Page 5 - Patrick Stephens News Today

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.

This week, a southern Ohio college writing class recently learned about the idea of Appalachian identity and then told us what they thought. Kentucky has a new poet laureate so we listen back to a 2020 conversation with author Silas House, about growing up in the mountains. And in Harlan Kentucky, a mural sparked strong opinions over possums.

This week on Inside Appalachia, we speak with an author about grief rituals, a podcaster about the religious music of snake handling churches, and we explore best practices to prepare for retirement.

This week, we listen back to three award-winning Folkways stories from last year. First, we visit a luthier’s shop, where old musical instruments get new life. We also take a ride on the Cass Scenic Railroad and meet the expert crew who keeps its antique trains running. And we learn what draws people from hours away to Floyd, Virginia’s weekly Friday Night Jamboree.

After last year’s flooding in Eastern Kentucky, some people had trouble getting insurance reimbursement. But it wasn’t just flood waters that destroyed homes. The rains also brought landslides. We also visit with scientists in North Carolina, who explain how the language we use can lead to misunderstandings about climate change. And, in Appalachia, farmers have long planted their gardens by celestial signs. Berea College professor Sarah Hall has a new book about how that knowledge is still ...

This week on Inside Appalachia, we visit with Jerry Machen of Kingsport, Tennessee. When he first started making art from old carpets, his wife Linda wasn’t impressed. We also meet the devoted family and friends of Cuz’s Uptown Barbeque, who rallied behind the acclaimed Appalachian restaurant during a hard time. And, it used to be that every grocery store had a trained butcher behind the counter. But that’s not the case so much today. So the owner of a Charleston abattre had an idea.

This week, we step on the Appalachian Trail with one of America’s most accomplished hikers, Jennifer Pharr Davis. We also talk to the director of the Augusta Heritage Center. Each summer, dozens of students attend workshops to learn traditional skills. This year, the center is turning 50. We’ll also visit the steel drum capital of America — which, believe it or not, is right here in Appalachia.

Family recipes are a way to connect generations, but what happens when you’ve got grandma’s recipe, and it doesn’t have exact measurements? We also talk with Ohio poet laureate Kari Gunter-Seymour about Appalachia, poems — and getting published. And we revisit a story about an attraction at the confluence of the New and Gauley rivers — and the man who put it there.

This week on Inside Appalachia, we look back at a shocking crime near the Appalachian Trail and speak to the author of a book that re-examines the case. We also sample a beloved Lenten staple made in Charleston, West Virginia. It’s a Yugoslavian fish stew that has a little bit of everything. And we talk with the poet laureate of Blair County, Pennsylvania, who invented the demi-sonnet.

Appalachians love to compete. Whether it’s rec league softball, a turkey calling contest or workplace chili cookoffs… Mountain folks are in it to win it. But there’s more to competing than just winning or losing. In this show, we’ll also meet competitors who are also keepers of beloved Appalachian traditions.