WMMT Public Affairs & Podcasts

WMMT/Appalshop
  • 5.0 (10)
  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

Weekly conversations about what matters to the people of Central Appalachia. Broadcast from WMMT— the 24-hour voice of mountain people’s music, culture, and social issues. WMMT provides broadcast space for creative expression, community involvement, and discussion of public policy to benefit coalfield communities and the Appalachian region as a whole. Find us online at http://wmmt.org!

  1. Mountain Talk: Two Local Banjo Masters — Morgan Sexton & Dock Boggs

    6D AGO

    Mountain Talk: Two Local Banjo Masters — Morgan Sexton & Dock Boggs

    If they were still with us, two of our region’s most well-known banjo players would both be celebrating birthdays right around now: Morgan Sexton, of Letcher County, Ky., was born Jan. 28, 1911; and Dock Boggs, of Wise County, Va. (and also of Letcher Co.), was born Feb. 7, 1898. And this week on Mountain Talk, we visit with these two master musicians, both of whom—even though they might have had relatively-limited formal careers, in terms of recording and performing—have nonetheless become influential the world over for their skill & uniqueness in their banjo playing. First, we hear a radio adaptation of the Appalshop film, Morgan Sexton: Banjo Player from Bull Creek (1991; dir. Anne Lewis), which features Morgan talking about his life and his music, alongside many clips of his playing. And then, we hear a series of excerpts from a 1982 episode of Headwaters (Appalshop’s former TV show) about Dock Boggs, which, in addition to his music, features commentary about Dock from Mike Seeger & Jack Wright, as well as from members of Dock's family. P.S.: to see several video clips of Morgan playing & discussing his music, check out the Appalshop Archive's Youtube page. And to see the Dock Boggs Headwaters episode for yourself, you can head to www.appalshoparchive.org. (Music in this episode comes from Morgan Sexton, including from his June Appal Records release "Rock Dust"; from Dock Boggs, including from "Country Blues - Complete Early Recordings (1927-1929)" on Revenant Records; and from John McCutcheon, from the June Appal Records release "The Wind That Shakes the Barley.")

    59 min
  2. Mountain Talk: Home-made Mountain Songs & Stories, with Florida Slone & Hazel Dickens

    JAN 26

    Mountain Talk: Home-made Mountain Songs & Stories, with Florida Slone & Hazel Dickens

    This week on Mountain Talk, we visit with two extraordinary, creative, and massively-talented Appalachian women. 

 First, we spend time with the one-of-a-kind Knott County, Ky. storyteller, singer, & culture-bearer Florida Slone. Born in 1923, Florida came down with typhoid fever as a child, and doctors at the time thought the illness would damage her brain, and so much so that they thought she would never be able to speak plainly. As a result, Florida’s mom kept her at home, and out of school. And those early years of isolation, where she was cut off from spoken communication with even the closest members of her family, caused Florida to develop just a really remarkable sense of observation. And so then later, when she *was* able to learn to speak, language just poured out of her. She’d make up stories and songs about every little thing in her life, from hearing birdcalls to driving a car to playing Bingo, and just about anything and everything in between. And today on Mountain Talk, we visit with Florida, through an audio adaptation of the 1993 Appalshop film, Homemade Tales: Songs & Sayings of Florida Slone, which was directed by Anthony Slone & Angelyn DeBord. Then, in the second half of the show, we sit down for a unique & fascinating conversation with the great West Virginia singer & songwriter Hazel Dickens. We hear about Hazel's background in West Virginia, her unique identity as someone from the mountains but who also left and lived elsewhere, and we’ll hear the stories behind some of her most memorable songs, in addition to some of Hazel’s thoughts about songwriting itself. This piece is a radio adaptation of an outtake interview that was conducted with Hazel for the 2000 Appalshop film, Hazel Dickens: It’s Hard to Tell the Singer from the Song, which was directed by Mimi Pickering; Pickering also leads this interview. [Music this week comes from Tommy Hunter, from the June Appal Records release “Deep in Tradition,” Hazel Dickens (“Black Lung,” “The Mannington Mine Disaster,” “Coal Miner’s Grave,” “Working Girl Blues,” and “Hills of Home”), and Don Bikoff, from the Free Music Archive.]

    59 min
  3. Mountain Talk: Recovery in the Mountains, Pt. II

    JAN 19

    Mountain Talk: Recovery in the Mountains, Pt. II

    In this edition of Mountain Talk, we bring you the second episode of the Free II Podcast, a brand-new radio series about recovery in East Kentucky. This series, which is a collaboration between WMMT and the FREE II Project, seeks to raise awareness and reduce the stigma around substance use disorder, treatment, and recovery here in the mountains. Each episode features conversations between Appalachian people who are actively in recovery about different issues related to addiction, and getting through it, in our area. In today's show, FREE II Intern Iesha Elam leads a discussion with two other local residents in recovery—Amanda Hall and Raven Workman—about their journeys through addiction, finding help, and adjusting to life on the other side, with a special focus today on folks’ experiences in different treatment programs. And as we'll hear, just plain getting *into* treatment—even if you want to—is a big deal, and isn’t always easy: “I actually sold drugs to be able to pay to go to detox,” one of our panelists shares. The FREE II Project is funded by the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky. Stay tuned to WMMT in coming months for more episodes from this brand-new series. (Music in today's show comes from: Pigmeat Jarrett, from the June Appal Records release "Look at the People," and from Glenn Jones & Laura Baird, from the Free Music Archive.)

    57 min
  4. Mountain Talk: 'Old Regular' Singing, Seed Saving, Managing Type 2 in the Mountains, & more!

    JAN 12

    Mountain Talk: 'Old Regular' Singing, Seed Saving, Managing Type 2 in the Mountains, & more!

    In this edition of WMMT’s Mountain Talk, as we ease into this new year, we have a grab bag of a show for you. First, from the excellent Rural Remix podcast (produced by the Center for Rural Strategies), we hear a rich portrait of the unique, powerful singing style known as ‘Old Regular’ or ‘Primitive’ Baptist singing, through the lens of a West Virginia artist, Ginny Hawker, who has been working for decades to keep this one-of-a-kind tradition alive. Then, even if it’s the dead of winter, it’s never too early to start daydreaming about spring— and so, also from Rural Remix, we hear a report from the annual Appalachian Seed Swap in Pikeville, Ky., where we learn about the practice of “seed saving." We then also hear a story about rice growing in an unlikely place: Richmond, Ky. After that, East Kentucky, sadly, has higher rates of type 2 diabetes than the state and national averages. But, even if it runs in your family, health professionals say that diabetes *can* be managed, or even prevented altogether. From our ongoing storytelling series Prevent Diabetes EKY, we hear from local resident Allie Vogel, head librarian for the Letcher County Public Library in Whitesburg, about her diabetes journey, and how she’s managed to cut her A1C plum in half. And finally, we close the show with a short remembrance from the WMMT archives from Dickenson County, Va. storyteller Edith Wright, who gives a first-hand account of a horrific fire that tore through the town of Haysi, Va., 90 years ago this winter, in 1935. (Music in this show comes from J.P. and Annadeene Fraley, from the June Appal Records release "Galleynipper," and from Don Bikoff, from the Free Music Archive. And many thanks to the folks at the Center for Rural Strategies for sharing these Rural Remix episodes with us.)

    58 min
  5. Mountain Talk: 40 Years of Real People Radio! A Retrospective Panel on WMMT History

    12/22/2025

    Mountain Talk: 40 Years of Real People Radio! A Retrospective Panel on WMMT History

    It was on November 26th, 1985, that this ongoing experiment in Appalachian, people-powered, community radio—WMMT—first went on the air. And if you’re keeping score at home, that means that just a few weeks ago, WMMT officially turned 40 years old. To celebrate this radio station of ours now reaching middle age, this week on Mountain Talk, we bring you a special treat from our archives: a retrospective panel on WMMT history that we held in the Appalshop Theater back in 2015, then on the occasion of our 30th birthday. During this panel, which we held during the 2015 Seedtime on the Cumberland festival, we heard a whole mess of incredible stories, from a special group of WMMT staffers & DJs & friends from over the years, including Rich Kirby, Jim Webb, Ray Lawson, Cheryl Marshall, and many more. We didn't broadcast the event live, though, and somehow, over the years, the recording was never actually aired. So here for our 40th birthday, we thought we’d share with you this one-of-a-kind trip through WMMT's past (which we have edited for the radio; rest easy, lawyers). Tune in for stories about the helicopter—from c. 1950—that schlepped our broadcast tower up to the top of Pine mountain; a DJ who couldn't get off the air; the time WMMT was accidentally broadcasting children's programming from Blue Ridge Public Television; and the charms of track 5 (but also track 7). As a final note, today’s show goes out in particular to our great friends Jim Webb and Ray Lawson, who feature prominently in this show, but who have passed in the years since we taped this. We miss them every day. (Music in today's show comes from Tommy Hunter, from the LP "Deep in Tradition," on June Appal Records, and from Don Bikoff, from the Free Music Archive.)

    59 min
  6. Mountain Talk: Proposed Power Bill Increases, w/Mary Cromer of the App. Citizens' Law Center

    12/15/2025

    Mountain Talk: Proposed Power Bill Increases, w/Mary Cromer of the App. Citizens' Law Center

    If you live in East Kentucky, you might’ve heard that Kentucky Power—which is *the* utility for much of the area—is, once again, asking for permission to raise local power bills. East Kentucky residents already pay, on average, the highest power bills in the state, and utility rates here have already gone up some 40% just in the past 5 years. Kentucky Power's latest ask is for a rate increase of yet another 15%, which would go into effect in the Spring. But, it’s not their decision to make— it’s now up to the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC), out of Frankfort, to decide if the utility will get all, or just some, or none of what they're asking for. Today on Mountain Talk, we sit down with Mary Cromer, of the Appalachian Citizens’ Law Center in Whitesburg, to get our heads around what's going on with this proposed rate increase. We’ll talk about what exactly the utility is asking local residents for, why they’re asking for it, what the effects of another rate hike might be on local people—especially low-income people—and how listeners can share their feelings about all of this with Frankfort. Then, to close out the show, we hear some comments from local residents who have already made their voices heard— we play an edited selection of some of the remarks given by Kentucky Power customers at a public hearing about this possible rate hike that the PSC held in Pikeville on Nov. 20. P.S. FOR LISTENERS, TO SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS: there will be another public PSC hearing about this proposed rate hike in Hazard, on Thursday Dec. 18th, at 5pm, at the Perry County Courthouse. Residents can also submit comments for the PSC through the mail, at PO box 615, Frankfort KY, 40602, or by writing an email to psc.comment@ky.gov. (Music in this show comes from Tommy Hunter, from the June Appal Records release "Deep in Tradition," and by Don Bikoff, from the Free Music Archive.)

    59 min
  7. Mountain Talk: Cecil Roberts on the UMWA & Keeping Up the Fight; Managing Type 2 Diabetes in EKY

    11/24/2025

    Mountain Talk: Cecil Roberts on the UMWA & Keeping Up the Fight; Managing Type 2 Diabetes in EKY

    In this edition of Mountain Talk: he may be retiring, but he’s still fired up— we start our show with a lively, feisty speech from longtime UMWA President Cecil Roberts, who stepped into that role back in 1995, and just retired last month, after 30 years. In this talk, which he gave this summer at the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum in Matewan, Roberts, a WV native, reflects on the long and rich history of coal union organizing in Appalachia—including how his own great-grandparents were evicted from their Fayette County home, back in 1902, by a coal company, because they’d been suspected of supporting the union—and why he thinks, given the state of the country and the economy, the union is as important now as it’s ever been. Our thanks to the folks at the WV Mine Wars Museum for sharing the audio of this speech with us.

 Then: November is National Diabetes Awareness Month, and, sadly, eastern Kentucky has higher rates of type 2 diabetes than both the state and national averages. But even if it runs in your family, diabetes *can* be managed, or even prevented in the first place. And for the second half of our show this week, as part of our ongoing series Prevent Diabetes EKY, we sit down with Allie Vogel, director of the Letcher County Public Library, to hear about both her challenges and her successes in her diabetes journey— including how she cut her A1C level plum in half. And as a quick PS, for more stories like this, of preventing and managing type 2 diabetes in eastern Kentucky, check out our project website: www.preventdiabeteseky.org. (Music this week is by J.P. & Annadeene Fraley, from the June Appal Records release “Galleynipper,” and by Don Bikoff, from the Free Music Archive.)

    56 min
  8. Mountain Talk: Remembering Scotia, with Mine Rescue Expert Leonard Fleming

    11/17/2025

    Mountain Talk: Remembering Scotia, with Mine Rescue Expert Leonard Fleming

    From Monongah in 1907, to Upper Big Branch in 2010, and—given the awful tragedy that claimed the life of a miner in Nicholas County, WV just last week—right up into the present, coal disasters have, sadly, been an all-too-frequent feature of life in Appalachian communities. And, of course, maybe even more tragic is that, in so many of these disasters, it would be found later that they could have been prevented, were it not for negligence on the part of coal companies. And as a mine rescue and recovery expert, over the course of Leonard Fleming’s career, he responded to mine disasters like these all over the country. But Leonard, a longtime resident of Kona, in Letcher County, Ky., was also there for one of the darkest chapters in our own local coal history: the Scotia Disaster of 1976, when 26 men lost their lives, after two different explosions rocked through the Scotia Mine, near the community of Eolia, in Letcher Co. (And Scotia was, sadly, one of those disasters that didn’t have to happen; it was well-known even before the disaster as a “gassy” mine, and it was later discovered that inadequate ventilation practices on the part of the company allowed explosive levels of methane to build up underground.) For Mountain Talk this week, we had the rare & special opportunity to sit down with Mr. Fleming, to hear about his experiences as part of the Beth-Elkhorn Mine Rescue Team, which led him to be one of the beyond-brave souls who went into the Scotia mine, looking for survivors. In this conversation, which was led by Dr. Brian McKnight, of UVA-Wise, and Appalshop's own Mimi Pickering, we also hear about Leonard's rich & varied experiences in the coal industry: as a miner, a high-ranking mine inspector for the state of Kentucky, and as a mine rescue expert for the UMWA who responded to other coal disasters both near and far. As a final note, this interview was recorded on April 4, 2025; we were so, so saddened to hear that Mr. Fleming passed away in October. Our thoughts are with his family, and loved ones. We’re honored to have been able to meet him, and to share his story this week. (Music in this week's show comes from Tommy Hunter, from "Deep in Tradition," on our own June Appal Records; Glenn Jones, from the Free Music Archive; Phyllis Boyens, from the "Coal Mining Women" compilation album; and from Erynn Marshall, from the release "Calico.")

    59 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
10 Ratings

About

Weekly conversations about what matters to the people of Central Appalachia. Broadcast from WMMT— the 24-hour voice of mountain people’s music, culture, and social issues. WMMT provides broadcast space for creative expression, community involvement, and discussion of public policy to benefit coalfield communities and the Appalachian region as a whole. Find us online at http://wmmt.org!

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