In the wake of Dolly Parton's death on Tuesday, her Imagination Library of West Virginia has had an outpouring of comments and calls about the late singer's impact.
Us & Them: Bridging Divides After A Brutal Election
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In the aftermath of Election Day 2024, Us & Them host Trey Kay reflects on the increasingly divided American landscape and how the tone of political campaigns has changed since 2016.
In this special episode, he recounts the heightened polarization marked by unprecedented events like two assassination attempts and a last-minute nominee switch. Kay considers the “us versus them” rhetoric that defined Donald Trump’s campaign and what his victory could mean for American unity.
Us & Them host Trey Kay speaks at an event on the campus of Marshall University to hear from Generation Z voters in the leadup to the 2024 election.
Drawing on past experiences, Kay considers how Us & Them’s aim of bridging divides by fostering empathy and understanding might continue during a second Trump administration.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council, and the CRC Foundation.Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.
“There’ve been three presidential elections since Us & Them first launched and Donald Trump has been a candidate in every one. With each cycle, the sense of division in our country only seems to deepen. Each time I reflect on this, I recall the words of my producing partner after Trump’s first election. He said, “I think our stock just rose.” And in a way it’s true. Again, this year, with a narrow margin of victory in races across the country, we need to find a new way to help the part of the nation who feel they’ve lost. Maybe part of that is to encourage those who have won to listen with empathy.”
— Trey Kay, Us & Them host
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On this West Virginia Morning, about 12% of West Virginia’s young people from 16 to 24 are disconnected youth - not going to school or working. Us & Them looks into why the state has such a high number.
West Virginia’s rate of “disconnected youth” has improved, but nearly 24,000 young people are still neither working nor in school. Us & Them explores what leaves some young people feeling stuck — and the programs trying to reconnect them to education, work and opportunity.
Singer, actress and icon Dolly Parton visited West Virginia in 2022 to celebrate the state’s full participation in her Imagination Library, an early childhood literacy program she started in honor of her father in 1995. Dolly Parton died Tuesday after a brief illness. We listen back to an interview she did with then WVPB Executive Producer Suzanne Higgins.
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