Site Aims to be WikiLeaks for Appalachia
Appalachia now has its own version of WikiLeaks. It's a website where government and corporate whistle blowers can anonymously share documents. Jim Tobias is co-coordinator of Honest Appalachia, which...
View ArticleNew Wildlife Refuge Proposed for Western NC
North Carolina's Western counties are home to one of the country's rarest natural habitats, mountain bogs. As Asma Khalid reports, the federal government is on a mission to preserve this unusual...
View ArticleLaurelyn Dossett Performs Appalachian Style Music
Laurelyn Dossett's Appalachian style is well known. Music legend Levon Helm covered her song "Anna Lee" on two grammy winning projects, and the Carolina Chocolate Drops named their recent grammy...
View ArticleDeborah Hicks Escapes Appalachia, Returns As A Teacher
Deborah Hicks grew up in an Appalachian paper mill town she hoped to escape. Her education opened doors for her to leave and travel to other parts of a country, but she returned time and again to...
View ArticleRon Rash's Dark Stories From Appalachia
Author Ron Rash has been chronicling the Appalachian way of life for nearly two decades. His poetry and fiction have earned him wide acclaim and a position alongside other esteemed writers from...
View ArticleOvermountain Men Blend History, Appalachian Music
Musicians David Childers and Bob Crawford bonded over a shared love of Appalachian music and history. The result is the second CD from their band "The Overmountain Men." Crawford is also the bassist...
View ArticleAppalachian Music With Old Fashioned Stage Effects
While many popular musicians today seek out the newest digital technology to enhance their performances, there’s a young musical duo from rural Virginia who are moving in the opposite direction. Anna...
View ArticleWhy People Freak Out When They See A Crankie
When traditional Appalachian musician Anna Roberts-Gevalt first showed ballad singer Elizabeth LaPrelle a crankie, Elizabeth was speechless.“I really freaked out,” LaPrelle said. She was astounded not...
View ArticleNC Ballad Singer Sheila Kay Adams Named National Heritage Fellow
Mention the name Sheila Kay Adams to any traditional old time musician and you’re likely to elicit a reverent response. In the world of American ballad singers, Adams remains one of the pillars of...
View ArticleHow More Appalachian Girls Will Tell Stories Because Of Open Source Software
Jacie Buckner and Alexis Wills are teenagers. Both grew up in the same Appalachian region of North Carolina. Jacie describes herself as quiet. Alexis says she is a rebel. They met in middle school,...
View ArticleGood Versus Evil In the Blue Ridge Mountains
Beowulf is a classic tale that has been told and retold in many ways. But in 2006, a team in Greensboro designed a surprising twist on the age-old tale: a music-filled play set in Appalachia.
View ArticleListen: How To Speak With A Certain Southern Twang
"Hain't dat white rice over yonder a-sittin' sigogglin'?"That sentence is mostly non-sense, but it's also tells a quick and fascinating history of the Appalachian dialect.Take 90 seconds and listen to...
View ArticleThe “Lost” Recordings of an Overlooked Banjo Great
In the 1930s, the National Park Service sent a man named Joseph Hall to the Great Smoky Mountains to document the life and stories of people who were about to be relocated so that it could become a...
View ArticleLooking At Appalachia
Fifty years ago, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared war on poverty. The images of the Appalachia region from that period created stereotypes of its people and land for the rest of the country.
View ArticleDavid Joy's 'Where All Light Tends To Go'
Jacob McNeely grew up in the mountains of North Carolina. A life of crime as an employee of his father's meth ring is the only one he has ever known. But a violent event and a reunion with his first...
View ArticleThe Changing Economy Of Western North Carolina
Rural communities in western North Carolina are in the midst of an economic shift.
View ArticleHindugrass: Merging Indian And Appalachian Folk Music
Hindugrass is a collective music project that has been around for 17 years. The Durham-based band can be anything from a quartet to an octet in live performances and the band describes its sound as...
View ArticleGone Home, The Stories Of Black Coal Miners In Appalachia
Tens of thousands of African-Americans called Appalachia home in the early 20th century, yet most popular representations of the region rarely include details about the black experience.
View ArticleThe Next Chapter In The Hatfield-McCoy Saga
The Hatfields and the McCoys are two of the most well-known American families. Their legendary family feud ended more than a century ago but continues to capture the American imagination to this day.
View ArticleThe Mountain Music Project: A Musical Odyssey From Appalachia To Himalaya
Nepal and Appalachia are on opposite ends of the Earth, but their musical traditions show striking parallels. Bluegrass musician Tara Linhardt traveled with friends, her mandolin and camera around the...
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