Special broadcast of Walter Edgar’s Journal at 1pm today
Today at 1:00pm, in remembrance of Bill Hay, the founding Director of ETV Radio, and in honor of his contributions to the quality of life in South Carolina we are featuring an encore broadcast of a Journal program first aired September 6th, 2002, during the celebration of ETV Radio’s 30th anniversary. Walter's guests are Bill Hay and former Vice-President of ETV Radio, Tom Fowler. The program will be posted as a podcast later this afternoon.
Take on the South
Dr. Edgar, Dr. Peter A. Coclanis, Associate Provost, International Affairs, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Dr. Stanley Engerman, John Munro Professor of Economics, Professor of Economics and Professor of History, University of Rochester, will debate "Would Southern Slavery Have Survived the Civil War?" This episode is complimentary to the ETV program Take on the South: Would Southern Slavery Have Survived the Civil War?, which airs November 18, 2009 at 8:00 pm on all ETV...
Mary Alice Monroe: Last Light over Carolina
Lowcountry author Mary Alice Monroe talks with Dr. Edgar about her new book, Last Light Over Carolina, and the challenges that face South Carolina shrimpers. In Last Light Over Carolina, an otherwise ordinary day in a small shrimping village off the coast of South Carolina becomes a potentially tragic day--a boat has gone missing. The entire town rallies as all are mobilized to find the lost vessel. Throughout the course of one day, the story of Bud Morrison, the captain on board, and of...
Old-Time Radio
John Wrisley is a long-time broadcast in the Midlands who is also an avid lover of old-time radio. Betsy Weinberg and he share what "old-time" radio means and their efforts to keep its history and its programs alive.
From the Pee Dee to the Savannah: Enduring Legacies of South Carolina’s Fal
The Fall Line is a geographic region within South Carolina where the rivers are no longer navigable from the Low Country. Historically, this area, which stretches from Cheraw on the Pee Dee River to Hamburg (present day North Augusta) on the Savannah River, yielded experiences and material culture that were characteristic of its peoples. In 2002, ten Midlands-area museums, archives, and libraries formed the South Carolina Fall Line Consortium in order to identify, research, and interpret the...
The Tobacco Trail
Dr. Eldred “Wink” Prince is the author of the first comprehensive history of Bright Leaf tobacco culture of any state to appear in fifty years, Long Green: The Rise and Fall of Tobacco in South Carolina (University of Georgia Press, 2000). The book explores the advances and retreats of tobacco's influence in South Carolina from its beginnings in the colonial period to its heyday at the turn of the century, the impact of the Depression, the New Deal, World War II, and on to present-day...
Voices of Our Ancestors: Language Contact in Early South Carolina
As language development reflects historical development, linguistics can also serve as an avenue of inquiry into South Carolina's social history from the epoch of Native American primacy to the present day. In her recent book Voices of Our Ancestors: Language Contact in Early South Carolina, linguist and author Patricia C. Nichols pays particular attention to the development of the Gullah language among the coastal African American peoples and the ways in which this language—and others of...
Hurricane Preparedness
Mayor Joe Riley of Charleston recounts the landfall of Hugo, 20 years ago. He also talks with Dr. Edgar about preparing for the next hurricane that makes land in the Lowcountry, and the impact such a storm could have on dense coastal development. Charles Platt, the new head of the SC Emergency Preparedness Division, and SCEMD Chief of Preparedness Jon Boettcher will talk about the role the agency plays in preparedness and disaster response. And Dr. Susan Cutter, director of USC’s Hazards and...
Hugo: A Landmark in Time
In 1989, Hurricane Hugo cut a swath of destruction from Charleston to Columbia and into Charlotte, NC. A new book, Hugo: A Landmark in Time observes the 20th anniversary of its landfall. Editors John Burbage and Jason Lesley join Dr. Edgar to talk about the book, and about "the storm of the century."
Dorothea Benton Frank: Return to Sullivans Island
Author Dorothea Benton Frank joins Dr. Edgar to talk about her new novel, Return to Sullivans Island, which takes readers back to the enchanted landscape of South Carolina's Lowcountry made famous in her beloved New York Times bestseller Sullivans Island to tell the story of the next generation of Hamiltons and Hayes. Whether you were away from the Lowcountry for a week or for years, it was impossible to remember how gorgeous it was. It never changed and everyone depended on that. Newly...
Abby Sallenger: Island in a Storm
In the summer of 1853 explosions rocked New Orleans. The mayor ordered cannons fired and barrels of tar set aflame in a desperate attempt to rid the city of yellow fever. Those with the means fled. Many of them traveled to Isle Derniere, an emerging island retreat on the Gulf of Mexico, presuming it a safe haven. Then, without warning, on August 10, 1856, a hurricane swept across the island, killing most of its 400 inhabitants. The Isle Derniere, already a narrow ribbon of sand, was...
Picturing America
(Originally broadcast 03/27/08) - Martha Severens, Curator of the Greenville County Museum of Art, has been asked by the SC Humanities Council to present a series of lectures around the state on the The National Endowment for the Humanities’ initiative "Picturing America" is an innovative program that helps teach American history and provides students with a gateway to the broader world of the humanities through visual imagery. The NEH has selected 40 iconic pieces (art, artifacts,...
Greenville Chautauqua
(Originally broadcast 05/15/09) - With summer and winter festivals, and other events throughout the rest of the year, Greenville Chautauqua brings history to life. The first Chautauqua was started as an outdoor adult education program for Sunday School teachers at a campsite on Chautauqua Lake in upstate New York founded by Methodist minister John Heyl Vincent and businessman Lewis Miller. In the 1970s Chautauqua was revived and sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and...
Take on the South: The Most Influential Southern Novel
(Originally broadcast 05/08/09) - Internationally-renowned Southern-literature scholars Trudier Harris of UNC and Noel Polk of Mississippi State University join Dr. Edgar to debate the topic "What was the most influential Southern novel of the 20th century?" This episode is a companion to the latest installment of the ETV series Take on the South: "What was the most influential 20th-century Southern novel?"
Gene Owens, columnist, humorist
(Originally broadcast 03/20/08) - Journalist, writer, and raconteur Gene Owens is back! You’ve read his commentary in the “Greasepit Grammar" columns at USADeepSouth.com. You’ve heard him from time to time on The Journal. Now Gene and Walter Edgar spend a fun-filled hour talking about all things Southern, including: “Southernisms” in the language, books and films about the region, journalism, and the Southern economy. Gene Owens has been around the Southern journalistic scene for over 40...
Michael Bedenbaugh, the Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation
(Originally broadcast 09/05/08) - The Palmetto Trust for Historic Preservation is a non-profit organization operating in South Carolina since 1990, dedicated to preserving and protecting the irreplaceable architectural heritage of South Carolina. Executive Director Michael Bedenbaugh talks with Dr. Edgar about the goals of the Trust, including advocacy, education, preservation, and helping preservationist across the state to work together.
Sarah Hammond, playwright
(Originally broadcast 11/21/08) - Playwright Sarah Hammond is the daughter of journalists who are South Carolina natives. She has been a Dramatists Guild Fellow and a Princess Grace Award runner-up. A proud graduate of the University of South Carolina (BA) and the University of Iowa (MFA), she has taught play writing at both schools. She is now based in Brooklyn, and has become a member of New Dramatists, the nation’s oldest nonprofit center for the development of talented playwrights. She...
Dr. Bernard Powers
(Originally broadcast 03/14/08) - Denmark Vesey was a West Indian slave, and later a freedman, who planned what would have been one of the largest slave rebellions in the United States had word of the plans not been leaked. The revolt was to take place on Bastille Day, July 17, 1822, and was in reaction to the city of Charleston's suppression of the African Church, which boasted a membership of over three thousand in 1820. News of the plan leaked and Charleston authorities arrested the...
Ed Madden, poet
Ed Madden is the author/editor of several books, including Signals, a collection of poems which won the SC Poetry Book Prize. He is also Associate Professor of English language and Literature and Associate Director of Women’s Studies at USC’s College of Arts and Humanities. He talks with Walter about Signals, as well as other works, and his work in Women’s Studies.
Miles Hoffman
(Originally broadcast 01/09/09) - Miles Hoffman is renowned violist and artistic director of the American Chamber Players, with whom he regularly tours the United States and Canada. . He has also appeared as a soloist with many orchestras around the country, performing a broad repertoire that ranges from baroque to contemporary compositions, and he has been a featured lecturer for orchestras, universities, chamber music series, festivals, and various other organizations. Before joining...
Mary Alice Monroe, author
(Originally broadcast - 1/16/09) - Mary Alice Monroe has written stories for as long as she can remember. As a child she could always be found curled up with a book or writing. Although she currently rights fiction, she began as a journalist. It was during months of bed rest during a difficult pregnancy that she began fiction and now has written more than a dozen novels. Although known for her intimate portrayals of women's lives, her writing has gained added purpose and depth with her...
Fran Rizer, author of the Callie Parrish series of mystery novels
Fran Rizer has always loved to write, authoring quite a few non-fiction articles over the years while she worked as a remedial math teacher and as an English teacher in Columbia’s public schools. When she retired, however, she finally had the time to write a novel. Thus was born a new mystery series featuring protagonist Callie Parrish, a beautician at the local mortuary in St. Mary, South Carolina. Fran Rizer joins Dr. Edgar for a free-wheeling conversation about Callie and her world that...
Bill Dukes of Honor Flight, SC; and WWII veteran T. Moffatt Burriss
(Originally broadcast 03/06/2009) - On November 16th, 2008, a dream came true for Columbia restaurateur Bill Dukes as he and about 90 World War II veterans began a flight to Washington, DC, to see the WWII Memorial. For many of the veterans, a visit to the Memorial, dedicated in 2004, was something they would probably never have dreamed of, much less done. Honor Flight South Carolina is a non-profit organization dedicated to flying South Carolina WWII vets to see “their monument,” free of...
Greenville Chautauqau
With summer and winter festivals, and other events throughout the rest of the year, Greenville Chautauqua brings history to life. The first Chautauqua was started as an outdoor adult education program for Sunday School teachers at a campsite on Chautauqua Lake in upstate New York founded by Methodist minister John Heyl Vincent and businessman Lewis Miller. In the 1970s Chautauqua was revived and sponsored by the National Endowment for the Humanities and state humanities councils as a means...
What is the most influential Southern novel of the 20th century?
Internationally-renowned Southern-literature scholars Trudier Harris of UNC and Noel Polk of Mississippi State Univeristy join Dr. Edgar to debate the topic "What was the most influential Southern novel of the 20th century?" This episode is a companion to the latest instalment of the ETV series Take on the South: "What was the most influential 20th-century Southern novel?" which airs on ETV stations Wednesday, May 13, 2009 at 8:00 pm.
Slavery to Freedom: The Magnolia Slave Cabin Project
Magnolia Plantation's slave cabins have a unique history, in that they have been utilized from the time of antebellum slavery through emancipation and into the late 20th century by African-Americans. Magnolia Plantation, in Charleston, has partnered with The Living History Group to restore these dwellings in a way that interpret African-American history from slavery to freedom and beyond. Craig Hadley, Executive Director of The Living History Group, and Rick Owens, of Carolina Preservation...
The Curious Mr. Catesby
In February 1722, Mark Catesby, a 40-year old Englishman with an enigmatic past and an insatiable curiosity for the wondrous serendipity of nature, set sail on a three-month voyage to the Lowcountry of South Carolina. His sojourn in the New World was taken under the auspices of London’s Royal Society. Catesby was to spend the next four years exploring the natural habitat of the southeast colonies and the Bahamas, and the subsequent 20 years writing and illustrating his exhaustive...
From Turner to Cezanne
National Museum Wales, known for having one of the finest Impressionist art collections in Europe, is sending to the U.S. highlights from its remarkable Davies Collection. The first stop in the U.S. for this extraordinary group of 19th and early 20th-century paintings will be The Columbia Museum of Art. Todd Herman, Chief Curator and Curator for European Art, tells about the museum's exhibition, "Turner to Czanne: Masterpieces from the Davies Collection, National Museum Wales."
Honoring South Carolina’s WWII Veterans
On November 16th, 2008, a dream came true for Columbia restaurateur Bill Dukes as he and about 90 World War II veterans began a flight to Washington, DC, to see the WWII Memorial. For many of the veterans, a visit to the Memorial, dedicated in 2004, was something they would probably never have dreamed of, much less done. Honor Flight South Carolina is a non-profit organization dedicated to flying South Carolina WWII vets to see “their monument,” free of charge. Their next flight is in April....
The African-American Heritage Commission
(Originally broadcast 01/11/08) - The mission of the South Carolina African American Heritage Commission is to identify and promote the preservation of historic sites, structures, buildings, and culture of the African American experience in South Carolina and to assist and enhance the efforts of the South Carolina Department of Archives and History. The 15-member commission includes representatives from all regions of the state. Commission Chair Jannie Harriot joins Dr. Edgar to talk about...