Eastern Standard: November 6th, 2025

“Eschatology” is the part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul, and of humankind. And it’s at the heart of “The Gospel Beyond the Grave: Toward a Black Theology of Hope”, the new book from Dr. Lewis Brogdon, Executive Director of the Institute for Black Church Studies at Kentucky Theological Seminary in Louisville. The book raises some important, very penetrating, provocative questions. Lewis Brogdon is Gerald Smith’s guest for this latest in his Eastern Standard series on racial justice and equality.

In her book “We Were Promised,” Julia Flint documents what can happen when a corporation unilaterally cancels a negotiated agreement with its workforce. The setting is the Ohio River factory town of Ravenswood, home to about 38-hundred West Virginians.

Affordable housing, quality childcare, and disaster preparation. Those are priorities at the top of the Mountain Association’s new five-year strategic plan. Robin Gabbard leads the organization and she joins us to talk about what’s on this roadmap.