Mountain News & World Report

In this episode, we hear stories about the importance of clean water, a Letcher County walking program in conjunction with the Farmer’s Market that may help prevent Type 2 Diabetes, and in honor of Women’s History Month, from the Appalshop Archive we bring you audio from a Headwater’s episode circa 1980 featuring The Reel World String Band – an all women band.

In this episode we’ll hear about The STAY Project's Appalachian Love Fest in Harlan, KY on February 15th, 2020. Then, we’ll learn about how community groups in Wise County, VA are working with Montgomery Alabama based Equal Justice Initiative to acknowledge the history of lynchings in their county through research and public markers. And last, from the Ohio Valley Resource, we’ll learn about a recent report citing the Ohio Valley region as home to some of the most disadvantaged communities in the country.

In this episode we bring you a medley of local, regional, and national news: from voting predictions as caucus season begins, to an inaugural meeting between mine agencies in an attempt to tackle black lung. And, from the Appalshop Archive, in honor of Black History Month, we’ll bring you audio from the late blues musician, Nat Reese, performing live at the Seedtime on the Cumberland Festival in 1993.

In this episode (from August 22, 2019) we bring you the personal story of one miner living with Black Lung who recently travelled to Washington, D.C. to ask Congress to uphold the Black Lung Disability Trust Fund.

Then, from the Ohio Valley Resource we learn how HIV rates are on the rise in counties hard hit by the opioid epidemic while some community members still remain skeptical of harm reduction programs meant to curb the spread of infectious diseases.

And, from WEKU’s Eastern Standard we hear about the history of the proposed Bunches Creek Dam that would have been situated just above Cumberland Falls.