NASCAR is the most popular motorsport series across America, but its roots run deep as a regional sport in the South, especially in our home state of North Carolina. That history has heavily influenced the growth of motorsports in the US, which has produced a disproportionate amount of Southern drivers — and fans. But in recent years, a surprising new trend has begun to level that playing field: the explosion in popularity of esports.Featuring: Rajah Caruth, Driver in NASCAR Craftsman Truck...

When it comes to where our trash goes, for most of us it's out of sight, out of mind. But for the residents of a once-thriving Black community in North Carolina, it’s right next door. Sampson County is the site of the largest landfill in the state, and isn’t projected to be full for another 20 years. For the people who live next to it, this mountain of trash has dire consequences — and they want it shut down.Featuring:  Cameron Oglesby, freelance environmental journalist and oral historian...

This week, we're revisiting a story from last year that's recently been back in the headlines. Discount stores like Family Dollar and Dollar General have become ubiquitous in the American landscape — especially in the South. They can be convenient and even necessary, but some advocates warn that their rapid spread is creating food deserts. But while pushback to dollar stores grows, researchers say that we need more data to know their true impact. So how many dollar stores are too...

The majority of funding for state wildlife programs comes from hunting licenses and taxes associated with hunting, fishing and guns. But a generational decline in hunters and a deadly disease are threatening the foundation of that wildlife management system. In North Carolina, a coalition of hunters and conservationists are trying to head off this looming crisis in the great outdoors.Featuring: Guy Gardner, Co-manager at the Harnett Area Deer Donation Site Judy Gardner, Co-manager at the...

The grocery store banana as we know it is a monoculture, which means that from Tokyo to Tulsa nearly everyone eats the same variety. That lack of diversity makes the plant incredibly vulnerable, and it’s facing an existential threat in the form of a devastating fungus. The cure may be growing in an office park in North Carolina.Featuring:  Bradley George, Reporter at WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio Matt DiLeo, VP of Product Development at Elo Life Systems Andrew Zaleski, Contributor at...

A little more than 75 years ago, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball's major leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers. But integration in the South was slow going and took a slightly different path. This week, we look at what it took to integrate Southern baseball and how one group in rural North Carolina is ensuring that the next generation of young Black ballplayers get a chance at bat.Featuring:  Brian Patterson, COO of the Buck Leonard Association Chris Holaday, historian and...

A decade ago, thousands of tons of toxic coal ash poured into the Dan River. The spill—the third largest of its kind in US history—was a devastating environmental disaster. But today, the event is perhaps best known for its legacy of legislation, as environmental activists and communities across North Carolina turned a local disaster into a national rallying cry for change.Featuring:  Celeste Gracia, Environmental Reporter at WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio Brian Williams, Program Manager at...

North Carolina and South Carolina are home to the most restrictive public sector collective bargaining laws in the country. In fact, they’re the only two states that ban all government employees from unionizing. And that doesn’t show signs of changing anytime soon. But a group of educators in Durham, North Carolina isn’t letting that stop them from fighting for a seat at the table. This week on the Broadside, we ask what it means to call yourself a union in a state where striking and...

Women have been playing basketball since the game was invented, but the most fervent fandom has always been reserved for the men's game — until now. We explore why it took so long for us to pay attention to women's basketball, and what that means for the future of the sport.Featuring:  Kate Fagan, journalist and author of Hoop Muses: An Insider's Guide to Pop Culture and the (Women's) Game Kayla Jones, Graduate Assistant Coach for NC State women's basketball Stephanie Menio, Assistant...

Each year, as March fades into April, violent storms unleash dozens of tornadoes across a huge swath of the country. The Midwest is where most of these events occur, but scientists have begun to observe a major shift in traditional tornado patterns and the South is directly in the path. Featuring:  Dr. Marshall Shepherd, Professor and Director of the University of Georgia’s Atmospheric Sciences Program Dr. Stephen Strader, Associate Professor of Geography and the Environment at Villanova...

The South is the birthplace of all the big cola brands. Since the first Coca-Cola was poured in Atlanta in 1886, it's become an American icon. For many of us, these drinks are part of key childhood memories. But whether we're loyal to Coke, Pepsi, or something else, we don't drink as much soda as we used to. So why do we care so much about these brands and does soda even matter in this new beverage age?Featuring:  Ralph Ashworth, owner of Ashworth Drugs in Cary, NC Sabrina Bengel, managing...

As the president of the local chapter of the NAACP, Robert F. Williams led the small town of Monroe, North Carolina in protesting racism and segregation during the 1950s. But he was also head of a local NRA chapter that urged African Americans to defend themselves by meeting violence with violence. His story is one of the most fascinating and unusual in American history, and, in Monroe and elsewhere, it’s challenging how we talk about the Civil Rights Movement today.Featuring:  Robert Heath,...

In 1988, the NBA finally came to North Carolina — and the newly minted Charlotte Hornets made an unconventional choice to hire a fashion designer to create their jerseys. They lost 60 games that year, but they looked incredible while doing it. The iconic fit, inspired in part by Michael Jordan, would launch a global fashion trend that endures today. Alexander Julian, Fashion designer and creator of the original Charlotte Hornets uniform Crystal McCrary McGuire, Filmmaker and creator of the...

Electric vehicles and renewable energy sources are in their boom era — and that means the need for electricity is higher than ever before. The construction of an expanded energy grid to meet that demand is going to require a lot of raw minerals, metals… and a surprising commodity: lumber. This week, we take a trip to the forests of the Southern Pine Belt where demand for big trees far outstrips the supply and find out what's being done to prevent a pole-ocalypse.Featuring: Dr. Robert Bardon,...

In the last decade, the craft industry’s boom has steadily spread across Southern states. There are now thousands of breweries in the region (400 in North Carolina alone). But what exactly is a Southern beer?Featuring: Sean Lilly Wilson, Founder of Fullsteam Brewery in Durham, NC Tinu Diver, Documentary Filmmaker Owen Racer, Freelance Journalist Todd Boera, Co-founder and Creative Director of Flora Fonta Brewery in Nebo, NC Links:Check out Owen Racer's Gulf Coast beer reporting at Good Beer...

At the turn of the 20th century, the epicenter of America’s Black middle class was in a midsize city in central North Carolina. Durham was home to NC Mutual, an insurance company that provided a foundation for Black wealth in the South amidst Jim Crow segregation. Recently though, NC Mutual closed its doors, marking the end to more than a hundred years of business.Featuring: Kimberly Moore, Director of Civic Engagement for North Carolina’s 2nd Congressional District Andre Vann, Coordinator of...

NASCAR is the most popular motorsport series across America, but its roots run deep as a regional sport in the South, especially in our home state of North Carolina. That history has heavily influenced the growth of motorsports in the US, which has produced a disproportionate amount of Southern drivers — and fans. But in recent years, a surprising new trend has begun to level that playing field: the explosion in popularity of esports.Featuring: Rajah Caruth, Driver in NASCAR Craftsman Truck...

Any kind of environmental crisis – whether it's caused by an act of God or big industry – can upend a community. That's especially true for the smaller, more rural towns that dot the landscape of the South. In the past century, natural and man-made environmental changes have transformed and even erased some of these places.What happens to small towns when they meet BIG opponents and who fights for these communities to be preserved — or at least, remembered – when the dust...

Stanton, Tennessee -- population 400 -- is getting ready to welcome a Ford auto-manufacturing campus that will employ 6,000 people. And with it, prosperity and some serious growing pains. This one small town is a microcosm of the powerful new economics at play in states throughout the American South.Featuring:Nora Eckert, Auto Industry Reporter at The Wall Street JournalLinks: Check out Nora's reporting from Stanton. You can find a transcript of the episode here. Donate: The Broadside is made...

This year marks the 120th anniversary of Orville and Wilbur Wright's powered airplane flight at Kill Devil Hills in the Outer Banks of North Carolina. But the Wright Brothers aren’t the only icons of aviation with ties to the South. This week, we tell the unlikely story of a woman named Tiny Broadwick. Born into extreme poverty, Broadwick went on to become a trailblazer in the male-dominated world of parachute jumping, saving thousands of lives along the way.Featuring: Lt. Col. Jessica Brown,...

This week we're highlighting a recent episode of the award-winning podcast Embodied (which is also produced at WUNC). We hear a lot about toxic fandoms in our culture — but there's also a lot to share about the brighter side. Guest host Anisa Khalifa first became a fan in high school. She gets an explanation from a psychologist about how being in fandoms benefits mental health, and a journalist describes what role the internet has played in shaping fan culture. Plus, Anisa invites the...

NPR's annual Student Podcast Challenge is kind of a big deal. In 2023 alone, they received over 3,300 entries. This week on the Broadside, we highlight the work of one of the finalists who uncovered the history of her neighborhood -- Oberlin Village in Raleigh, NC -- and fought to bring it into the light and preserve it for future generations. Featuring:  Leeya Chaudhuri - Journalist (and student) at Enloe High School in Raleigh, NC Brian Hedgepeth - Teacher at Enloe High...

We now know an incredible amount about the COVID-19 virus. But long Covid symptoms and treatment options remain a blind spot. This week, we check in on a group of patients and doctors from the Carolinas who we’ve been following for over a year in order to see how we’re adapting to this second silent pandemic.Featuring: Jason deBruyn, Health Reporter at WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio. Eleanor Spicer Rice, science writer and long COVID patient Dr. John Baratta, Founder and Co-director of the...

The water supply for millions of people across the South has serious problems. Many of these folks live in majority Black cities like Jackson, Mississippi and Memphis, Tennessee. Billions in federal funds were recently allocated to help fix cities' poor water quality, but will it be enough? Join us as we tap into the water across the region and learn what it’ll take to clean it up.Featuring: Adam Mahoney, Climate and Environment Reporter at Capital BLinks: Check out Adam Mahoney’s reporting...

Recent litigation to hold drug makers accountable for the opioid epidemic has led to settlements totaling $50 billion that are being distributed to state governments throughout the United States. We explore some of the potential solutions in our home state of North Carolina and find out how its hyper local model for distributing funds could be a compelling test case for tackling the crisis nationwide.Featuring:Jason deBruyn, Health Reporter at North Carolina Public RadioLinks: Check out...