Home » WVPB Podcasts » Barbara Kingsolver, Kudzu Warriors And Pawpaws, Inside Appalachia

Bill Lynch, Mason Adams, Irina Zhorov, Abby Neff, Eliza Benbow, Maria Young Published October 9, 2026 - 6:00 pm

Barbara Kingsolver, Kudzu Warriors And Pawpaws, Inside Appalachia

An older woman sits on a stone and wooden porch that has a lot of plants and trees surrounding it. The porch is covered and wrapped by stone. The woman has grey hair, is wearing glasses, and sits at a small table. On the table are two cups of water and a novel with the title Partita on the cover. — Barbara Kingsolver at her home outside Abingdon, Virginia.

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Barbara Kingsolver’s new novel takes on issues of class and classical music.

Also, kudzu warriors band together to fend off invasive plants and take back the land.

And, it’s pawpaw season. But a new bug could be harming the trees.

You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.

In This Episode:

In Conversation With Barbara Kingsolver
Fighting Kudzu In Western North Carolina
Burrowing Beetles Threaten Pawpaw Season
Radio Quiet Zones In W.Va. Constrains Emergency Crews, First Responders
Bridge Day BASE Jumping

In Conversation With Barbara Kingsolver

The cover of a novel. The image in the background is a white person playing piano. The text on the cover says: Barbara Kingsolver, Pulitzer Prize winning author of "Demon Copperhead." The book is called "Partita." — The cover of Barbara Kingsolver’s new novel, *Partita*.

*Courtesy of Harper Collins*

Barbara Kingsolver is one of Appalachia’s foremost writers. She’s written a string of bestsellers, like The Poisonwood Bible, and developed a devoted readership around the world. Her 2022 novel, Demon Copperhead, won the Pulitzer Prize.

Kingsolver has a new book out. It’s called Partita. It tracks Livia, a middle-aged woman in Tennessee, as she receives a call from an old lover that brings up memories of her youth and threatens to disrupt the life she’s built since then. It’s a story about young, obsessive love, mature love and the love of art — in Livia’s case, music.

Host Mason Adams met with Kingsolver at her home outside Abingdon, Virginia, a couple weeks before her new novel was set to publish.

Fighting Kudzu In Western North Carolina

A landscape image of a mountain range of kudzu, a green, invasive plant. — The Kudzu Warriors work in the Norman Wilder Forest in Polk County, North Carolina, every week. On June 29, they made it to this hilltop, which overlooks other property covered in kudzu.

*Photo Credit: Eliza Benbow/West Virginia Public Broadcasting*

Generations ago, kudzu was introduced to Appalachia to help control erosion and provide forage for cattle. But then, it kind of just took over. Kudzu is an invasive plant that chokes out native greenery. Some people are fighting back.

Folkways Reporter Eliza Benbow spent time with the kudzu warriors in western North Carolina.

Burrowing Beetles Threaten Pawpaw Season

Two containers of pawpaws, a tropical fruit native to Appalachia. They resemble pears in their yellow and green skin. — Pawpaws are the largest fruit native to North America. They ripen in Ohio from late August to early October.

*Photo Credit: Erin Gottsacker/The Ohio Newsroom*

We are currently in that very narrow window that is pawpaw season. The fruit can be found throughout the eastern part of the U.S., but especially here in Appalachia. It’s a hardy tree, resistant to some common garden nuisances like rabbits and deer, but a threat from an invasive beetle has emerged.

The Ohio Newsroom’s Erin Gottsacker spoke with Chris Chmiel, a farmer who grows and processes pawpaws.

Radio Quiet Zones In W.Va. Constrains Emergency Crews, First Responders

The radio quiet zone sprawls over nearly 13,000 square miles in West Virginia, Virginia and Maryland. Because of sensitive government work, use of technology most of us take for granted, like microwave ovens or wireless phone service, is limited there.

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A cell phone can’t place a call or access the internet.

The restrictions complicate how modern firefighters, police and first responders in the area can do their jobs.

A new federal study highlights the problem. WVPB’s Maria Young spoke with Rick Gillespie with Pendleton County, West Virginia, Emergency Management, which is in the zone.

Bridge Day BASE Jumping

Every October, hundreds of BASE jumpers head to the New River Gorge Bridge in West Virginia. They come to leap from the 876-foot tall bridge, pull their parachutes and aim for the banks of the river below.

In 2024, high school students Dylan Neil and Noah Fox spoke with BASE jumper Marcus Ellison, who helps organize the event.

Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Blue Dot Sessions, John Blissard and John Inghram.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Abby Neff is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Irina Zhorov is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. We had help this week from Folkways Editor Molly Born.

You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.

You can find us on Instagram, Threads or here on Facebook.

Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.

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