Roxy Todd

A memoir called “I Am a Dirty Immigrant” is the story of one man’s journey from the West Indies to West Virginia. Anderson Charles grew up in a tightly knit community in Grenada, and in 1986, moved to Kentucky to play basketball and attend college. 

This week on Inside Appalachia, we take off-the-beaten-path tour of some of the region’s alternative cultures and economies. We’ll visit a factory where workers are reviving the art of glassmaking. We’ll hear how farmers and chefs are returning to some of our old-fashioned recipes for inspiration and attempting to reshape our region’s economy in the process.

Deborah and James Fallows wrote a book called "Our Towns A 100,000-Mile Journey Into the Heart of America". The husband and wife duo bought a small low-altitude plane and spent just over four years traveling 100,000 miles throughout small towns across America. 

Like many stray dogs, there are mysteries with Miller’s story. Here’s what we know: Miller is a small, black and brown dog, and he looks like he has a little chihuahua in him. He was found roaming free in Charleston, then brought into the local animal shelter. In November 2018, a family adopted him. But soon afterwards he escaped. 

In this week’s episode of Inside Appalachia, we’ll explore why communities with a culture of volunteerism, and strong support systems, are more resilient. This episode features several stories that all have one thing in common -- they’re about the impacts of community, and social interactions, have on our ability to thrive.

Dozens of people gathered in the New River Gorge on Saturday, March 2 to participate in the annual spring eagle survey. Thirty-five eagles were spotted, a significant increase from just a few years ago.

This week on Inside Appalachia, we’re wading into the American political divide and bringing you voices with distinct points of view from opposite sides of the country. It’s no secret that these days, we live in the divided states of America. Sometimes, it can feel like the only thing that unites us anymore is that now-nearly universal experience of sitting awkwardly around the Thanksgiving table with family members who have different political beliefs, trying to find a way to avoid politics altogether. 

People who write novels, short stories and newspaper articles each tell Appalachia’s story in their own way.

This is an encore airing of an Inside Appalachia show that deals with a few of the writers who tell Appalachia’s story. 

We’ll hear from journalist Ken Ward. He’s been writing for the Charleston Gazette-Mail in Charleston, West Virginia for 27 years covering environmental issues, coal mining and worker safety. He’s heard both praise and criticism for his coverage.

This week on Inside Appalachia, we’ll hear from Appalachians who have a knack for making things with their hands -- people who make the essentials of life in the old ways. 

“And when I sit down at one of those looms and I start creating a piece of cloth, I feel connected to the place of my ancestors, the people who have come before,” said weaver Jane Gilchrist.

West Virginia Music Hall-of-Famer Bob Thompson moved to West Virginia from New York City almost 60 years ago. He came to the Mountain State to attend college at what is now West Virginia State University. He met adversity, fell in love, grew with his music and learned about the people of West Virginia.

For many people in central Appalachia, coal mining doesn't just mean jobs or the ability to earn a good living right out of high school. We’re also talking about identity and culture. 

StoryCorps producers brought their mobile recording studio to Charleston, West Virginia, in fall 2019, and recorded more than 100 stories. These recording are between friends, co-workers and family members. StoryCorps’ mission is to preserve and share humanity’s stories to build connections between people and create a more just and compassionate world. These recordings will be archived at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress in the largest collection of oral histories in the world.

Two years ago, residents of Minden, West Virginia, asked the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to do more testing and consider the town’s soil and water to be a health and environmental risk in need of another cleanup.

Last September, residents received the news that, after analyzing new data, the agency proposed listing Minden on the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL). A final determination was supposed to happen this spring, but the partial government shutdown has pushed that back.

The opioid crisis is one of the biggest public health challenges in our region today. One strategy that’s been proved to help curb the epidemic’s worst effects is to implement harm reduction programs. These generally offer a variety of services but the most controversial component is often the needle exchange. Just because something is  proven effective, doesn’t mean the public has bought into the idea.

This week we’re taking an in-depth look at needle exchanges -- and what they can mean for their surrounding communities.

To begin 2019, Inside Appalachia is taking a look back at some favorite stories. Not our favorite stories, but those of the show’s friend Adam Harris. Harris is the Executive Producer for West Virginia Public Broadcasting’s Mountain Stage with Larry Groce.

To wrap up 2018, we're re-airing stories about faith and religion and their influence in Appalachia. We’ve teamed up with StoryCorps and Georgetown University’s American Pilgrimage Project for this episode. Each segment includes a StoryCorps-style interview where the participants are talking about life, faith and what it all means to them. 

This week we’ve put together a special holiday episode about seasonal traditions. Holidays in these mountains have always been meaningful. In Appalachia, it’s usually a time to go home, or to carry on traditions of home in a new way.

On Nov. 20, 1968, an underground explosion ripped through a West Virginia coal mine and killed 78 miners. Fifty years later, the local community still comes together the Sunday before the anniversary of the Farmington Mine Disaster to remember the men lost that day.

This week on Inside Appalachia, we take another look at the world of independent pro-wrestling.

While pro-wrestling is popular across the country and all around the world, the sport has a rich and storied history here in Appalachia. In this episode we’ll take a glimpse at the action, intensity, and drama (real-life and otherwise) that happens between the ropes.

Since the War on Poverty in the 1960s, federal funds to help revitalize coal country have poured in from Washington, D.C. And in recent years, a new federal push has brought millions of dollars worth of funding to projects that are intended to create jobs and retrain people in coal country for work in other fields. There are also a number of state initiatives to help generate job growth. But have these projects worketd?

This week we’ll revisit an episode that originally aired earlier this spring about two young people who are learning farming as part of a workforce development program called Refresh Appalachia. We'll also get an update on where Colt Brogan and Crystal Snyder are today.

Katie Fallon is the author of "VULTURE: The Private Life of an Unloved Bird."  In an interview with WVPB reporter and Inside Appalachia producer Roxy Todd,  Fallon explains while most humans may not like vultures, without them, our interstates and roads would be overflowing with disease, garbage and dead animals. 

This week on Inside Appalachia, we’ll take a look back at a story we aired earlier this year. The story details the life of Kentucky politician and pastor Danny Johnson and the investigation that exposed a long line of questionable actions that preceded his rise to power. 

“The Pope’s Long Con” from the Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting has earned several national honors, including a Peabody Award. 

Seven of the leading causes of death are higher in Appalachia compared with the nation as a whole. But amid that grim news, there's some diversity in these statistics.

When researchers analyzed all 420 counties in Appalachia, they found that 42 outperformed their statistical odds. A team of researchers has been studying why these communities are outliers. In all of the communities that researchers studied, a culture of sharing and volunteering were found to be essential in helping to improve health outcomes. 

Marshall University has announced a $25 million gift to the Lewis College of Business from Intuit Chairman and CEO Brad D. Smith and his wife.

On today’s show, we’ll hear from people who write novels, short stories and newspaper articles, each one telling Appalachia’s story in his or her own way.

The shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue last weekend sent shockwaves across the country and in West Virginia. Victor Urecki, the rabbi at B’Nai Jacob Synagogue in Charleston, shared his thoughts on moving ahead in the wake of the tragedy.

New research finds the sound of a traditional fire alarm may not be the most effective at waking up young children.