Understand SC

Why did The Post and Courier just send two journalists 5,000 miles away to Africa?  For a story about where our worst hurricanes are born. West Africa is a hurricane nursery, the place where Hugo in 1989 was born. And dust blowing off the Sahara often determines whether a hurricane lives or dies.  

This bonus  episode of Understand SC is a recording of the Post and Courier's latest Beyond the Headlines event.  Senior projects reporter Tony Bartelme and photojournalist Andrew Whitaker discuss their trip and interviews with leading West African scientists and more. Moderated by Watchdog & Public Service Editor Glen...

In a city like Charleston, where dining is a key element of its identity, how restaurants are doing is important. 

We know that 2020 was a devastating year for local restaurants. 2021 — year two of the COVID-19 pandemic — brought its own challenges, even when diners returned. Restaurant owners have had to contend with staff shortages, supply chain difficulties, construction delays and price increases that made operating a daily struggle.

Despite those challenges, many Charleston restaurant owners say they’re optimistic about the year ahead.

This week on the podcast, you'll hear from two of them.

Ma...

Tim Scott has decided to launch a White House bid. He'll make the official announcement on May 22 at his alma mater Charleston Southern University.

In this Undertsand SC pop up episode, political editor Schuyler Kropf and senior politics reporter Caitlin Byrd discuss Tim Scotts political journey and what lies ahead as he campaigns for the presidency.

Related Content:

Tim Scott is running for president. His life story is at the center of his 2024 hopes.
SC’s Sen. Tim Scott says America ‘not a racist country’ in President Biden GOP rebuttal

Hosted...

Post and Courier Food Editor Parker Milner and contributing food critic Robert Moss debuted the Post and Courier's newest food and dining podcast live from the 2023 Charleston Wine and Food Festival.

This episode features recently named James Beard Finalist and owner of Tuk Tuk Sri Lanken Bites Sam Fore and owner of Mansueta's Filipino Food, Nikko Cagalanan

Charleston's Menu will be a podcast discussing dining, restaurants and all the food that lands on Parker and Robert's plate across South Carolina. 

Hosted by Parker Milner and Robert Moss

Produced by Eric Russell

The South Carolina Supreme Court is set to review the constitutionality of the two options the state currently offers as a way to execute inmates on death row. 

The decision could alter the fate of several inmates, including Richard Moore. Moore is likely to be the first man scheduled to die by firing squad if the Supreme Court allows the state to use the method.

He recently discussed life on death row, facing execution and remorse for killing James Joseph Mahoney III. 

Reporter Jennifer Berry Hawes break down South Carolina's execution options and dis...

 Welcome to Understand Murdaugh, a podcast from The Post and Courier, South Carolina’s largest newspaper. Our award-winning reporters have spent more than a year digging into the Murdaugh saga to bring you the latest news and in-depth analysis as we cover this story of drugs, deceit and death in South Carolina’s rural Lowcountry. Today, hosts Glenn Smith and Avery Wilks discuss the launching of Understand Murdaugh, the complex through lines of the case and what comes next.

Follow Understand Murdaugh: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/understand-murdaugh/id1652688043

Hosted by Glenn Smith...

The first newspaper story about the Lizard Man was written by Jan Easterling, a former reporter in The State newspaper's Camden bureau. Easterling was tasked with covering everything that happened in three mostly rural counties east of Columbia. That's how she came to hear talk of a Bigfoot-like creature from Lee County’s sheriff, Liston Truesdale. She wrote a short story that landed on the front page, and within days, it gained national attention.

More coverage:

Return of the Lizard Man: Bishopville's journey to reclaim an SC monster

Video: South Carolina's Lizard Man st...

The Lizard Man mania faded away after only a few months during the summer of 1988, but the story lives on today. 

Many Bishopville residents and cryptid fans, including a group called the Friends of the Lizard Man, want to do more to preserve the story of the Lizard Man. In recent years, the town has increasingly embraced the legend with events including a Lizard Man beauty pageant, scavenger hunts and the Lizard Man Stomp, which was held in June.

More coverage:

Return of the Lizard Man: Bishopville's journey to reclaim an SC monster

The Lizard Man story is 34 years old this month. Bishopville's embrace of the legend is still in its early days. 

In this episode Post and Courier photographer Andrew Whitaker and projects reporter Thad Moore spoke with many people from the town and Lizard Man enthusiasts. 

One person they talked with, Robert Howell, grew up  in nearby Timmonsville. Howell is known for his early illustrations and Lizard Man comics in the summer on 1988. Howell tells the story of Christopher Davis, a 17-year-old who became famous after an encounter with the creature. Davis had stopped to change a t...

For those who remember the summer of 1988, the Lizard Man is more than just a campfire story.

Instead, it's a connection to a moment in time and the memories and people they associate with it. Take, for instance, former Lee County Sheriff Liston Truesdale, who is largely credited with making the Lizard Man a legend. His niece, Abbie Denny, cherishes the Lizard Man, because it preserves her uncle's legacy. Harry Elmore also joined this episode. Elmore's uncle is often tied to the sightings in 1988, and when he took over his family's restaurant, Harry and Harry Too, he...

On Tuesday, South Carolinians went to the polls to vote in the 2022 primary election.

This week, we’re talking about a few of the most closely-watched races with help from our politics team at The Post and Courier.

In this primary, there was a kind of tale of two Trump endorsements: There were two Congressional races in South Carolina where a stamp of approval from Donald Trump was in play. In each of those districts, the Republican incumbent had fallen out of favor with the former president. Their challengers had earned Trump's support. 

Thi...

For the last two weeks Charleston has been hosting the annual Spoleto USA performing arts festival. The centerpiece of this year’s festival is the world premiere of an opera called “Omar.” 

"Omar" is Omar ibn Said, a West African scholar who was enslaved, first in Charleston and then in Fayetteville, N.C. Omar was Muslim, he read and wrote Arabic and he wrote his own autobiography. That text is what inspired the opera that is being performed for the very first time here in Charleston. 

Mena Mark Hanna, the general director of Spoleto Festival USA, exp...

On Monday, May 23, three Republicans vying to represent South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District took the stage at Burke High School.

Within moments of the start of the debate, the primary field was narrowed from three candidates to two: In response to the first question, candidate Lynz Piper-Loomis took off her microphone and endorsed Republican Katie Arrington over current U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace.

This week, senior politics reporter Caitlin Byrd breaks down that dramatic debate and explains why this race in South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District is the most closely-watched Republican Congressional primary in t...

South Carolina lawmakers wrapped up the regular 2022 session last week in Columbia.

This week, we’re recapping what state lawmakers did and didn’t do during this regular legislative session, from the bills that died to ones that have made it to or are en route to the governor’s desk to be signed into law, plus what lawmakers still have to do when they return for their special session next month.

Assistant Columbia bureau chief Seanna Adcox explains how some bills, like one that allows anyone in the state to cast a ballot early passed...

On May 2, the D.C. news outlet Politico published a draft opinion of a Supreme Court decision that would overturn Roe v. Wade.

An actual decision has not been issued. What was leaked was a draft, written by Justice Samuel Alito, but, in the days since it was published, people have sprung into action. Some South Carolina Republicans are pushing to pass more aggressive abortion legislation. Abortion providers in the state are preparing for a six-week ban on abortions that's currently blocked in the courts to potentially go into effect as soon as this summer.

...

On April 25, children's baseball games were being held at Pepperhill Park, a city-run recreation center in a residential area of North Charleston. 

It was a normal night. Nine and 10-year-olds were playing on the field as parents, siblings and coaches watched. 

Then, just before 8:45 p.m., dozens of shots rang out.

An about one-minute video captured by a parent showed the moments of confusion and panic that followed as children ran or crawled to find safety. 

No one was injured in the gunfire, and no arrests have been announced. City officials qui...

The restaurant review has long been part of The Post and Courier’s food section, but the coronavirus pandemic led us — along with newspapers nationwide — to temporarily suspend that section of the paper.

Recently, in March, The Post and Courier brought back its restaurant reviews. Moving forward, readers can expect to find a review inside the Food & Dining section twice a month. 

This week, we peek behind the curtain with help from The Post and Courier’s new contributing critic, Robert Moss. He shared how he approaches a review, what stood out to him the most from...

Some 3,000 miles north of Charleston, melting ice in Greenland is having a profound effect on Charleston's coastline. 

This week, we're revisiting an episode that took us behind the scenes of a special report that showed us how Greenland and Charleston are connected. We’ll hear from reporter Tony Bartelme and photographer Lauren Petracca about their trip to Greenland. You’ll learn what they saw out on Greenland's ice sheet, what they learned from speaking with locals and how they got to fly in a plane over icebergs with NASA.

Read The Greenland Connection. 

This e...

This week on the podcast, Dr. Michael Sweat, director of the Medical University of South Carolina’s Center for Global Health, is back to answer our questions about the COVID-19 pandemic in South Carolina.

The last time Sweat joined us on the podcast, the omicron variant of the coronavirus was just emerging. What followed was a major wave of coronavirus cases when omicron became the dominant variant in South Carolina and across the U.S. 

A lot has changed since then. Transmission of the virus is low now. 

But, while things have improved, the...

It's no secret that the Charleston area is a popular place to live. About 33 people are moving to the region a day.

Maybe you’re one of those people. Maybe you moved here in the last few years — or, you’re thinking about moving here soon.

This week, we're sharing some advice from our newsroom for people who are new to the Charleston area, with help from digital editor Matt Clough, who just launched Holy City How-To, a six-part newsletter course that's a kind of primer on the Charleston region.

We also got some h...

The University of South Carolina’s women’s basketball team started this season ranked No. 1. 

So, it wasn’t a surprise when the team beat Creighton on Sunday, securing their place in the Final Four.

But, as the team would say, they still have work to do. 

They came into this season with a goal of winning a national championship. To get there, they’ll have to win two more games this weekend in Minneapolis. 

This week, we're talking about this team and what's made them No. 1 in the country. David Clonginger...

If you live in or around Charleston, you know how expensive it’s become to live here. It’s not hard to understand why there’s a need for more affordable housing in the city. 

So, it caught a lot of people’s attention when the Charleston Housing Authority announced that year what will be the biggest public housing initiative in its history. The authority will be renovating or replacing all of its about 1,400 public housing units.  

With this overhaul, no low-income housing will be lost, more affordable apartments will be added to the city, the housing...

In 2020, one of the world’s largest car battery makers filed for bankruptcy and gave up its former plant in Greer, S.C.

While there’s little left of the old plant, there’s an invisible legacy it left behind.

To make its batteries, the company used lead, an element that can wreak havoc on the human body.

Inside the plant, employees were exposed to levels of lead well above the federal limit, records showed. Lead seeped into the soil and around the plant and, at times, clouds of lead dust would flow into t...

Morgan Island, a remote spot out in South Carolina's ACE Basin, has some unusual inhabitants: 3,500 rhesus monkeys. 

That's where one of the latest installments of The Post and Courier's Uncovered series about corruption and questionable conduct begins. Reporters Tony Bartelme and Shamira McCray explain how the South Carolina Department of Resources came to rely on millions of dollars in rent from a private company it regulates.

It's a story about monkeys, blood and money. 

Read the investigation: SC agency rakes in millions from pharma company it regulates

Check out the rest of...

As Russia's unprovoked attack on Ukraine continues, people around the world have shown solidarity for the Ukrainian people.

That's been true in South Carolina, too. 

In the last week, Ukrainians and their supporters gathered in Falls Park in Greenville and held a prayer service was at a Ukrainian church in Spartanburg. A small group held a vigil outside the S.C. Statehouse in Columbia, and the SkyWheel in Myrtle Beach was lit blue and yellow, the colors of the Ukrainian flag. On Wednesday, Charleston-area residents rallied for peace outside City Hall, also illuminated with blue a...

Chris Smith started working at J&J Cafeteria in Conway at a young age, washing dishes. He eventually started working at the restaurant full-time.  

It was a good job, until Bobby Edwards took over as manager.  

That’s when the abuse began. Edwards stopped paying Chris and forced him to work 100 hours or more per week. He physically harmed Chris, verbally abused him and isolated him from others. 

That went on for six years.

This was a case of human trafficking, or, more specifically labor trafficking. Projects reporter Jennifer Berry Hawes expla...

This month, Spoleto Festival USA, a major performing arts event that’s held annually here in Charleston, announced its 2022 programming lineup.

That’s always exciting, but it especially is this year, after two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. For the first time since 2019, the festival will host international performers. 

And, after being postponed twice, Spoleto audiences are going to see the world premiere of a highly-anticipated opera.

Called "Omar," and it’s based on the autobiography of Omar ibn Said, a Muslim scholar who was made to board a ship bound for Charleston where h...

A seat is opening up on the United States Supreme Court. 

President Joe Biden has said that, for the first time, a Black woman will serve on the country’s highest court. 

The question, of course, is who it will be. 

South Carolina judge Michelle Childs is one potential pick. Childs has the support of Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina — the House majority whip, an ally of Biden and the person who told Biden in the first place that he should commit to appointing a Black woman to the Supreme Court. 

Today...

In Charleston and in communities across the country where Confederate and related monuments have been removed, there’s still a big question left to be answered: What should be done with them now?

For the last several years, Los Angeles-based curator Hamza Walker has been working on an exhibit that will gather some of those monuments in the same place, displayed and in dialogue with works of contemporary art.

Tentatively called “Monuments,” the exhibit will debut in fall 2023 at the Museum of Contemporary Art Los Angeles.

They’re approaching local municipalities, asking to borrow t...

Oysters are pretty incredible.  

They can be incredibly delicious, and they’re one of the things people come to Charleston to eat, but they also have some natural superpowers  — superpowers that are particularly relevant for a place like Charleston that’s constantly contending with sea level rise and flooding.

Today, we’re going to be talking about oysters’ superpowers, with help from the co-founder of a Lowcountry oyster farm. 

This episode was hosted by Emily Williams and features Post and Courier reporter Jocelyn Grzeszczak and Josh Eboch, co-founder of Barrier Island Oyster Co. 

Need to r...

In a city like Charleston, where dining is a key element of its identity, how restaurants are doing is important. 

We know that 2020 was a devastating year for local restaurants. 2021 — year two of the COVID-19 pandemic — brought its own challenges, even when diners returned. Restaurant owners have had to contend with staff shortages, supply chain difficulties, construction delays and price increases that made operating a daily struggle.

Despite those challenges, many Charleston restaurant owners say they’re optimistic about the year ahead.

This week on the podcast, you'll hear from two of them.

Ma...

This past Tuesday, Jan. 11, legislators returned to the Statehouse in Columbia. So, what's on the agenda for 2022? 

This week, we're breaking down what lawmakers need to do this session, from drawing new lines for voting districts to discussing the legalization of medical marijuana and deciding what to do with the state's $6 billion in additional revenue. 

Money is a big theme for the year, with the windfall largely fueled by federal aid and a stronger-than-expected economic recovery. 

Assistant Columbia bureau chief Seanna Adcox explains what to expect from the Statehouse this session. 

More...

It’s been one year since supporters of former President Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. The events of that day led to an impeachment, sparked debate about what it meant for the future of democracy in the United States and launched investigations by the FBI and Congress.  

This week, we’re taking a closer look at South Carolina’s role in the lead-up to Jan. 6, on the day and in the fallout that came after.  

Eleven S.C. residents have been charged with storming the Capitol on Jan. 6, including two accused of assau...

This year on Understand SC, we've covered a little bit of everything: flooding in Charleston, the coronavirus pandemic, South Carolina politics and even the design of the state’s flag.

Emily Williams and Gavin McIntyre revisit moments from some of the year's conversations. 

All past episodes of Understand SC, a weekly news podcast by The Post and Courier, can be found at understand-sc.simplecast.com.

Clips featured are from the following episodes:

There are about 105,000 other South Carolinians who fall into a health insurance coverage gap created by factors that were set into motion about a decade ago. 

In 2012, the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act for the first time. 

But, there was a caveat. The court said it was up to states to decide if they would expand Medicaid, the state and federal program that provides health coverage to people with low incomes. 

Most states signed on. South Carolina did not. 

Ten years in, South Carolina remains one of o...

The largest university in the state of South Carolina is searching for its next leader.

Back in May, the University of South Carolina opened a search after its last president, Bob Caslen, stepped down amid controversy. (To get caught up, listen to this Understand SC episode from June.)

About a week ago, it looked like the university’s presidential search process could have been coming to a close. The search committee had narrowed the field to a preferred candidate who was expected to visit the school this week.

But, shortly after The Post an...

There’s a new variant dominating pandemic-related headlines right now. You've probably heard of it — and you probably have some questions. We’re getting into some of those today. 

The omicron variant was discovered in South Africa and reported to the World Health Organization Nov. 24. Two days later, the WHO deemed it a variant of concern. 

The U.S. recorded its first case of the variant Wednesday, Dec. 1. 

Today, Michael Sweat, director of the Medical University of South Carolina’s Center for Global Health, helps us break down what is and isn’t known about t...

After repeatedly finding themselves being the only Black people on their visits to Charleston's breweries, brewer April Dove and David White Jr. of "The Dropping Pin" teamed up to create a beer that they hoped could brew some change for the region's craft beer community.  

Dove and White's goal, long-term, is to see more diversity in Charleston’s taprooms.  

Their beer, called Tha CommUNITY has been a success, and they have more ideas — and beers — in the works.  

On today’s podcast, you’ll hear them share their experiences in breweries, how they came to brew...

In South Carolina, there's a small town unofficially known as the hometown of living war heroes. 

The town is Batesburg-Leesville, and the war heroes are Sgt. Maj. Thomas Patrick Payne and Cpl. Kyle Carpenter, both recipients of the nation's highest military award for valor, the Medal of Honor. 

The likelihood of two living Medal of Honor recipients having called the rural South Carolina town home is small: There are only 66 living recipients of the medal today, according to the Congressional Medal of Honor Society. 

This week, military and politics reporter Thomas Novelly shares what...

This week, we’re revisiting a topic that we discussed about a year ago on this podcast: the plan to potentially build a sea wall around Charleston’s peninsula. 

The idea is to protect the flood-prone area from storm surge if the city were to be directly hit by a hurricane. It would also be the city’s most substantial defense yet against sea rise.

This project would be a massive undertaking — financially and logistically — and already, years of planning have gone into it. 

In the last year, there have been some significant updates to t...