The 1895 Flat Top Coal Strike
In the spring of 1895, a sudden wage cut swept through the Flat Top-Pocahontas coal fields along the Virginia/West Virginia border, touching off one of the earliest large-scale labor confrontations in...
4 Apr 17min
Exploring the Cumberland: The Story of Kasper Mansker
Born aboard a ship of immigrants in the Atlantic Ocean, Kasper Mansker became a longhunter, venturing out to explore the wilderness of Kentucky and Tennessee from his home in what’s now West Virginia....
28 Mar 16min
The Old Red Fox of East Tennessee: Daniel Ellis
Daniel Ellis of Carter County, Tennessee was a wagon maker who became one of the most successful guides of the Civil War. Living behind Confederate lines in East Tennessee, Ellis created a secret rout...
21 Mar 19min
Von Shores: The Daredevil Pilot of the Cumberlands
This week, Rod and Steve tell the story of Ray Vaughn Shores, better known as Von Shores, an Appalachian aviator and popular aerial daredevil in Southwest Virginia and Eastern Kentucky during the 1920...
14 Mar 23min
The Kirkland Bushwhackers
This week, we tell a story from the lawless mountain border between western North Carolina and east Tennessee during the Civil War. As great battles raged elsewhere, outlaws and deserters came to the ...
7 Mar 18min
Appalachia's Blues Brothers: Stick and Brownie McGhee
This week, Steve and Rod tell the story of Granville “Stick” McGhee and Walter “Brownie” McGhee, two brothers from East Tennessee whose music helped shape American blues and early rock ’n’ roll. Born ...
28 Feb 15min
Off To See the King: The 1730 Cherokee Mission to London
In 1730, seven Cherokee leaders traveled from their Appalachian home to the heart of London. Hand-picked by a Scottish adventurer named Alexander Cumming, they were presented to King George II as "Kin...
21 Feb 19min
The Cursed Rails of the Big Bull Tunnel
The Big Bull Tunnel in Wise County, Virginia looks like any other railroad tunnel, just a simple cut through a hillside. Looks, though, can be deceiving, as the tunnel’s history is packed with accide...
14 Feb 24min
