Power and Powerlessness

We know what most people think: Appalachia is Trump country. Coal country voters don't care about climate change. But a look at the numbers might make you think twice. We talk with folks at the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication about surprising attitudes about clean energy in coal country, and we explore the root causes of the low voter turnout in much of Appalachia. Also, in an extended interview from our book, “Appalachian Fall,” we hear from scholar John Gaventa about his groundbreaking study on power and powerlessness in an Appalachian coal mining community — and where we got the phrase “AppalachAmerica.”