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 Head...

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 increa...

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 presi...

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 disc...

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 deat...

 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 Un...

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 hunt...

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...

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...

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...

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 eac...

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 wh...

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 Mac...

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. A...

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...

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...

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 pee...

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 ou...

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 varian...

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 launche...

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 Minn...

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 a...

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, record...

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...

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 Sky...