Morgan Wade Talks Performing At Home

Podcast - Inside Appalachia Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

This week on Inside Appalachia, we go back to school with West Virginia women who are training to fill the shortage of construction jobs. And, EMTs and first responders take care of Appalachian communities, but who’s watching out for them? We’ll also talk with country music star Morgan Wade about what it’s like to play in Nashville one week and then return to your hometown stage the next. In This Episode:

• West Virginia Aims To Add More Women To Construction Trades
• Morgan Wade Talks Tattoos, Music And Coming Home To Perform
• Caring For Aging Parents Raises Many Questions
• Poet Nikki Giovanni Talks About Her Connection to Appalachia

West Virginia Aims To Add More Women To Construction Trades A couple of years ago, Congress passed a massive infrastructure bill. It devotes $1.2 trillion to pay for roads, bridges and more, across the country. Infrastructure is super important in Appalachia — for living, working and getting around in the mountains. But all of these projects take people. A lot of times, there just aren’t enough people to fill all the jobs — especially in certain trades that require skilled labor. As Chris Schulz reports, West Virginia aims to meet the need by training more workers — particularly women. Morgan Wade Talks Tattoos, Music and Coming Home To Perform Country singer Morgan Wade has been causing a stir for years. The Virginia native rose from being a much loved local performer to launching a career in country music that has included the hit song “Wilder Days” and a run, opening for Chris Stapleton on tour. Host Mason Adams spoke with Wade about music, her tour and coming home to Floyd, Virginia. Caring For Aging Parents Raises Many Questions Many families are raising children while they’re taking care of their parents. That’s especially true here in Appalachia, where we have tight-knit families and an aging population. It gets more complicated for loved ones with chronic health problems, declining mobility and dementia. Eric Douglas is exploring questions about caring for others as they get older. In this installment, he talks with Dr. Lynn Goebel, a Marshall University professor who works at the Hanshaw Geriatric Center in Huntington. Poet Nikki Giovanni Talks About Her Connection To Appalachia Last fall, Appalachian poet Nikki Giovanni announced her retirement from Virginia Tech after 35 years. Of course, her pop culture prominence goes back even further, to her appearances on the television program Soul! in the 1970s. She is a true Appalachian original, and one of our great all-time poets. In 2015, reporter Liz McCormick spoke with Giovanni about her love for Appalachia. Their conversation begins with Giovanni reading a poem named for her native city — “Knoxville, Tennessee.” —— Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Jesse Milnes, Little Sparrow, Morgan Wade, Chris Stapleton and Johnny Statts. Bill Lynch is our producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Zander Aloi also helped produce this episode. You can send us an email at [e-mail]. You can find us on Instagram and Twitter @InAppalachia. And you can sign-up for our Inside Appalachia Newsletter here! Inside Appalachia is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting.