The Talking Appalachian Podcast
Talking Appalachian is a podcast about the Appalachian Mountain region's language or "voiceplaces," cultures, and communities. The podcast is hosted by Dr. Amy Clark, a Professor of Communication Studies and Director of the Center for Appalachian Studies at the University of Virginia's College at Wise. The podcast is based on her 2013 co-edited book Talking Appalachian: Voice, Identity, and Community. Her writing on Appalachia has appeared in the New York Times, Oxford American Magazine, Salon.com, on NPR, and Harvard University Press blog. She is also founder and director of the Appalachian Writing Project, which serves teachers, students, and the communities of the central Appalachian region.
Episodes
87 episodes
What's Happening at Harvard: A Bonus Conversation with Emilee Hackney
In this bonus mini, we talk about Harvard's decision to close its Writing Center. We tackle the questions: What role do Writing Centers play, and how does its closing affect students? What message does the closing send about the importance of w...
Author Emilee Hackney and her memoir All That's Unseen
Emilee Hackney's memoir, All That's Unseen ( Random House, 2026) is a story that is both heartbreaking and hopeful. Here's more about Emilee and her book:She was born and raised deep in the hollers of the Appalachian Mountains. ...
Voice Actor Jake Phillips and the Art of Sounding Southern
Known as @theculturedbumpkin on social media and YouTube, voice actor Jake Phillips knows a thing or two about sounding Southern. The Mississippi native built his voice acting career aft...
Episode Revisit: Adriana Trigiani
In this episode, I'm sitting down at the Library of Virginia with bestselling author, director, playwright, podcaster, and friend, Adriana Trigiani, to talk about what it means to be Appalachian.She is the New York Times bestsel...
Defending Our Dialects: The Social Weight of Talking Appalachian (and Southern)
In this episode, we dig into seven key reasons Appalachian and Southern speakers push back when others critique the way we talk. Media bias, language discrimination, and a deep sense of ownership over our vowels, words, and ways of speaking all...
What did Americans Sound Like 250 Years Ago?
As America celebrates 250 years, we're reflecting on how Americans may have sounded from the colonists to Confederados. Drawing on a prior episode with Dr. Valerie Fridland and research by linguists like Michael Montgomery, I'll discuss how set...
Why We Talk Funny: a Conversation with Valerie Fridland on the Origins of Accents and Attitudes About Them
Author Valerie Fridland is the author of the new book Why We Talk Funny: the Real Story Behind Our Accents (Viking, 2026.) In this fascinating episode that launches Season 4, we'll talk about the Revolutionary-era origins of o...
The Origins of Yall, Yous, and Yinz with Valerie Fridland, author of Why We Talk Funny
Author Valerie Fridland is the author of the new book Why We Talk Funny: the Real Story Behind Our Accents (Viking, 2026.) In this fascinating episode that launches Season 4, we'll talk about the Revolutionary-era origins of o...
Encore Episode: An Appalachian Dish Called "Kil't Lettuce," Storyteller Ray Hicks, and the Intrusive -t in Appalachian Englishes
"Kil't" lettuce is an Appalachian delicacy. In this encore episode from Season 1, we discuss how to make this delicious summer salad and why people use -t at the end of the word instead of -ed. We'll also hear clips from storytell...
Appalachian Voices in WWII Letters and Recipe Books, A Voiceplace Story, and the phrase "Up And"
In this episode, we're looking for voice in some WWII-era letters and recipe books from my great-grandparents' era (I found a recipe called "Masculine Potato Salad"!) You'll also hear a voiceplace story from a western NC listener, who has decid...
A Conversation with Bestselling Writers Beth Macy and Silas House
Beth Macy is the bestselling author of Dopesick, Factory Man, and Paper Girl. Dopesick, her investigation of the opioid crisis, was short-listed for the Carnegie Medal, won the L.A. Times Book Prize for Science and Te...
What We Believe About Appalachian Dialects and Why It Matters, According to Linguist Dr. Jennifer Cramer
Dr. Jennifer Cramer, Director of the Appalachian Studies Center at the University of Kentucky, joins me for a conversation about how she became a linguist (shifting from math to French and linguistics), her graduate training at Purdue and the U...
Crystal Wilkinson on writing to the bone, and spoken dialect as a "revolutionary act"
We're revisiting Season One and an episode with the legendary Crystal Wilkinson, author of Praise Song for the Kitchen Ghosts (which was published after this episode aired) and other works. Crystal discusses her journey from trying to ...
Barbara Kingsolver on Being in a Rock Band with Stephen King
In this bonus episode (also available on Patreon) Pulitzer-winning author Barbara Kingsolver (author of Demon Copperhead and so many other wonderful works) reminisces on her rock band days with Stephen King, Amy Tan, and others.
Mamaw's Story: Hear Her Oral History in Her Own Words (Quoted in the Atlantic)
This episode grows out of a moment earlier this year, when my great-grandmother’s words appeared in The Atlantic in a January 6 article by Annie Joy Williams on Appalachian speech and memory. But long before her voice was quoted on a n...
Listening to Letters: Appalachian Englishes Across a Century
What did Appalachian English sound like before anyone could hit “record”?In this episode revisit from Season 1, I’m doing a little linguistic time travel using letters instead of audio. I take a close look at two personal letters written...
Appalachia's Old Christmas, New Year's Traditions and Superstitions, and "Untelling"
In this edited episode revisit, we talk about Old Christmas (or "Little Christmas) that many Appalachians still celebrate on January 6th. We'll also talk about favorite New Year's foods for luck (like Hoppin' John) and how to avoid bad lu...
Bless Your Heart: The Journey to Understanding and Embracing Our Appalachian Voiceplaces
In this episode, I'm joined by an Appalachian artist and fourth-year UVA-Wise student Bailey Lantman who shares her journey of discovering the academic study of her regional dialect and heritage. We talk about the importance of preserving Appal...
In Conversation with Ron Rash: The Caretaker and Appalachian Narratives
*This episode first aired in 2023*Bestselling author and Western North Carolinian Ron Rash joins the Talking Appalachian podcast to discuss his latest novel, The Caretaker. Amy explores Rash's extensive body of work, including h...
Bonus Episode for Subscribers: Homer Hickam on Writing, Publishing, and his Latest Project
In this bonus clip, Homer talks about the time he challenged himself to write a romance novel, and his method for researching and studying the form. He also dives into the publishing world, and what he's doing to nurture Appalachian writers who...
Homer Hickam: From Rocket Boy to Bestselling Writer
Renowned author of 19 books and former NASA engineer Homer Hickam sits down with me and a few students at UVA's College at Wise to talk about his journey from the coalfields of West Virginia to becoming a celebrated author and esteemed engineer...
The Last Run: Molasses-Making in the Mountains
*From the Season 1 Archive*"Molassey," as that smoky, syrupy mixture is known in central Appalachia, is a dying tradition. Appalachians call the process of making molasses a 'stir-off,' and everybody in the community would come by to hel...
The "Re-Storification" of Appalachia with Jeff Biggers
Jeff Biggers is the author of The United States of Appalachia, In Sardina, Trials of a Scourge, and many more. You've heard me discuss his work on the podcast, particularly in New England, wh...
The Folklore and Custom of "Telling the Bees"
What does it mean to “tell the bees”? In this episode, we explore a centuries-old European custom carried into Appalachia by Scots-Irish, English, Welsh, and German settlers. Families once whispered news of births, marriages, and deaths to thei...
Talkin' Appalachian in the Digital Space with Appalachian_Bluebird
If you're following Appalachian digital creators on social media, you've probably come across Appalachian_Bluebird, a vlog created by Southwest Virginia's Brittany Breeding. Inspired by her grandparents and upbringing in Meadowview, Virginia, B...