Prisons

Encore: The Grand March And A Year After A Denied Abortion, Inside Appalachia

This week, for nearly a century, the Kentucky Mountain Laurel Festival has staged a formal dance. Organizers rely on a manual that’s been passed down for generations. Also, abortion is illegal in most cases in Tennessee. So what happens after a birth? A photographer followed one mother for a year. And, new prisons are touted as a way to bring jobs to former coal communities. Not everybody agrees the trade-off is worth it.

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A Book Of Letters From Prison Wins Award And Our Song Of The Week, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, a book from the Appalachian Prison Book Project wins an award, and our Song of the Week.

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Pennsylvania Festival Stars Fireflies And 'Us & Them’ Explores Mental Health Challenges In W.Va. Jails, This West Virginia Morning

On this West Virginia Morning, every summer, fireflies emerge for a few weeks — sending love signals in the dark. Those fireflies — including synchronous ones — are the stars of a festival at a farm in Forest County, Pennsylvania. As WPSU’s Anne Danahy reports, that farm draws both firefly fans — and researchers — looking to learn more about lightning bugs.

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Us & Them Encore: Mental Health Crisis Behind Bars In W.Va.

Hundreds of thousands of people with mental illnesses are caught up in a criminal justice system that was never intended to treat them. This encore Us & Them episode was part of a series that was honored with a first place award from Virginia’s Associated Press Broadcasters for “Public Service Through Journalism.” In this report, we hear what it’s like to live with mental illness behind bars in the Mountain State.

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