Curtis Johnson fell in love with music while growing up in Wilkesboro, North Carolina. But when he gave up his job as a disc jockey to support his family, he held on to his dream. Now, he puts on small house-style concerts in an out-of-the-way place, and the shows keep everyone coming back for more.

James Mieczkowski: reporter, producer

Jeremy Markovich: producer, mixer, host

Elizabeth Hudson: editor-in-chief

Music in this episode:

• "Midnight Special," by Mark Stuart and Stacey Earle, performed in 2012 at the Cook Shack in Union Grove
• "Southbound Passenger Train," by Doc Watson, performed in the 1970s in Rochester, New York
• "Pick Me Up" and "As Good As It Gets," by Grace Pettis, performed in 2019 at Powder Horn Mountain

Special Thanks to Daniel Johnson and Curtis Johnson, the Renaissance Man.

Christina Koch was once a kid growing up in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Now, she's living on the International Space Station. In this episode, we go back to school to find out how she turned her dream of becoming an astronaut into reality.

Some audio provided by: Houston, We Have A Podcast.

Music in this episode:

• Closing Song: Dream Big, by Beau James (Greensboro)

Special Thanks: NASA-TV

From Season 1: A trip to a cemetery that's only reachable by boat reveals a story about progress, a national park, promises made, and promises broken. Along the way, we meet the woman who kept hope alive, and kept a sacred spot from being forgotten.

A woman from Mooresville, North Carolina became Mecklenburg County's first black nurse. Then she became a prolific and well-respected artist. Along the way, she got President Franklin D. Roosevelt to sit for her, and the relief sculpture she created looks very similar to the likeness that's on the dime. Is it hers? Or is it a coincidence? Host Jeremy Markovich goes in search of the truth, and learns about the facts that matter, and the facts that don't.

On May 7, 2016, a man fell hundreds of feet down a mountainside, and ended up in a treacherous spot in North Carolina's most rugged place. This is the story of a rescue that took hours and a recovery that took months, one that shows how unforgiving the wilderness can be, even for experienced hikers.

Music in this episode:

• Closing Song: Baby's Got The Blues, by H.C. McEntire, courtesy of Merge Records (Durham, North Carolina)

Special Thanks: Burke County Emergency Communications Center

Watch Shug's video.

In 2001, some state lawmakers were engaged in a less-than-sweet debate: Which berry should be named the official berry of North Carolina? We tracked down the teacher and fourth-graders who started it all with a class project and got a lot more than they bargained for. Plus, meet the former state senator who voted against EVERY new state symbol. His reasoning says a lot about the things we pick to represent us.

Hosted and mixed by: Jeremy Markovich

Produced by: James Mieczkowski and Jeremy Markovich

Editor-in-chief: Elizabeth Hudson

Music by: Blue Dot Sessions

Closing Song: Carolina's The Place I Gotta Be, by Charlie Albertson

Special Thanks: Gerry Cohen, Lauren Horsch

In the new season of Our State magazine's podcast, host Jeremy Markovich travels across North Carolina in search of the strange, the weird, the unknown, and the forgotten. Highlights include a strange political fight, the effort to find a mythical creature, the story of the woman whose artwork may be in your pocket right now, a rescue in this state's most rugged place, and the backstory you never knew about the man who ended the biggest manhunt in North Carolina history.

New episodes of Away Message begin April 15, 2019.

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

• This story was adapted from: "The Unlikely Ornament King of Gastonia" which appeared in Our State's December 2016 issue.
• Like this show? Tell us how to improve it by taking this survey.

Music in this episode:

• "Dad, Get Up" by Peter Lamb and the Wolves (Raleigh)
• Additional Music: Blue Dot Sessions, U.S. Marine Band

Special Thanks: The Rauch Family, Jack Betts, Don Walser, Kimberly Simpson, Alexis Castanos, and Todd Dulaney.

One month after Hurricane Florence made landfall in North Carolina, we bring you three stories of strength, resilience, and perseverance in the face of the storm.

If you'd like to help victims of the hurricane, we suggest:

• American Red Cross: 1-800-RED CROSS or text the word "FLORENCE" to 90999 to make a $10 donation; redcross.org
• North Carolina Community Foundation Disaster Relief Fund
• United Way Hurricane Florence Recovery Fund
• North Carolina Nurses Association: An emergency fundraising effort for nurses affected by Florence
• American Humane Association: An emergency donation helps animal rescue groups save animals left behind or in shelters
• Emergency Disaster Services of The Salvation Army
• The Food Bank of Central and Eastern North Carolina: To donate food, visit one of the distribution centers in Durham, Raleigh, New Bern, Greenville, the Sandhills/Southern Pines, or Wilmington, or donate online
• Second Harvest and Disaster Response
• For the Down East/Carteret County region, please consider donating to the Core Sound Waterfowl Museum's hurricane relief fund
• Hurricane Florence Relief Bucket Drive: Alpha Graphics of Raleigh will deliver buckets of cleaning supplies to the New Bern area; purchase through their Amazon wish list

Read a letter from our editor in chief, Elizabeth Hudson.

For continuing coverage of Hurricane Florence and its effects on North Carolina, we recommend the excellent work of our friends at the Raleigh News & Observer.

In the finale of Season 2, host Jeremy Markovich takes a trip to a remote place he's been trying to visit for years: Frying Pan Tower, a decommissioned Coast Guard light station that sits far out in the Atlantic Ocean.