Shows
End of the LineThe Means of Production - Episode 7If you're wondering how WRIR has changed Richmond in the last 20 years, look no further than the legacy of their local news and talk programming. In this almost final episode of the series, we're taking a look at WRIR's impact on Richmond through the example of one of its longest running local - and live - talk shows, The Defenders Live, with host Ana Edwards. For over 20 years, Ana has made Richmond's unique history visible and known. Not only did WRIR help make that possible, but it also paved the way for other community victories in Richmond.
Also airing on...
2025-10-0827 min
End of the LineThe Means of Production - Episode 6After 20 years on the air, it's easy to forget that WRIR's existence wasn't always a matter of course. Were it not for a serendipitous mix of people and circumstances, WRIR likely wouldn't exist at all. With just three months left on their FCC deadline, their biggest make or break hurdles were still in front of them. And future DJ Dustin Richardson was eagerly waiting to put his energy and kitchen sensibility to use.
Also airing on WRIR-LP 97.3 FM every First Friday at 9am right after Democracy Now! Stream every First Friday at wrir.org
Original air date: September 5, 2025
2025-09-0528 min
End of the LineThe Means of Production - Episode 5Like any project that takes the cooperation of many hands, building a community radio station is really, really hard work. WRIR was not the only LPFM station getting started in the 2000s that ran into road bumps along the way. With 18 months to get on the air, Radio Free Richmond was a "work in progress" almost until their FCC deadline. In this episode, we meet the space that would one day become WRIR - 1621 W. Broad Street, and some of the first challenges that volunteers faced there.
Original air date: August 1, 2025
Also airing on WRIR-LP 97.3 FM every First Friday at 9...
2025-07-3128 min
End of the LineThe Means of Production - Episode 4Do we know how Richmond's independent community radio station really came to exist? From a country station out of Hampton Roads to George W. Bush, to the many people drawn to the Radio Free Richmond project, we're continuing to break down the strange alchemy of factors contributing to WRIR's existence, and how close they came to never making it to the air.
Original air date: July 4, 2025
Also airing on WRIR-LP 97.3 FM every First Friday at 9am right after Democracy Now! Stream every First Friday at wrir.org
2025-07-3128 min
End of the LineThe Means of Production - Episode 3In this episode, we learn how FCC Chairman William Kennard was convinced by the radio pirates to open up the FM airwaves for communities to start their own low power radio stations, and why the major broadcasters were so opposed to the concept of low power community radio.
Original air date: May 2, 2025
Also airing on WRIR-LP 97.3 FM every First Friday at 9am right after Democracy Now! Stream every First Friday at wrir.org
2025-05-0428 min
End of the LineThe Means of Production - Episode 2In Episode 2, we travel back to the Richmond of the 80s and 90s, a time of experimentation and pushing the boundaries in local art, music, and independent radio. We hear from radio pirates in Richmond and beyond who were bucking the FCC’s corporate controlled media and how their actions inspired a growing movement to put the public back into “public airwaves.” We also learn more about what inspired WRIR co-founder Christopher Maxwell’s personal radio journey, from his days in “bargain basement AM radio” to his first attempts to start his own community radio station.
Original air date: April 4, 2025
Also airing...
2025-04-1028 min
End of the LineThe Means of Production - Episode 1Welcome to Richmond, Virginia’s “radio wasteland” - a dark time for music lovers and talk radio aficionados alike. It was a time of “tinned and programmed” playlists, a desert of “homogenous sound” on airwaves across the country. In this bleak desert, a band of media activists came together to create a radio oasis, a community radio station “for the rest of us” that would eventually become WRIR-LP 97.3 FM. This is the first episode in a limited series celebrating WRIR’s 20th anniversary year by revisiting the history of how WRIR was born.
Original air date: March 7, 2025
Also airing on WRIR-LP 97.3 FM ever...
2025-04-1029 min
Connecting with Careers PodcastBonus: Thank YouThis is our 10th episode! Thank you for tuning in each week to listen to the career stories we share. In this episode, we'll give you a sneak peek for what to expect in November. If you would like to become a monthly supporter of the show, visit https://anchor.fm/pipelinepodcast/support.
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New episodes every Wednesday at 6 PM EST!
2020-10-3103 min
Race CapitolThe Work Of Black Femme Organizers In Virginia 2020Listeners are invited to be a fly on the wall as myself and two Black femme VA organizers talk candidly (cuz they didn’t know i was recording😂) with me. Thank you to Richmond For All co-founder Jasmine Leeward and Director of Brown Virginia Jewel Jordan for your work and for giving me permission to air our private conversation.After a year of 1619 promises for reconciliation from the top officials in Virginia, the work of these racial justice champions has not let up.In 2020, on Martin Luther King day, the Northam administration chose to protect white militia organizing rather than groups run by...
2020-02-2657 min
End of the LineEpisode 28 - FinaleWrapping up our regular installments of End of the Line, we will return for quarterly longer-format episodes in the future. For now, we speak to some familiar voices about where the pipeline struggles stand right now, and what lies ahead. Original air date: 07/05/19
2019-07-0627 min
End of the LineEpisode 27: UncertaintyIn this episode, pipeline opponents talk about "hope", how to see uncertainty in an emergent way, and what it takes to keep fighting giants. Original air date: 4/5/19
2019-04-0620 min
End of the LineEpisode 26: Reverend BarberHear Reverend William Barber's full speech at the Moral Call for Ecological Justice in Buckingham County, VA. Original air date: 3/15/19
2019-04-0627 min
End of the LineEpisode 25: Moral CallReverend William Barber of the Poor People's Campaign of North Carolina, and former Vice President Al Gore, recently visited the community of Union Hill in Buckingham County, VA for the Moral Call for Ecological Justice. Original air date: 3/1/19
2019-04-0627 min
End of the LineEPISODE 24: HarvestNeal and Beth take us on a walk through the woods, teaching us about medicinal plants in Appalachia, and how their recent experience with Mountain Valley Pipeline has changed their approach to fighting back.
2018-10-2027 min
End of the LineEPISODE 23 - EllistonWith the new tree sits in Elliston, VA, the Mountain Valley Pipeline blockades have now seen every season, shape and shade of Appalachia. Original air date: 10/5/18
2018-10-0527 min
End of the LineEPISODE 22: StopEnvironmental lawyers explain all of the recent developments around stop work orders for the Mountain Valley Pipeline ahead of the next State Water Control Board meeting. Original air date: 08/17/18
2018-08-1727 min
The Final Straw RadioStudent/Community Organizing and Fighting Hopelessness with NoNEXUS OberlinThis week we had the opportunity to interview Isabel and Christopher, who are active in differing ways in the No NEXUS Oberlin campaign, one in a long series of anti pipeline pushes in Oberlin Ohio. This campaign is based in part around the college which exists there, but is also in strong coalition with non college attending community members in the area who have been battling the extraction industry for years, from fighting pipelines to injection wells to fracking in this area. We talk about what it's like to organize as the part of a student body...
2018-08-0559 min
End of the LineEPISODE 21: MemoryIn the final episode of "Season 2", pipeline fighters talk teacher strikes, remembering histories of resistance, and what winning really looks like. Original air date: 08/03/18
2018-08-0327 min
2018-07-2027 min
End of the LineEPISODE 19: MudPipeline fighters are keeping their promise to watch Mountain Valley Pipeline's every move, catching almost daily construction failures that are damaging their creeks and streams, and doing the job that Virginia DEQ is either unable - or unwilling - to do. Original air date: 7/6/18
2018-07-0627 min
End of the LineEPISODE 18: HellbenderIn this episode we hear folks at the "Hellbender Autonomous Zone" talk about the problems around private property and notions of ownership, and how we use collective resistance to fight not just pipelines but the systems that allow for exploitation and extraction that have been allowed to destroy communities in the North America for hundreds of years. Original air date: 6/1/18
2018-06-0127 min
End of the LineEPISODE 17: Still Here"Nutty" has been living at the top of a 50 foot pole on the forest service road in Giles County for over 6 weeks. The forest service continues to impose order by drawing lines and then re-drawing them, and arresting anyone who crosses the line. Original air date: 5/4/18
2018-05-0427 min
The Final Straw RadioMay Day Every Day, and Breaking the Pattern of SiegesFor this May Day episode William had the chance to speak with Nutty, who has been holding down a monopod blockade which is blocking the construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline in the renamed Hellbender Autonomous Zone. She has been without the ability to reup her food and water supplies for over 21 days due to cop and forest ranger interference. We get to speak about the monopod and her experiences participating in this struggle, as well as her views on resisting the MVP, some ideas on the future of this struggle, some actionable items, and direct asks for support.
2018-04-291h 19
End of the LineEPISODE 16: ReflectionAs more eyes turn to pipeline resistance in Virginia, how does that resistance take root, and in what ways can community subvert the structures of power? Original air date: 4/20/18
2018-04-2020 min
End of the LineEPISODE 15: Two More TreesTreesitters on top of Peters Mountain Stand have wondered if their action might be a spark to inspire pipeline fighters. Now others have answered their call, taking to the trees in the wetlands of Bent Mountain.
Original air date: 4/6/18
2018-04-0627 min
End of the LineEPISODE 14: Two TreesThrough wind storms, snow storms, two court hearings, and a temporary restraining order, the support for the treesitters at Peters Mountain Stand has only grown. Have they sparked something beyond just protecting these two trees?
Original air date: 3/30/18
2018-03-3127 min
End of the LineEPISODE 13: Bent MountainA special episode of storytelling and memory sharing from residents of Bent Mountain. Original air date: 3/2/18
2018-03-0227 min
End of the LineEPISODE 12: IrreparableIn this first episode of 2018, the pipeline fight is entering a new phase. Tree cutting begins in Buckingham County, and MVP takes 300 landowners to court. Original air date: 2/16/18
2018-02-1627 min
End of the LineEPISODE 11: VoiceInside the State Water Control Board meetings for the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines, where many opponents thought a vote in favor of water certification was a foregone conclusion for both projects, a chorus of voices makes space for courage and power.
Original air date: 12/15/17
2017-12-1527 min
End of the LineState Water Control Board - Report BackAfter two days of meetings, including hours of testimony from residents, soil scientists, hydrologists, engineers, and former employees of the DEQ itself, it's with extreme sadness that we must report on the passage of 401 certification for the Mountain Valley Pipeline.
The people we've met over the last three years are strong. They are not going anywhere, and neither are we.
2017-12-0804 min
End of the LineEPISODE 10: WatershedThe State Water Control Board will vote on water certification for the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines during the week of December 6-12, 2017. In this episode, we visit Bottom Creek, one of the few Tier 3 streams in Virginia which would be crossed by the MVP. Additionally, we look at whether the DEQ's process has really been "scientific and transparent" for the public. Original Air Date: 12/01/17
2017-12-0127 min
End of the LineEPISODE 9: TribunalIn Episode 9, we look at injustices both past and present in excerpts from testimonials given at the People’s Tribunal on Human Rights and Environmental Justice, including the health and safety impacts of living near a compressor station. Original Air Date: 11/17/17
2017-11-1727 min
End of the LineEPISODE 8: ElectionIn episode 8, we take a look at the impact that the pipelines have had on state elections in 2017, and how the political conversation has changed over the last three years. Original Air Date: 11/3/17
2017-11-0327 min
End of the LineEPISODE 7: NecessityA week prior to the airing of this episode, FERC grants "Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity" for both the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines. What does this mean for pipeline fighters, and more importantly, are these pipeline projects really needed in order to meet energy demand for the Mid-Atlantic? In this episode, we get a lesson in the history of energy demand in the United States, plus a look at what is really driving energy holding companies to get into the pipeline building business.
Original Air Date: 10/20/17
2017-10-1927 min
End of the LineEPISODE 6: Water pt.3In this episode, we hear excerpts from two different presentations of comments to the Virgnia State Water Control Board and DEQ on issues of water impacts from the Mountain Valley and Atlantic Coast Pipelines.
Original Air Date: 9/29/17
2017-10-1927 min
End of the LineEPISODE 5: Water pt. 2Episode 5 sheds light on the unheard voices of residents, buried by bureaucracy in the process of permitting water crossings by the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley Pipeline. Original Air Date: 9/15/17
2017-09-1627 min
End of the LineEPISODE 4: WaterIn Episode 4, we hear from familiar voices and some new ones, on an issue that has been at the forefront of most minds in the last year: water. Original Air Date: 9/1/17
2017-08-3127 min
End of the LineEPISODE 3: HeartOriginal Air Date: 8/18/17
What is the human cost of the heart of a pipeline?
In Union Hill neighborhood of Buckingham county, a plot of land is proposed as the site of a compressor station for the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Compressor stations are the heart of the pipeline, pressurizing gas to be pumped across hundreds of miles. A compressor station is the lynchpin of a pipeline, as well as the most dangerous piece of infrastructure. Union Hill neighborhood, where the station is proposed to be built, is a predominantly African-American neighborhood founded by slaves freed after the Civil War. How does...
2017-08-1827 min
End of the LineEp. 2 EXTRA: Eminent DomainWhen can surveyors legally enter your property without permission? Learn about Virginia's "right to trespass law", eminent domain, and how it affects the pipeline development. Original Air Date: 8/4/17
2017-07-1707 min
End of the LineEnd of the Line PROMOWe're premiering on Richmond's local independent radio, WRIR 97.3 on Friday July 21 @ 11:00am!
2017-07-1600 min
End of the LineEPISODE 2: HomeIn Episode 2, we hear stories from Bent Mountain residents resisting surveyor trespass against the Mountain Valley Pipeline. And from Nelson County, neighbors uniting in the face of controversial routes over the Atlantic Coast Pipeline. Original Air Date: 8/4/17
Music by Restroy and Lobo Marino.
2017-06-2927 min
End of the LineTEASER: Surveyor TrespassUp next in Episode 2:
Hear stories from Bent Mountain residents resisting surveyor trespass against the Mountain Valley Pipeline. and from Nelson County neighbors uniting in the face of controversial routes over the Atlantic Coast Pipeline.
2017-06-2800 min
End of the LineEPISODE 1: Done Deal?*UPDATE: At the time of the original airing of this episode, FERC had not yet granted final permits for the pipelines. As of Oct 13, 2017, both MVP and ACP have been granted federal permits by FERC.
In the pilot episode, we present the question that landowners along the routes of the Atlantic Coast Pipeline and Mountain Valley Pipeline have been facing every day for nearly three years: are these pipelines really a "done deal?" How are residents fighting against them? Can they win? We trace the beginning of the current pipeline struggles to central and southwestern Virginia, uncovering connections between the...
2017-05-0628 min
End of the Line"End of the Line" Pilot TeaserTwo-minute teaser for the pilot episode of "End of the Line" - an ongoing podcast about the pipeline struggles in Virginia and the mid-Atlantic.
2017-04-2202 min