Welcome to Business North Carolina's weekly podcast, serving up interviews with some of the Tar Heel State's most interesting people. This week's podcast features Gene Hoots, author of Going Down Tobacco Road: R.J. Reynolds' Tobacco Empire. Hoots, a financial analyst and pension fund manager who worked at the Winston-Salem company for 21 years, explains why tobacco was the most successful industry for investors in the United States during the 20th century. He offers fresh insight into the iconic company's role in shaping Winston-Salem and North Carolina.