Inside Appalachia West Virginia Public Broadcasting

In March, broadcast journalists from Virginia and West Virginia were recognized when the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters met to present awards for notable stories produced in 2023.

This week, we listen back to some of our award-winning stories.

This week, a pair of former miners found love shoveling coal and shaped a life making wooden spoons. We learn about treenware.

Also, NASCAR Hall of Famer Leonard Wood shares stories, and a bit of advice.

And, group bike rides are a way to socialize and get outside. But here in Appalachia, newcomers are met with steep hills.

Spring wildflowers are in bloom, and some of the most common species play an important role in herbal medicine. This week, we learn about some of the ways people use violets.

What’s your favorite style of egg roll? An acclaimed, out-of-the-way restaurant in Pounding Mill, Virginia bends culinary genres and uses an unexpected ingredient. 

And, more and more school boards are pulling books from library shelves. We’ll speak with a reporter in a Virginia county where 57 titles were yanked. 

This week on Inside Appalachia, we’re talking about traditional ballads -- how they tell stories and connect us to the past. 

These old tunes can mean so much. They can tap into difficult emotions and give feelings space to be heard. Some songs may even be too uncomfortable to sing.

In this special episode with guest co-host, ballad singer Saro Lynch-Thomason, we explore songs about lawbreaking folk heroes, runaway trains and murder ballads.

This week, we visit the Seeing Hand Association. They bring together people who are visually impaired to learn the craft of chair caning.  

Corporate greed has been gobbling up newspapers for years. Now, some of those same companies are taking a bite out of mobile home parks. They’re raising rents and letting repairs slide.

And, as the Mountain Valley Pipeline nears completion, people who live near it say government officials are ignoring their concerns about pollution.

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

Red Terry’s property in Bent Mountain, Virginia, is in the path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. She says the place was beautiful, but she's worried about the dangers of the pipeline not far from her home.

Plus, almost everybody has a favorite cup or coffee mug, but how far would you go to replace it? One woman would go pretty far.

And… we explore an effort in western Virginia to make old-time music more available to Black musicians.

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