Laura Flanders and Friends: Solutions-Focused Progressive Perspectives on Politics, News, and Culture

Hurricane Helene 1 Year After, Survival Stories: Ayotunde Dixson, Tai Little [Audio Exclusive]

Sep 26, 2025

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Synopsis: As displacement pressures mount in the mountains 1 year after Hurricane Helene devastated western North Carolina, residents face gentrification head-on. Hear from local voices on the frontlines of a growing crisis in our exclusive conversation.

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Description: In this bonus conversation recorded live at radio station WPVM in Asheville, North Carolina, Laura speaks with two community organizers who were on the ground in Western North Carolina in the wake of Hurricane Helene. On the one-year anniversary of that deadly storm, they reflect on what it meant to face such an unprecedented disaster in the mountains — a place few imagined a hurricane could strike. From mutual aid networks to lessons in resilience, race, and class, they share how neighbors became first responders when government failed, and why mutual aid isn’t just a slogan but a lifeline. And what pressure are residents facing now, to combat gentrification in the wake of displacement? Released alongside our full, investigative report, Alone & Under Water: Learning from Hurricane Helene, this live conversation brings local voices and learned wisdom too listeners everywhere.

Guests:

• Ayotunde Dixson, Racial Justice Coalition (RJC)

• Tai Little, SEAC Village

Watch the special report on YouTube; PBS World Channel September 28th, and on over 300 public stations across the country (check your listings, or search here via zipcode). Listen: Episode airing on community radio October 1st (check here to see if your station is airing the show) & available as a podcast.

Full Episode Notes are located HERE.

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Music Credit: Original sound design by Jeannie Hopper

Special thanks:

Davyne Dial, General Manager: WPVM FM 103.7 - Community Radio for Asheville

Mab Segrest

Blueprint NC

Additional crew: DL Anderson, Jon Laww

RESOURCES:

Related Laura Flanders Show Episodes:

• Community Action After Hurricane Helene: BIPOC Media Answers the Call: Watch / Listen: Episode and Full Uncut Conversation

• Power Grids Under Attack: The Threat is Domestic Terrorism – Not Drag Artists: Watch / Listen: Episode

• Collective Real Estate: Land Without Landlords?: Watch / Listen: Episode

• A Co-op Story: People's Construction in Rockaway: Watch / Listen: Episode

Related Articles and Resources:

• Hurricane in the Mountains: What we can learn from Western North Carolina, A Blueprint NC Special Report, by May Segrest with Sofia Trovato, May 2025

• North Carolina government calculates Hurricane Helene damages, needs at least $53B, October 24, 2024, The AP

• We Are The Relief: How Queer Appalachian Mutual Aid Showed Up After Helene, by Basil Vaughn Soper, October 22, 2024, Them.us

• When the Hurricane-Relief Worker Turns Out To Be a Neo-Nazi, by Tawnell D. Hobbs, Jennifer Levitz and Joe Barrett, October 10, 2024, The Wall Street Journal

• Hurricane Helene brews up storm of online falsehoods and threats, October 8, 2024, Institute for Strategic Dialogue

• Extremists Co-Opt Hurricane Response to Blame Israel, Incite a Storm of Hateful Narratives, October 11, 2024, by Center on Extremism, ADL

CHAPTERS:

Unpacking Hurricane Helene's Impact and Community Response