‘Art is a necessity for the fabric of society’
Rappahannock Radio founder is trying to sustain and grow her local podcast
“Rappahannock is very special. My story is also the story of Rapp Radio. It’s me coming back to my roots and turning that mirror around — let’s see how cool and interesting my roots are.”
— KIAYA ABERNATHY
RB J S
Rappahannock News staff appahannock native Kiaya Abernathy was inspired to relaunch her local podcast network Rappahannock Radio in 2019 a er her father died, saying she realized the importance of documenting people’s stories and history.
Abernathy and her father played music together, and she interviewed her father prior to his death for an episode of the show that highlights interesting people in the community. She said she now has that piece of his history, and interviewing him made Abernathy listen to her father’s story in a different perspective.
“Rappahannock is very special,” Abernathy said. “My story is also the story of Rapp Radio. It’s me coming back to my roots and turning that mirror around — lets see how cool and interesting my roots are.”
Abernathy started Rappahannock Radio in 2018 and originally wanted it to be a terrestrial radio station with multiple shows, not just her interviewing people. She said she didn’t get a lot of traction from that idea, and after taking a break from the project, she relaunched it in 2019 as a podcast platform that can be accessed online at rappahannockradio.com.
Being a musician, Abernathy’s early interviews on Rappahannock Radio featured local artists. Showcasing local musicians is still a priority for Abernathy, but she’s branched out to include local business owners, long- time Rappahannock residents and artists in surrounding areas.
Now, most podcasts need to be accessed with a subscription of $15 for 12 months. Abernathy said she has about 20 subscribers, and because of grants from the Rappahannock Association for Arts and Community (RAAC), she’s able to maintain Rappahannock Radio as her full- time job.
In 2021, Abernathy left her job at the Rappahannock County Commissioner of Revenue’s office, saying it wasn’t fulfilling her creatively and she wanted to spend more time with her family. She said the only way she could feasibly make Rappahannock Radio a sustainable platform was to implement a paywall.
“There’s value in what I'm doing,” Abernathy said. “What I do takes a lot of time and energy, and I'm working on branching it out and making it a larger forum.”
Abernathy said while she’s seen support for her decision to implement a subscription, she said
she breaks even every month after paying for software and her website. She said she’d like to replace some of her podcasting equipment, but has not yet seen a profit to do so.
“It’s a tough time to ask people for money,” Abernathy said. “I think fortunately we live in a county … [ where] there are a lot of people who can afford to support the arts. I’m the same price per month as HBO — do you want to support a big conglomeration, or do you wanna support local art?”
Abernathy said she believes Rappahannock Radio is an important platform for the community because unlike newspapers or other written word, you can hear stories directly from people, calling it an “on- theground narrative.”
“Art is a necessity for the fabric of society,” she said. “You need writers as much as you need cooks, that doesn't happen without patrons of the art.”