Rural Narratives
Rural Narratives is a podcast about public health, power, and storytelling in North Carolina’s rural communities.
In this series, we explore how trust is built, how narratives take shape, and how communities shape the systems meant to serve them.
Through conversations with organizers, strategists, cultural leaders, and public health thinkers, Rural Narratives examines who gets to define rural communities — and what it means to reclaim those stories from the inside out.
Rural Narratives
Latest Episodes
Bridging the Digital Divide in Rural North Carolina | Through The Trees
What does it take to participate fully in community life when so much of it happens online?In rural western North Carolina, digital access can shape whether someone can apply for a job, attend school, reach health and public services, st...
Public Health Is Human Health: A Story from Columbus County, NC
In Columbus County in rural North Carolina, the COVID-19 pandemic changed how Lisa Richey thought about public health.Lisa came to Columbus County as a banker nearly 40 years ago and made Lake Waccamaw her home. During the pandemic, she ...
Stories from Hertford County: What We Carry With Us
Vicki Wiggins worries about what happens when young people grow up surrounded by violence and become “unfortunately unfazed” by it.In Hertford County, Mayors Weyling White and Yahmale Vaughan and public health leader Amy Underhill each c...
Stories from Hertford County: How Public Health Shows Up Every Day
How do we build strong public health systems?In rural Hertford County, North Carolina, the answer begins with people.These stories emerged from community story circles, where neighbors gathered to share their experiences an...
Beyond the Rankings: Stories from Columbus County
What does health look like in a rural community?In Columbus County, North Carolina, it looks like a long drive to specialized medical care. It looks like a neighbor sleeping outside in freezing weather. It looks like local leaders build...
