Understanding Different Kinds Of Thunderstorms, This West Virginia Morning
Aug 18, 2026
Show notes
On this West Virginia Morning, it’s thunderstorm season, but not all of them are the same. For the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, Bill Burton and meteorologist Tawana Andrew break down what we know – and what we don't – about the climate and weather in the region. This week, they examine different types of thunderstorms.
Also, a middle school in Lewis County is getting a $400,000 advance, so they can get students back in the classroom following severe flood damage.
And, a chemical recycling operation in the Kanawha Valley is raising more than pollution concerns from observers.
Finally, as West Virginians clean up after another round of severe weather this weekend, the West Virginia Emergency Management Division urges those affected to fill out the official disaster damage survey.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Eric Douglas produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:49 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
Hyperscale Data Centers Sparking Bipartisan Outrage, This West Virginia Morning
Aug 17, 2026
Show notes
On this West Virginia Morning, for the third installment in our series on data centers, we look at how data centers proposals are provoking outrage from local opponents. For the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, Kentucky Public Radio’s Joe Sonka reports that such fights are increasingly common — and bipartisan.
Also, heavy rains and thunderstorms passed through the state over the weekend causing flooding and mudslides throughout central West Virginia.
And, a federal judge declined the state’s request Friday to dismiss a lawsuit brought by West Virginia’s largest overdose prevention group, Solutions Oriented Addiction Response of West Virginia, also known as SOAR.
Finally, participants in West Virginia's Tourism Works program have earned more than 25,000 microcredentials, and 1,000 college credit hours since the program launched last year, according to a press release from Gov. Patrick Morrisey.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Eric Douglas produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:49 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
FEMA And Voucher Controversy Continues, This West Virginia Week
Aug 15, 2026
Show notes
On this West Virginia Week, changes are coming to FEMA, few details on school clothing voucher accusations, and the state has a new guide for data centers.
Bill Lynch is our host this week. Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert.
West Virginia Week is a web-only podcast that explores the week's biggest news in the Mountain State. It's produced with help from Bill Lynch, Chris Schulz, Eric Douglas and Maria Young.
New YA Fiction Explores Witches In A Mountain Coal Town
Japanese Shinto Garden Roots In Southwest Virginia
Gerald Bland visited Hime Yamuchi Bland’s family several times. Amelia Bland Waller met many of those pictured here when she traveled to Japan in 2024 to execute the behests in Hime’s will. Courtesy
Elk Creek, Virginia, is a small, unincorporated community located in Grayson County, about a half hour from the North Carolina border. Many people in Elk Creek have deep ties to their land, and for one family taking care of their land and honoring their ancestors meant creating a traditional Japanese Shinto Garden.
From Elk Creek, Folkways Reporter Wendy Welch brings us the story.
Mosaic In Whitesburg, KY, Honors Community After Flooding
Lacy Hale (left) and Julian Holt (right) take a break from grouting the mosaic. Holt is a painter and printmaker from Letcher County, Kentucky, and is currently a student at Eastern Kentucky University. They were Hale’s intern for the mosaic project. Photo Credit: Nik Lee/Appalshop
Letcher County, Kentucky, artist Lacy Hale is known across Appalachia for her enduring screen print that reads, “No Hate in My Holler.” But Lacy does a lot of public art projects.
And so, four years after the devastating Kentucky floods, she was hired to make a public mosaic that incorporates material contributions from community members. The artwork protects memories, shares stories and helps the community to heal.
The Whitesburg mosaic was completed and unveiled at the end of July. This story was produced by Nicole Musgrave and was a collaboration between Mimi Pickering of Appalshop and Teresa Collins of the Center for Rural Strategies and originally aired on the Rural Remix podcast.
Designing Dignity For Aging Pennsylvanians
Alana Gibbs and Darah Thompson walk their father Lloyd Richardson down a hallway at Arden Courts in Pittsburgh's North Hills. Photo Credit: Kiley Koscinski/90.5 WESA
WESA’s Designing Dignity series is exploring possible solutions for healthcare challenges created by Pennsylvania’s —and Appalachia’s — aging population. Some of these ideas come from Japan, where one-third of the population is 65 or older.
Japan has implemented a program to keep medical costs down through a taxpayer-funded insurance program specifically for long-term care. Several U.S. states are exploring their own version of universal long-term care insurance.
WESA’s Kiley Koscinski reports.
Rare "Peters Mountain Mallow" Plant Threatened By Droughts In Virginia
Ryan Klopf, mountain region supervisor with Virginia Natural Heritage Program, hunts for any sign of Peters Mountain Mallow on a mountainside in Giles County. Photo Credit: Roxy Todd/Radio IQ
One of Virginia’s rarest plants, the Peters Mountain Mallow, lives on only one mountainside in the world, in the New River Valley along the West Virginia line. Last year, scientists counted just five plants that are still alive, and the ongoing drought means protecting it from extinction is getting tougher.
Radio IQ’s Roxy Todd reports.
Scenic Natural Wonders of Pennsylvania
Tory Mather holds her book, Scenic Natural Wonders of Pennsylvania, in Frick Park in Pittsburgh. Photo Credit: Savannah Colberg/The Allegheny Front
Tori Mather is the author of Scenic Natural Wonders of Pennsylvania, a new book that introduces readers to some of the state’s treasures.
The Alleghany Front’s Savannah Colberg met up with Mather in Pittsburgh’s Frick Park to learn more.
Mountain Biking's Long Path To Racing In Roanoke
Roanoke mountain biker Mark Boyer drops down a trail at Carvins Cove Natural Reserve. Photo Credit: Mason Adams/WVTF
In July, Roanoke, Virginia, hosted USA Cycling's Endurance Mountain Bike National Championships. For local mountain bikers, it was just the latest summit in a decades-long, uphill grind for respectability.
Host Mason Adams reports from Roanoke.
New YA Fiction Explores Witches In A Mountain Coal Town
The cover of Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire. Courtesy of Don Martin/Page Street Publishing
The young adult novel Verity Vox and the Curse of Foxfire tells the story of a witch-in-training who uses her magic to help a forgotten mountain coal town. The book blends fantasy and Appalachian social history, with a touch of queer romance. It’s the debut novel by Don Martin, and it was an instant New York Times bestseller.
Producer Bill Lynch spoke with Martin about the book and his podcast Head on Fire.
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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Blue Dot Sessions, Jeff Ellis, Dinosaur Burps, and Hello June.
Bill Lynch is our producer. Abby Neff is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Irina Zhorov is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. We had help this week from Folkways Editor Allison Silverstein.
You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.
Digging Deeper Into Rising Black Lung Cases, This West Virginia Morning
Aug 14, 2026
Show notes
On this West Virginia Morning, a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that black lung rates are the highest they’ve been since the 1970s. Justin Hicks and Howard Burkes reported on that for the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom. Inside Appalachia’s Mason Adams spoke with Hicks and Burkes to dig a little deeper.
Also, officials have released an update into a deadly chemical accident in April.
And, the developer of a proposed data center in Tucker County has provided the state proof that it owns the property on which it plans to build.
Finally, a team from American Water is heading to the town of Wayne to investigate a problem that has plagued the community for years.
West Virginia Morningis a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
West Virginia Morning is produced with help from Bill Lynch, Chris Schulz, Eric Douglas and Maria Young.
Eric Douglas is our news director. Teresa Wills is our host. Maria Young is our producer.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:49 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
Us & Them: What We Hide — Examining The Collateral Damage Of Addiction
Aug 13, 2026
Show notes
For a decade or more, West Virginia has been at the center of America's opioid epidemic and overdose death toll.
There is encouraging news as the state’s overdose deaths have fallen dramatically. In the past year, state officials report a nearly 38 percent drop in overdose deaths. But addiction remains the most common reason for West Virginia children to be taken from their families.
In this episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay talks with a filmmaker whose recent movie What We Hide focuses on the collateral damage of addiction on children. And as part of a WVU training symposium, Kay hears from professionals who work with people affected by addiction about the cost on our medical system, social service networks and child protection workers.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the CRC Foundation.
Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, YouTube Music, Spotify, the NPR app and wherever you get your podcasts.
Courtesy
Dan Kay’s film What We Hide follows two sisters who hide their mother’s overdose death because they fear being separated by the foster care system. The film stars McKenna Grace and Jojo Regina and explores the collateral damage addiction can leave behind for children and families.
Learn more aboutWhat We Hideand find viewing options through the film’s official website.
McKenna Grace, left, portrays Spider, and JoJo Regina portrays her younger sister, Jessie, in What We Hide. After their mother dies from an overdose, the sisters hide her death because they fear being separated by the foster care system. Photo from the film What We HideDan Kay is the writer and director of What We Hide, a feature film that explores the collateral damage of addiction through the story of two sisters trying to stay together after their mother dies from an overdose. Photo Credit: Rebecca Sapp
“I'd been interested in the subject of addiction, but even more specifically, I was very interested in collateral damage caused by addiction. I felt that there had been some terrific films and plays and articles and books that are focused on the addict's experience, which is very valuable. But I didn't think there'd been much where, particularly in film, where we were exploring what is left in the addict's wake? [For the] family, friends? What is that existence like? And I don't remember if it was a podcast or an article, but I heard the term ‘opioid orphans,’ and it all just kind of clicked for me. I just thought that would be a really interesting place to explore this idea of the collateral damage caused by addiction.”
— Dan Kay, writer and filmmaker
Dr. James Berry of West Virginia University’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute joined a discussion of What We Hide at the Carl “Rolly” Sullivan Addiction Training Institute in Morgantown. Berry is an addiction psychiatrist whose work focuses on treatment, recovery and the effects of addiction on individuals and families. Photo courtesy of Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute
“Something that was said to me a few years ago that I thought was very helpful is we should actually twist things a little bit and focus less on stigma reduction, and really focus more on empathy cultivation. And I think that's what this film does, is it's really helping cultivate empathy. Again, I can try to educate everybody I possibly can about the science of addiction and what's happening with the brain and through these processes that keep people doing things that they know are wrong. But to be able to tell a story the way that Dan told this story, that is empathy cultivation. Whereas if I just try to educate I'm trying to reduce stigma by giving them education and I think this is so much more powerful.”
— Dr. James Berry
Dolly Sullivan, a clinical social worker in Morgantown, joined a discussion of “What We Hide” at the Carl “Rolly” Sullivan Addiction Training Institute. Sullivan works with individuals and families and specializes in trauma and mental health. Photo courtesy of Dolly Sullivan
“There's so many things that stood out for me as a clinician but you know as on the topic of trust, it wasn't just in the system where trust was broken, right? I mean when you think about our primary people, you know, whether it's our parents or grandparents or aunts and uncles that raise us, like trust is central to that, right, and trust was broken, particularly for Spider … And so when I think about how, like from top to bottom, it wasn't just the system that they couldn't trust. It was their mom too, right. And so, when I think of it from a trauma perspective, you know for me, trauma is not what happens. It's how it changes our brain. So trauma is a brain change and it's a disruption in the nervous system.”
— Dolly Sullivan
Parental Addiction’s Impact On Trust, This West Virginia Morning
Aug 13, 2026
Show notes
On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginia has been at the center of America's opioid epidemic and overdose death toll. While recent reports show the state’s overdose deaths have fallen by nearly 38%, addiction remains the most common reason for West Virginia children to be taken from their families. In the next episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay attends a WVU training symposium, including a screening of the recent film What We Hide, and hears from professionals who work with people affected by addiction.
Also, Logan County Schools have been under some level of state control for close to four years. They are gaining back local control now, but the district’s financial outlook is concerning.
And, it’s still not clear how many needy children received back to school clothes or if any of the funds were instead used for beer and cigarettes following a hearing on the state’s school clothing voucher program.
Finally, student assessments in math and English fell nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic, but students in West Virginia now surpass 2019 proficiency levels.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Maria Young produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:49 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
Understanding A Complicated Educational Landscape, This West Virginia Morning
Aug 12, 2026
Show notes
On this West Virginia Morning, as lawmakers and educational leaders across West Virginia take a hard look at school finances, administrative staff that work outside the classroom have come under increased scrutiny. But Uriah Cummings, School Financial Operations officer for the West Virginia Department of Education, says administrators manage an increasingly complicated educational landscape. He spoke to Education Reporter Chris Schulz about their necessary role in schools.
Also, just in time for severe thunderstorms to roll in across much of the southern half of West Virginia Tuesday, members of the Joint Legislative Committee on Flooding heard about changes coming to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
And, lawmakers continue to keep a close eye on school discipline after years of new legislation.
Finally, a new report says West Virginia is facing a crisis with most counties qualifying as legal deserts.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Maria Young produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:49 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
Kentucky Fried Chicken Founder’s Items Up For Auction, This West Virginia Morning
Aug 11, 2026
Show notes
On this West Virginia Morning, Kentucky Fried Chicken founder Colonel Sanders' iconic items earned big bucks at auction. For the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, reporter Andrew Henderson went to the auction and hung around for the fried chicken.
Also, West Virginia lawmakers have said school funding reform is a top priority in next year’s legislative session, and they got a glimpse of the governor’s perspective on the issue.
And, members of the Joint Committee on Children and Families were frustrated by the lack of detailed information they received regarding critical incidents involving children in state care.
Finally, state lawmakers also discussed AI-surveillance cameras for nearly an hour and a half on Sunday as controversies continue over the use of the technology.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Maria Young produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:49 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
Concerns Over Data Centers And Rising Electricity Costs, This West Virginia Morning
Aug 10, 2026
Show notes
On this West Virginia Morning, residents across Kentucky, Tennessee and West Virginia have packed public meetings in recent months to speak out against data centers. A recurring concern is how the developments could affect the cost of electricity. For the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom, WEKU’s Curtis Tate reports this comes as utility prices have already been on the rise.
Also, legislative interims got underway at the state capitol in Charleston over the weekend, a chance for lawmakers to address significant issues that come up between the regular 60-day session that begins in January.
And, democrats in the West Virginia House of Delegates are renewing their call for Gov. Patrick Morrisey to bring the legislature back in for a special session to address what they call a crisis with the public school funding formula.
Finally, Morrisey ordered U.S. and state flags lowered at all state facilities and in Jefferson County in honor of former state Sen. Herb Snyder, who died last week. Flags will be flown at half-staff until sunset on Friday, Aug. 14.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting, which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from Shepherd University and Marshall University School of Journalism and Mass Communications.
Maria Young produced this episode.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:49 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
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