The 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence arrives at a moment when Americans are arguing not just about politics—but about our nation’s history. As President Donald Trump calls for the removal of what he labels “divisive” history from public institutions, a new documentary from Ken Burns revisits the American Revolution with all of its complexity, contradiction, and competing visions of freedom. In this episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay brings together professors and students at Marshall University in Huntington, West Virginia along with community members for a public conversation. There’s talk about what the revolution meant then, who it was for, and what it means now—at a time when questions about executive power, citizenship, and belonging feel anything but settled.

For some Americans home ownership is a way to build wealth for future generations. But West Virginia presents the complexities and nuances of that reality. The Mountain State has the nation’s highest homeownership rate but the second lowest personal income rate. And much of the state’s housing is old and needs repair. In one West Virginia county, 67 percent of the homes are more than 80 years old and half rate below normal on standard quality measures. By several measures there are 500,000 people living in such conditions. In this encore Us & Them — which was recently honored by the Virginias Associated Press Broadcasters for Best Podcast — we travel just across the state line to Western Virginia to experience a side of the housing crisis we don't often see — structures in disrepair that people call home.

There are more challenges now for people who live at the intersection of addiction, homelessness and the criminal justice system. New laws in about a dozen states echo aspects of the 2024 Safer Kentucky Act, which enhances penalties for violent crimes, drug crimes, shoplifting and carjacking, and bans public camping. On this encore episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay returns to Kentucky to check on the consequences of the new tough-on-crime law. In cities, the demand for long term and transitional housing remains acute, while in small town Appalachia the access to any social safety net can be far, far away.