The Broadside
WUNCThe Broadside
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.
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.
The South is the birthplace of all the big cola brands. But why?
This holiday season, something is threatening to wipe out America’s favorite Christmas tree.
For more than a century, people in western North Carolina have witnessed unusual displays of shimmering and sometimes even exploding lights.
Turns out, sharing stories live and in person has never been bigger.
Fortnite is a bona fide cultural phenomenon. But it was an unlikely hit from an unlikely place.
How does someone create a very big, very public work of art?
Three veteran political reporters answer a single question: what’s the most bizarre story you've ever covered?
The rise, fall and reinvention of North Carolina's furniture industry has left average Americans with few good options.
We spent the day at the NC State Fair and brought you back some funnel cake.
Rising heat is making outdoor jobs more difficult, dangerous... and even deadly.
Hurricane Helene left behind widespread destruction in Appalachia, a region that poses unique challenges for relief and recovery.
Billions will be spent on political ads this year. Where that money goes and what it buys might alarm you.
What happens when a murder accusation, literally written in stone, turns out to be a lie?
Latinos are often portrayed as newcomers with an uncomplicated backstory in the South. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
English speakers outside the South are embracing the word y’all. And the reasons may surprise you.
Over the past decade, universities across America embraced DEI policies. But then… came the backlash.
Lights. Camera. Tax breaks, y’all.
In 1955, six Black men did something radical: they played a round of golf.
The aftermath of a shocking act of violence shows us how America handles hate and the gaps in our approach to justice.
Regional pro wrestling was once a major cultural institution throughout the South. Can it make an unlikely comeback?
Cheryl Shelton-Roberts and her husband Bruce worked for years to preserve North Carolina’s iconic lighthouses. Meanwhile, their relationship blossomed into a love story unlike any other.
The subculture that embraced taboo during segregation endures and is strutting into the 21st century.
Sasquatch is Southern. And its cultural and economic impact on Appalachia is sizable.
The iconic Southern carnivore’s biggest threat is also its best hope for survival: humans.
Either someone’s lying — or we may need to rethink everything we know about American independence.
The future of cricket in America is in a field next to an airport in the small town of Morrisville, North Carolina.
The project to save North Carolina’s Sugarloaf Island could offer a solution for coastal erosion across the country.
Can you put a place in a pint?
A small-town aquarium in western North Carolina claimed a stingray got impregnated by a shark. Then, things got weird.
The final years of legendary jazz musician Mary Lou Williams’ life were shrouded in mystery. Until now.
As a new monument is unveiled at the US Capitol, we look at the legacy of one of America's most influential religious figures.
Video games are fundamentally changing the real world of motorsports.
A rural community has endured living next to North Carolina's largest landfill for generations. But its residents are determined to keep fighting for a clean home.
Dollar stores can be convenient and even necessary, but some advocates warn their rapid spread is creating food deserts.
A decline in hunters and a deadly disease are threatening the foundation of our wildlife management system.
A deadly fungus is devastating worldwide banana crops. The cure may be growing in an office park in North Carolina.
A little more than 75 years ago, Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in baseball. But integration in the South took a slightly different path.
A decade ago, toxic coal ash poured into the Dan River. That was just the beginning of the story.
The Carolinas are the only two states that ban all government employees from unionizing.
Women's basketball has finally hit the mainstream. Why did it take so long?
Traditional tornado patterns in the US are moving and the South is directly in the path.
One man’s fascinating and unusual legacy in a Southern town is challenging how we talk about the Civil Rights Movement.
The Charlotte Hornets lost 60 games in 1988, but they looked incredible while doing it. Their iconic uniforms would launch a global fashion trend.
As the energy grid expands, so does demand for power poles — and the trees we use to make them.
Can you put a place in a pint?
For decades, the epicenter of America’s Black middle class was in a midsize city in central North Carolina. Now that it's gone, what legacy does it leave?
Video games are fundamentally changing the real world of motorsports.
Explore Southern communities transformed by forces beyond their control.
Stanton, Tennessee is a microcosm of the powerful new economics at play in states throughout the American South.
The Wright Brothers aren’t the only icons of early aviation with ties to the South.
We hear a lot about toxic fandoms — but this episode of the award-winning podcast Embodied has a lot to share about the brighter side.
A young journalist tells us how she uncovered the history of her neighborhood and fought to preserve it for future generations.
We check in on a group of long Covid patients and doctors from the Carolinas to see how we’re adapting to the second silent pandemic.
When you turn on the faucet, you really don’t want to think twice about the quality of the water coming out. But that’s the reality for millions of people across the South.
North Carolina will spend $1.5 billion in opioid settlement funds. Its unique model could be a compelling test case for solving the opioid crisis across the country.
This Thanksgiving, we take a look at what's under your meal.
A once-promising process for returning looted Native American remains has slowed to a crawl. We ask what can be done to fix the problem.
For more than half a century, the citizens of Richmond, Kentucky lived in the shadow of something extraordinary and terrible: an arsenal of chemical weapons.
In 1988, two armed Native American men occupied a newspaper office in a North Carolina community. 35 years later, we look at the legacy of the takeover of The Robesonian.
Dollar stores can be convenient and even necessary, but some advocates warn their rapid spread is creating food deserts.
Influential, exploitative and ever-evolving, this week we look between the bars of Southern prison music.
Fifty years after the first movement for Asian American Studies, we explore why it's finally having its moment at universities across the South.
A basement in the mountains of North Carolina might hold the keys to the climate crisis. Meet the keepers of America’s weather data.
English speakers outside the South are embracing the word y’all. And the reasons may surprise you.
Weekly stories from the American South - and why they matter to you.
Why cola became king
March 7, 202421min 18sec
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 partner of The Birthplace of Pepsi-Cola in New Bern, NC
- Jerry Avery, Pepsi fan, collector and hobby historian
- Dr. Psyche Williams-Forson, professor and department chair in American Studies at the University of Maryland
- Rina Raphael, journalist and author of The Gospel of Wellness
Special thanks to Jordan Blackwell at the University of Maryland College Park for technical assistance.
Links:
- You can find a transcript of the episode here.
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