Category Archives: Appalachia

A-Radio Network, activism, Appalachia, Ausbruch, General, Germany, Israel, Nuclear, Palestine, Protest, repression, Solitary Confinement, Tennessee, United States, war, Weapons

Appalachians Against Uranium + the Case of the Ulm 5

Appalachians Against Uranium + the Case of the Ulm 5

This week, we’re sharing two segments.

Appalachians Against Uranium

Photo of protestors in Jonesborough holding signs as BWXT truck drives by, plus "TFSR 7-26-26 | Appalachians Against Uranium on BWXT and Radioactive Weapons Development in Eastern TN"
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First up is a conversation with two activists of Appalachians Against Uranium in eastern Tennessee about the expansion of a nuclear weapons development in Jonesborough in the Tri-Cities near the border with North Carolina, Kentucky and Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains. For the interview we speak about the legacy of the nuclear industry in the region, health impacts on locals, some of the companies (like BWXT) involved, concerns of pollution and building off the work of past and ongoing civic activism in the region. Find our guests online at their website or find them on bluesky for further information.

If you missed our prior interview talking about other and related elements of the nuclear industries in the US, check out the chat with M.V. Ramana from our July 19th episode, found at our website.

Eastern TN Nuclear Links

The Ulm 5 Case in Germany

[00:50:00]

After this, you’ll hear a recording from May 14th, 2026 of journalist Roser Garí Pérez speaking in Freiberg, Germany, about the the case of the Ulm 5: five activists from various countries held in pre-trial detention since September of 2025 in Germany on charges of taking action against an Elbit Systems Deutschland factory in that country. Elbit Systems is an Israeli arms manufacturer whose products bring death to people in Palestine. The defendants have experienced long term isolation, extraordinarily long pre-trial detention without the option of bail. This segment appears in episode 104 of B(A)D News from the A-Radio Network, and was submitted and recorded by Radio Ausbruch from Freiberg

As a note for US listeners, the use of the term protocol in this segment can be translated to mean taken notes. You can keep up on the case, find how to write letters or send support, at https://ulm5.info/ and find updated writings on the case by Roser Garí Pérez on their instagram or their author page at The Left Berlin

Announcement

Support Request by 2020 Uprising Prisoner Khalif Miller

We received correspondence from Khalif Miller who was arrested in Philadelphia. Acording to his GoFundMe, “Khalif was held on pre-trial detention for 2 years and eventually sentenced to 5 years in Federal prison. As he was on probation at the time of his indictment he was additionally given a 1-10 year state sentence for probation violation.” According to his page on UprisingSupport.org, Khalif had this to say:

“I was working, I was trying to get my business up and running, I was going to school. I was doing things not just to help my family, I was trying to help communities. The day that I went to the protest… the night before when I was even making my signs. I spent 4 hours just making signs and writing down a bunch of people who were unfairly killed by police officers. This is something I really feel passionate about.
People say all the time, you can do anything you want in America. You can be whatever you want to be. Growing up, I heard it but I never really believed it because I felt like my resources were limited. The world has so many possibilities. I would like to teach that. That’s one of the things I would like to be able to pass along to the younger generations when I come home.”

Check the show notes for links to how you can write to Khalif and how you can offer him support during this long period of repression.

Write letters:
Smart Communications / PA DOC
Khalif Miller / #QQ9287
SCI Forest
PO Box 33028
St. Petersburg, FL 33733

Send books:
Khalif Miller
#QQ9287
268 Bricker Road
Bellefonte, PA 16823

. … . ..

Featured Track:

Appalachia, Asheville, community, Disaster Relief, Hurricane Helene, Mutual Aid, North Carolina, Transcribed, United States, zine

5 Months After Hurricane Helene in Barnardsville, NC

Photo of mutual aid in early October, 2024 in Barnardsville, NC
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This week we’re sharing recent chat with Jazz and Badger, two residents of Barnardsville, a small village just outside of Asheville, NC. We spoke about the community, the impact of Hurricane Helene, some lessons learned from coordinating among the neighbors and how people are faring now, nearly 5 months out from the storm. You can find their website at MutualAidBarnardsville.com

To hear similar stories from after the storm you can find links to past interviews here. Also mentioned were interviews recorded by Blue Ridge Public Radio: Voices of Helene.

Articles on recovery referenced:

If you’d like to help out after recent flooding in Eastern Kentucky, there are a few links in our show notes to Hillbillies Helping Hillbillies aka EKY Mutual Aid

Recent Storm Support for EKY, ETN, SWVA + WV

Recent floods in middle Appalachia in the middle of an intense winter cold snap have left many without potable water or other basic needs. ATV donation / loan / operation request to help check on people in hollers, help clear roads, drive supplies: reach out to theferalraccoon (a t) proton (d ot) me OR MutualAidDisasterRelief ( at) gmail (do t) com.

EKY

One place you can look for where to send resources is Eastern KY Mutual Aid, found on Instagram or Facebook under the name Hillbillies Helping Hillbillies. And you can find out more by visiting the website or checking social media for Mutual Aid Disaster Relief. Some of the useful links are here for those unable to use the platforms:

  • EKY Mutual Aid Patreon
  • Volunteer form if in the region
  • EKY Mutual Aid Cashapp: $SoupBeansFriedTaters
  • EKY Mutual Aid Paypal: @EKYMutualAid

In Pikeville, KY, there’s a request for food grade 5 gallon for water filtration where municipal water isn’t running or wells are contaminated there’s a request for restaurants to save buckets for water filtration. People interested can contact Cara at 859_533_0349

DROP OFF LOCATION:
Pike Central HS
100 Winners Circle Drive Pikeville, KY 41501

Other EKY sites:

  • Appalachian Crisis Aid Fund
  • The Y’all Squad TheYallSquad.org/donate

SWVA

  • SAMS Lonesome Pine Mutual Aid Paypal: @SAMSVA
  • The Care Collective of SW VA Venmo: @carecollectiveofswva
  • Cumberland Mountain Mutual Aid
    • Paypal: cumberlandmountainmutualaid (a t) gmail (d o t) com
    • Venmo: @CMMAID
    • CashApp: $CMMUTUALAID

WV

  • WVUMC Disaster Response Ministries WVUMC.org/donate
  • Bluejay Rising BluejayRising.org/donate
  • Spark of Love Foundation
    • CashApp: $sparkoflove4thekids
    • PayPal: The Spark of Love Foundation

ETN

Continue reading 5 Months After Hurricane Helene in Barnardsville, NC →

abolition, Appalachia, Asheville, Bail Funds, Capitalism, General, Housing, Hurricane Helene, North Carolina, Palestine, Transcribed, zine

Jail and Housing Conditions, Recovery in Post-Helene Asheville

Jail and Housing Conditions, Recovery in Post-Helene Asheville

WNC Tenants network logo, Sumud Collective logo and Asheville Community Bail Fund logoWNC Tenants network logo, Sumud Collective logo and Asheville Community Bail Fund logoThis week on The Final Straw Radio, you’ll hear three  interviews relating to community needs and recovering concerning Hurricane Helene in Western North Carolina.

If you’re a non-Pacifica radio station airing the show, here’s a link for the 58 minute radio edition while Archive.Org continues to be down due to hacker attacks.

First up, you’ll hear Jen Hampton of the WNC Tenants Network about the re-opening of eviction courts in Buncombe County and conditions of housing in an already difficulty place to live.

Then, Bruce and G talk from the Asheville Community Bail Fund speak about conditions in the local jail during and after this unnatural disaster.

Finally, Yousef of the Palestinian and Arab-led Sumud Collective speaks about his experience of the storm and recovery work in the region in an interview recorded a couple of weeks ago.

Other links from Jen:

. … . ..

Featured Track:

  • Reflections by The Supremes from Gold

Continue reading Jail and Housing Conditions, Recovery in Post-Helene Asheville →

activism, Appalachia, Asheville, California, community, Environment, Homelessness, Housing, Hurricane Helene, North Carolina, Oakland, Rural Organizing And Resilience, Transcribed, United States, zine

Homeless Organizing in Oakland and Rural Relief After Helene

Homeless Organizing in Oakland and Rural Relief After Helene

Collage of black and white photo of man holding sign to a tent reading "Oakland Homeless Union" + banner reading "Y'all Means all - Rural Organizing and Resilience" on a realtree background
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This week on the show we’re featuring two inteviews. First up, you’ll hear from Freeway, a houseless activist in Oakland, CA, about the recent series of sweeps of homeless being promoted by Governor Gavin Newsom. Freeway has been a member of Wood Street Commons and is now a member of Oakland Homeless Union (IG or donate).

Then, Janet of Rural Organizing and Resilience (IG or donate) in Madison County, speaks about post-Hurricane Helene organizing and disaster preparedness in the mountains of Western North Carolina. More and links to be added soon.

Other groups mentioned by Janet of ROAR include:

Announcement

Phone Zap for Buncombe County Jail

Members of the Asheville Community Bail Fund have announced a phone zap concerning conditions in the Buncombe County Detention Facility where reports are coming out of a lack of clean water, irregular bathroom breaks and other lack of access are leading to calls for those in the jail to be released or transferred to a facility with more humane conditions.

. … . ..

Featured Track:

  • I Wanna Know If It’s Good To You by Funkadellic from Free Your Mind… And Your Ass Will Follow

Continue reading Homeless Organizing in Oakland and Rural Relief After Helene →

Appalachia, Asheville, Deutsch, Disaster Relief, General, Hurricane Helene, Mutual Aid, Transcribed, zine

Mutual Aid and Disaster Relief in Southern Appalachia

Mutual Aid and Disaster Relief in Southern Appalachia

<a href='https://traffic.libsyn.com/forcedn/thefinalstrawradio/tfsr-podcast-20241006.mp3">Download This Episode</a>Over the first weekend of October, 2024, there was a deluge from two storms (including level 4 Hurricane Helene) descended on southern Appalachia, mostly on the eastern side which includes Asheville and other parts of western NC, eastern TN, south eastern Ohio, and northern Georgia. At the point of this recording there are over 200 known dead and hundreds missing, portions of the region continue to be without electricity or cellular service, and where the toxic mud and water linger and separate people from medical and community care. This episode, we’re speaking with two people who’ve lived in the region and have been helping other residents distribute storm relief.

Groups worth following doing work on the ground include:

. … . ..

Featured Tracks:

  • 500 Year Flood by Adam Pope
  • Day 3 on Pigeon River by Sarah Howell

Continue reading Mutual Aid and Disaster Relief in Southern Appalachia →

activism, Appalachia, Drug War, General, Health, Mountain Valley Pipeline, North Carolina, Pipeline, Protest, repression, Transcribed, United States, Virginia, West Virginia, zine

Harm Reduction and Eco-defense in Appalachia

Harm Reduction and Eco-defense in Appalachia

Project Mayday logo featuring a badger and crossed needles, a photo of an MVP site at Peters Mountain with a zoom in on Madeline Ffitch locked down + "TFSR 2-18-24 | Harm Reduction + Eco-Defense in Appalachia"
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First up, Ian chats with Tasha of Project Mayday, a harm reduction project operating in so-called West Virginia. They discuss harm reduction strategies and the political framework of their approach to mutual aid. The conversation also touches upon co-existing in the public health and non-profit space without compromising their radical values and some of the many ways that drug policy and pharmaceutical marketing affect people who use drugs. Listeners can contact Project Mayday at the links below and should watch those spaces for news about the benefit show coming up on April 28th.

Then, I spoke with Toby from Appalachians Against Pipelines and Madeline Ffitch, an activist recently arrested for locking down to a drill threatening to move the Mountain Valley Pipeline through Peters Mountain at Jefferson National Forest. We talked about the recent days of solidarity, direct actions against the MVP, repression of activists and related topics.

Project Mayday Links

Appalachians Against Pipelines links

. … . ..

Featured Track:

  • We Roll (instrumental) by Pete Rock from We Roll

Continue reading Harm Reduction and Eco-defense in Appalachia →

A-Radio Network, activism, Appalachia, Environment, Forest Defense, FrequenzA, Mountain Valley Pipeline, Pipeline, repression, Transcribed, Virginia, West Virginia, zine

Ongoing Resistance to the Mountain Valley Pipeline

Ongoing Resistance to the Mountain Valley Pipeline

"TFSR 12-3-23 | Ongoing Resistance To The Mountain Valley Pipeline" featuring a photo of MVP resisters holding a banner with a Palestinian flag and the words "Free Palestine: No Pipelines, No Prisons, No Genocide"
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This week, we checked back in with folks involved in the struggle to block the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a 303 mile so-called natural gas pipeline proposed to bring fracked gas from the Marcellus and Utica shale formations across parts of West Virginia and Virginia with an extension into North Carolina.

Since a chat with activists we had in July, there have been nearly weekly actions to block the expansion of the pipeline across waterways and carsed terraine, endangering water tables and ecosystems around central Appalachia. We talk about this proposed project, the damage that’s been done and continues to be spread, the increasing belligerence of the men employed in the destruction and the ramping up legal repression facing activists and community members.

You can learn more by checking out StopMVP.org or follow the social media accounts AppalachiansAgainstPipelines or POWHR. Support of the movement can also be offered up at Appalachian Legal Support Fund. And you can find out about companies involved in the MVP here.

Check out our past interviews about the MVP here.

Sean Swain makes a special announcement at about [ 00:50:00 ]

Announcements

Vehicle for Chico Mendes Reforestation Project

From their GoFundMe:

Proyecto de Reforestación Chico Mendes (Chico Mendes Reforestation Project) is a community-run nonprofit based in the Guatemalan highland village of Pachaj. What began as three friends planting trees on the weekends in 1998 has grown into a family of over 3600 local students and more than 1000 international volunteers who have worked with the project since. With each tree planted, soil bag filled, and weed cleared, we are proving that small steps of change today are what shape the future…

…

However, Chico Mendes is facing major challenges once again. The recent 30+ days of disruptions stemming from state push-back in recognizing newly-elected President Arévalo has led to the cancellation of two major international, collaborative projects with universities, resulting in 24,000 unplanted trees. With groups unable to come to us, we need to replant all by ourselves. But with less hands available and a mountainous terrain prone to landslides that poses a significant challenge to the replanting process, we are struggling to meet our goals. This is why we are seeking to fundraise for a four-wheel-drive truck to assist the Chico Mendes team in carrying more trees through mountainous terrain to get on track with our replanting mission.

This is a labor of love. People are taking lower salaries so that everyone has some to go around and sometimes, work is done out of the goodness of one’s heart rather than payment, but we need your help. This vehicle would directly help our community sow the seeds of environmental and Indigenous justice.

Check out the GFM link above and if you can throw them some dollars, they’d appreciate it much.

. …. . ..

Featured Tracks:

  • Halcyon by Filastine from Drapetomania
  • Ghost of a Chance by Danny Dolinger from Rome Wasn’t Burnt In A Day

Continue reading Ongoing Resistance to the Mountain Valley Pipeline →

Appalachia, Environment, Forest Defense, Fracking, General, Health, Mountain Valley Pipeline, North Carolina, Pipeline, Transcribed, Virginia, West Virginia, zine

Continuing Struggle Against The Mountain Valley Pipeline

Continuing Struggle Against The Mountain Valley Pipeline

Protestors on Mountain Valley Pipeline work site disrupting, near a pile of timber with signs against the pipeline + text "TFSR - 7/9/23, Continuing Struggle Against The Mountain Valley Pipeline"
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This week, we’re sharing a conversation with Rose and Crystal, two comrades involved in the struggle against the Mountain Valley Pipeline, a 304 mile, 41 inch in diameter liquified so-called natural gas pipeline with a possible 75 mile extension crossing many delicate waterways, slopes and communities across Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina.

Past episodes with MVP resisters found here.

This project has been off and on under construction since 2018 and was recently forced through at a Federal level as part of the debt ceiling deal by the Biden administration and Democrats. For the hour we talk about the project, the land and water it threatens, the history of resistance and how to get involved in stopping this mess.

Just a headsup, there are some audio quality issues throughout the conversation with both guests, so if you have trouble hearing consider checking out the upcoming transcript or meanwhile watching on youtube with the subtitles on.

You can find more from the folks resisting the MVP by searching Appalachians Against Pipelines on various social media platforms or check the links in our show notes, where you can also find links to our various interviews with folks from this initiative from the last 5 years.

Links

Appalachains Agianst Pipelines (Facebook) (Twitter) (Instagram):

Announcements

Sean Swain Featured in YouTube Documentary Series

The channel called Political Prisoners on youtube, linked in our show notes, has begun a series of short documentaries about Sean, the first of which you can find entitled “Part One: A Visitation Dispute”. Check it out!

Disability Pride Art Show

The Disability Pride Art Show aims to celebrate the rights of disabled individuals through the power of art. This one-day event will take place on July 30 at the vibrant venue, Different Wrld, located in 801 Haywood Rd. The show embraces the core values of acceptance and inclusivity, emphasizing the inherent worth and talents of disabled individuals. Presented by DIYabled, a local nonprofit organization, and with This Body is Worthy.

Featuring a diverse lineup of 25 talented artists, writers, video artists, and dancers, the Disability Pride Art Show promises to captivate audiences with a rich variety of artistic expressions. Attendees will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in the thought-provoking documentary “Disability on the Spectrum,” created by local artist Priya Ray. The film sheds light on the experiences and perspectives of disabled individuals, fostering greater understanding and empathy within our community.

Rashid’s Continued Denial of Cancer Treatment

Check our show notes for Rashid’s message, but as noted last week, incarcerated revolutionary of the Intercommunal Black Panther Party, Kevin Rashid Johnson, is continuing to be denied his rounds of cancert treatment for prostate cancer and has been shoved in a solitary confinement cell without working lights. In the show notes and at our website you’ll also find contacts for prison officials in Virginia who need pressure applied to get Rashid the medical treatment he needs, outside of the dungeon they’ve stuck him in.

Comrades:

This is Rashid. I need all possible SUSTAINED and immediate support.
Here is a statement of my situation.

OFFICIALS DEVISE TO STOP MY CANCER TREATMENT AND BLOCK MY COURT ACCESS
(2023)

By Kevin “Rashid” Johnson

I have been going out daily since early April 2023 for radiation
treatment at the Medical College of Virginia – a total of 40 treatments – which is ongoing. On 6-29-23 upon returning to the prison from the hospital I was thrown in solitary confinement without explanation, where I remain, without any property including all my legal property.

I was put in cells without working lights, where I remain.

After constant complaints all I’m being told is I am under
investigation, but not by prison investigators. I spoke with a prison
investigator, a Lieutenant Spencer, on July 1 when she delivered me
legal mail, asking about my status and access to my legal property. She informed me, while her body camera was recording, that I am under investigation by other state prison investigators and the prison was not withholding my legal property. She said any supervisor could get my property for me which was in the property department.

Despite this everyone refuses to deliver my belongings and I have been kept in an empty cell ever since. This despite that the VDOC is under court orders to not interfere with my access to and use of my legal property and I have numerous court deadlines and a pending federal civil trial in one of my lawsuits.

On 6-30-23 officials refused to allow me to attend my cancer treatment.
My numerous written emergency complaints about this went unanswered and unprocessed.

On 7-3-23 after days in an empty cell without my things I declined to go for my treatment that one day to try and call the courts to explain and seek intervention. Officials including the warden and assistant warden refused me a legal call and are now refusing all my future cancer treatments.

The entire claim to have me under investigation is facially invalid and illegal. As any legal authority recognizes, law enforcement officials must perform investigations consistent with the search and seizure provisions of the 4th Amendment. And any “unlawful search or seizures” renders any evidence gathered therefrom illegal. Both the seizures and searches of me and my property have been unlawful from the outset. My belongings, my legal property in particular was taken and searched outside my presence, which is illegal. Prison officials may only open our legal mail and search our legal property in our presence. That is constitutional law. Here in Virginia we may only be removed from General population and put in solitary if written notice is given within 24 hours. I received no such notice.

People to contact:

CLARKE, HAROLD W(804) 887-8080 HAROLD.CLARKE@VADOC.VIRGINIA.GOV
DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS, CENTRAL ADMINISTRATION (DOC/CA, 701)

ROBINSON, DAVID N (276) 524-3685 DAVID.N.ROBINSON@VADOC.VIRGINIA.GOV
WALLENS RIDGE STATE PRISON (WRSP, 735)

CABELL, BETH E(804) 834-1327. BETH.CABELL@VADOC.VIRGINIA.GOV
CORRECTIONS – DIVISION OF INSTITUTIONS (DOC/DI, 756)

*SMITH, RUTH H(434) 767-5543. Email- RUTH.SMITH@VADOC.VIRGINIA.GOV ,
NOTTOWAY CORRECTIONAL CENTER (NCC, 745)

HERRICK, STEPHEN M
(804) 887-8118
Email~ STEVE.HERRICK@VADOC.VIRGINIA.GOV CORRECTIONS – DIVISION OF
INSTITUTIONS (DOC/DI)

. … . ..

Featured Tracks:

  • Cumberland Blues by Fiddlin’ Doc Roberts from Mountain Blues: Blues, Ballads and String Bands
  • System’s Gonna Burn by Wren & Acre (based on Woody Guthrie’s “Fascists Bound To Lose”)
  • When You Think MVP by Yellow Finch residents

Continue reading Continuing Struggle Against The Mountain Valley Pipeline →

abolition, activism, Anarchist, Appalachia, Asheville, Capitalism, community, General, Mutual Aid, Neoliberalism, Politics, Protest, repression, Transcribed, zine

Asheville Water Crisis and New Years Eve Bail Out

Asheville Water Crisis and New Years Eve Bail Out

This week on the show, we’re sharing two local conversations with community organizers providing mutual aid in Asheville, NC.

2022 NYE Noise Demo & Bailout

Collage of words "We See You We Love You" projected on Buncombe County Detention Center at 2021 NYE demo & cases of bottled water stacked next to U-Haul truck & sign saying "Free Water | Agua Gratis" plus "TFSR 1-8-23 | Asheville Water Crisis Mutual Aid + New Years Eve Bailout / Noise Demonstration"
Download This Episode

First up, we’re sharing a short interview with Beck of Pansy Collective, a queer DIY benefit booking collective responsible for Pansy Fest. Beck talks about the 2022 New Years Eve noise demonstration and bailout that Pansy helped to fundraise for (alongside the Asheville Community Bail Fund), as well as the Buncombe County Jail being reported by the Citizen Times newspaper as the deadliest jail in North Carolina as of January 2021.

Asheville Water Crisis

Then, we you’ll hear Elliot of Asheville Survival Program (Instagram or FB), M of Asheville for Justice and Moira talk about the water crisis that started on December 24th, the city’s response, how mutual aid stepped up to distribute water and more. To read statements by the 16th people facing felony littering and other charges for mutual work and solidarity here in Asheville, check out AVLSolidarity.NoBlogs.Org, or check out our transcripts or episodes from (10/31/21, 12-26-21, 5-15-22) for more words from the groups involved.

Continue reading Asheville Water Crisis and New Years Eve Bail Out →

activism, Appalachia, Asheville, Capitalism, community, Gentrification, Health, Housing, Labor, North Carolina, Politics, Protest, Transcribed, zine

Housing Struggles in Asheville

Housing Struggles in Asheville

Housing activists occupying the lobby of Downtown Asheville's AC Hotel - Photo by Elliot Patterson (permission of Asheville Free Press)
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This week on the show, you’ll hear from Doug, Onion and Papi, three folks involved in the Aston Park Build, a daily event to hold space in Aston Park in downtown Asheville, creating art, sharing food and music and a wider part of organizing here to demand safer space & redistribution of wealth to care for houseless folks and relieve the incredible strains on housing affordability in Asheville. We talk about the park actions, the housing crisis and service industry wage woes, local government coddling of business owners and police repression of folks on the margins.

Related links:

Supporting Social Media Accounts:

Continue reading Housing Struggles in Asheville →