This week, we pulled some gems from our archives. We listen to some of our favorites Inside the Appalachians stories from last year. We will hike in one of the most beautiful wild places in the Appalachians, the Canaan Valley in West Virginia. We will also meet musicians who are growing the Appalachian hip-hop scene. These stories and more in this best-of episode of Inside the Appalachians.

In this episode:

Animals in love

If you have ever observed how animals interact, it is seems as if they felt love. Penguins mate for life, and elephants form bonds by wrapping their trunks together before mating. So, do animals really feel love? Our producer Roxy Todd and her co-host Caitlin Tan set out to find an answer.

Spoiler alert: a few months after we originally broadcast this storyThe West Virginia Wildlife Center received two new otters. There is now Three otters in the center. Roxy went to visit them recently and reports that two of them huddled against a rock.

What do you think? Let us know. You can email us [email protected].

Banjo player meets punk rocker

Earlier this year, we aired a story that later was picked up nationwide. Lots of people wrote to us about the story so we knew it had be in the best-of episode.

During the pandemic, 21-year-old punk rocker Bradford Harris wanted to learn how to play the banjo. This led to the search for a 97 year old banjo maker. Nicole Musgrave brings us this story about the unexpected pairing.

Since the story originally aired in February, Al Cornett, Harris’ violinmaking mentor, has passed away at the age of 97. Harris still has a few handmade instruments for sale. Unfortunately, the community college has closed its carpentry shop. Harris works to collect tools to build his own woodworking shop in his backyard. Their punk band, Lips, did a few shows again recently in Whitesburg, Kentucky.

Appalachian hip-hop artists

When people talk about Appalachian music, banjos and violins are often the first things that come to mind, but what about hip-hop? In the United States, rap and hip-hop are generally associated with big cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. But hip-hop lives everywhere, including small towns and the cries of the Appalachians.

Folkways reporter Nicole Musgrave spoke to a group of hip-hop artists in the coalfields of Wise County, Virginia. The group draws attention to the music, but they also support other artists on the scene.

The music featured in this story is taken from rap artist geonovah’s latest EP, “25 to Life”, and is available at Sound cloud.

Wildflower walk

Dolly Sods is federally protected public land full of rocky ridges, soggy bogs, and gorgeous views. It is also the site of an annual nature walk called the West Virginia Wildflower Pilgrimage. This year was the 59th time that wildflower and birding experts have visited the region for the event.

Inside the Appalachians co-host Mason Adams made the pilgrimage from his home in Floyd County, Va. to Dolly Sods for the annual event, and tells us the story.

High school students exchange their audio diaries

Last year, high school students in Fayette County, West Virginia, exchanged audio letters with teenagers in Wales. They’ve talked a lot about the pandemic, and it turns out that much of what they’ve been through is universal.

Sam McCarthy and Ela Cudlip are from Merthyr Tydfill, Wales. Brooke Thomas and Mackenzie Kessler are from Fayette County, West Virginia. Students shared their audio letters as part of our Folkways project, reporting on the connections between Wales and the Appalachians.

New pandemic fathers and babies

Becoming a parent can be scary. Add a global pandemic to the equation and it can make things even scarier. Last summer, just a few months after the start of the pandemic, we heard two new dads – Chuck Kleine, video producer at West Virginia Public Broadcasting, and Joe Buckland, who worked at a restaurant but was on leave due to COVID-19. This week on the show, we’re re-listening to their conversations that aired in June 2020. We’ll also hear an update starting in May 2021.

Our musical theme is Matt Jackfert. Other music for this week was provided by Point Bleu sessions, Jake Xerxes Fussell, Marisa Anderson and Dinosaur burps.

Roxy todd is our producer. Jade Artherhults is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Andrea Billups. Kelley libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Zander Aloi also helped produce this episode. You can find us on Twitter @InAppalachia. You can also email us at [email protected].