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Richard Beard is a man with too many interests and not enough time to satisfy all of them. Musician, teacher, novelist, historian, and luthier, Richard’s interests range from historical Southern architecture to theoretical astronomy. Having grown up outside of Los Angeles and New York City, Richard returned to the land of his family in Western North Carolina, where his ancestors fought at the Battle of Kings Mountain and generally raised havoc for many generations. Along the way he picked up a degree in Literature, married his college sweetheart, and has spent decades restoring an 1886 Victorian home in downtown Rutherfordton, all the while teaching scores of young people the intricacies of fine woodworking in hopes of improving the world.

Originally from Lancaster Co. PA, Tom Fellenbaum came to North Carolina in 1971 to attend school at Warren Wilson College. Under the guidance of David Holt, at the time the director of the Appalachian Studies Program, he was introduced to the traditional music of this area, and learned to play the mountain dulcimer and clawhammer banjo. He also developed an interest in fretted instrument construction and completed independent studies of the subject while at WWC. That interest turned into a full-time occupation when he graduated, with the opening, in 1979, of his first shop in Black Mountain.

blues@wncw.org

NPR commentator Bonny Wolf grew up in Minnesota and has worked as a reporter and editor at newspapers in New Jersey and Texas. She taught journalism at Texas A&M University where she encouraged her student, Lyle Lovett, to give up music and get a real job. Wolf gives better advice about cooking and eating, and contributes her monthly food essay to NPR's award-winning Weekend Edition Sunday. She is also a contributing editor to "Kitchen Window," NPR's Web-only, weekly food column.

Doualy Xaykaothao is a newscaster and reporter for NPR, based in Culver City. She returned to NPR for this role in 2018, and is responsible for writing, producing, and delivering national newscasts. She also reports on breaking news stories for NPR.

Alex Blumberg is a contributing editor for NPR's Planet Money. He is also a producer for the public radio program This American Life, and an adjunct professor of journalism at Columbia University. He has done radio documentaries on the U.S. Navy, people who do impersonations of their mothers and teenage Steve Forbes supporters. He won first place at the 2002 Third Coast International Audio Festival for his story "Yes, There is a Baby." His story on clinical medical ethicists won the 1999 Public Radio News Directors Incorporated (PRNDI) award for best radio documentary.

Laura Ziegler began her career at KCUR as a reporter more than 20 years ago. She became the news director in the mid 1980's and in 1988, went to National Public Radio in Washington, D.C. as a producer for Weekend Edition Saturday with Scott Simon.