The Broadside

The first Asian residents of North Carolina were a world-famous pair of conjoined twin brothers. And they later became quite possibly the country’s first Asian American citizens. This week, we tell the almost unbelievable story of Chang and Eng Bunker and explore the complicated legacy they left behind in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Featuring:

• Joe Orser, author of The Lives of Chang and Eng: Siam's Twins in Nineteenth-Century America
• Eli Chen, digital news producer at WUNC News

Links:

• From Now On from the musical Chang and Eng
• The Siamese Twins Museum in Mount Airy, NC

Cover photo: From the National Portrait Gallery and The Frederick Hill Meserve Collection, Chang and Eng Bunker and children circa 1860.

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Forever chemicals like PFAS have permeated much of the country’s water supply for decades. These containments are linked to severe health problems, yet critics say federal and state government efforts to clean up waterways in places like North Carolina's Cape Fear River aren't doing nearly enough.

Featuring:

• Celeste Guajardo, environment reporter at WUNC News
• Will Stone, editor and reporter for NPR's Science Desk

Links:

• NPR: The MAHA movement is mad about the weedkiller glyphosate and Trump's EPA

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There are tens of thousands of Indigenous mounds located throughout the United States. For Native Americans, these earthen structures are revered as sacred places. Despite their importance to Native cultures, many of these sites have been damaged or destroyed in the past, and very few are actually owned by tribes today. But the fascinating story of one mound in Franklin, North Carolina is highlighting recent efforts to preserve these important sites and put them back in tribal hands.

Featuring:

• Angelina Jumper, cultural resources supervisor for Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians
• Lilly Knoepp, NC Local’s regional reporter for Western North Carolina
• Ben Steere, archaeologist and professor at Western Carolina University
• Johi Griffin, tribal historic sites keeper for Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians

Links:

• NC Local: There are dozens of Indigenous mounds in North Carolina. Why do tribes only own a few?
• The Trailhead newsletter from Lilly Knoepp and NC Local

Cover image: Noquisiyi Mound in Franklin, North Carolina. Photo by Harrison Keely/Creative Commons Attribution 4.0.

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In 1988, professional basketball came to North Carolina with the arrival of the Charlotte Hornets of the NBA. Desperate to make a splash, the new team made an unconventional early hire; they selected a famous fashion designer to create their uniforms. The Hornets lost 60 games during that bumpy first season, but they looked incredible while doing it. And their iconic look — purple, teal and pinstripes — would launch a global fashion trend that endures today.

A version of this episode originally published on February 2, 2024.

Featuring:

• Alexander Julian, fashion designer and creator of the original Charlotte Hornets uniform
• Crystal McCrary McGuire, writer and documentary filmmaker

Links:

• Watch video from the 1988 Charlotte Hornets uniform reveal press conference.

Cover photo: A Charlotte Hornets-branded Starter jacket that was wildly popular during the 1990s.

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Data centers projects are expanding throughout the US at hyperspeed and hyperscale. These developments are reshaping small towns, consuming vast amounts of power and striking deals that aren't always clear. And in many places, like rural North Carolina, people are starting to voice concerns in the voting booth.

Featuring:

• Zachary Turner, reporter at WFAE in Charlotte, NC
• Adam Wagner, editor/reporter with the NC Newsroom

Links:

• Check out the 6-part collaborative reporting series Hyperspeed, Hyperscale: Inside the Data Center Boom Reshaping NC Communities

Cover photo: An anti-data center campaign sign on a car in Stokes County, North Carolina. Credit: Zachary Turner / WFAE News

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Flush with billions of dollars from federal funding, Immigration and Customs Enforcement is expanding its permanent presence on the ground by opening field offices and creating new detention centers. A majority of these divisive ICE projects are happening in the South, including several proposed facilities in North Carolina. But communities, from large metropolitan areas to rural small towns, are pushing back.

Featuring:

• Aaron Sánchez-Guerra, race, class & communities Reporter at WUNC News
• Cal Bryant, editor at the Roanoke-Chowan News-Herald
• Eric Westervelt, senior editor-correspondent at NPR

Links:

• WUNC News: From rural towns to urban centers, proposed ICE detention facilities face local opposition
• NPR: Mapping ICE's expanding footprint, and the communities fighting back

Cover photo: Lifelong Ahoskie, North Carolina resident Kim Hoggard participates in a protest on Saturday, March 14, 2026 against a proposed immigration detention facility in Hertford County. Credit: Aaron Sánchez-Guerra

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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.

This episode originally published on October 24, 2024 and features a trip to the High Point Furniture Market. The 2026 Spring Market is scheduled for April 25–29.

Featuring:

• Zaki Khalifa, former owner of Zaki Oriental Rugs in High Point, NC
• Tammy Nagum, President and CEO of the High Point Market Authority
• Federico Contigiani, President of Hickory Chair
• Matt Hartman, reporter at The Assembly

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.

Links:

• Check out Matt’s reporting on the evolution of North Carolina furniture.
• You can find a transcript of this episode here.

Aspect: Order no. 329, Directed by Kine, 27 February 1961, ua102_400_309766_20221007_49866, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, North Carolina

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Fascinating new research is shedding light on how clothing culture during the American Civil war helped radically transform the nation during its darkest hour. Through the clothes they made, wore, mended, lost, and stole, Americans expressed their allegiances, showed their love, confronted their social and economic challenges, subverted expectations, and, ultimately, preserved their history.

Featuring:

• Sarah Weicksel, author of A Nation Unraveled: Clothing, Culture, and Violence in the American Civil War Era

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In March of 1944, two basketball teams in North Carolina played perhaps the most important game that nobody has ever heard of. It was the first interracial college basketball game in the Jim Crow South. And it remained a secret for half a century.

Featuring:

• Scott Ellsworth, author of “The Secret Game: A Wartime Story of Courage, Change, and Basketball’s Lost Triumph”

Links:

• You can check out Scott’s original 1996 article for The New York Times here.

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The Trump administration is considering major changes to the way that disaster response works in America, including ceding more responsibility to states. But is that really a good idea? North Carolina's spotty record of responding to hurricanes might provide some answers and offer a glimpse into the uncertain future of disaster relief.

Featuring:

• Rebecca Hersher, reporter on NPR's Climate Desk
• Ren Larson, reporter at The Assembly and a ProPublica Local Reporting Network fellow

Links:

• "As Helene Survivors Wait for State Help, Some Victims of Earlier Hurricanes Are Still Out of Their Homes"
• "3 big changes are proposed for FEMA. This is what experts really think of them"

Cover image: From NOAA, this colored infrared composite image of Hurricane Helene was captured on September 27, 2024 utilizing the Advanced Baseline Imager (ABI) aboard NOAA's GOES-16 satellite.

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