Shows / The Broadside
The Broadside
Each week, host Anisa Khalifa tells one story from our home in North Carolina, at the crossroads of the South. From news to arts and culture, WUNC News’ “The Broadside” dives into issues that might not make the front page, but deserve a closer look. Along the way, we explore the nuances of our home — and how what happens here ripples across the country. Find new episodes of “The Broadside” every Thursday.
Episodes
The BroadsideThe gravestone grudge that changed cemetery law
If you walk through a cemetery, you’ll see some common phrases on the gravestones. Many of them are used so often, we tend to take these very public…
The BroadsideThe long road to integration
More than 70 years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court sent shockwaves throughout the South with its ruling on Brown v Board of Education. Desegregation in public…
The BroadsideOur weirdest political stories
Election Week in America is fast approaching—and if you’re like us, you’re probably a little burned out with horse race politics. So we’re offering up…
The BroadsideWhy are we letting houses fall into the ocean?
In Dare County, North Carolina climate change, a bureaucratic mess and one of the wildest coastlines in America are combining to create a perverse spectacle…
The BroadsideA tunnel, a song and a dark secret uncovered
The completion of the Swannanoa Tunnel brought the railroad to western North Carolina and transformed the region. For almost 150 years, the legacy of the…
The BroadsideThat time we almost destroyed the world
On a chilly evening in 1961, a B-52 crashed in rural eastern North Carolina near the town of Goldsboro. Any plane crash is bad, but this one was particularly…
The BroadsideOmar, the enslaved man who wrote letters to America
Like millions of Africans, Omar ibn Said was brought to the New World against his will where he spent the rest of his life enslaved in the Carolinas. But there…
The BroadsideTrucks, drugs and rock and roll: Maximum Overdrive turns 40
A little over 40 years ago, filming began in North Carolina for an ambitious movie called Maximum Overdrive. The project was led by a legendary producer who’d…
The BroadsideCompetitive whistling and the trill of the chase
For most people, whistling is just a casual way to pass the time. But there’s a small worldwide community of whistling enthusiasts who've taken the artform to…
The BroadsideSouthern cafeteria culture reaches the end of the line
The cafeteria has been a cultural and culinary touchstone in the South for generations. But recently, many of these restaurants have shuttered their doors. In…
The BroadsideSenator No and the rise of America's politics of opposition
For over a decade, no holds barred conservative populism has dominated the political conversation in the US. But that hyper-partisan brand of media savvy…
The BroadsideThe Belichick effect and the money-sucking machine of college football
College football has become a money-sucking machine, with schools spending every dollar possible to keep up in an athletics arms race. The University of North…
The BroadsideThe hunt for a million dollar fish
Marlin fishing helps fuel a billion-dollar recreational saltwater fishing industry. Much of it is situated on the North Carolina coast, which also happens to…
The BroadsideA new threat to honeybees emerges in the South
The yellow-legged hornet is an invasive wasp that first showed up in Georgia in 2023. Since then, it’s rapidly expanded its footprint in the South and become a…
The BroadsideTaking the Road to Nowhere
Just a few miles from the tallest concrete dam east of the Mississippi River, there's a paved road that ends at a mysterious tunnel. This unfinished roadway…
The BroadsideThe Bomber and the Rookie
This year marks the 30th anniversary of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. The mood in the US at the time was very similar to the World Cup…
The BroadsideThe surreal lives of political spouses
Marriage is a deep and powerful bond. But for politicians, those relationships are often far more complicated. In addition to being a husband or wife, many…
The BroadsideSecrets of the Great Dismal Swamp
For centuries, the Great Dismal Swamp on the border of North Carolina and Virginia served as a sanctuary for escaped slaves known as maroons. Today, the same…
The BroadsideWelcome to MrBeastville
MrBeast, the world's most popular YouTuber, and his billion-dollar business are based in a surprising place: Greenville, North Carolina. So what does it all…
The BroadsideThe strange story of pimento cheese
Pimento cheese, aka Carolina caviar, is as synonymous with Southern food culture as sweet tea and fried chicken. But the origin story of this spreadable…
The BroadsidePower to the People, Y’all
The late 1960s and 1970s were marked by the emergence of radical and revolutionary political movements in America. The common narrative places much of the…
The BroadsideThe surprising cricket capital of the South
The game of cricket is rapidly gaining popularity across the US. But if you want to see what the future of the sport in America might look like, you need to…
The BroadsideThe school that broke all the rules
Nearly 100 years ago, a radical school called Black Mountain College opened its doors. It featured no grades, very few tests and lots of avante garde art. And…
The BroadsideBigfoot is from North Carolina
Appalachia is Bigfoot territory. In a big way. This week, we look at the mythical beast's legend, lore and sizable economic impact in the region. And we follow…
The BroadsideThe original Siamese Twins
The first Asian residents of North Carolina were a world-famous pair of conjoined twin brothers. And they later became quite possibly the country’s first Asian…
The BroadsideThe shortsighted politics of forever chemicals
Forever chemicals like PFAS have permeated much of the country’s water supply for decades. These containments are linked to severe health problems, yet critics…
The BroadsideSacred soil: Saving Native American mounds
There are tens of thousands of Indigenous mounds located throughout the United States. For Native Americans, these earthen structures are revered as sacred…
The BroadsideHow purple and teal became the colors of the 90s
In 1988, professional basketball came to North Carolina with the arrival of the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA. Desperate to make a splash, the new team made an…
The BroadsideOpposition to data centers is catching fire
Data centers projects are expanding throughout the US at hyperspeed and hyperscale. These developments are reshaping small towns, consuming vast amounts of…
The BroadsideICE's building boom and the communities fighting back
Flush with billions of dollars from federal funding, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is expanding its permanent presence on the ground by opening field…
The BroadsideWhy it's so hard to find a good couch
Known as the "Furniture Capital of the World," North Carolina is famous for its high-quality furniture. And for over a century, it's been the heartbeat of the…
The BroadsideA Nation Unraveled: Clothing in the Civil War
Fascinating new research is shedding light on how clothing culture during the American Civil war helped radically transform the nation during its darkest hour…
The BroadsideThe Secret Game
In March of 1944, two basketball teams in North Carolina played perhaps the most important game that nobody has ever heard of. It was the first interracial…
The BroadsideThe uncertain future of disaster relief
The Trump administration is considering major changes to the way that disaster response works in America, including ceding more responsibility to states. But…
The BroadsideThe Dare Stones and America’s oldest mystery
In 1937, a man claimed to have discovered a rock in eastern North Carolina with a 400-year-old message carved into it from survivors of the Lost Colony of…
The BroadsideThe academic freedom fight has entered the classroom
From public syllabi to surveillance, universities across the country are embracing unprecedented policies that professors say are undermining their academic…
The BroadsideThe forgotten heroes of Pea Island
When disaster strikes in the water, we turn to the US Coast Guard. Today, it’s renowned for its fast-moving cutters, skilled helicopter pilots and daring…
The BroadsideWas the first rapper from North Carolina?
As the story goes, hip-hop music was born a little over 50 years ago at a house party in the Bronx. But that version of history doesn't account for an…
The BroadsideSouthern snowboarders are changing the sport
Other places might have bigger mountains and better powder, but the icy slopes of western North Carolina are currently home to one of the most vibrant…
The BroadsideOur hidden Space Race history
From Huntsville to Houston, the space industry in the US is rooted in the South. And as NASA works towards returning to the moon with the Artemis program, our…
The BroadsideSouthern Culture on the Fizz
From bourbon to chow chow, fermentation is everywhere in Southern food and drink. But how did this "controlled form of rotting" become so prevalent in our…
The BroadsideThe Battle of Hayes Pond
On a cold night in January 1958, hundreds of Native American men and women from the Lumbee Tribe showed up to a field in southeast North Carolina with one…
The BroadsideThe hype behind the world’s largest gas station
Buc-ee’s, the mega-sized gas station known for its pristine bathrooms, numerous snack options and cartoon beaver mascot, is expanding across the South. And…
The BroadsideTony Hawk and the skateboard rabbit hole
This New Year's Day we're revisiting one of our all-time favorite episodes of The Broadside. We'll be back with a new original show next week. On a rainy day…
The BroadsideOur Common Nature: Mountains and Forgotten Family with Yo-Yo Ma
During this holiday break, we're sharing an episode from the podcast series Our Common Nature, produced by our friends at WYNC. When the world stopped in 2020…
The Broadside100th Episode Special: There are no small stories
On our 100th episode there are no small stories… just short ones. In the past two years, we've crisscrossed the state of North Carolina. From Manteo to Murphy…
The BroadsideHow mini golf spread from one man’s lawn to the world
It’s easy to overlook the importance of mini golf. But this tiny game has played a pivotal role in breaking down class barriers to golf. And the story of how a…
The BroadsideExploring our supermarket in the woods
The Blue Ridge Mountains of western North Carolina are one of the most biodiverse places on the planet. The region is home to a whopping 4,000 species of…
The BroadsideDue South: Teaching the teachers about Native American history
This Thanksgiving we're sharing an interview from our friends and colleagues at Due South, WUNC’s daily talk show. Hosted by Leoneda Inge and Jeff Tiberii, the…
The BroadsideThe curious case of George Masa
The Great Smoky Mountains National Park and the Appalachian Trail form the backbone of the eastern portion of the US National Park system. Together, they…
The BroadsideWhere have all the Black farmers gone?
A little over a hundred years ago, there was an abundance of Black farmers in the U.S., and the vast majority of them farmed in the South. But today, less than…
The BroadsideThe mushy guts and glory of giant pumpkins
The North Carolina State Fair is the biggest event of its kind in the South. Every October, nearly a million visitors flock to Raleigh in search of fried food…
The BroadsideWhy our energy crisis runs through a gas pipeline
Driven by unprecedented energy demand from data centers, the US is in the midst of one of the biggest energy infrastructure expansions of all-time. For many…
The BroadsideHow the synthesizer became Southern
North Carolina is home to one of the oldest electronic music traditions in the world. From synthesizer builders in Asheville to Grammy-nominated musicians in…
The BroadsideSouthern hockey is thriving against all odds
In the 1990s, professional ice hockey was primed for growth. But the NHL had one major problem: geography. In order to expand its footprint, the sport had to…
The BroadsideThe Latino South
Although Latinos make up some of the most diverse communities in the South, they're often portrayed as one people and newcomers with a fairly uncomplicated…
The BroadsideCherokee footpaths of the Appalachian Trail
This week, we’re sharing an episode by our friends at Common Land. It’s a podcast that explores the history, science and politics behind the creation of…
The BroadsideA healthcare storm is coming
When the sprawling federal tax and spending law known as the Big Beautiful Bill was signed into law in July, a countdown began. That’s because the bill…
The BroadsideThe rock that runs the world
The tiny mountain town of Spruce Pine, North Carolina is the site of the single biggest source of ultra high purity quartz in the world. It’s a vital component…
The BroadsideBonus episode: Who gets to play country music in America?
Last week, we dropped an episode that was a collaboration with Nashville Public Radio (WPLN) and music journalist Jewly Hight. You should really check it out…