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Ballads tell stories about all kinds of real-life events, but after Hurricane Helene, one group of ballad singers felt some topics were still too raw.
Also, the author of a new book on ancient Ohio credits a former grad student with introducing him to the region’s mysterious earthworks.
And, the legacy of Affrilachian poet Norman Jordan includes a summer camp for teens to study their heritage.
You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.
In This Episode:
When Hurricane Helene tore through western North Carolina in 2024, it took lives and upended communities. A community of ballad singers lost a place where they could share their tradition. The storm set them back, but it didn’t stop them. And what might’ve seemed lost could be restored.
From Marshall, North Carolina, Sarah Melotte reports for the Rural Remix, a podcast from the Center for Rural Strategies.
Climate change has affected the seasons and made weather less predictable. And severe storms and flooding are causing damage to wildlife habitat. Kylie Frederick is a journalism student at West Virginia University (WVU), and reports that protecting amphibians, like frogs and salamanders, can start at home.
Researchers have spent nearly 20 years restoring a threatened species of orchid in southern Kentucky. Those efforts were disrupted after a tornado last spring. For the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, WEKU’s Lily Burris went to Mount Victory to learn about the recovery.
Thousands of years ago, Indigenous people created hundreds of earthen monuments in what is now Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia. Some were burial mounds. Others were curious shapes and designs whose purposes are not entirely understood.
John E. Hancock, a professor of architecture and design at the University of Cincinnati, has spent years studying these earthworks. Recently, he published Traveler’s Guide to Ancient Ohio. If you want to visit these ancient sites, it’s a good place to start.
Producer Bill Lynch spoke with Hancock about the book.
According to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP), there are more than 6,000 abandoned or orphaned natural gas wells in the state. But some advocates say that number is low.
WVPB’s News Director Eric Douglas visited a few.
As the health care industry cuts unprofitable rural hospitals, small towns across Appalachia are paying the price.
WPLN’s Pierce Gentry takes us to Jellico, Tennessee, where the local government is struggling to reopen its only hospital.
Affrilachian poet and playwright Norman Jordan was a prominent voice in the Black Arts Movement through the 1960s and 1970s. He was also one of the most published poets in the region, anthologized in at least 42 books. He died in 2015 at the age of 77. Along with his writing, Jordan left another legacy: a summer camp for teens to learn music, theater and dance.
Last summer, Folkways reporter Traci Phillips visited the Norman Jordan African American Arts and Heritage Academy in Westover, West Virginia.
In 2023, we reported on the appearance of armadillos as far north as Virginia. Now, they’re being found in Kentucky, which is seen as another indicator of rising temperatures in the region. For the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, LPM’s Giselle Rhoden has more on how the species has made its way north from South America.
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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Blue Dot Sessions, Hello June, Paul Loomis, Jeff Ellis and John Inghram.
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 Nicole Musgrave.
You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
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Last week, we aired the first part of an interview with a WVSU professor about what is AI. In the second part of that interview, we explore the best way to use AI to get what you want – while avoiding fabricated or false answers that seem real.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsDirect-to-consumer tests like full-body scans are marketed as a way to catch diseases early and establish a baseline. But there are financial, physical and psychological risks to all medical tests — and in some cases, not getting a test could be better for your health. From the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, HealthQ hosts Cara Anthony and Blake Farmer speak with UCSF Cardiologist Dr. Rita Redberg.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsAluminum plates that helped keep astronauts on the Artemis II rocket safe won the first ever Coolest Thing Made In West Virginia competition.
Continue Reading Take Me to More NewsFor LGBTQ youth in Appalachia, estrangement from their families of origin can be a common and heartbreaking experience. So, some LGBTQ people rely on “chosen family." In Roanoke, Virginia, the culture of ballroom offers the safety and stability of family, along with traditions that are handed down — traditions like vogueing. Mason Adams reported this Folkways story, in collaboration with Brad Kutner and Kelley Libby.
Continue Reading Take Me to More News
