Georgia Today

LISTEN: On the Wednesday, Nov. 30 edition of the Georgia Today podcast: Hurricane season is over, Mercer is putting a spotlight on women's rights, a former Georgia prosecutor charged with hindering the police investigation into the killing of Ahmaud Arbery has been ordered to appear before a judge 

On the Tuesday, November 29 edition of the Georgia Today podcast: Georgia sets a record for early in-person voting, the fastest growing sport in Georgia schools is flag football, and Dave Matthews makes an appearance in Cobb County for Sen. Raphael Warnock.

On the Monday November 28 edition of the Georgia Today podcast, nearly 200,000 people turned out for early voting, the federal government is providing funding for electric buses in Georgia, and Senator Jon Ossoff is pushing for justice in the unsolved murder cases of lynching victims.

Georgia Today is the new daily podcast from GPB News bringing you compelling stories and in-depth reporting that you won’t hear anywhere else. Peter Biello hosts this quick and convenient way to get the best of GPB News’ extensive coverage of the topics that matter to you, delivered directly to your device every weekday afternoon.

A proposal to mine for titanium dioxide near the state's Okefenokee Swamp is attracting controversy. Alabama company Twin Pines has applied for a permit to extract minerals near the freshwater wetland and wildlife refuge — the largest blackwater wetland in North America — and residents, politicians and environmental advocates are pushing back to protect the Okefenokee.

In 1948, a Black sharecropper in Georgia was sentenced to die for a murder he didn’t commit. What happened next tells us a lot about the legal system in the United States then — and now.

Students and faculty members around the state are reacting to news that Republican former Gov. Sonny Perdue may soon head up Georgia’s public university system. This week, officials on the Board of Regents announced Perdue is the sole finalist for the top job of chancellor. Opponents of the choice say Perdue's appointment would jeopardize academic freedom across the system’s 26 campuses.

As the worst of the omicron surge fades around the country, health officials worry more Americans may end up with long COVID. The condition affects roughly one-third of COVID-19 survivors. For this episode we hear from a Georgia mother of two who is living with long COVID.

As Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis continues her investigation into former President Donald Trump’s attempted interference in the 2020 election, she’s been authorized to empanel a special grand jury. The Georgia Today podcast looks at the latest with Willis’ investigation and what to expect over the coming year.

Residents near the site of the proposed Rivian Automotive electric vehicle factory want answers about the facility’s potential impacts on their rural community.

An investigation finds one apartment complex in Clayton County has filed more evictions against tenants than any other landlord across metro Atlanta — including during the federal government's pandemic eviction ban that was designed to keep people in their homes and stem the spread of COVID-19.

Athens, Ga., is preparing for a parade this weekend to honor the University of Georgia Bulldogs. The team’s big win Jan. 10 against Alabama’s Crimson Tide handed the Bulldogs their first national title since 1981. Hear how the Bulldogs made Georgia football history.

Liberty County outside Savannah is one place where the number of people quitting their jobs has been extraordinary, even amid the national so-called Great Resignation that's seen record numbers of people quit. Why Liberty County is so hard hit and how the employee exodus is changing the fabric of the community, is the subject of this week's Georgia Today.

On this special year-end edition of the podcast, we look back at some of our most memorable episodes from 2021.

This is the story of a grassroots fight in Middle Georgia for clean drinking water. GPB reporter Grant Blankenship and photojournalist Evey Wilson, an assistant professor at the Mercer University's Center for Collaborative Journalism, followed the effort for the recent documentary Saving Juliette.

A Northwest Atlanta brick factory that helped rebuild the city after the Civil War — using the free labor of mostly Black prison convicts — will be reborn as a park and memorial, supporters hope. This episode of Georgia Today examines the history of the Chattahoochee Brick Co. 

Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue’s announcement that he's challenging Gov. Brian Kemp in next year’s gubernatorial primary is deepening the divide in an already fractured GOP. Former President Donald Trump has endorsed Perdue. How will Perdue’s unprecedented challenge to a sitting governor play out in next year’s primary elections and what could it all mean for the future of the Georgia GOP?

On this week's Georgia Today podcast, we explore the emotional toll surrounding the Brunswick trial of the three men convicted of killing Ahmaud Arbery. During the trial, says Larry Hobbs from the Brunswick News, "Marcus Arbery and Wanda Cooper-Jones were the faces of courage — to see these images of their son over and over again, to hear what the defense said about their son — this was a grueling...

When residents in one of Georgia’s smallest and poorest counties learned about plans for a 500-acre quarry near the Ogeechee River, they rallied together with their neighbors to fight back.

Georgia’s Southern Judicial District has been called the worst place in America to be poor and charged with a federal crime. The district lacks a full-time federal public defender's office, which advocates say leads to inadequate representation for indigent criminal defenders.

This week, Georgians around the state are remembering Max Cleland. He died of congestive heart failure at his home in Atlanta on Tuesday. He was 79. Cleland was a Democrat and lifelong public servant in a variety of roles, including U.S. senator and head of the Veterans Administration under President Jimmy Carter. Jim Galloway, a now-retired Atlanta Journal-Constitution journalist, says Cleland’s...

The Atlanta mayor’s race is headed to a runoff. Whoever wins will face a sharp increase in crime that's accelerated during the pandemic. On the latest Georgia Today podcast, hear about the impact of crime on communities in Atlanta and what's driving it, with a Georgia criminologist who himself became a shooting victim.

Longtime Braves fans know Bobby Cox as one of the winningest managers in baseball history. But they may not know what happened in the decade since he retired that's kept Cox mostly away from games at Truist Park. In 2019 Bobby Cox had a stroke. But the legendary baseball figure remains influential with the team and close to Brian Snitker, the Braves’ current manager. In this week's Georgia Today,...

Jury selection is underway in the Brunswick trial for three white men accused in the 2020 killing of Ahmaud Arbery, who was Black. It’s also a reminder for some residents of a long-broken trust with a police department and other county law enforcement agencies that took almost three months to open an investigation into the 25-year-old's death. This week's Georgia Today podcast delves into the trou...

Drug company Merck is awaiting word on its emergency use-authorization application for its recently announced drug molnupiravir. If approved, the anti-viral drug developed at a lab at Emory University could become the first-ever pill to treat COVID-19. The latest Georgia Today podcast examines the journey that led to this potential breakthrough and its connection to Emory.