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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.

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.

21hr 60min
Thumbnail for "The world's biggest video game is from North Carolina".
Fortnite is a bona fide cultural phenomenon. But it was an unlikely hit from an unlikely place.
Thumbnail for "Can we save Christmas (trees)?".
This holiday season, something is threatening to wipe out America’s favorite Christmas tree.
Thumbnail for "The mystery of the Brown Mountain lights".
For more than a century, people in western North Carolina have witnessed unusual displays of shimmering and sometimes even exploding lights.
Thumbnail for "Storytelling's surprising digital age revival".
Turns out, sharing stories live and in person has never been bigger.
Thumbnail for "A Day in the Life: The artist".
How does someone create a very big, very public work of art?
Thumbnail for "The weirdest and wildest political stories".
Three veteran political reporters answer a single question: what’s the most bizarre story you've ever covered?
Thumbnail for "Why it's so hard to find a good couch".
The rise, fall and reinvention of North Carolina's furniture industry has left average Americans with few good options.
Thumbnail for "Bonus episode: Let's go to the fair!".
We spent the day at the NC State Fair and brought you back some funnel cake.
Thumbnail for "Is it becoming too hot to work?".
Rising heat is making outdoor jobs more difficult, dangerous... and even deadly.
Thumbnail for "Hurricanes, helicopters and how we help".
Hurricane Helene left behind widespread destruction in Appalachia, a region that poses unique challenges for relief and recovery.
Thumbnail for "The art and alarming science of political ads".
Billions will be spent on political ads this year. Where that money goes and what it buys might alarm you.
Thumbnail for "The gravestone grudge that changed cemetery law".
What happens when a murder accusation, literally written in stone, turns out to be a lie?
Thumbnail for "The Latino South".
Latinos are often portrayed as newcomers with an uncomplicated backstory in the South. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
Thumbnail for "How y'all conquered the world (Revisited)".
English speakers outside the South are embracing the word y’all. And the reasons may surprise you.
Thumbnail for "Is this the death of DEI?".
Over the past decade, universities across America embraced DEI policies. But then… came the backlash.
Thumbnail for "The new Southern Hollywood".
Lights. Camera. Tax breaks, y’all.
Thumbnail for "How the Greensboro Six changed golf forever".
In 1955, six Black men did something radical: they played a round of golf.
Thumbnail for "What happens after a hate crime".
The aftermath of a shocking act of violence shows us how America handles hate and the gaps in our approach to justice.
Thumbnail for "Pro wrestling climbs back to the top rope".
Regional pro wrestling was once a major cultural institution throughout the South. Can it make an unlikely comeback?
Thumbnail for "Love found while ‘chasing the light’".
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.
Thumbnail for "How beach music taught Southerners to 'dance sexy'".
The subculture that embraced taboo during segregation endures and is strutting into the 21st century.
Thumbnail for "Bigfoot is from North Carolina".
Sasquatch is Southern. And its cultural and economic impact on Appalachia is sizable.
Thumbnail for "Can we bring red wolves back from the brink (again)?".
The iconic Southern carnivore’s biggest threat is also its best hope for survival: humans.
Thumbnail for "The other Declaration of Independence".
Either someone’s lying — or we may need to rethink everything we know about American independence.
Thumbnail for "The surprising cricket capital of the South".
The future of cricket in America is in a field next to an airport in the small town of Morrisville, North Carolina.
Thumbnail for "The science behind saving an island".
The project to save North Carolina’s Sugarloaf Island could offer a solution for coastal erosion across the country.
Thumbnail for "Craft beer’s emerging Southern flavor (Revisited)".
Can you put a place in a pint?
Thumbnail for "Charlotte the stingray's tangled web".
A small-town aquarium in western North Carolina claimed a stingray got impregnated by a shark. Then, things got weird.
Thumbnail for "The hunt for a long-lost musical masterpiece".
The final years of legendary jazz musician Mary Lou Williams’ life were shrouded in mystery. Until now.
Thumbnail for "Billy Graham’s statue and the legacy of ‘America’s Pastor’".
As a new monument is unveiled at the US Capitol, we look at the legacy of one of America's most influential religious figures.
Thumbnail for "NASCAR's racing simulator revolution (Revisited)".
Video games are fundamentally changing the real world of motorsports.
Thumbnail for "Our trash lives next to this community".
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.
Thumbnail for "How many dollar stores are too many? (Revisited)".
Dollar stores can be convenient and even necessary, but some advocates warn their rapid spread is creating food deserts.
Thumbnail for "Zombie deer and our looming conservation crisis".
A decline in hunters and a deadly disease are threatening the foundation of our wildlife management system.
Thumbnail for "Can we save the banana from extinction?".
A deadly fungus is devastating worldwide banana crops. The cure may be growing in an office park in North Carolina.
Thumbnail for "Breaking Southern baseball's color barrier".
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.
Thumbnail for "The toxic spill that left a legacy of change".
A decade ago, toxic coal ash poured into the Dan River. That was just the beginning of the story.
Thumbnail for "Teachers challenge the nation's toughest union ban".
The Carolinas are the only two states that ban all government employees from unionizing.
Thumbnail for "Women's basketball is having its moment".
Women's basketball has finally hit the mainstream. Why did it take so long?
Thumbnail for "Tornado Alley is moving to the South".
Traditional tornado patterns in the US are moving and the South is directly in the path.
Thumbnail for "Why cola became king".
The South is the birthplace of all the big cola brands. But why?
Thumbnail for "Robert F. Williams' bold history lesson".
One man’s fascinating and unusual legacy in a Southern town is challenging how we talk about the Civil Rights Movement.
Thumbnail for "Purple, teal and the rise of basketball fashion".
The Charlotte Hornets lost 60 games in 1988, but they looked incredible while doing it. Their iconic uniforms would launch a global fashion trend.
Thumbnail for "More power poles, more problems".
As the energy grid expands, so does demand for power poles — and the trees we use to make them.
Thumbnail for "Craft beer’s emerging Southern flavor".
Can you put a place in a pint?
Thumbnail for "How one business built Black Wall Street".
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?
Thumbnail for "NASCAR's racing simulator revolution".
Video games are fundamentally changing the real world of motorsports.
Thumbnail for "Place, Erased: Environmental ghost towns".
Explore Southern communities transformed by forces beyond their control.
Thumbnail for "EVs are reshaping the South one small town at a time".
Stanton, Tennessee is a microcosm of the powerful new economics at play in states throughout the American South.
Thumbnail for "The remarkable story of daredevil Tiny Broadwick".
The Wright Brothers aren’t the only icons of early aviation with ties to the South.
Thumbnail for "Featuring: Embodied - How fandoms build community".
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.
Thumbnail for "The kids are alright: NPR Student Podcast Challenge finalist".
A young journalist tells us how she uncovered the history of her neighborhood and fought to preserve it for future generations.
Thumbnail for "Recovering from long Covid could be a long journey".
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.
Thumbnail for "Millions across the South can’t trust their tap water".
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.
Thumbnail for "One state could be a test case for tackling the opioid crisis".
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.
Thumbnail for "Featuring: North Carolina pottery from clay to kiln".
This Thanksgiving, we take a look at what's under your meal.
Thumbnail for "The process to return Native American remains is broken".
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.
Thumbnail for "My next-door neighbor is a weapon of mass destruction".
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.
Thumbnail for "The takeover of The Robesonian".
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.
Thumbnail for "How many dollar stores are too many?".
Dollar stores can be convenient and even necessary, but some advocates warn their rapid spread is creating food deserts.
Thumbnail for "What it takes to make music in prison".
Influential, exploitative and ever-evolving, this week we look between the bars of Southern prison music.
Thumbnail for "Asian American Studies has arrived".
Fifty years after the first movement for Asian American Studies, we explore why it's finally having its moment at universities across the South.
Thumbnail for "A look inside America’s climate data bunker".
A basement in the mountains of North Carolina might hold the keys to the climate crisis. Meet the keepers of America’s weather data.
Thumbnail for "How y'all conquered the world".
English speakers outside the South are embracing the word y’all. And the reasons may surprise you.
Thumbnail for "Introducing: The Broadside".
Weekly stories from the American South - and why they matter to you.

The world's biggest video game is from North Carolina

Thumbnail for "The world's biggest video game is from North Carolina".
November 14, 202420min 57sec

Fortnite was an unlikely hit from an unlikely place: North Carolina-based Epic Games. Innovative game design and smart leveraging of social media and live streaming catapulted it into becoming one of the world's biggest video games. And today, Fortnite is a bona fide cultural phenomenon. But can the memes and viral dance moves go on forever?

Featuring: 

  • Brian Gordon, Technology & Innovation reporter for The News & Observer
  • Jamal Michel, video game and culture critic


Links: 

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 here.

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Thumbnail for "The world's biggest video game is from North Carolina".
The world's biggest video game is from North Carolina
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