The Broadside

The waters surrounding North Carolina’s Outer Banks are so treacherous that they’re known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic. They’ve claimed everything from Blackbeard’s pirate ship to German U-boats. And that dark legacy continues today. Oregon Inlet, a narrow gap near Roanoke Island, is one of the deadliest waterways in the United States. But it’s also an economic lifeline for a small industrial fishing community who must...

If you want to understand America, going to a college football game is a great place to start. In a lot of ways, the culture and history of the sport is a mirror held up to the country itself. But some folks -- especially Asian Americans -- haven’t seen themselves in that reflection until recently. Or so we thought. Because an incredible discovery in North Carolina is rewriting history and changing what we thought was poss...

Nearly every public school district in North Carolina has fewer students than before the pandemic: part of a larger trend happening across the country. Facing empty classrooms and dwindling dollars, many public school leaders are trying to figure out where all the kids went and what declining public school enrollment could mean for the communities they serve.

Featuring: 

• Liz Schlemmer, education reporter for WUNC
• Alec M...

For decades, public health advocates have touted the dental health benefits of fluoride. But skepticism, conspiracy theories, and outright fear of fluoridated water have been around for just about as long. And they’re only gaining steam. In the midst of this heated debate, new scientific studies in North Carolina are combating health misinformation and trying to separate fact from fiction in the hope that they just might c...

Hurricane Helene wiped out hundreds of roadways in western North Carolina. Now engineers are working to fill the holes the storm left behind. But how do you rebuild a road that’s meant to last in a climate that’s changing quicker than we can keep up?

Featuring: 

• Nathan Moneyham, Division Construction Engineer for North Carolina Department of Transportation, Division 13
• Matt Lauffer, State Hydraulics Engineer for North...

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 move into unlikely warm weather locations with few existing fans. The league eventually expanded to the Sun Belt with mixed early results. But in North Carolina and other Southern states, the NHL has found success with a radical long-term strategy. They've helped buil...

To celebrate Black History Month, we're revisiting one of our favorite episodes from last year.

Perhaps more than any other artform, the 20th century was shaped by jazz. And piano player and composer Mary Lou Williams was there at nearly every turn. In recent years, historians have documented and dissected her career and its big impact on American music. But the final chapter of her life—spent teaching at Duke University—wa...

North Carolina’s Lumbee Tribe have been pursuing full federal recognition for over 130 years. A campaign promise kept by Donald Trump has given them hope. But it’s also renewed centuries-old questions about who gets to be Native in America.

Featuring: 

• Sarah Nagem, editor of the Border Belt Independent
• John Lowery, Lumbee Tribal Chairman
• Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz, author of The Indian Card: Who Gets to Be Native in Ameri...

Election Day was nearly three months ago. Since then, every race in the country has been called and certified. Except for one. A single election for a seat on the North Carolina Supreme Court remains in limbo, and its outcome might have huge ramifications for American democracy.

Featuring: 

• Rusty Jacobs, Voting and Election Integrity reporter for WUNC
• Frank Bruni, contributing writer for The New York Times and author of...

North Carolina has been cultivating a special relationship with Japan for more than four decades… and the rewards for the American economy are only accelerating. This week, we find out how tax incentives, BBQ, and Bojangles helped make the Tar Heel State the epicenter of Japanese investment in the US.

Featuring: 

• Teruhiro "Terry" Kawabe, President and CEO of Morinaga America
• David Robinson, Honorary Consul of Japan to N...

Throughout the South, state legislatures are adopting and expanding school voucher programs designed to allow parents to use public funds to pay for private school tuition. But this modern day push for school choice is connected to a dark past that recalls America’s long and sometimes forgotten history of resisting integration in the classroom.

Featuring: 

• Jennifer Berry Hawes, reporter with ProPublica
• Crystal Sanders,...

In 2018, the US Supreme Court ruled that states could legalize sports gambling. Since then, 38 states have taken the plunge, including our home state of North Carolina. The payoff has been lucrative. But it also has a human toll.

Featuring: 

• Jason deBruyn, Supervising Editor for Digital News at WUNC
• Jason Quick, Senior Writer at The Athletic

Links: 

• Check out Jason Quick's incredible reporting about gambling ad...

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.

Featuring:

• Jay Price, Military and Veterans Affairs reporter a...

This week, we visit the small town of Marshall in western North Carolina, a region ravaged by Hurricane Helene earlier this year.

But this story isn’t about the storm or climate change or the walls of water that rushed through the Black Mountains in September. It’s about what happened after. How people create systems to help each other. And how the best aspects of humanity can shine in the wake of a disaster.

This episode co...

In this special holiday episode, we meet the Jewish man from Gastonia, North Carolina who became the world's largest manufacturer of Christmas ornaments and used his power to make his home more tolerant of all religions.

This episode comes to us from Jeremy Markovich. Jeremy is the creator of a newsletter and podcast called the North Carolina Rabbit Hole, where he explores the strange and quirky corners of his home ...

On a rainy day in 1979, a photograph was taken of a young girl skateboarding down a street in Fayetteville, North Carolina. 45 years later, that photo went viral with a little help from the most famous skater who ever lived: Tony Hawk. This week, we find out who the mystery girl in the picture was and why the snapshot was so ahead of its time. 

Featuring: 

• Jeremy Markovich, writer of the North Carolina Rabbit Ho...

From the White House to your living room, North Carolina’s iconic Fraser fir is the most popular Christmas tree in America. But this holiday season, something is threatening to wipe it out —  and the $250 million dollar industry associated with it. 

Special thanks this week goes out to Kate Sheppard of The Assembly.

Featuring: 

• Steve Riley, contributor at The Assembly

Links: 

• Check out Steve's article about the ra...

For more than a century, people near Brown Mountain have witnessed unusual displays of shimmering and sometimes even exploding lights. A skeptical scientist has spent years trying to solve the mystery.

This week, we’re heading to the mountains of western North Carolina for an episode produced by Atlas Obscura in partnership with Visit North Carolina.

Donate: The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like...

Trading stories is an ancient and deeply human experience. But today, most of the stories we consume come to us through a digital screen. So it might surprise you to find out that we're in the midst of a revival of the old school style of storytelling. Turns out, sitting in a crowded room with other people, sharing funny and tragic and unbelievable stories live and in person has never been bigger.  

Thank you to Nancy Reede...