The Broadside

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 something different. This week, we ask three veteran political reporters a single question: what’s one of the most bizarre stories you've ever covered?

Featuring:

• Colin Campbell, Capitol Bureau Chief and host of the WUNC Politics Podcast
• Jeff Tiberii, c...

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. Since 2020, over 30 houses in this region have fallen into the Atlantic Ocean.

Featuring:

• Colin Campbell, Capitol Bureau Chief and host of the WUNC Politics Podcast
• Rebecca Hersher, correspondent at NPR

Links:

• NPR: People's houses are collapsing into the ocean. FEMA gi...

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 project has been one of growth and economic progress. But recent research about its construction has unearthed a tragic lost history. And surprisingly, the key to it all – was hidden in a song.

Featuring:

• Jefrey Keith, professor of history and college archivist at Warren W...

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 dangerous because onboard that bomber were two nuclear weapons. The event was perhaps the closest the United States has ever come to accidentally detonating a nuclear bomb—and kicking off a nuclear war.

This episode originally published on January 2, 2025.

Featuring:

• Ja...

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 was something remarkable about this man from present day Senegal; he was an incredibly well-educated Muslim scholar who could write Arabic. Now, 200 years later, we're finally getting to properly read Omar's letters to America.

Featuring:

• Rhiannon Giddens, musician, actor ...

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 made some of the greatest films of all-time. And it was written and directed by the most famous author in the world—Stephen King. It seemed like a can’t miss production. But then… everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. The result was a 'cocaine...

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 a whole new level. This week, we tell the strange story of competitive whistling in America and follow one man’s journey from North Carolina all the way to Japan in a quest to become one of the greats.

Featuring:

• Leslie Boney, competitive whistler and contributo...

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 2025, the long-serving North Carolina chain K&W Cafeterias closed its last location, marking the end of an era. But the spirit of the communal serving line still lives on in a few remaining restaurants. This week, we visit one of them in search of the perfect tray and fin...

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 politics is nothing new and can be traced back over 70 years to an uncompromising politician from North Carolina: Jesse Helms. With the rise of MAGA and the politics of opposition, new research is reassessing Helms' legacy and laying out the case for why he just might be one ...

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 Carolina at Chapel Hill entered the fray this year in spectacular fashion, betting big on legendary NFL coach Bill Belichick in the hopes that he’ll elevate the school’s football program. But why are universities, especially those with academic and research clout,...

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 be the site of one of the oldest and most celebrated fishing competitions in the world – the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. It’s an event filled with high stakes drama, and it continues to grow year after year. But are there enough blue marlin in the ocean for th...

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 serious threat to an important pollinator: the honeybee. But a small army of scientists and beekeepers are fighting back and setting up a new line of defense in North Carolina.

Featuring:

• Emily Cataneo, contributor at The Assembly

Links:

• The Assembly: Is North...

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, deep inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is a stark reminder of a broken promise to people who once lived there and the sacrifices they made in the name of progress at all costs. But it's also just a small part of a fascinating and bittersweet story about remembran...

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 fever we're experiencing right now. But halfway through those games, that festive vibe shifted when a bomb went off in Centennial Olympic Park. 111 people were injured, 1 person was killed and overnight the Olympics became part of a criminal terrorism investigation.

This week we'...

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 spouses of elected officials take on strange and demanding roles. And on the campaign trail and at home their lives increasingly mirror our deepening political divide, which means dealing with intense criticism and even the threat of political violence.

Featuring:

• Billy Warden...

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 harsh conditions that shielded those self-emancipated people from slavery make it difficult for historians and archeologists to understand the extent of their settlements. But that secret world is slowly being uncovered.

Featuring:

• Dan Sayers, archaeologist, anthropologist a...

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 mean for this small city in eastern North Carolina?

Featuring:

• Jordan Santos, former MrBeast contestant
• Brian Gordon, business and technology reporter for The News & Observer
• Bret Oliverios, business owner in Greenville, NC

Links:

• The News & Observer: MrBeast fil...

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 cheddar cheese and pimento pepper dish is much more complicated and a lot less Southern than you might think.

Featuring:

• Vivian Howard, chef, restauranteur and PBS host

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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 action in major urban centers like Chicago, New York and the San Francisco Bay Area. But a new documentary film is challenging that story by highlighting the incredible history of the first Black Panther Party chapter in the South, which was located in Winston-Salem, North Caroli...