Digging Deeper Into Rising Black Lung Cases, This West Virginia Morning

Digging Deeper Into Rising Black Lung Cases, This West Virginia Morning

August 14, 2026 Duration: 0:00
A new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) finds that black lung rates are the highest they’ve been since the 1970s. Justin Hicks and Howard Burkes reported on that for the Appalachia + Mid-South Newsroom. Inside Appalachia’s Mason Adams spoke with Hicks and Burkes to dig a little deeper.  ...

Blankenship On Trial is a news and politics podcast that investigates the deadly explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Montcoal, West Virginia, where 29 miners lost their lives on April 5, 2010. Through detailed storytelling and careful reporting, this series examines how a history of unsafe practices may have paved the way for disaster, and how federal regulators and prosecutors worked to trace responsibility up the corporate ladder to former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship. Listeners can expect a gripping, methodical look at corporate power, regulatory failure, and the human cost of profit-driven decisions. Each week, Blankenship On Trial guides you through courtroom developments, key witness testimony, and the broader political and social context that shaped the case. Listen episodes to gain a deeper understanding of how one mine disaster became a national reckoning over workplace safety and corporate accountability.
Language: English Episodes: 50

Blankenship On Trial
Podcast Episodes
The Changing Appalachian Farmstand, This West Virginia Morning [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
Roadside farmstands with homemade jams and bread are a common sight in Appalachia. Because they’re unmanned, many of them work on the honor system: Take a carton of berries, leave some cash. But the humble farm stand is…
All That’s Unseen, Inside Appalachia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
This week, a new memoir explores the struggle to stay in Appalachia and the struggle to leave. Also, an exhibit in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, documents the contributions of the Catawba Nation to the American Revolut…
Steps To Protect Our Kids From Harm, This West Virginia Morning [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 0:00
The criminal charges against teacher and now-former delegate Elliott Pritt shocked many. We speak with Moore Capito, U.S. attorney for the Southern District of West Virginia, whose office is prosecuting the case, about w…