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In this episode, we head back to May 2, 1929, when a deadly tornado tore through the small mountain community of Rye Cove, Virginia, claiming the lives of 12 schoolchildren and one teacher and leaving lasting scars on the region.

We explore:

• What happened that spring afternoon in Rye Cove and the impact on the community.
• How the tragedy inspired a haunting ballad by the Carter Family, written by A.P. Carter who witnessed the storm and its aftermath.
• A little-known legal battle that followed: a surprising lawsuit settled in 1931 that raised questions about school safety, weather preparedness, and district accountability.

From the winds of tragedy to the echoes in old-time music and the courtroom, this episode weaves together history, culture, and Appalachian resilience.

To see photos of the storm's aftermath and hear a full account of the tornado from one of the schoolchildren subscribe to Talking Appalachian on Patreon

🎶 Featuring clips from "The Cyclone of Rye Cove" by the Carter Family.

📚 For more on the history of Rye Cove and its legacy, see my full interview on YouTube with WCYB's Kristen Quon

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*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review us (if you like it)!
*Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social
*Subscribe to support us on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Paypal to support the show: @amyclarkspain
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: aclark@virginia.edu or message me at the link here or on social.

Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Steam Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain

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Outlander fans will enjoy this episode, where we trace the winding trail of language from the misty Highlands of Scotland to the shaded hollers of Appalachia. Along the way, we unpack double modals like “might could,” trace the evolution of the word highlander and outlander, and reflect on how language becomes a legacy you carry in your mouth. Hear about the real-life Scottish festival held in July, called the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games, which was featured in season 4 of Outlander.

Plus, if you're a fan of traditional Appalachian music, I've got a road trip for you that you won't want to miss.

Music featured in this episode:

Master of the Feast by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Support the show

*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review us (if you like it)!
*Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social
*Subscribe to support us on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Paypal to support the show: @amyclarkspain
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: aclark@virginia.edu or message me at the link here or on social.

Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Steam Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain

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Have you ever tried text to speech with your accent, only to find your message garbled? In this episode of The Talking Appalachian Podcast, we'll explore speech technology and how AI interacts (and doesn't) with the unique accents found across America, including those in Appalachia. We discuss the 30 most misunderstood American accents by AI, trace the timeline of how AI speech recognition has developed, and uncover the struggles faced by speakers with regional accents. Finally, we spotlight the efforts researchers are making to train AI to better recognize and understand these accents that don’t always conform to “standard” English, and why it matters.

To register for the Appalachian Writing Project's institute for educators on Harnessing the Power of AI, follow this link

Research for this show: Which Accents Does AI Find Hardest to Understand? [Survey]

Support the show

*Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts and review us (if you like it)!
*Support the show by sharing links to episodes on social
*Subscribe to support us on the Facebook Talking Appalachian page, or here at our Patreon page to get bonus content:
Talking Appalachian Podcast | Covering the Appalachian Region from North to South | Patreon
*Paypal to support the show: @amyclarkspain
*Follow and message me on IG, FB, YouTube: @talkingappalachian
*To sponsor an episode or collaborate: aclark@virginia.edu or message me at the link here or on social.

Unless another artist is featured, acoustic music on most episodes: "Steam Train" written by Elizabeth Cotten and performed by Landon Spain