In fall 2025, the U.S. began bombing boats from Venezuela and other countries, killing 130 people and claiming that they were narco terrorists and a threat to U.S. national security, which justified military action. On Jan. 3, 2026, the United States invaded Venezuela, arrested and imprisoned its president, and now says that the U.S. is now in charge of the oil industry in Venezuela.

What is the reaction of the Venezuelan people? Dr. Oleski Miranda Navarro, Chair of Hispanic Studies at Emory & Henry University, grew up in Venezuela and is now a dual citizen of both Venezuela and the United States and continues research in Latin America. Navarro was in Venezuela just a few weeks before the capture of the country's president and shares varying viewpoints of Venezuelans about these actions. He talks about his upbringing in the oil fields and the international significance of oil in this new relationship with the U.S.

After a number of campuses in the national Job Corps program were told they were being shut down by the Labor Dept and the results of Elon Musk's DOGE investigation, supporters filed injunctions and court cases have dragged on from summer 2025 until Congress stepped in. Legislators superseded temporary injunctions that were keeping Job Corps programs running and funded the program through June 2027.

Marion, Virginia's campus Admission Manager Heather Goodpasture ignored warnings not to talk about the issues, but she did. Along with other defenders, they made the case for the value of the program.

In this episode, Goodpasture reviews the complicated and devastating steps in reviving the program for now and also describes basic needs for bringing the program back to its full measure from before the shut down.

Tom Chapman is the Project Director for Washington County Virginia's RECOVERY COURT, previously known as DRUG COURT.

This program provides an alternative to jail when an addict is facing charges and gets approval to enter the program. In this interview, Chapman explains how the program can save money for taxpayers with the hope of the addict's success in getting clean, making the community stronger and safer, saving taxpayer dollars, and putting families back together.

This week, Teresa Keller and This Conversation present Part II of a new series on Drug Addiction

Recovering addict Jessica talks about the first steps toward her drug addiction as a young child in her home in Abingdon, Virginia. In an intense and gripping story, Jessica details her decline into the world of drugs until she hit rock bottom. Now she can talk about her road to recovery.

This Conversation. Wednesday at 6 and Sunday at 2:00 -- and available on the podcast site by searching "WEHC This Conversation."

Meet Bo. He's a recovering drug addict who has seen it all: things you can imagine and things you wouldn't have thought of.

He started young...with alcohol. After that addiction kicked in, he found his way to cocaine, meth, jail repeated attempts in rehab, and prison. Finally, his rehab stuck and he has been clean for one year. What are the tools he believes will keep him straight?

This interview kicks off a three-part series to be followed by a conversation with a woman who lived in a world of drug addiction before she became clean. Finally, we will talk with a representative of the Washington County, Virginia Recovery Court, formerly known as Drug Court where people facing pending felony drug charges can avoid jail buy successfully completing the Recovery Program.

What can we learn from this story of those among us who are living in an unreal world of drug addiction?

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia. Stay tuned, connected, informed and entertained. This is listener supported radio. www.wehcfm.com

Jerry Hill is organizing events to celebrate Martin Luther King in Abingdon, Virginia.

He puts the week's events in the context of his history, from segregation through today's chaos.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia. Stay tuned, connected, informed and entertained. This is listener supported radio. www.wehcfm.com

We recorded this interview at the beginning of basketball season 2025.

Do you ever notice the referees in big-time basketball games?

Do you ever wonder about their lives...their families...the constant travel... and what it's like to be jeered and taunted by unhappy fans? Find out in this interview with Division I basketball referee Justin Porterfield. And... by the way... he's a 2000 Emory & Henry graduate with a degree in Mass Communications.

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WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia. Stay tuned, connected, informed and entertained. This is listener supported radio. www.wehcfm.com

Odeliya Matter grew up within yards of her Palestinian neighbors. She didn't ever meet any of them, but she learned about the Palestinians in school, at home, and in the community. She was told that they were dangerous and they wanted to kill Jews.

Then Odelyia met a Palestinian man while doing volunteer work with refugees in Lesbos, Greece. She found great commonality with his story and the story of her relatives who had to flee the persecution of Jews.

In this episode of This Conversation, you'll hear what came next for Odelyia and the emotional toll it has taken. You'll also hear the reasons Odelyia says she's optimistic in her role as a peace activist. She holds additional titles such as lobbyist, Program Associate for Middle East Policy, and Friends Committee on National Legislation.

Mentioned in this episode:

WEHC 90.7 FM is the Voice of Southwest Virginia. Stay tuned, connected, informed and entertained. This is listener supported radio. www.wehcfm.com