Chief Benge’s Last Raid

In July, 1912, a joyful Fourth of July outing on a mountain turned into a tragedy when a crowded passenger coach collided head-on with a massive coal train on the Wilpen Branch of the Ligonier Valley ...

11 Okt 202515min

In November 1861, a secret band of East Tennessee Unionists struck at the heart of Confederate supply lines by burning railroad bridges across the region. They believed the Union army would soon march...

4 Okt 202522min

This week, we wrap up our commemoration of the first anniversary of Hurricane Helene by talking with Mitchell County’s David Biddix, who documented the effects of the storm and its aftermath in that h...

1 Okt 202546min

When Hurricane Helene tore through western North Carolina a year ago, it left behind washed-out roads, flooded homes, and communities cut off from each other. For first responders, the storm was more ...

27 Sep 202512min

On the first anniversary of Hurricane Helene’s flooding in Appalachia, Rod and Steve share the story of Maria True, general manager of Jet Broadcasting in Erwin, Tennessee. When the Nolichucky River o...

20 Sep 202520min

In July 1944, a troop train packed with new Army recruits derailed near Jellico, Tennessee, plunging into Clear Fork River. Thirty-five soldiers died and ninety-one were injured. In this episode, Stev...

13 Sep 202518min

In 1919, a nitroglycerin explosion near Torrent, Kentucky, killed four men and leveled a factory. Today we tell the story of that tragedy and the explosive history of oil well “torpedoes” in Appalachi...

6 Sep 202519min

In 1750, surveyor Christopher Gist set out to explore the wilderness of what’s now Southwest Virginia, Eastern Kentucky, and West Virginia. Hired by the Ohio Company, Gist mapped the Appalachian front...

30 Aug 202512min