Cicadas, Wild Mushrooms And Sinkholes, Inside Appalachia

Cicadas are emerging again. They’re an important food source for wildlife — and even some people. 

Also, morel mushrooms are a forager’s delight, but don’t shortcut cleaning them. We follow along with mushroom hunters and talk to a chef. 

And, sinkholes can cause a lot of damage. But they’re also fascinating. 

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

In This Episode:

• Cicada Brood XIV In Appalachia
• Prepping Morel Mushrooms For Meals
• Federal Funding Cuts To Fresh Food In Schools
• Black Activist in West Virginia Finally Receives Grave Marker
• Sinkholes in Appalachia

Cicada Brood XIV In Appalachia

Their sound is unmistakable. Here in the mountains, you can sometimes hear them working their way up the holler, getting closer and closer, until you’re engulfed in that loud drone.

It’s another cicada summer in Appalachia. Brood 14 of the insect has emerged in parts of the region, especially in Kentucky, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. 

A cicada’s mating call can get up to 100 decibels, which is comparable to a jackhammer.

Jakob Goldner is an entomologist with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources. Producer Bill Lynch spoke with Goldner about what to expect with this season’s brood. 

Prepping Morel Mushrooms For Meals

Every spring, morel hunters head to the woods in search of mushrooms that look like little wrinkled Christmas trees. In 2024, Folkways reporter Wendy Welch tagged along with foragers and spoke with chefs in Virginia about how to safely harvest and prepare this beloved fungi. 

Federal Funding Cuts To Fresh Food In Schools

The Trump administration’s federal cuts are affecting everything from aviation administration to worker safety. That includes the USDA’s Local Food for Schools Cooperative Agreement Program. The program pays for schools to purchase fresh, local food for students.

Justin Hough is Director of Child Nutrition for Preston County Schools in West Virginia. WVPB’s Chris Schulz spoke with Hough about how the cuts will affect school meals next year.

Black Activist In West Virginia Finally Receives Grave Marker

Bessie Woodson Yancey was a Black West Virginia teacher, poet and columnist. She was also the sister of Carter G. Woodson, who in 1926 founded what eventually became Black History Month.

A group of folks recently gathered at Yancey’s grave site in Huntington, West Virginia, to pay homage. WVPB’s Randy Yohe has the story.  

Sinkholes in Appalachia

Sinkholes are pretty common in Appalachia. Some have been around for centuries, but the nature of how they’re formed makes it hard to predict when or where a new sinkhole will open up. They can be a real danger, but they also stir the imagination.

Blue Ridge Public Radio’s Katie Myers and Laura Hackett have this story, about what causes sinkholes and what we can learn from them. 

——

Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by John Blissard, Tim Bing, Dinosaur Burps, Mary Hott, Matt Jackfert and Blue Dot Sessions.

Bill Lynch is our producer. Abby Neff is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens.

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

You can find us on Instagram, Threads and X @InAppalachia. Or here on Facebook.

Sign-up for the Inside Appalachia Newsletter!

Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.