Our Song of the Week comes from rising Americana, fingerstyle and slide guitar star, Cristina Vane. She joined us for her first Mountain Stage appearance and wowed the audience with a collection of songs, including tracks from her third studio album, Hear My Call, which was released in February of this year.
Us & Them: Bridging Divides After A Brutal Election
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In the aftermath of Election Day 2024, Us & Them host Trey Kay reflects on the increasingly divided American landscape and how the tone of political campaigns has changed since 2016.
In this special episode, he recounts the heightened polarization marked by unprecedented events like two assassination attempts and a last-minute nominee switch. Kay considers the “us versus them” rhetoric that defined Donald Trump’s campaign and what his victory could mean for American unity.
Us & Them host Trey Kay speaks at an event on the campus of Marshall University to hear from Generation Z voters in the leadup to the 2024 election.
Drawing on past experiences, Kay considers how Us & Them’s aim of bridging divides by fostering empathy and understanding might continue during a second Trump administration.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council, and the CRC Foundation.Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.
“There’ve been three presidential elections since Us & Them first launched and Donald Trump has been a candidate in every one. With each cycle, the sense of division in our country only seems to deepen. Each time I reflect on this, I recall the words of my producing partner after Trump’s first election. He said, “I think our stock just rose.” And in a way it’s true. Again, this year, with a narrow margin of victory in races across the country, we need to find a new way to help the part of the nation who feel they’ve lost. Maybe part of that is to encourage those who have won to listen with empathy.”
On this West Virginia Morning, we learn about efforts to farm both healthy food and healthy land in Kentucky, and dive deeper into the debate around diversity, equity and inclusion programs that has become a nationwide focal point.
DEI programs aimed to expand opportunity—now they’re facing pushback. On the latest Us & Them, host Trey Kay examines the political and cultural forces challenging diversity, equity and inclusion efforts—and why more than 30 states have considered rolling them back.