The second episode of season four takes Save Our Towns to Boone, North Carolina, where town leaders made national headlines after resolving to end the use of fossil fuels by 2050. We also hear about a class on sustainability taught jointly by Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia in Europe.
Our visit to Pennington Gap reveals the town’s strategy to boost the local economy by attracting ATV enthusiasts, and in “Maxwell’s Number,” we examine the impact of the Appalachian Regional Commission, an agency that finds itself on the chopping block despite decades of boosting economic development in the region.
Four authors tell us what the media get wrong about Appalachia, and our expert tip comes from Billy Schumann, the director of Appalachian State University’s Center for Appalachian Studies, who highlights three trends that can boost economic prosperity in small towns.