April 29, 2026

Bag Of Coal

🚪 SEASON FINALE 🚪 🚪 All season long, we’ve been asking one question… 🚪 Who’s there? 🚪 This week, we open the final door and behind it is a voice you need to hear. 🚪 🎙 Meet Vanessa Hankins, host of Tri-State Time Machine a storyteller who brings the history, mystery, and unforgettable people of Appalachia to life… but in this episode, she steps out from behind the mic and into her own story. 🚪 For the first time ever, Other People’s Shoes heads to West Virginia… a place that’s been on my list since day one. And somehow, it’s fitting that this story helps close out the season. 🚪 This episode is called “A Bag of Coal.” 🚪 Because not everything that feels heavy… stays that way. 🚪 Vanessa shares real moments—pressure, pain, and the kind of life experiences that don’t look valuable at first… but over time, turn into something strong, something meaningful… something that shines. 🚪 💭 What if the very thing you’ve been carrying… is actually becoming something more? 🚪 This isn’t just another episode. This is the season finale. 🚪 And this door? It might be the one that changes how you see your own story. 🚪 🎧 Hit play now at opspodcast.com and step into Vanessa’s shoes. 🚪 #WhosThere #SeasonFinale #OtherPeoplesShoes #PodcastLife #Storytelling #WestVirginia #Appalachia #KeepShowingUp

🎙 BAG OF COAL

🚪

All season long, we’ve been standing at the door.

Hearing the knock.
Asking the question.
Wondering who or what is waiting on the other side.

Sometimes it’s opportunity.
Sometimes it’s pain.
Sometimes it’s a story you never saw coming.

And sometimes… it’s a place you’ve never been before.

This is the season finale of the Who’s There season. The final knock. The final door.

👣 GUEST INTRODUCTION

For the first time in the history of Other People’s Shoes, we’re opening the door to West Virginia.

When I first started this podcast, I had a goal: sit down with someone from every state in the United States. One story at a time. One pair of shoes at a time.

Now, after years of conversations… we’re down to just one state left.

But before we get there… this door had to open.

And behind it is Vanessa Hankins.

Vanessa is the host of Tri-State Time Machine, a storytelling podcast that uncovers the history, mystery, and unforgettable people of West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky one era at a time.

But this conversation isn’t just about where she’s from…
…it’s about what she’s walked through.

This episode is called A Bag of Coal.

Because coal, under pressure, doesn’t stay coal.

It becomes something entirely different.

And Vanessa’s story is full of those moments the kind that feel heavy, overlooked, maybe even discarded at first… but over time, turn into something strong, something valuable… something that shines.

As we close this season, maybe the question isn’t just who’s there?

Maybe it’s… what has been there all along… waiting to be transformed?