Regular listeners to our afternoon programming will immediately recognize the voice of Terry Gross. She has been the host of Fresh Air for 50 years – well before it became a national staple. We talk with her about the unique medium of public radio.
Biscuits, gravy, pepperoni rolls, fried chicken, and… salt? This week on Inside Appalachia, we’re investigating the history and stories of some of Appalachia’s most famous foods with the help of Gravy, a podcast produced by the Southern Foodways Alliance.
We’ll hear about the revitalization of West Virginia’s salt production industry, the complicated history of fried chicken, and the growing popularity of Appalachian food in major urban centers.
The Hidden History of Kanawha Valley Salt
Nancy Bruns and Lewis Payne, owners of JQ Dickinson Salt
Did you know? A young Booker T. Washington cut his teeth in the salt mines in Malden, not far from where Nancy Bruns and Lewis Payne are working to revive their family’s historic salt company, JQ Dickinson Salt. The siblings have re-designed the process that their ancestors used to create the product that was known worldwide for its distinct flavor and pink hue, all the while keeping in mind the slave labor that fueled their family’s salt’s original success.
Credit Clark Davis / WV Public Broadcasting
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WV Public Broadcasting
Our Not-So-Simple Relationship with Fried Chicken
Later, we’ll take a look at the complicated relationship between race and fried chicken. While soul food has provided opportunities for economic mobility for some African Americans, many feel uncomfortable enjoying traditional food in public because of the harsh stereotypes associated with their consumption.
Credit The Clarksburg Post
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In 2013, West Virginia named the pepperoni roll its state food.
Low-head dams across Appalachia have been responsible for many deaths, causing state officials to label them as public safety hazards. But some community members are hesitant to have the fixtures removed.
Regular listeners to our afternoon programming will immediately recognize the voice of Terry Gross. She has been the host of Fresh Air for 50 years – well before it became a national staple. News Director Eric Douglas spoke with Gross recently about her career, her style and the uniqueness of public radio.
Gov. Patrick Morrisey appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered over the weekend with host Miles Parks to discuss the shooting of the two West Virginia National Guard soldiers, Air Guard Staff Sergeant Andrew Wolfe and Army specialist Sarah Beckstrom. We listen to an excerpt.
This week, we learn about a new podcast from WNYC called "Our Common Nature." Cellist Yo-Yo Ma and producer Ana González visited Appalachia. They went to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Mammoth Cave National Park and West Virginia’s coal country.