On this West Virginia Morning, NPR reporter and host Kelly McEvers and her colleague Chris Benderev spent more than a year exploring coal counties across Appalachia -- trying to understand our people and our history with coal. The series, which recently aired on a podcast called Embedded, follows several people in central Appalachia, to find out how their lives changed during the first year-and-a-half of the Trump presidency. McEvers recently spoke with Roxy Todd. We'll hear part of that conversation and travel with McEvers as she goes a mile underground inside a coal mine.

About 50 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr. began a movement to unite people of all colors and creeds in what was called the Poor People's Campaign. We’ll hear the latest in how that movement is being revived today. We’ll also hear about experiments in Pennsylvania that are trying to bring back bats populations that have been plagued by a deadly fungus. And the U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee has passed its version of the Farm Bill with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s provisions to remove hemp from a list of Schedule 1 controlled substances. These stories and more on this West Virginia Morning.

On this episode of West Virginia Morning, we’ll learn how a theater company in Morgantown is looking to contribute to community conversations about substance abuse issues ravaging the region.

When someone gets caught trafficking, making, or distributing drugs, more than likely, they wind up incarcerated. But should drug offenders who have done their time be denied food stamps? It’s a question we’ll turn over in this episode of West Virginia Morning.

On this West Virginia Morning, for decades, the Cheat River and its tributaries were known for the tell-tale bright orange discoloration of acid mine drainage. Twenty-five years later, the river is on the verge of a nearly complete restoration. Much of the success is a result of a decision among regulators, scientists and a local conservation group to treat the pollution problem as an entire watershed, instead of mine by mine. Brittany Patterson takes us to Preston County to learn more.

On this West Virginia Morning, President Trump has told the Department of Energy to stop the pending closure of some economically struggling coal-fired and nuclear power plants. As Brittany Patterson reports, energy analysts say that would raise bills for consumers and would likely come too late to help facilities in the Ohio Valley.

On this West Virginia Morning, we’ll visit an art installation built by Magnolia High School students in Wetzel County; hear about a new report on poverty released by the United Nations; and we’ll hear an excerpt from the latest Us & Them podcast which looks at the dynamic between gay and straight people in West Virginia.

A new study from the Government Accountability Office finds that the federal fund supporting coal miners with black lung disease could be in financial trouble without congressional action. As Benny Becker reports, the GAO found that the fund’s debt could rise dramatically at the same time that black lung disease is surging.

On this West Virginia Morning, we’ve heard a series of stories recently about a community in West Virginia, where residents are concerned about toxic waste they say is causing high rates of cancer. Many residents there say they want the Environmental Protection Agency to put their town on the Superfund program’s National Priorities List -- or NPL. But resources for the federal program have been dwindling for decades. What does it mean when a community is placed on the NPL? Do contaminated areas get cleaned up? Brittany Patterson visited one site in north-central West Virginia to learn more.

On this West Virginia Morning, the Charleston Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in America. In a new documentary directed by Deborah Novak, members of the company, both seasoned and new, share the story of the ballet and its founder, Andre Van Damme. Gillian Brooks sat down with Kim Pauley, artistic director and CEO of the Charleston Ballet, to discuss the company’s history and remember its founder.

On this West Virginia Moring, Kandi Messinger is a health educator for WVU Cabell County Extension Service. She teaches a nutrition and cooking basics class for those going through the Cabell County drug courts program. Kara Lofton spoke with Messinger about why alternative education and life skills training is an important piece of recovery.

A small West Virginia town is grappling with a wastewater system that has raw sewage running through yards and streets. As Glynis Board reports, it’s a far-too common problem for many Ohio Valley communities struggling with small budgets and big infrastructure needs. Hal Saville works as a commercial energy project consultant for Energy Independent Solutions. He helps develop and sell solar panel systems like the one that just went in at the Forest Hills Municipal Building near Pittsburgh. For StateImpact Pennsylvania’s Voices of Energy series, Saville shares his story as a crew finishes installing the system’s wiring.

On this West Virginia Morning, the U.S. Surgeon General recently issued an advisory, encouraging more Americans to carry the overdose reversing drug naloxone. It comes in the form of an injection or a nasal spray, known as Narcan, and is regularly carried by firefighters, EMTs and police officers. As a part of a series on the ripple effects of the opioid crisis, StateImpact Ohio’s Ashton Marra reports the antidote is also becoming more and more common in Ohio schools.

A coalition of conservation groups is suing the Trump administration over changes to a hundred-year old law protecting migrating birds. Late last year, the administration announced a seemingly minor change to just two words in the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. As Brittany Patterson reports, those two little words have big implications for thousands of birds that migrate over the Ohio Valley.

On this West Virginia Morning, researchers at Duke University are investigating how renewable energy sources like wind or solar might affect people in traditionally coal-dependent communities. Duke professor Jonathan Free is overseeing the project called “Coal and America; Stories from the Central Appalachian Coalfields.” He and a group of undergraduate students will be interviewing folks throughout Appalachia this summer. Jessica Lilly spoke with him to find out more.

On this West Virginia Morning, Gov. Jim Justice called legislators back into session this week to fix laws passed during the regular legislative session. But addressing flaws in the state’s medical cannabis program wasn’t on the special session call. As Dave Mistich reports, Democrats are working outside the regular lawmaking process to fix the law anyway.

On this West Virginia Morning, researchers at Murray State University in Kentucky released a pair of studies that found illicit substances in some water sources in the region. One study profiled contamination in wastewater and river waters. The other estimated consumption rates during special events. Cory Sharber of WKMS reports.

On this West Virginia Morning, lawmakers wrapped up work on a special legislative session Monday afternoon. As Dave Mistich reports, the House and Senate completed eight bills, including technical clean-ups to legislation passed during the regular session, as well as supplemental appropriations.

On this West Virginia Morning, earlier this year the Trump Administration imposed new tariffs on solar panels. It's part of the administration's "America-first" approach to trade. But one Appalachian organization is worried that the tariffs are leaving a lot of Americans in the dark. Glynis Board has our story.

On this West Virginia Morning, one of the ripple effects of the opioid epidemic is an increase in blood-borne diseases like hepatitis or HIV. A key method to prevent the spread of such diseases, its needle exchange program, is proving to be controversial in West Virginia’s capital city. The program was eventually suspended. Inside Appalachia host Jessica Lilly recently spoke with the Charleston-Kanawha Health Department’s spokesperson to find out more.