The Broadside

Trading stories is an ancient and deeply human experience. But today, most of the stories we consume come to us through a digital screen. So it might surprise you to find out that we're in the midst of a revival of the old school style of storytelling. Turns out, sitting in a crowded room with other people, sharing funny and tragic and unbelievable stories live and in person has never been bigger.  

Thank you to Nancy Reeder of the North Carolina Storytelling Guild for reaching out and pitching this show idea.

And special thanks also goes out to linguist and former Broadside guest Brody McCurdy for providing us with audio from the Voices of Chatham project, an ongoing oral history and documentary recording the history, culture, and language of Chatham County. Voices of Chatham was created in collaboration between NC State’s Language & Life Project and the Chatham County Historical Association. 

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• You can find a transcript of this 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 here.

Sign up for WUNC's new Politics Newsletter here.

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?

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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.

Sign up for WUNC's new Politics Newsletter here.

This week we're launching a new kind of episode where we spend an ordinary day in the life of someone doing something extraordinary. Join us as we tag along with renowned North Carolina-based muralist Dare Coulter while she works to bring a very big and very public artistic vision to life.

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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.

Sign up for WUNC's new Politics Newsletter here.

It’s Election Week in America–and if you’re like us, you’re probably a little burned out with politics. So we’re offering up something different. This week, we ask three veteran political reporters a single question: what’s the most bizarre story you've ever covered?

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Special thanks this week goes out to WUNC’s Colin Campbell and Kate Sheppard of The Assembly.

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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.

Sign up for WUNC's new Politics Newsletter here.

Known as the "Furniture Capital of the World," North Carolina is famous for its high-quality furniture. And for over a century, it's been the heartbeat of the American furniture industry. But in recent decades, that business has changed dramatically, decimating the workforce and leaving average American consumers with two less-than-ideal options: high-end luxury products or cheap and mostly disposable mass-produced stuff.

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Thanks to the team at the High Point Market Authority for their help during Market week, especially Ben Muller. Special thanks also this week to NC State Libraries' Special Collections Research Center.

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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.

Sign up for WUNC's new Politics Newsletter here.

The North Carolina State Fair is one of the largest and oldest state fairs in the United States, drawing nearly a million people each year. And it's in full swing right now. We went yesterday and brought you back some funnel cake.

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.

Sign up for WUNC's new Politics Newsletter here.

The South is seeing the effects of a warming climate. 2024 was the hottest summer on record for much of the region. For people who work outside, it’s making jobs more difficult, dangerous... and even deadly.

This week, we chat with two journalists from WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio about their multi-part series Scorched Workers, which examines the impact of rising heat on outdoor workers in North Carolina.

Special thanks goes out to WUNC's Elizabeth Baier.

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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.

Sign up for WUNC's new Politics Newsletter here.

Hurricane Helene ravaged the Southeast and brought unprecedented flooding to the mountains of western North Carolina. Helene is a devastating example of climate change’s impact on places like Appalachia, a region that poses unique challenges for relief and recovery. 

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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.

Sign up for WUNC's new Politics Newsletter here.

This year, a record $12.3 billion will be spent on US political campaigns. The majority of that is earmarked for political advertising, particularly in battleground states like North Carolina. But where does that money go, and what exactly does it buy? The answers might surprise and alarm you.

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• You can find a transcript of this 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 here.

Sign up for WUNC's new Politics Newsletter here.

If you walk through a cemetery, you’ll see some common phrases on the gravestones. Many of them are used so often, we tend to take these very public remembrances for granted. But what happens when one *really* stands out and contains a false murder accusation?

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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.

Sign up for WUNC's new Politics Newsletter here.