On this week's premiere broadcast of Mountain Stage, you'll hear performances from Bettye LaVette, Kim Richey, Keller Williams, The Langan Band, and Megan Jean’s Secret Family. This episode was recorded live at the Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium in Athens, Ohio.
Home » From The Land Of The Luchador To East Tennessee: Chatting With Appalachians Across The United States
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From The Land Of The Luchador To East Tennessee: Chatting With Appalachians Across The United States
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On this week’s episode, we’re journeying far and wide through Appalachia and beyond.
Author Mesha Maren takes us from the hills of West Virginia to the border between Texas and Mexico — the land of the Luchador. We’ll also hear about what West Virginians are doing to help Ukrainian refugees flee the war with Russia. And, we’ll learn about what doctors are saying about medical cannabis in the Mountain State — where it is now available to more than 8,000 patients.
We’ll round out our tour of Appalachia with a chat between our host Mason Adams and East Tennessee native Amythyst Kiah, whose 2021 record “Wary and Strange” was released last year.
In This Episode:
West Virginia Interfaith Ministry Providing Aid To Ukrainian Refugees
West Virginia Interfaith Ministry Providing Aid To Ukrainian Refugees
Displaced Ukrainian citizens are being aided by the West Virginia Interfaith Refugee Ministry as they seek temporary refuge from the war between Ukraine and Russia. Charleston, West Virginia’s Rabbi Victor Urkecki spoke with West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Randy Yohe about the efforts of WVIRM and the benefits of bringing refugees into the state.
West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Zack Harold interviewed Alderson, West Virginia native Mesha Maren about her new novel, “Perpetual West” at a live event at Taylor Books in Charleston, West Virginia.
“Perpetual West” melds stories about Appalachia and Mexico, academia and wrestling set in a fictional version of Maren’s hometown of Alderson.
Maren is a professor at Duke University and a writing fellow at the federal prison camp in Alderson.
Medical Cannabis In The Mountain State
Marijuana laws have been changing around America, including in Appalachia. After a long time coming, medical marijuana dispensaries are opening in West Virginia, where more than 8,000 patients are already benefiting from using medicinal cannabis. As June Leffler reports, doctors say there is a lot more potential in the plant, including the relative safety of using cannabis to treat pain instead of opioid medication.
Witty Lines, Wry Observations And The Music Of Amythyst Kiah
East Tennessee native Amythyst Kiah is a singer-songwriter whose work about identity and Blackness is catching attention from listeners all over the United States. Kiah self-released four albums before Rounder Records put out “Wary and Strange” in 2021. The record is personal, soulful and, at times, searing and anthemic. Our host Mason Adams spoke with Amythyst about her music and about what post-pandemic life has in store for her work.
Tweet to us! You can find us on Twitter at @InAppalachia.
Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Additional music in this episode is from Amythyst Kiah and John Ingram.
Bill Lynch is our producer. Alex Runyon is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Zander Aloi also helped produce this episode.
On this West Virginia Morning, the stage is now set for a two man, two party political race for governor of West Virginia. Randy Yohe gives us an initial look at what we can expect from the Republican and the Democratic nominees.
On this West Virginia Morning, the results from Tuesday’s primary election came in mostly as expected. Government Reporter Randy Yohe has covered the intense campaigning leading up to the primary and he joins us live in the studio with results and reactions.
On this West Virginia Morning, Tuesday’s primary election may be the most important the state has seen in a while. Voters have endured a gubernatorial media campaign blitz with unprecedented mudslinging – coupled with a dominant charge to see a new but familiar face representing West Virginia in the U.S. Senate. Randy Yohe has our story.
On this West Virginia Morning, a pipeline safety watchdog said federal regulators “should be on notice” about a pressure test failure on the Mountain Valley Pipeline earlier this month.