Episodes
Monday Sep 30, 2024
Season 5 Episode 10: Spilling the Black Girl Tea Part 4 - Spaces and Places
Monday Sep 30, 2024
Monday Sep 30, 2024
“Spilling the Black Girl Tea: Unfiltered Stories from the Heart of Appalachia” is a multimedia project built on the fundamental belief that the people who are the least heard have the most important things to say.
The storytellers in the project are Black girls and women who call West Virginia home — part of a vibrant but often overlooked group that comprises less than 2.5% of the entire Mountain State’s population.
Their stories are those of the challenges and joys of Black identity. In the series, seventeen Black girls and women, ranging in ages from 16 to 80, candidly share their experiences in intimate conversations. The participants are students, community leaders, educators, advocates, activists and entrepreneurs who are talking about what matters to them most.
Part 4: Spaces and Places
In a conversation facilitated by Royce Lyden, they delve into the challenges they experience as straight and queer folx navigating both the Black community and predominantly white spaces. In the face of pressure to conform to competing societal expectations for Black women, they highlight the importance of safe spaces, setting boundaries, and the need for self care.
Participants: Tiara Brown, Ilene Evans, Kasha Snyder McDonald, Oceanna Smith
Monday Sep 23, 2024
Season 5 Episode 9: Spilling the Black Girl Tea Part 3 - Health and Healers
Monday Sep 23, 2024
Monday Sep 23, 2024
The storytellers in the project are Black girls and women who call West Virginia home — part of a vibrant but often overlooked group that comprises less than 2.5% of the entire Mountain State’s population.
Their stories are those of the challenges and joys of Black identity. In the series, seventeen Black girls and women, ranging in ages from 16 to 80, candidly share their experiences in intimate conversations. The participants are students, community leaders, educators, advocates, activists and entrepreneurs who are talking about what matters to them most.
Part 3: Health and Healers
West Virginia journalist and Black by God founder Crystal Good facilitates a conversation among three women about healing practices and mental health in Black Appalachian communities.
Together they explore the places from which healing originates, the liberation inherent in art and creativity, the unique mental health challenges faced by Black women, and the significance of food in community gatherings and healing practices. To everyone’s delight, there’s even a spontaneous ode to the air fryer.
Participants: Dr. Octavia Cordon, Dr. Shanequa Smith, A. Toni Young
Monday Sep 16, 2024
Season 5 Episode 8: Spilling the Black Girl Tea Part 2: Girls and Curls
Monday Sep 16, 2024
Monday Sep 16, 2024
The storytellers in the project are Black girls and women who call West Virginia home — part of a vibrant but often overlooked group that comprises less than 2.5% of the entire Mountain State’s population.
Their stories are those of the challenges and joys of Black identity. In the series, seventeen Black girls and women, ranging in ages from 16 to 80, candidly share their experiences in intimate conversations. The participants are students, community leaders, educators, advocates, activists and entrepreneurs who are talking about what matters to them most.
Part 2: Girls and Curls
Monday Sep 09, 2024
Episode 99: Spilling the Black Girl Tea Part 1 - Learning and Leading
Monday Sep 09, 2024
Monday Sep 09, 2024
The storytellers in the project are Black girls and women who call West Virginia home — part of a vibrant but often overlooked group that comprises less than 2.5% of the entire Mountain State’s population.
Their stories are those of the challenges and joys of Black identity. In the series, seventeen Black girls and women, ranging in ages from 16 to 80, candidly share their experiences in intimate conversations. The participants are students, community leaders, educators, advocates, activists and entrepreneurs who are talking about what matters to them most.
Part 1: Learning and Leading
Together these three women of different generations share their journeys navigating the education system and rising to leadership positions, highlighting the significance of Black sororities, the values of sisterhood and service, and the enduring importance of collective action in the fight for social justice and equality.
Participants: Dr. Amena Anderson, Dr. Florita Montgomery
Tuesday Jul 16, 2024
Tuesday Jul 16, 2024
Joe talks with Brad Davis and Josh Scott about how colonialist interpretations of the Bible have helped contribute to the social, economic, political, and spiritual exploitation of Central Appalachia, including the WV water crisis, at the 2024 Wild Goose Festival. (Our apologies for the extra bit of background noise...this episode was recorded live in an open area without studio controls.)
Learn more about From Below here --> https://www.facebook.com/groups/629075958675198
Check out Josh Scott's work here --> https://www.joshscott.online/
Friday Jun 14, 2024
Season 5 Episode 5: A renewed focus on justice for WV United Methodists
Friday Jun 14, 2024
Friday Jun 14, 2024
Fresh off the 2024 Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church in West Virginia, Heather and Joe take a look at two resolutions that signal a renewed focus on social justice for the denomination in the Mountain State and beyond.
Show links:
Hope for McDowell: https://hopeinthemountains.com/donate/ (please specify “Hope for McDowell” on the donation page)
From Below: Rising Together for Coalfield Justice: https://www.facebook.com/groups/629075958675198
[Cover image courtesy of From Below: Rising Together for Coalfield Justice]
Wednesday May 08, 2024
Season 5 Episode 4: Water Crisis in Southern West Virginia
Wednesday May 08, 2024
Wednesday May 08, 2024
In one of the historically poorest communities in America, thousands of people are going without clean tap water in their homes. And while cities like Flint, MI, and Jackson, MS, deservedly grab national headlines for their water issues, the Southern West Virginia Coalfields are now decades into a water crisis with few answers on the horizon. In this episode, Brad Davis and Caitlin Ware join Heather and Joe to talk about the West Virginia water crisis, the complex issues surrounding it, and the ways coalfield communities are banding together to create contextual solutions where government and industry have failed. They also talk about the role of faith communities in helping to organize local residents and support local problem-solving efforts. If you’d like to get involved, below are links to some of the coalitions and organizations mentioned in the podcast:
From Below Coalition: https://www.facebook.com/groups/629075958675198
WVUMC Clean Water Initiative: https://www.wvumc.org/clean-water-in-southern-district/
WV Faith Collective: https://wvfaith.org/
WV Water Distribution: https://gofund.me/f55125a7
Wednesday Apr 03, 2024
Season 5 Episode 3: Decolonizing Tourism with Caitlin Ware
Wednesday Apr 03, 2024
Wednesday Apr 03, 2024
We don't often think about tourism as a justice issue, but the displacement of families and communities to provide a more favorable user experience in tourist locations is a very real concern in places like Appalachia, where connection to the land runs deep and where infrastructure to support a tourist economy lags significantly behind. In this episode, Heather and Joe sit down with Caitlin Ware, who discusses her recent article on our blog, "Curating the View: Tourism & Exploitation in Appalachia."
Monday Mar 04, 2024
Season 5 Episode 2: The changing shape of deconstruction
Monday Mar 04, 2024
Monday Mar 04, 2024
How is spiritual deconstruction like a lasagna? Is reconstruction a necessary result of deconstruction? Heather Moore and Joe Webb unpack these questions and more in Heather's debut as our new co-host!
Friday Feb 02, 2024
Season 5 Episode 1: Deconstructing Grief
Friday Feb 02, 2024
Friday Feb 02, 2024
What does grief look like in the midst of spiritual/religious deconstruction? When your beliefs change, what do you hold on in the midst of loss? In the first episode of our 5th season, Joe talks openly about how old constructs no longer work for him following the death of his father, and how therapy and community are filling the void.