Eastern Standard

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Finding quality, affordable, accessible child care was already challenging working parents in Kentucky and across the nation. Then came the pandemic. Day care centers were closed and many have struggled to recover. Finding people qualified and willing to…

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On this week’s edition of Eastern Standard: Wall Street Journal reporter Kris Maher on his book “Desperate: An Epic Battle for Clean Water and Justice in Appalachia.” | Outdated drinking water standards documented across the Ohio Valley |…

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 On this week's edition: How the pandemic has accelerated teacher and student burnout | There for the children: Court Appointed Special Advocates. Their vital work is described by Fayette County Family Court judge Lucinda Masterton | Lexington poet…

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This week on Eastern Standard: Music made in Kentucky, played in Kentucky. Touching bases with artists from across the state with recent or new releases. In this hour:  the debut of a new Kentucky Music series by Crystal…

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Questions raised, questions answered: Why are things in short supply with prices rising? It's due mostly to an overwhelmed supply chain | Why are so many adult Kentuckians not being counted as working? We dig into an in-depth…

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October is National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This week’s edition focuses entirely on one of the ugliest of “Kentucky Uglies” - our state’s ranking among the worst in the nation for rates of intimate partner violence. We hear…

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Kentucky’s teacher shortage: already there and then came the pandemic | Bryan Station H.S. grad becomes a Senior Editor at the Atlantic | A chat with Louisville film and music producer Gil Holland | New book by Jayne…

Tom Martin with John Rosenberg, Snug Hollow Farm, Estill County, KY (Credit: Barbara Napier)

As the legal aid service AppalReD turns 50, its founder turns 90. John Rosenberg on escaping Nazi terror, immigrating to the United States, and a lifetime…

Warbler Ridge Preserve (Photo: KNLT)

Essential to life on planet earth, trees are the center of attention for  a week of celebration in numerous Kentucky communities. "Tree Week" is coming in October. We hear of plans in Lexington, Hazard and…

Rebecca Gayle Howell & Brett Ratliff (Photo by Howell-Ratliff)

As a finale to our fall pledge drive (thank you!), Eastern Standard presents the staff of WEKU with reports and interviews: Corinne Boyer on a hospital in covid crisis - Cheri…

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On this week’s Eastern Standard: Appalachian life as recalled by Lynch, Kentucky native William H. Turner in his new book “Harlan Renaissance” | Nikki Finney on the 25th anniversary release of “Heartwood,” her acclaimed story…

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Hopes of a return to normal in schools have been dashed by the Delta variant. A Kentucky high school teacher shares the consequences | Collecting the voices of Eastern Kentucky activism |  Tell me a story: details of…

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A half-century of having the backs of Eastern Kentucky’s vulnerable: AppalReD prepares to celebrate its 50 year legacy | A new book about the sport, culture and economics of rock climbing in the Red River Gorge | Kentucky…

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What's at stake, what's possible as redistricting changes Kentucky's political landscape | The implications of a completed Appalachian Highway System | A visit to Lexington-based Space Tango | Depth of Field: Duane Lundy explores a writer's mind with…

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Child care and the people who depend on it | As legislators propose banning its teaching, what is Critical Race Theory? | Waking up and finding yourself  the state's sole PPP lender | Finding in the music of…

Snug Hollow Farm, Estill Co., Kentucky (Photo by Barbara Napier)

Alan Maimon returns with guest interviewer Al Cross. Maimon is author of "Twilight In Hazard: An Appalachian Reckoning." Al has questions. | How is climate change being felt on traditional…

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Now and then along comes a memoir that is about so much more than the person. “Changing the Game: My Career in Sports Marketing” chronicles not only the life, aspirations and entrepreneurial accomplishments of…

Mine runoff in E. Kentucky stream (Image: Shutterstock) 

Floods continue to upset life in Eastern Kentucky | “Repairing the Damage”, an analysis of surface mining’s aftermath | The stories of a sheriff’s murder; how a city's signature dish says something…

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Life in the Peace Corps: a new book based on oral history interviews with scores of Kentuckians who have served | A Kentuckian once headed NBC. You're probably familiar with his cousin |  The business of raising sheep…

Jonathan Hibbard as Nick Bottom. (Photo by Adam Holhubner)

If Eastern Kentucky wants control of how the region is portrayed to the world, what should that new narrative say? We get the perspectives of a folklorist and a branding and…

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 Affordable housing and housing affordability: the perspectives of a fair housing advocate, an urban homebuilder and a rural housing developer | "Everyday places" with dark histories as sites of mob lynchings | Kentucky's efforts to open classroom teaching…

Kentucky Theater (Photo courtesy of The Kentucky Theater)

What's in store for the century-old Kentucky Theater? Competing management proposals are on the table | The red hot demand for short term certificates | Adam Edelen's solar power vision in E…

Minnie Adkins carvings (Photo by Cheri Lawson)

This week: an Eastern Standard special edition. In a time when local news media is shrinking, WEKU has been expanding its news team to keep you informed of what's happening around central and…

Craft Moonshine Still (Image: Shutterstock)

In retrospect: how the state legislature performed on social, criminal justice issues | Country music and people of color | UK's new course on moonshine and the elixir's role in Appalachian economic development |  The…