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In this edition of WMMT’s Mountain Talk, we hear from two incomparable mountain writers. First, we hear a special reading, and talk, from the singular poet and writer Nikki Giovanni. A native of Knoxville who made much of her life in Blacksburg, VA, Giovanni published more than 20 volumes of poetry over the course of her storied career, along with writing of all kinds, and even spoken word albums. And in this clip, an adaptation of an address she gave at the 2018 Hindman Writers’ Workshop at the Hindman Settlement School, we hear a vibrant set of readings, recollections, and thoughts that are alternately high-energy, moving, difficult, funny, deeply crafted, and just profoundly wise. Then, we hear from another master Appalachian writer, this one from the Kentucky side of the mountains: Perry County’s own Gurney Norman. In this clip, from the Appalshop Archive, we hear Gurney reading a short story called “Lester Dunham,” which he says was inspired by his time working as a newspaper reporter for the Hazard Herald. This reading was recorded at the Blackey Public Library here in Letcher County back in 1994 (this clip originally aired as part of the former WMMT series 'The Blackey Writers’ Circuit'), and this story would go on to be included in Gurney’s final book, “Allegiance,” which came out in 2020, and remains available at bookstores across the region and online. (MUSIC in this show includes selections from: Snake Chapman, from the June Appal Records release "Fiddle Ditty"; Andrew Boarman, from the June Appal release "Mountain State Music"; and Don Bikoff, from the Free Music Archive.)

As a result of lawsuits filed across the country in the wake of the opioid crisis, some $1 billion in opioid settlement money will be coming into Kentucky, between now and 2038. But according to a new report from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, of this settlement money that’s come into Kentucky counties and communities so far, as of the end of last fiscal year, some 90% of it has *not* actually been spent. Meaning that this funding—which is supposed to be used to help directly address the effects of opioid crisis in communities, like so many of ours in EKY, that have been devastated by it—is, so far, mostly just sitting there. In this edition of Mountain Talk, we dive into this opioid settlement money: what’s going on with it right now, and how advocates think it could go to best use in KY & EKY communities, to help make a real & lasting recovery. First, we speak with Ashley Spalding, of the Ky. Center for Economic Policy, who helped put together this new report on the settlement money, to get a handle on what’s happening with this pot of funding right now, across Kentucky. Then, we hear from EKY advocate Amanda Hall, to learn more about what’s going on with this $ in East Kentucky in particular, and what she, as a local community member, would love to see happen with it.

 Then, we hear about someplace that some advocates say could be a model for how this settlement money could go to truly help KY communities: the Letcher County Hub, one of six recovery centers sponsored by KY River District Health Department. Through interviews with Hub staffers Amanda Parker and Jamie Madden, we hear about how the Hub has become a one-stop-shop that serves people across the spectrum, from active addiction to active recovery. We also hear Amanda’s & Jamie’s personal stories of overcoming addiction in their own lives, and how their personal recovery journeys fuel their work at the Hub every day. (MUSIC in this show includes selections from: J.P. & Annadeene Fraley, from the June Appal Records release “Galleynipper”; Andrew Boarman, from the June Appal release “Mountain State Music”; Don Bikoff, from the Free Music Archive; and Glenn Jones & Laura Baird, also from the Free Music Archive.) (MOUNTAIN TALK airdates this week: Wed, 9/30, 8 p.m. (SPECIAL); Thurs, 9/1, 6 p.m.; Sun, 9/4, 12 p.m.; Monday, 9/5, 11 a.m.)

Back in the aftermath of the Sept. 11th attacks, when the whole of America was trying to make sense out of what had just happened, and how to feel about it, the great Kentucky writer, artist, and activist Wendell Berry wrote an essay articulating his thoughts, and reflections, on 9/11. This essay was called "Thoughts in the Presence of Fear," and in honor of the 25th anniversary of Sept. 11th this weekend—and in honor of Wendell himself, whom we lost earlier this month, at age 92—we begin this edition of WMMT's Mountain Talk with Wendell himself, reading this essay. (This reading comes from an Appalshop film also called "Thoughts in the Presence of Fear," directed by Herb E. Smith, and you can watch the whole film, which also includes extended interviews with Wendell, on Appalshop's Youtube page.) Then: in honor of Labor Day, we spend the second half of our show hearing about a brave set of local workers who fought—literally—for decent, humane working conditions, and the right to join a union: Appalachian coal miners of the early 1900's. In this shortened version of an episode of Mountain Talk from 2018, we hear about the West Virginia Mine Wars, and specifically, the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain, which went down as the largest labor uprising in American history. At Blair Mountain, thousands of local miners—and their families—took up arms against the coal companies, the "gun thugs" hired by the companies to fight the miners, and, in the end, the United States Military itself, which was sent in to quell the miners' rebellion. This segment was originally produced by former WMMT producer Rae Garringer, and features interviews with several folks involved with founding the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum in Matewan, WV, as well as clips from the Appalshop Archive from union miner Nimrod Workman, who took part in the Battle of Blair Mountain. (Nimrod was also a recording artist on our own June Appal Records, as well as the subject of an Appalshop film, called "To Fit My Own Category," which you can see clips from on our Youtube page.) As a final note, to hear more from Wendell Berry, check out our Mountain Talk archives: we devoted our whole show to him last week, featuring poems, readings, & reflections from Wendell from the Appalshop Archive. (MUSIC in this show comes from: Paul David Smith, Debbie Grim, and Will Keys, from the compilation album "Banjer Days," on our own June Appal Records; from Charlie Stamper, from "Glory to the Meetinghouse," also on June Appal; from Glenn Jones & Laura Baird, from the Free Music Archive; and from Don Bikoff, also from the Free Music Archive.)

Appalshop joins with so, so many in mourning the loss of Wendell Berry, who passed away this past week, at age 92. In his honor, in this edition of WMMT’s Mountain Talk, we spend our whole show with Wendell, through material we are lucky enough to have here, at the Appalshop Archive. First: Wendell’s longtime farm sits on the banks of the Kentucky River, in Henry County, in central Kentucky. Which of course meant he was downstream from us here at the headwaters of the Kentucky River, in Letcher County. But back in 1984, Wendell came upstream, to Whitesburg, to give a poetry reading here at Appalshop, and the theme of this reading was all about the Kentucky River— and what it means for all of us to be upstream and downstream from each other. In a rebroadcast of a segment we first put together for National Poetry Month this past Spring, for the first half of today's show, we hear a set of clips from that event, including Wendell reading the poems “The Heron,” “The Old Elm Tree by the River,” “The Slip,” “To What Listens,” selections from “Window Poems,” and more. Then: while he became nationally known as a writer, Wendell was also, famously, a farmer. And especially in living so close to the land, Wendell was a consistent, outspoken activist around environmental issues, including fiercely opposing the growth of large-scale, corporate, industrial-grade farming, which has largely replaced the smaller-scale farms of our country’s past. And back in 1977, Wendell took part in a unique, public debate on this very topic with Earl Butz, who’d served as Secretary of Agriculture for presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford. Butz was a supporter of this shift to industrial-scale agriculture, infamously telling farmers to “get big or get out,” and in this special set of clips from this debate, which was held at Indiana University, we hear Wendell describe his farm, as well as some of his philosophy when it comes to farming (particularly his deeply-held belief in the importance of community, and working together with your neighbors), and then we hear a spirited, lively exchange between Wendell and an audience member who expresses some serious doubt about Wendell's ideas. Finally: to close the show, we head back to Whitesburg, for one more clip from Wendell’s 1984 reading here at Appalshop— a piece called “July, 1773,” a poetic adaptation of journals from the McAfee Expedition up the Kentucky River in the 1770’s. To hear, in full, the debate with Earl Butz, check out the Appalshop Archive’s youtube page. And to hear more from this 1984 reading, you can head to www.appalshoparchive.org, and search for Wendell Berry. (MUSIC in today’s show includes selections from: John McCutcheon, from “The Wind That Shakes The Barley,” on June Appal Records; Andrew Boarman, from “Mountain State Music,” also on June Appal; and Glenn Jones & Laura Baird, from the Free Music Archive. PHOTO CREDIT - CC 2.0, by Ann Thompson, for the On Being Project, a photo of Wendell & his wife Tanya Amyx Berry.)

In this edition of WMMT’s Mountain Talk, we visit with the master piedmont blues guitar player Etta Baker, who, despite coming from North Carolina, was no stranger to us here in Whitesburg. First, we hear an audio documentary feature about Etta, featuring interviews & music alike. This piece was produced by Rachel Anne Goodman as part of WMMT’s former multi-part documentary series Southern Songbirds, which profiles women in country & traditional music. 
Then. Etta was a frequent guest performer at our annual Seedtime on the Cumberland Festival, having made the trip over for Seedtime several times. And in the second half of our show today, we hear a series of clips from Etta’s 1997 Seedtime performance, recorded live, right here in Whitesburg. In these clips, in addition to playing tunes, Etta was interviewed onstage by folklorist & musician Michael Kline. And this performance was made extra-special by a rare and truly fantastic treat—Etta not only plays the blues in the way that only she can, but for the close of this show, she also *sings* the blues too.

If you’re a fan of country music, you might’ve heard of the 1927 recording sessions that happened in Bristol, Tennessee. Those sessions have been called 'The Big Bang of Country Music,' as they featured the very first recordings from artists that would go on to major fame, like Jimmie Rodgers, and The Carter Family. But according to a recent article from the National Endowment for the Humanities, of the 50 some-odd musicians who recorded in Bristol for those sessions, only about a dozen were women. And so almost from the very beginning of what we know of as country music, the stories of many of the women who have played a huge role in it—playing it, pushing it forward, passing it on—have been overlooked. To help shine a light on some of these hugely-influential & deeply-talented women, back in the 1990’s, we here at WMMT produced a multi-part documentary series, Southern Songbirds, which profiles some of the women artists who have been integral to country & old-time music over the years. Produced by Rachel Anne Goodman, each episode of Southern Songbirds focuses on a different artist, and in this edition of Mountain Talk, we bring you two of those episodes, each featuring visits with unique, formidable, and influential Appalachian banjo players: Ola Belle Reed, of western North Carolina, and Matokie Slaughter, of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

Back in 1995, WMMT put together a remarkable—and comprehensive—14-part radio series spotlighting different women writers from all across Appalachia. We called it 'Tell it on the Mountain,' and each episode of the series features extended visits with mountain writers, including readings, interviews, and biographical notes. These shows were produced by then-WMMT producer Maxine Kenny, and the series was hosted by the incomparable Nikki Giovanni. And this week on Mountain Talk, we hear two episodes from the Tell it on the Mountain series: first, we visit with West Virginia novelist & fiction writer Denise Giardina (author of the novels Storming Heaven, The Unquiet Earth, & more); and then, with the novelist & fiction writer Sharyn McCrumb, of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia (author of the 'Ballad' series of Appalachian-set novels, among many other works). And for a quick PS: while these episodes were originally just released on cassette tape, Appalshop will be digitally re-releasing this whole series soon. So, keep an ear out! As a whole, it’s an incredible document, and a real treasure trove of readings and reflections from a massively-talented gaggle of mountain writers. (Music this week includes selections from from Paul David Smith & Will Keys, from the June Appal Records release "Banjer Days"; and from Andrew Boarman, from the June Appal release "Mountain State Music.")

“I was losing all kinds of weight, and didn’t know why,” says Josh Stanley, of Letcher County, in this episode of WMMT’s Mountain Talk. It turned out he had type 2 diabetes—with an A1C, or blood glucose level, above 14, which is dangerously high—and hadn’t known it. “And I’ve only got one functioning kidney, too," Josh says. "I didn’t know it affected your kidneys. I didn’t know anything about any of that.” And here in the mountains, sadly, Josh is not alone in having gotten a surprise diagnosis of diabetes. East Kentucky has higher rates of type 2 than the state and national averages, and many of those diagnosed don’t actually know they’re diabetic until they get the news. And then, if you do get diagnosed, it can be hard to know how to take the first step— especially if you don’t have a ton of knowledge about how diabetes actually works in your body, or all of the different ways it can affect your health. To help raise awareness about type 2 in our region, for the past several years, WMMT has been producing an ongoing storytelling series about diabetes here in East Kentucky. Called Prevent Diabetes EKY, this series has featured a wide range of local people sharing their stories of managing type 2, including what’s worked for them, what’s been tricky, and what it’s all felt like. And in this episode of Mountain Talk, we hear from a patchwork of nine local voices who we've spoken to for this project, all of whom have type 2. We start with highlights from a diabetes listening session we held recently at the Hemphill Community Center in Letcher County, Ky., which features comments from local residents Patricia Sturgill, Josh Stanley, and Anna Bates (pictured, L-R). Then, we hear a selection of clips from across the past couple years of our project, featuring six voices from all over the region sharing about their diabetes journeys. As a final note, if all of these interviewees have anything in common, it’s urging listeners to stay on top of your health: to go to the doctor, to get your A1C levels tested, to get your eyes & kidneys checked. You could be in Josh’s boat of having diabetes, and not even knowing it. But, as our interview subjects also say in this show, even if you do have diabetes, there are so many ways to control it, and to keep it from controlling you. As a FINAL final note, for more stories like this, check out our project website: www.preventdiabeteseky.org (MUSIC in this show comes from The Luke Smathers String Band, from the June Appal Records release "Mountain Swing"; from Andrew Boarman, from the June Appal release "Mountain State Music"; and from Don Bikoff, from the Free Music Archive.)

“Just facing it,” says Perry County resident Jenny Williams, when asked what it took for her to take the first step towards managing type 2 diabetes after she'd been diagnosed. “Just facing the fact that I’m not the only one that’s diagnosed with this. And life goes on. You’ve just got to own up [to it], and do what you’ve got to do.” As part of WMMT’s ongoing storytelling series Prevent Diabetes EKY, we recently attended a monthly diabetes education class put on by ARH in Perry County. There, we spoke with three local residents, who all have diabetes (Jenny Williams, Evelyn Wood, and Nina Patrick, all pictured here), about what it’s been like for them to manage type 2 in the mountains— what’s been tricky, what’s been helpful, and what it’s all felt like. And we begin this edition of WMMT’s Mountain Talk with a selection of their comments. Then, the very first family string band to ever cut a record of their music just so happened to come from right over the mountain from us here in Whitesburg: the Powers Family band of Scott County, Virginia. For the second half of the show, we hear a profile of the Powers Family—particularly sisters Orpha, Carrie, and Ada Powers— through an installment of the former WMMT series Southern Songbirds, which documents & spotlights women in country & traditional music. (MUSIC in this show, apart from tunes from the Powers Family in the 2nd half, comes from: John McCutcheon, from the June Appal Records release “The Wind that Shakes the Barley”; from Andrew Boarman, from the June Appal release “Mountain State Music”; and from Don Bikoff, from the Free Music Archive.)

“I think the women made up the folksongs,” says West Virginia storyteller & ballad-singer Phyllis Marks, in this edition of WMMT’s Mountain Talk. “Because I think the men was out horsing around. And the women probably had to rock the cradle and churn their butter with one hand and sing to the other children... and they’d hear these stories, and they’d put a tune to ‘em.” And this episode of our show features extended visits with two multitalented Appalachian women, both of whom have served as vital tradition-bearers of mountain culture. First, we hear from western North Carolina ballad-singer, storyteller, musician, and songwriter Sheila Kay Adams, through a series of clips from her performance at our annual Seedtime on the Cumberland festival in 1992. Then, we visit with the one-of-a-kind West Virginia storyteller and ballad-singer Phyllis Marks, through an episode of the former WMMT series Southern Songbirds, which features interviews with Phyllis alongside recordings of her singing & telling stories alike. (MUSIC in this show, apart from performances by Sheila Kay Adams & Phyllis Marks, includes selections by The Luke Smathers String Band, from the June Appal Records release "Mountain Swing"; by Andrew Boarman, from the June Appal release "Mountain State Music"; and by Don Bikoff, from the Free Music Archive.)

Every summer, since 1987, we here at Appalshop have put on a one-of-a-kind community festival of mountain music & art right here in Whitesburg, which we call Seedtime on the Cumberland. In honor of this year’s festival, which took place this past weekend—and which was our 40th (!) annual Seedtime—for this episode of Mountain Talk, we put together some memorable Seedtime performances from over the years. 
Now, this show is by *no* means definitive: when you put on a festival like this for 40 years, you’re going to have a lot of amazing stuff to choose from. But in this episode, you'll hear some memorable Seedtime performances from the Appalshop Archive that happened to recently catch our eye (and/or our ear): clips from Morgan Sexton's first-ever (!) public performance at Seedtime in 1988; Jean & Edna Ritchie, singing together in 1994, and bringing us some exceptionally special sibling harmony; renowned Piedmont Blues guitar masters Etta Baker & John Jackson, who took the Seedtime stage together in 1997; clips from The Local Honeys' set from 2016; a storytelling performance by Angie DeBord from 2014; Ethel Caffie-Austin in 1991; Nimrod & Molly Workman in 1989; and Rich & the Po’ Folk in 2014. As a final note, many of the Seedtime sets that these performances are drawn from are available to hear (or watch), in full, and for free, at www.appalshoparchive.org. And as a FINAL final note, thank you, so deeply, to everyone who joined us at Seedtime this year. We had an incredible time, and we hope you, did, too. (Apart from Seedtime performances, music in this show includes selections from: Andrew Boarman, from the June Appal Records release "Mountain State Music"; and by Don Bikoff, from the Free Music Archive.)

So, we of course just recently held our primary elections here in Kentucky. And while things have been calmer here, it’s been a tumultuous primary season so far across the South, especially in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent ‘Callais’ ruling that significantly weakened the Federal Voting Rights Act of 1965—and which came smack in the middle of primary election season across much of the country. In the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision, states across the South quickly began making moves to try to change their congressional voting maps at the very last minute, with the state of Louisiana even going so far as to throw out more than 40,000 primary votes that had already been legally cast. As a result, many Southern voters have been thrown into limbo about which district they’re in, and who their candidates are. But in honor of primary season here in east Kentucky, we start this edition of Mountain Talk with a portrait of a local election from days gone by: the 1981 Republican Primary for County Judge-Executive in Leslie County. That race was profiled in the Appalshop film 'The Big Lever,' directed by Frances Morton, and today we hear a radio adaptation of that film, which follows the race in Leslie Co. between C. Allen Muncy and George Wooton. (As a whole, the film documents a fascinating, and colorful, era in mountain politics, and you can stream the whole thing, for free, on Appalshop’s Youtube channel.) Then, in honor of our 40th (!) annual Seedtime on the Cumberland festival coming up from June 5th-7th here in Whitesburg, we bring you two memorable performances from Seedtimes past. First, from the 1993 Seedtime Festival, we hear from West Virginia singer & songwriter Elaine Purkey, performing “I’m Just an Old Chunk of Coal (But I'm Gonna Be a Diamond Someday)" and “If the Rich Paid Taxes.” Then, from the 1988 Seedtime Festival, we hear a ‘Jack Tale’ from the master mountain storyteller Ray Hicks, of western North Carolina. The story he tells is called “Hardy Hardhead,” and it’s about three brothers who try to outsmart a witch to win the hand of a young lady, as well as the peculiar cast of Appalachian characters that Jack assembles to help him try. Finally, Ray closes the show with a barnburner of a performance on the harmonica. (MUSIC in this show, apart from performances by Ray Hicks & Elaine Purkey, comes from: Luke Smathers, from the June Appal Records release "Mountain Swing"; Glenn Jones & Laura Baird, from the Free Music Archive, & Don Bikoff, also from the Free Music Archive.)

Last month, a chemical leak once again rattled the community of Institute, West Virginia. On April 22nd, a leak at a plant which processes silver caused a violent chemical gas reaction which killed two people, and sent dozens more to the hospital. And after the leak, a shelter-in-place order was issued to the community for more than five hours, during which time (not to mention afterwards) local residents had to wonder about the safety of the air they were breathing, and of the water coming out of the tap. And, if any part of this story sounds familiar, that’s because, sadly, it is. The town of Institute has been the scene of multiple scary, and stressful, chemical spills over the years: in 2008, another chemical explosion there killed two people, and injured eight more. And back in 1985, a cloud of gas leaked from what was then the Union Carbide plant in Institute— and this leak came just months after the horrific leak at a Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, had made global headlines by killing at least some 16,000 people, and injuring tens of thousands more. And knowing what had just happened in India, when this 1985 leak happened in Institute, it was understandably a tense time for the community. This time was documented in the 1991 Appalshop Film “Chemical Valley,” and to begin Mountain Talk today, filmmaker Mimi Pickering brings us a radio adaptation of that film. Then, we hear selections from a panel held last month at the University of Kentucky about the history and future of Appalachia’s economy, a discussion which was called “Shifting Power in Rural America.” In these clips, Appalachian scholars John Gaventa & Gabe Schwartzman discuss land ownership in our region, and how that has historically helped determine who has power in the mountains— and how all of that might be changing now. Finally, we close the show with an episode of the former WMMT radio documentary series “Southern Songbirds,” produced by Rachel Goodman, about the life and music of the great WV singer & songwriter Hazel Dickens. (MUSIC in this show, apart from the Hazel Dickens tunes in the 2nd half, comes from: Tommy Hunter, from the June Appal Records release "Deep in Tradition"; Glenn Jones & Laura Baird, from the Free Music Archive; and Don Bikoff, also from the Free Music Archive.)

If you’ve listened to any true crime podcasts recently, or if you’ve watched one of those Netflix shows like “The Making of a Murderer,” or “Should I Marry a Murderer,” or “The Murder Next door,” or… well, there are lots of options in this genre on Netflix. But if you’ve taken in true crime storytelling of ANY kind recently, in a way, you’re participating in just the latest version of what’s actually a really old form of entertainment, especially here in the mountains: the murder ballad. And murder ballads, songs which depict murder stories, have local roots going back at least hundreds of years to the early colonists in Appalachia, and before that, to the British Isles (among other places), and they remain a significant part of the Appalachian musical tradition today. Our very own Chad Hunter, who’s the director of the Appalshop Archive, put together a whole radio program about murder ballads for WMMT back in 2006. And today on Mountain Talk, we bring you a version of that show, which features a rich mixture of recordings of murder ballads from across the years, as well as the backgrounds & true-life stories behind these ballads, many of which had their roots in real happenings. Among the tunes heard in this show are “Pretty Polly,” “Omie Wise,” “The Murder of the Lawson Family” (who are pictured in our header image), and more, performed by artists like Morgan Sexton, Doc Watson, and Dock Boggs, among many others. (MUSIC in this show, apart from the tunes introduced by Chad over the course of the show, includes selections from the Dutch Cove String Band, from the June Appal Records release “Sycamore Tea,” and from Andrew Boarman, from the June Appal release “Mountain State Music.”)

April was National Poetry Month, and we celebrated all month long here on WMMT’s Mountain Talk, with readings & conversations with Appalachian writers, past and present. But for this episode, which aired the last week of April, we decided we couldn’t let the month go by without a visit with WMMT’s very own poet laureate: Jim Webb.   Perhaps better known to many listeners as Wiley Quixote, Jim Webb was a fixture on WMMT going back to some of our earliest days on the air in 1985; first as a programmer, and then also as a longtime staffer, working for decades to help run this radio station—and in a one-of-a-kind way.  We won’t even try to sum up everything about Jim, because that’s impossible, but in addition to his countless contributions to WMMT, and his larger-than-life presence in our community, Jim was also, for most all of his life, a poet. A book of Jim’s poems, Get in, Jesus, was published in 2013, and after the book came out, Jim did a series of readings from the book all over the region. One of those readings happened in February of 2014, in Covington, Ky., and for the first half of Mountain Talk today, we bring you a set of clips from that reading. Then, we head across Letcher County to the Blackey Public Library, which, back in the 1990’s, held a series of readings featuring local writers, called the Blackey Writers’ Circuit. Back then, we here at WMMT aired a series, hosted by Artie Anne Bates, that featured clips from those readings. Today, via the Appalshop Archive, we bring you an episode from this series, from back in 1994. In addition to the aforementioned Jim Webb, this episode also includes readings from the writers Jenny Galloway Collins, and Gurney Norman. (MUSIC in this show includes selections from: The Metropolitan Blues All-Stars, from the album “Hillbilly Nation,” and from Andrew Boarman, from the June Appal Records release “Mountain State Music.”)