helped produce this episode.
Just before Christmas 2008, Appalachia became the site of the largest industrial spill in U.S. history. A dam holding back coal ash at the Tennessee Valley Authority’s Kingston Fossil Plant ruptured. The break released over a billion gallons of toxic coal ash slurry. The spill — and what came after — are the subject of a recent book, Valley So Low: One Lawyer’s Fight for Justice in the Wake of America’s Great Coal Catastrophe. Inside Appalachia Host Mason Adams spoke with its author, Jared Sullivan.
On this West Virginia Morning, cultural events across the state are dealing with the unexpected loss of promised federal funds, and a look at the environmental effects of President Trump's executive orders on energy.
On this West Virginia Morning, a conversation with a NIOSH worker affected by cuts earlier this month, and the redevelopment of a recently demolished coal-fired power plant.
On this West Virginia Morning, the high-profile legislation that passed – and failed –during the 2025 regular session of the West Virginia Legislature and a look at an East Kentucky artist.
