Top Stories
What Drove a West Virginia Democrat to Storm the Capitol on January 6?
Four years after being elected to the Parkersburg City Council with help from progressives, Eric Barber was all in for Trump. Co-published with The Intercept. Eric Barber was elected as a…
Gasoline is undead. Petro-masculinity is a revenant. These hills run thick with ghosts. Since fuel is a crucible of Appalachian identity,…
This story originally appeared in The Washington Post Magazine. At 11 a.m. each Sunday — labeled by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as…
As a kid, I delighted in grossing out my elementary school classmates with details of how my lower-income, Middle Tennessee family ate…
In Pittsburgh, Union Membership is Changing, Forcing the Unions of Our Past to Learn to Serve Workers’ Needs Today
Some days, West Penn Hospital nurse Kayla Rath barely has time to eat. “If you could take a lunch break by three or four o’clock and just scarf down your food, then that was a good day,” she said. Rath, a postpartum nurse at…
Q&A: Kentucky Documentary-Maker Starts Zine That Evokes Memories of an Appalachian Home
In the forward for Familiar Paths, Vol. 1, photographer and documentary filmmaker Jared Hamilton says, “This series is meant to feel like mamaw’s warm blanket on a rainy day.” And it does. The zine is filled with black and white images…
‘A Union for Appalachian Healthcare Workers’: W.Va. Author’s New Book Recounts History Amid Resurgence of Labor Organizing
In his new book “A Union for Appalachian Healthcare Workers: The Radical Roots and Hard Fights of Local 1199,” John Hennen tells the story of a union founded in New York City that worked its way into Appalachian communities. Hennen, a…
The Atlantic Coast Pipeline is Dead. But for Some W.Va. Landowners, It Lives on
This story was originally published by Mountain State Spotlight. For more stories from Mountain State Spotlight, visit www.mountainstatespotlight.org. When Jeff Mills moved to Doddridge County with his wife nearly 50 years ago, he…
Commentary: Celebrating Another Ramadan in a Pandemic Has Meant Learning Patience and Perseverance in Times of Uncertainty
The spring semester of college for me has been quite a spiral. My days consist of spending many hours finishing assignments and attending my lectures, but also fasting from sunrise to sunset and trying to spend more time reading the…
How One University Mascot Has Influenced Generations of West Virginians
West Virginia University’s mascot, the Mountaineer, is a big deal in the state. In fact, fans are called ‘Mountaineer Nation.’ West Virginians have long identified with the mascot as it symbolizes independence, strength and curiosity —…
‘A Life-defining Year’: We’re Marking One Year of Publishing the Stories of Appalachian Youth
For the past week, I’ve plopped down to write about the one-year mark of a project we thought would last roughly eight weeks. Last October, we launched the Appalachian Youth Creators vertical, because we wanted to give young people space to…
