Eastern Standard

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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…

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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…

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Rent relief for tenants and landlords | Pondering a new career- track? The Kentucky sign-language profession has openings | The aims of the Appalachian Renewal Project | A new book about a 1901 mob-lynching in Paris, Ky |…

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 Alan Maimon was a foreign correspondent for the NYTimes before joining the Louisville Courier-Journal with the assignment to “cover Eastern Kentucky like a foreign correspondent would.” How did that go? He’s written a book about it. We talk…

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  The connection between deforestation and flash flooding in E. Kentucky | What's in the water? Results of sampling E. Ky. creeks and streams | State Senator Reginald Thomas on race relations in Lexington, circa…

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Why the price of lumber is so high | The Hindman Settlement School's new director | What was a Rosenwald School and why is one in Adair County being restored? | Duane Lundy's new series on the creative…

Appalachian Conservation Corps Crew

Forest Farming: Can it work for Eastern Kentucky? | In service to the public and the environment: the Appalachian Conservation Corps | Solar advocates see power balance between customers, utilities | A history of activism in…

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Cheating apps and learning | What forgiven student loans would mean to Kentuckians and Kentucky | State of Justice Series: Police, violence and accountability | Type 2 diabetes patients urged to get covid vaccine | Helping communities draw…

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For a 3rd consecutive year Kentucky ranks number one in the nation for child maltreatment, and has one of the nation’s highest rates of these children who are now being raised by relatives or family friends. |  Matilda…

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A brief history of the deforestation of Appalachia and efforts now underway to return abandoned mine lands to something approximating their original state. Surface mining in Appalachia has replaced approximately one million acres of eastern…

Poet Tina Parker discusses her new release, "Lock Her Up." |  Criminal Justice Series: County jails still overcrowded with state prison overflow | How offices are changing, innovating to accommodate a covid-altered world | Southland's Tahlsound Music Festival is back…

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Who will tend to the development of young minds? Public school teachers are increasingly in short supply as we’ll hear from Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman, herself a teacher. | Space vehicles from Morehead? Yes, seven and counting. |…