The Venus flytrap is one of the most recognizable plants on the planet. Its strange and unique adaptations have made it a cultural icon and a favorite of plant collectors. But increasingly, there are worries about the health of its wild population. That's because the exotic plant only grows in a single place on the planet: a sliver of dirt in a small corner of the Carolinas.

Featuring:

• Michael Kunz, Director of Conservation Programs at the North Carolina Botanical Garden
• Sara Heise Graybeal, freelance journalist and folklorist
• Sgt. Matt Criscoe, NC Wildlife Commission's Law Enforcement Division

Links: 

• Read Sara's article about the cultural impact of the Venus flytrap at The Assembly.
• Check out North Carolina's Venus flytrap license plate.
• You can find a transcript of the episode here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Marlin fishing helps fuel a billion-dollar recreational saltwater fishing industry. Much of it is situated on the North Carolina coast, which also happens to be the site of one of the oldest and most celebrated fishing competitions in the world – the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. It’s an event filled with high stakes drama, and it continues to grow. But are there enough blue marlin in the ocean for the good times to keep rolling on?

Featuring:

• Ashley Bleau, owner of the Sensation
• Neal Conoley, author and former head of the North Carolina Aquarium Society
• Dr. John Graves, marine biologist and former professor at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science
• Aaron Barr, first mate of the Never Enough

Links:

• The Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament starts on June 6th in Morehead City, NC
• You can find a transcript of the episode here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Red wolves were declared extinct in the wild in 1980. A captive breeding program reintroduced the animal less than a decade later, but it's had mixed results. With fewer than 30 animals left in the wild, all located in an isolated corner of North Carolina, humans are once again attempting to bring the red wolf back from the brink of extinction.

This episode originally published on July 11, 2024. We're revisiting it because of ongoing successes in the captive red wolf breeding programs.

Featuring:

• Dr. Tara Harrison, Assistant Professor at NC State’s College of Veterinary Medicine
• Sean Hubbard, NC State University’s Canine Conversation Crew
• Adam Wagner, climate change and environment reporter at the Raleigh News & Observer

Links:

• Check out Adam’s reporting on red wolves for the News & Observer.
• You can find a transcript of the episode here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The Pokémon universe includes wildly popular anime shows, films, video games, and plushies. But Pokémon’s competitive trading card game has a culture all its own. The competition is global. The business associated with it is lucrative and secretive. And both run through an unexpected place: North Carolina.

Featuring: 

• Storms Reback, freelance journalist and contributor for The Assembly
• Brian Gordon, Technology & Innovation reporter for The News & Observer

Links: 

• Read Storms' feature about Pokémon culture in North Carolina at The Assembly here.
• Check out Brian’s reporting on Millennium Print Group here.
• You can find a transcript of the episode here.

The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

For much of the past two years, the debate over campus free speech has been front and center in America. While protests and punishments at private universities have grabbed most of the headlines, public schools have been grappling with the issue as well. That includes the country’s oldest public university: the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. And unlike the Ivy League, what’s happening there could have much broader and lasting first amendment implications. 

Featuring: 

• Gaby Del Valle, policy reporter at The Verge
• Brianna Atkinson, higher education reporter at WUNC
• Reem Subei, attorney with Muslim Advocates
• Bill Link, historian

Links: 

• You can find a transcript of the episode here.

The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Tucked away in rural Chatham County, North Carolina there’s a giant concrete cube with a satellite dish on top of it. Built decades ago, the strange, windowless building is only the tip of an iceberg; below it is a massive bunker designed to withstand a nuclear holocaust. That secure site has become part of local lore and spawned countless conspiracy theories. It may have even inspired the Netflix show Stranger Things. But what’s really going on down there?

Featuring: 

• Jay Price, Military and Veterans Affairs reporter at WUNC and The American Homefront Project
• Drew Lasater, Chatham County resident
• Bobby White, former civilian AT&T employee at the Project Office site in Chatham County

Links: 

• You can find a transcript of the episode here.

The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In the late 1800s, dozens of utopian communities with radical beliefs and unusual forms of self-government sprung up throughout the United States. And perhaps the most remarkable one of them all, a group of free Black people who were led by a king and a queen, was nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Featuring: 

• Dolen Perkins-Valdez, author of Happy Land
• Fitz Brundage, historian and author of A Socialist Utopia in the New South

Links: 

• You can find a transcript of the episode here.

The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Last year, over half of all new homes in the US were built in the South. And if you drive through the suburban sprawl of growing Southern cities like Raleigh, North Carolina, you can see them. Sometimes it's the same home. Over and over and over again. In many locales, mass production and cookie-cutter design have made it feel like you could be anywhere. So, how can we reclaim our sense of place, and what exactly is a Southern home?

Featuring: 

• Jeremy Markovich, writer of the North Carolina Rabbit Hole
• Frank Harmon, architect

Links: 

• Look at photos of Frank Harmon's gorgeous home in Raleigh, NC
• Check out Jeremy's article Why Don't Southern Homes Have Basements?
• You can find a transcript of the episode here.

The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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.

The Broadside is made possible by contributions from listeners like you. Support WUNC-North Carolina Public Radio and this podcast by making a donation.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There are dozens of major Civil War reenactments across the United States each year. They're incredible spectacles filled with cannons, muskets and marching orders. But the most interesting part of it all might just be the people who put on the show. We visited the 160th Anniversary of the Battle of Bentonville in rural eastern North Carolina to find out who these soldiers are and why reenactment culture continues to captivate and mystify Americans.

Featuring:

• Charlie Shelton-Ormond, producer at The Broadside

Links:

• You can find a transcript of the episode here.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.