A West Virginia photographer is representing Team USA in the 2026 World Photographic Cup in Iceland this week – and he’s there because of a photo he almost didn’t take. We hear from longtime photographer for the West Virginia Legislature and two-time winner of the Professional Photographers of West Virginia Photographer of the Year award, Perry Bennett.
EJ Henderson After The Flood And “Little Seed,” Inside Appalachia
Jayne Henderson builds her own future as a guitar and ukulele maker.Janie Witte
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After Helene, an Asheville guitar maker grapples with how to help her neighborhood when there’s so much need.
A church in West Virginia is helping turn unwanted guns into garden tools.
And, for writer Wei Tchou, it took leaving her home in East Tennessee to start seeing herself in a new way.
In This Episode
Catching Up With Luthier Jayne Henderson After The Flood
Gun And Garden
A Study Of Identity And Ferns In “Little Seed”
Catching Up With Luthier Jayne Henderson After The Flood
Elizabeth ‘Jayne’ Henderson in her workshop in Asheville, North Carolina before Hurricane Helene.
Credit: Janie Witte
Earlier this year, we visited the workshop of renowned guitar-maker Wayne Henderson, for a story about him and his daughter, Jayne Henderson.
Jayne lives in Asheville, North Carolina, and Wayne lives in Rugby, Virginia. Both places were wrecked by Hurricane Helene. Folkways reporter Margaret McLeod Leef caught up with Jayne in the days following the storm.
Gun And Garden
Outside the Shepherdstown Fire Department, Craig Snyder runs a firearm through a power tool, dismantling it. Photo Jack Walker.
Sometimes when people die, they leave behind guns, and their relatives don’t always know what to do with them. So a church in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle is providing a way to dispose of old firearms – and find new uses for them. WVPB’s Jack Walker reported.
A Study Of Identity And Ferns In “Little Seed”
Author Wei Tchou explores nature and personal identity in her book, “Little Seed.” Courtesy photo.
The book “Little Seed” by Wei Tchou (CHEW) is a hybrid of nature writing and memoir. Tchou’s parents migrated from China and raised her in eastern Tennessee. The book’s chapters alternate between stories of her passage into adulthood, and descriptions of ferns and closely related plants. Mason Adams spoke with Tchou several weeks before Hurricane Helene.
Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Amethyst Kiah, Wayne Henderson, Jane Kramer, Gerry Milnes, Steve Earle, John Blissard and Blue Dot Sessions.
Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. You can find us on Instagram @InAppalachia.
You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
A West Virginia photographer is representing Team USA in the 2026 World Photographic Cup in Iceland this week – and he’s there because of a photo he almost didn’t take. We hear from longtime photographer for the West Virginia Legislature and two-time winner of the Professional Photographers of West Virginia Photographer of the Year award, Perry Bennett.
Especially in a land-locked state, the idea of caring for our natural waterways may not come easily. The Allegheny Front, a public radio program based in Pittsburgh that reports on environmental issues in the region, brings us their latest story on the healing power of water.
On this West Virginia Week, a Florida energy company plans to build a high voltage line across four West Virginia counties. Also, the state’s horse racing industry gets a boost, and be sure to watch out for ticks this season.
This week, coal power can be expensive. Utilities run coal-fired power plants harder in the winter and summer when demand is high. Also, two films made in West Virginia shot to the top of Netflix’s streaming charts. The state wants to encourage even more movies to be made in West Virginia by helping keep production costs down. And, an Eastern Kentucky pharmacist serves vegan food for the holidays.