The Connection Between A Mineral And Data Centers, This West Virginia Morning

The Connection Between A Mineral And Data Centers, This West Virginia Morning

April 8, 2026 Duration: 0:00
Fluorspar is a little-known mineral used to make everything from steel, aluminum and gasoline to uranium fuel and batteries. For the Appalachia Mid-South Newsroom, WKMS’ Lily Burris reports the largest known deposit of the critical mineral in the U.S. is in western Kentucky – and its applications in artificial intelligence (AI) could reawaken the region’s mining industry. ...

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: 100

Blankenship On Trial
Podcast Episodes
A Year After The Floods, Trump And Coal, This West Virginia Week [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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On this West Virginia Week, last winter’s floods are remembered, Trump signs an order aimed at supporting the coal industry, and the federal government wants information on hundreds of thousands of West Virginia voters..…
Delegates Discuss Needs Of State Foster Care System [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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On this episode of The Legislature Today, issues with Child Protective Services (CPS) and the state foster care system are persistent. The West Virginia Legislature faces questions on how to correct the problems that ari…
Osage, Connie Jordan Green And Ice Climbing, Inside Appalachia [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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This week, during the Great Depression, Osage, West Virginia was a raucous river town. It’s sleepier now, but music is keeping the magic alive. Also, a poet remembers growing up in a secret city in Tennessee that was bui…