‘Disposable,’ Accessible Climbing And Memes, Inside Appalachia

COVID-19 exposed the contempt society has for marginalized people. The author of a new book says these folks are anything but passive. 

Also, rock climbers with disabilities have found a home in Kentucky’s Red River Gorge, which offers some pumpy crags.

And, the online world of Appalachian memes and what they tell us about the folks who live here. 

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

In This Episode:

• New Book Exposes ‘America’s Contempt’ For Marginalized Underclass
• Adaptive And Inclusive Climbing
• West Virginians Pay For Rising Costs At Out-Of-State Coal Plants
• Memes Carry On Appalachian Humor
• Compost Drop-Off At A Farmers Market

New Book Exposes ‘America’s Contempt’ For Marginalized Underclass

More than one million Americans have died from COVID-19. Some groups of folks died at much higher rates than others. And those deaths tended to follow lines of race, class, age and disability. In other words, conditions that were already making life harder for some people played out during the pandemic, too.

A new book digs deeper; it’s titled Disposable: America’s Contempt for the Underclass. It’s written by Sarah Jones, a reporter at New York Magazine who grew up in Appalachia. 

Adaptive And Inclusive Climbing

The mountains of Appalachia are home to some killer rock climbing. And, in a lot of cases, its crags and cliffs are fairly easy to get to. That’s why some groups are choosing Appalachia as a climbing destination, a place to return to time and time again. 

In 2023, Emily Chen-Newton reported this story about why climbing festivals are making a home in Appalachia.

West Virginians Pay For Rising Costs At Out-Of-State Coal Plants

Electricity prices continue to rise and people aren’t happy about it. In West Virginia, Appalachian Power customers have been paying hundreds of millions of dollars in hidden costs. That money is going to buy power from two coal plants that aren’t even located in the state.

WVPB’s Curtis Tate has more.

Memes Carry On Appalachian Humor

Humor runs deep here in Appalachia. Even online, where memes about mountain life seem to go viral all the time.

Last fall, Folkways Reporter Madeline Miller brought us this story about two artists who’ve taken holler humor to the digital realm.

Compost Drop-Off At A Farmers Market

Finally, apple cores, potato peels and other food waste are a big climate problem when they end up in landfills. Now, the city of Pittsburgh is giving residents a chance to save their food waste from becoming just trash. People can drop off food waste at city-run farmers markets, where it then becomes compost. 

The Allegheny Front’s Isabell Kim visited the farmers market in the East Liberty neighborhood and brings us this report.

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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Gerry Milnes, John Inghram, Tim Bing, Paul Loomis 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. We had help this week from Folkways Editor Clara Haizlett.

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

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Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.