Ramp Hollow (Bookclub #4)

This is the fourth installment of the Fruitless Bookclub, a show-within-a-show, featuring Chris Barker and Jake the Lawyer, where we read all those nonfiction books we've been meaning to read. Today's episode is about Ramp Hollow: The Ordeal of Appalachia by Steven Stoll. We talk peasants. We talk agrarians. We talk about peasants and agrarians getting destroyed by industry. We take a closer look at rural class dynamics and the history of the Appalachians. This is probably the longest episode of Fruitless yet. Sorry.

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Other references

• Eric Waggoner, "I'm From West Virginia and I've Got Something to Say About the Chemical Spill," https://www.huffpost.com/entry/west-virginia-chemical-spill_b_4598140.
• Here's a massive google doc with my notes for the episode if you want more, https://docs.google.com/document/d/17JJPM3aChJqhLIQ7rJ0HTtIRjFIFJ5Ric9OcZHEBxv0.
• Squatters' rights battle in Florida, https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2024/03/28/squatter-rights-laws-florida-bill/73128455007.
• Black Reconstruction in America, by W. E. B. Du Bois
• The Color of Law, by Richard Rothstein
• Gasland (2010), directed by Josh Fox

Music & Audio credits

• Yesterday – bloom.
• Sixteen Tons - Tennessee Ernie Ford

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What is Fruitless?

A show about history, politics, faith, media, and the internet hosted by Josiah Sutton. Aiming for at least two free episodes per month. Artwork by Kipp Paulsen. More content can be found on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/user?u=11922141