The detection and the treatment of prostate cancer are discussed in this edition of "Vital Voices," with Vanderbilt University urologist Dr. Kristen Scarpato.

A project is underway to document the history of mills that once operated in Washington County, Tennessee. Our guest is Cheryl Bennett, who is heading up the research from her home in the community of Broylesville.

We visit the workshop of Curtis Buchanan in Jonesborough, Tennessee, to learn about the making of Windsor chairs, an art passed down from the 18th century.

We discuss the subject of living in exile with Alex Fraga, owner of Hemingway’s Cuba in Asheville, North Carolina. Alex’s late father, Tony, and his family were forced to leave Cuba in 1960 because of the oppressive regime of dictator Fidel Castro. Hemingway’s Cuba is a symbol of the family’s resurgence and recovery.

It's holiday baking season. In this edition of "Vital Voices," we learn all about the dried apple stack cake, a decades-old dessert popular in the Appalachian region.

We find out more about the life and times of the late Chet Atkins, with music historian Don Cusic, author of a new biography of the famous guitarist.

We look back on the life of perhaps the most influential guitarist of the 20th century, the late Chet Atkins, originally from Luttrell, Tennessee. Our guest is Atkins biographer Don Cusic.

With the holidays coming up, we look at traditional American cooking, as it was practiced in the 18th century. Our guest is North Carolina author Mary Bohlen, an authority on campfire cooking.

We look at the issue of emergency preparedness, particularly as it relates to Hurricane Helene and the devastation it caused in Western North Carolina. Our guest is reporter Laura Sullivan.

We delve into a new compilation of essays entitled Appalachian Epidemics: From Smallpox to COVID-19, with the book's co-editor, Dr. Chris White, from Marshall University.

Pumpkin folklore, pumpkin agriculture, and pumpkin symbolism are discussed by Dr. Cindy Ott, Associate Professor of History at the University of Delaware.

Join us for part two of our interview with Dr. Guy Consolmagno, S.J., Director of the Vatican Observatory in Rome.

A rebroadcast of our interview with Guy Consolmagno, Director of the Vatican Observatory in Rome.

We travel to Hiltons Memorial United Methodist Church in Scott County, Virginia, to witness the fall ritual of making apple butter, with members of the congregation.

Kentucky State University in Frankfort is the only full-time pawpaw research program in the world. We talk with Dr. Kirk Pomper, Professor of Horticulture, about the largest edible fruit native to North America.

The late B.B. King would have turned 100 on September 16, 2025. This program features excerpts from “Vital Voices” host Fred Sauceman’s 2002 visit with King in Indianola, Mississippi, where King played gospel and blues music on streetcorners as a young man.

We revisit our interview with Mary Louise Kelly, co-host of NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Her book It. Goes. So. Fast.: The Year of No Do-Overs is now out in paperback.

We visit a home kitchen in Southwest Virginia to learn about the late summer ritual of making the garden-clearing relish known as chow-chow. Kay Wade and her family have been using the same chow-chow recipe since 1952.

In an interview from 2003 that has never been aired before, the late Frederick “Pal” Barger, founder of the regional restaurant chain Pal’s Sudden Service, talks about his business philosophy. With stores throughout East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia, Pal’s became the first restaurant company in America to win the prestigious Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. Pal Barger died in October of 2020. August 23, 2025, would have been his 95th birthday.

We visit the tiny community of Broylesville, in Washington County, Tennessee, to talk with Cheryl Bennett. She and her husband Dwight own and live in the old Broylesville Mill, and they are documenting the history of mills throughout the region.