Us & Them

Dental care isn’t just about a pretty smile. The state of our teeth plays an important role in our overall health. In West Virginia, dental hygiene is a challenge for many people. Accessible and affordable dental care can be hard to find.

There's a name for young people, who aren't in school, or working, or training for work. They are disconnected youth. West Virginia has one of the highest rates of these young people — between the age of 16 and 24 — who feel stuck in the transition between school and joining the workforce.

On this West Virginia Morning, in the past decade, West Virginia has lost more than three percent of its population. There are more deaths than births and more people moving out than in. So, what can we do to keep young people here? Also, in this show, we remember a Woodrow Wilson High School student who was shot and killed last weekend.

Us & Them host Trey Kay asks students from his alma mater George Washington High School in Charleston, West Virginia, if they can envision their future in their home state. He also speaks with West Virginia native and former Intuit CEO Brad Smith who’s trying to transform the Mountain State into the “Start-up State.”

After a year of extraordinary social, racial, political and economic upheaval, some people say they’ve lost trust in one another, our institutions and our government. What do we risk if we’re unwilling to trust in our fellow Americans?For this episode, host Trey Kay speaks to several Americans, whose sense of distrust prevents them from believing politicians, government agencies, the justice system, the news media and their fellow Americans. He also speaks with social psychologists Dominic Packer and Jay Van Bavel, authors of the soon to be published book called “The Power of Us.” In it, they explore how the groups we belong to shape our identity and reality.

A year of working remotely during a global pandemic has shown us that having access to reliable, fast internet is neither a luxury nor just for city dwellers. In this episode of Us & Them, we’ll hear about the internet challenges from residents of rural Pocahontas County.

On this West Virginia Morning, the mental health effects of the coronavirus pandemic are taking a toll on everyone, but one of the hardest hit groups is younger people. We explore why. Also, in this show, we have updates from the West Virginia Legislature, a story on elections, and a conversation about a report on the economic toll of drug-related deaths and illnesses on the state.

Us & Them host Trey Kay looks in the rearview mirror at changes from a year defined by COVID-19.

On this West Virginia Morning, we explore the pandemic’s impact on drug use. Also, we have updates from the state legislature and a conversation about extreme changes in weather.

The CDC says the year of COVID-19 has been deadly for people living with a substance addiction. Isolation, anxiety and boredom, three triggers for drug abuse, have created a so-called mental health ‘shadow pandemic.’Us & Them host Trey Kay visits a Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) program at Cabin Creek Health Systems in Charleston, WV to speak with doctors, nurses and patients about what it takes to stay drug free in the Age of COVID-19.