Vital Voices

Dr. Douglas Hale from Vanderbilt University Medical Center explains how renal transplants are done and emphasizes the importance of organ donation.

We visit the family farm of Mike Fields in Hawkins County, Tennessee. In the summer of 2026, Mike grew a pumpkin that weighed in at 1,494 pounds. The pumpkin was a popular attraction at the Appalachian Fair, which is marking its 100th anniversary in 2026.

Sarah Ophelia Colley Cannon was a member of the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville for over 50 years. She was best known through her stage persona, Minnie Pearl. We talk with Belmont University's Don Cusic, co-author of the new biography Howdy! The Minnie Pearl Story, published in 2026 by the University of Tennessee Press.

We visit a kitchen in Scott County, Virginia, where late summer means the making of the garden-clearing relish known as chow-chow.

Dr. Kirk Pomper at Kentucky State University discusses the cultivation and uses of the pawpaw, the largest edible fruit native to North America.

In the second part of our interview, Retired U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Miles Burdine of Kingsport, Tennessee, continues his story about living with PTSD.

Retired U.S. Marine Corps Colonel Miles Burdine, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Kingsport Chamber of Commerce, shares his story of dealing with PTSD that resulted from his three deployments with the Marines in the Middle East.

Our topic is the recent outbreak of Cyclosporiasis in the United States, and our guest is Dr. William Schaffner, Professor of Preventive Medicine in the Department of Health Policy and Professor of Medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

We learn about the valuable work of a new member of the police force in Johnson City, Tennessee.

Kingsport, Tennessee, lays claim to a recipe for Long Island Iced Tea that originated in the 1920s. We discover how city leaders are using that history to promote tourism.

We remember one of the leading figures in the field of Southern barbecue. Larry Proffitt, second-generation owner of Ridgewood Barbecue in Bluff City, Tennessee, died on June 20, 2026. The Ridgewood has been in the same location and in the same family since 1948.

John U. Bacon's book The Gales of November is a New York Times non-fiction best-seller. In this second part of our interview, Bacon speculates about the causes of the sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald, which went down in the waters of Lake Superior on November 10, 1975.

We contemplate the final hours of the freighter The Edmund Fitzgerald, with author John U. Bacon.

In part two of our look at the life of First Lady Edith Bolling Wilson, a native of Wytheville, Virginia, we visit with Farron Smith. She and her husband Bill have taken on the mission of seeing that the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson is never forgotten.

In the first of two programs, we explore the life and legacy of Edith Bolling Wilson, the second wife of President Woodrow Wilson, and we consider how she is remembered in her hometown of Wytheville, Virginia. Our guest is Dr. Adam Manuel from the Edith Bolling Wilson Birthplace Museum. This program includes a very rare recording of Edith's voice, from 1949.

East Tennessee State University scholars Dr. Lee Bidgood and Dr. Thomas Burton discuss the stories and songs of the nomadic group known as the Scottish Travelers.

Our guest is Scott Simon, host of NPR’s “Weekend Edition Saturday.” We discuss his latest book, Ulysses S. Cat and Other Animals I Have Known.

World War II historian Dr. Stephen Fritz discusses Adolf Hitler's role as military leader.

We take a tour through Northeast Tennessee and Southwest Virginia with Robert Sorrell, author of the book Secret Appalachian Highlands: A Guide to the Weird, Wonderful, and Obscure.

In this edition of “Vital Voices,” we examine the problem of hunger in Appalachia and what one organization is doing about it. Feeding Southwest Virginia is marking 45 years of service to a region where one child in every five is facing hunger. Our guest is Rachel Garnett with Feeding Southwest Virginia.

On December 18, 2025, the Lumbee Fairness Act was signed into law, giving full federal recognition to the tribe for the first time. Our guest, Dr. Lawrence Locklear, is an enrolled citizen of the Lumbee Tribe and Director of Southeast American Indian Studies at the University of North Carolina Pembroke.

We discuss the life and legacy of Ron Gonnella, one of Scotland's most influential fiddlers. Our guest is Dr. Jane MacMorran, a former United States National Fiddling Champion and Director of Appalachian, Scottish, and Irish Studies at East Tennessee State University.

In East Tennessee, Roxanne McDaniel is leading a dulcimer revival. We talk with her about the traditional Appalachian instrument and hear some samples of her artistry.

With recent reports of power blackouts in Cuba, we revisit an interview we did last year with Alex Fraga, owner of Hemingway's Cuba in Asheville, North Carolina. His father, the late Tony Fraga, was forced to flee Cuba because of the policies of dictator Fidel Castro.

East Tennessee State University President Emeritus Dr. Paul E. Stanton, Jr., died on March 5, 2026, at the age of 81. Dr. Stanton was the institution’s eighth president, serving from 1997 until 2012. In this interview from 2007, Dr. Stanton talks about one of his hobbies and how it was centered around family. A native of Georgia, Dr. Stanton was passionate about boiled peanuts.

March is National Kidney Month, and in recognition of the observance, we speak with Dr. Douglas Hale, a transplant surgeon with Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He describes how kidneys are transplanted and talks about the importance of organ donation.

We reflect on the career of Renee Montagne and her 40 years in public broadcasting.

We visit the Johnson City, Tennessee, Police Department to learn about the work of K9 Buck, the department’s first electronic storage detection dog. Joining us for the interview is K9 Buck’s partner, Sgt. Tim Hensley.

During this winter season, we remember the gardens of late summer with a discussion about the relish called chow-chow.

In part two of our conversation, John U. Bacon, author of the bestselling book The Gales of November, discusses factors that led to the sinking of the freighter Edmund Fitzgerald on Lake Superior on November 10, 1975.

Our guest is John U. Bacon, author of The Gales of November: The Untold Story of the Edmund Fitzgerald. Currently on the New York Times nonfiction bestseller list, the book recounts the story of the sinking of the freighter in the waters of Lake Superior, resulting in the deaths of the 29 crewmen, on November 10, 1975. This is part one of two “Vital Voices” programs with John Bacon.

Pulitzer-Prize-winning historian and biographer Taylor Branch is featured in a discussion with East Tennessee State University history professor Dr. Daryl Carter, recorded at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Prayer Breakfast in Johnson City, Tennessee. Branch is one of the most prolific chroniclers of the American civil rights movement and the leadership of Dr. King.

We remember the 2022 floods in Eastern Kentucky with flood survivor and documentary filmmaker Willa Johnson, a native of Letcher County, Kentucky.

One of the world's leading experts on the cultures of the American South, Dr. John Shelton Reed, takes a look at a classic New Orleans cocktail.

Prostate cancer has been in the news lately, with President Joe Biden's diagnosis and the death of Major League baseball star Ryne Sandberg. We continue our conversation on the subject with Dr. Kristen Scarpato from Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

The detection and the treatment of prostate cancer are discussed in this edition of "Vital Voices," with Vanderbilt University urologist Dr. Kristen Scarpato.

A project is underway to document the history of mills that once operated in Washington County, Tennessee. Our guest is Cheryl Bennett, who is heading up the research from her home in the community of Broylesville.

We visit the workshop of Curtis Buchanan in Jonesborough, Tennessee, to learn about the making of Windsor chairs, an art passed down from the 18th century.

We discuss the subject of living in exile with Alex Fraga, owner of Hemingway’s Cuba in Asheville, North Carolina. Alex’s late father, Tony, and his family were forced to leave Cuba in 1960 because of the oppressive regime of dictator Fidel Castro. Hemingway’s Cuba is a symbol of the family’s resurgence and recovery.

It's holiday baking season. In this edition of "Vital Voices," we learn all about the dried apple stack cake, a decades-old dessert popular in the Appalachian region.

We find out more about the life and times of the late Chet Atkins, with music historian Don Cusic, author of a new biography of the famous guitarist.

We look back on the life of perhaps the most influential guitarist of the 20th century, the late Chet Atkins, originally from Luttrell, Tennessee. Our guest is Atkins biographer Don Cusic.