

The Broadside
WUNC
Each week, The Broadside highlights a story from the heart of the American South and asks why it matters to you. From news to arts and culture, we dive into topics that might not be on a 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.Hosted by Anisa Khalifa, The Broadside is a production of North Carolina Public Radio-WUNC. Find it every Thursday wherever you listen to podcasts.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Nov 30, 2023 • 18min
One state could be a test case for tackling the opioid crisis
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 Jason’s reporting on the distribution of opioid settlement funds. His work was part of a joint state-wide project with contributions from fellow public radio reporters Ben Schachtman at WHQR, Helen Chickering, Lilly Knoepp and Laura Lee at BPR, April Laissle at WFDD, and Kenneth Lee, Jr. at WFAE.
You can find a transcript of the episode here.
Donate: The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nov 23, 2023 • 25min
Featuring: North Carolina pottery from clay to kiln
As we all take the week to reconnect with our loved ones, we're presenting a story about what's on our tables this Thanksgiving – and we don't just mean the food, but the plates it sits on. In this episode from the podcast Gravy, producer Wilson Sayre takes us to central North Carolina to tell the story of hand-thrown pottery and its relationship with food. In North Carolina, the history of baking clay into plates and bowls is an ancient one. Step through that past into the present day with us.Gravy is produced by our friends at the Southern Foodways Alliance and distributed by APT Podcast Studios. Each episode shares stories of the changing American South through the foods we eat.Find more episodes from Gravy here:https://www.southernfoodways.org/gravy-format/gravy-podcast/Donate: The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nov 16, 2023 • 22min
The process to return Native American remains is broken
For over a hundred years, Western archeologists built vast collections of looted Native American artifacts and human remains. For many Native Americans today, those violations have left a painful legacy. A glimmer of hope appeared in 1990, with the passage of a federal law intended to facilitate the repatriation of Native American ancestors to their tribes. But 30 years later, tens of thousands of remains and funerary artifacts are still held at institutions around the country. Featuring:
Laura Pellicer, Contributor at North Carolina Public Radio
Lilly Knoepp, Senior Regional Reporter for Blue Ridge Public Radio
Miranda Panther, NAGPRA Officer for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians Tribal Historic Preservation Office
Shana Bushyhead Condill, Executive Director at Museum of the Cherokee People
Margaret Scarry, Director of Research Labs of Archaeology at UNC-Chapel Hill
Links:
Check out North Carolina Public Radio and Blue Ridge Public Radio’s reporting on NAGPRA.
Explore The Repatriation Project from ProPublica.
You can find a transcript of the episode here.
Donate: The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nov 9, 2023 • 25min
My next-door neighbor is a weapon of mass destruction
An army depot in Eastern Kentucky once housed something extraordinary and terrible: an arsenal of chemical weapons. The dangers of this stockpile hovered over the residents of the nearby city of Richmond for decades. Recently, the Army fulfilled a long-standing mandate to destroy their entire supply of these deadly weapons, but the road to get there wasn’t easy.Special thanks to Ben Evans and Ben Sollee for providing archival audio from the documentary NERVE included in this episode.Featuring:
John Ismay, Pentagon correspondent for The New York Times
Craig Williams, activist and Director of Kentucky Environmental Foundation
Mike Kester, shift plant manager at Blue Grass Army Depot
Links:
Check out John Ismay’s reporting on the dismantling of America’s chemical weapon’s stockpile.
You can find a transcript of the episode here.
Donate: The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Nov 2, 2023 • 20min
The takeover of The Robesonian
In 1988, two armed Native American men occupied a newspaper office in Southeastern North Carolina. In an effort to raise the alarm on corruption and racism in their mostly rural community, they took 17 hostages and demanded to negotiate with the governor. Decades later, the small town is still grappling with the events surrounding that day.Special thanks to WRAL for providing archival audio included in this episode.Featuring:Sarah Nagem, editor at Border Belt Independent and contributor at The AssemblyLinks:
Check out Sarah Nagem’s features on The Robesonian takeover at The Assembly and Border Belt Independent.
You can find a transcript of the episode here.
Donate: The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Oct 26, 2023 • 21min
How many dollar stores are too many?
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 many?Featuring:Stephan Bisaha, reporter at Gulf States NewsroomLinks:
Check out Stephan Bisaha’s extensive reporting for the Gulf States Newsroom on dollar stores in the South.
You can find a transcript of the episode here.
Donate: The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Oct 19, 2023 • 26min
What it takes to make music in prison
As a person incarcerated in the state of Virginia, rapper Deon Thomas doesn’t have access to a recording studio. Instead, he’s part of a small group of artists who record songs via phone calls and distribute them through a prison-only digital music service. It's a modern twist on a long and complicated tradition. Join us as we explore the influential, exploitative and ever-evolving world of music in Southern prisons.Featuring:
Zeb Larson, writer and historian, contributor at Scalawag Magazine
Deon Thomas, incarcerated musician
Carla Simmons, incarcerated musician
Links:
Check out Zeb Larson’s articles on JPAY and the history of Southern prison music.
You can find a transcript of the episode here.
Donate: The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Oct 12, 2023 • 20min
Asian American Studies has arrived
Asian Americans are the fastest growing demographic in the country, yet historically, they've been near-invisible in our popular culture. But that's beginning to change. We examine the long history of Asian American Studies, and why it's finally having its moment in the South.Featuring:
Nayoung Aimee Kwon, professor at Duke University
Esther Kim Lee, professor and director of Duke's Asian American and Diaspora Studies program
Iris Kim, founder of the Vanderbilt University Asian American Studies Initiative
David Lee, student activist at Duke University
Links:You can find a transcript of the episode here.Donate: The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Oct 5, 2023 • 22min
A look inside America’s climate data bunker
Embedded in a warehouse within the Blue Ridge Mountains, climate scientists are collecting rows upon rows of weather data going back centuries. But these archives aren’t just collecting dust – they’re helping us anticipate weather events in the future and create tools to navigate the fallout of the climate crisis.Featuring:
Kathie Dello, North Carolina’s state climatologist
Jason Cooper, archivist at NCEI
Greg Hammer, meteorologist at NCEI
Adam Smith, applied climatologist at NCEI
Joe Williams, farmer at Blue River Legacy Farms
Links:You can find a transcript of the episode here.Donate: The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sep 28, 2023 • 20min
How y'all conquered the world
You might have noticed that the word “y’all” is popping up everywhere. For decades, linguists have noted that regional American accents are disappearing. But at the same time, use of this traditionally Southern pronoun is rapidly spreading — and the reasons may surprise you.Featuring:
Brody McCurdy, linguist and researcher at NC State
Antonia Randolph, assistant professor of American Studies at the UNC-Chapel Hill
Links:You can find a transcript of the episode here.Donate: The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.


