Appalachia is a region with a rich and complicated political history that is often ignored, misunderstood, or misrepresented in other parts of the country. In a special “Marc Steiner Show” first, Marc and TRNN audio engineer Stephen Frank take listeners on a narrative journey through the politics and economics of Appalachia today. Guests in this segment include Marie Gunoe, director of the Mother Jones Community Foundation and longtime environmental activist and community organizer in West Virginia fighting to protect communities and the environment from the harmful effects of mountaintop removal mining; Chuck Nelson, a retired fourth-generation coal miner, member of the United Mine Workers of America, and board adviser and volunteer at the Mother Jones Community Foundation; and Hy Thurman, author of Revolutionary Hillbilly and one of the founding members of the Young Patriots and the first Rainbow Coalition.


Then, in our second segment, Marc talks with Erica Payne, president and founder of the group Patriotic Millionaires, and Morris Pearl, chair of Patriotic Millionaires, about their new book, "Tax the Rich!: How Lies, Loopholes, and Lobbyists Make the Rich Even Richer," and about the many subtle and not-so-subtle ways the U.S. tax code is a racket designed to benefit the rich.


Tune in for new episodes of The Marc Steiner Show every Tuesday on TRNN.

Production/Postproduction: Stephen Frank