Inside Appalachia

Series produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting

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Inside Appalachia is our weekly radio and podcast, hosted by Mason Adams. The show highlights West Virginia’s cultural heritage and brings those stories to a broader audience.

Inside Appalachia is currently heard on 33 stations in West Virginia, Kentucky, and Tennessee.
The show highlights West Virginia’s cultural heritage and brings those stories to a broader audience. We strive to tell real stories about what it’s like to live here, and feature Appalachians who are finding unique solutions.
The program gives voice to and provides a platform for the underserved, overlooked, and often dismissed residents of Appalachia.
We’ve recently expanded the show to tell more stories about our region’s diverse arts and culture, through our grant-funded Folkways Project.


179 Pieces

Order by: Newest First | Oldest First
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Inside Appalachia is 20 years old this month — we celebrate the anniversary by taking a look back with Inside Appalachia founders Giles Snyder and ...

  • Added: Aug 09, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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This week, we head to the meadows and woods of West Virginia to catch the buzz on beekeeping. Also, it’s been five years since Kentucky artist Lacy...

  • Added: Aug 02, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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This week on Inside Appalachia, we discover there’s a Ukrainian version of the Appalachian hammer dulcimer. We also make a roadside stop to visit a...

  • Added: Aug 02, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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This week, we discuss how amid recent hospital closures, how Appalachian women are having to travel farther and farther to give birth. We’ll also ...

  • Added: Jul 21, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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This week, This week, we visit a cemetery in Bluefield, Virginia, and learn how racial segregation followed some people to the grave. We continue o...

  • Added: Jul 12, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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This week’s episode looks back to some stories from 2021, like the challenges that came/come with virtual schooling, plus we'll talk with author Ro...

  • Added: Jul 05, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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This week, we go to the track for look at greyhound racing. Soon, West Virginia will become the only state still home to commercial greyhound race ...

  • Added: Jun 29, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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This week, we’ll hear about a farm in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania that can grow on one acre what other farms grow on 100 acres. We’ll also hear about a...

  • Added: Jun 21, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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This week, we visit with eastern Tennessee singer-songwriter Amythyst Kiah to discusss about her approach to mountain music and talk with Appalachi...

  • Added: Jun 14, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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In this week's encore presentation, we speak to several children's authors, including Cynthia Rylant, who wrote "When I Was Young In The Mountains....

  • Added: Jun 08, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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This week on Inside Appalachia, we’re dedicating our show to the art of live storytelling. We’ll learn how musicians Anna and Elizabeth first met a...

  • Added: Jun 01, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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This week, we’ll meet a man who has struggled with substance use disorder. Now, he’s a recovery coach. We’ll also meet a woman who started a farm ...

  • Added: May 24, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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This week on Inside Appalachia, we talk about traditional ballads, how they tell stories, and connect us to the past. These old tunes can mean so ...

  • Added: May 17, 2022
  • Length: 53:31
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This week, we begin our journey throughout Appalachia in Floyd County, Virginia, home of Earl White. Earl is working to amplify the often-overlooke...

  • Added: Jun 06, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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In the latest episode of Inside Appalachia, we’ll meet a man who makes wooden turkey calls. But these are no ordinary turkey calls. They have intri...

  • Added: May 04, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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The banjo has deep roots in Africa. And a difficult history in the U.S. In this week’s episode of Inside Appalachia, we’ll hear about Black musicia...

  • Added: Apr 26, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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This week’s episode is all about ballad singers and storytellers. We’ll hear an interview with West Virginia native Becca Spence Dobias who wrote a...

  • Added: Apr 19, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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This week on Inside Appalachia, we’ll visit a luthier’s shop where old instruments get new life, hear about a new comedy film set in Beckley, West ...

  • Added: Apr 13, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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The downturn of coal in Harlan County, Kentucky has led to an exodus of Black residents in search of work. This week on Inside Appalachia, we liste...

  • Added: Apr 05, 2022
  • Length: 53:30
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What is Appalachia? We’re giving our entire Inside Appalachia episode over to this question this week, with stories from Mississippi to Pittsburgh....

  • Added: Mar 29, 2022
  • Length: 53:30