Understand SC

We've recorded a special episode of Understand SC about a topic that's dominated the news cycle here and around the world: the spread of the coronavirus.  As more cases of the strain, called COVID-19, are detected every day, questions about how it could impact our lives are multiplying, too. What should we be doing to prepare? What are health officials saying? Should we be worried, and, if so, how...

Well, it's been a minute, hasn't it? Understand is finally back after our extended winter hiatus with politics reporter Caitlin Byrd to talk about the 2020 Democratic Primary coming up in a few days. Why does this matter so much? Who's in the lead? Why is our primary open? And will GOP voters attempt to sow chaos? We've got the answers.

You’ve likely seen CBD products popping up everywhere and heard about farmers growing hemp all over the state. In September, John Pendarvis was arrested for growing hemp on unlicensed land, making him the first farmer in the state to be charged for this crime. But the punishment wasn’t specified, leaving some interesting legal questions.

SC's presidential primary is the first in the south and one of the first nationwide. Here's how that came to be and why it matters so much.

After acrimony and distrust, organizers decided not to build the $100 million National Medal of Honor Museum here in South Carolina. At look at what happened, how the project got derailed, and what's happening instead.

We explain the controversy over USC's new president.

SPECIAL EMERGENCY EPISODE: Latest on Dorian and Evacuations.

What's the deal with the tiny checks folks are getting in the mail from SCE&G parent company SCANA?

For this week’s episode, we thought it was high time to talk about the specific challenges Charleston and the coast as a whole face as climate change continues to affect how many flooding events impact the area. In what we think might just be our best episode yet, here are some of the questions we tackle: How quickly is sea level rise accelarating? What factors are contributing to flooding? When i...

If you ask our tourism reporter Emily Williams, who’s joining us on this week’s episode, “overconcentration on the peninsula” is what everyone’s talking about — at city council meetings, zoning meetings and just around town in general. It’s a hot topic, especially among those that feel so much development is ruining the character that makes the Holy City so unique. Currently, there’s 4,900 hotel r...

Mark Sanford is considering mounting a primary challenge against President Trump. We explore the history of one one of SC's most famous politicians.

Explaining how we make the news and why journalists do things the way they do.

Last October, reporters Michael Majchrowicz and Mary Katherine Wildeman published ‘Taught hate to myself,’ revealing how South Carolina is home to one of the nation’s most expansive networks of ex-gay ministries and counseling practices. Gay conversion therapy – which aims to suppress or eradicate a person’s LGBTQ identity – has been condemned by most major medical groups. Fourteen states have bar...

In the digital age, there are too many forecast models and contradicting voices that all seem to come at you at once the second a named storm starts spinning in the Atlantic. A few weeks ago, we wrote about how forecasters are calling for a "near-average" season this year. But that doesn't mean we're anywhere close to in the clear. Experts say that they expect four to eight hurricanes, w...

If you live in downtown Charleston, you know about gentrification. Particularly in the 2010s, we've seen gentrification accelerate faster than ever on the upper peninsula as families sell homes they've had for decades and developers transform these neighborhoods.

The landmark Brown v. Board of Education court decision, which banned racial segregation in public schools across the country, was issued in 1954. Yet South Carolina schools didn’t really begin desegregating until the 1970s. Even when they did, 131 “segregation academies” popped up around the state, the ghosts of which can still be seen today — 1 in 8 Palmetto State schools are 90% or more minorit...

South Carolina’s population has about doubled what it was in 1970. It’s now the 9th fastest growing state in the U.S. How are we experiencing these changes in the state and what does it mean for the future? Further Reading: Driven by new residents from other states, South Carolina’s population tops 5 million Charleston area, Upstate cities see explosive growth, while Columbia loses residents Theme...

A highway extension seems like a pretty simple thing. But between growth anxiety, traffic woes and a whopping $725 million price tag, a 7-mile stretch of road between Citadel Mall and the end of the James Island connector is perhaps the most controversial road project Charleston has seen in recent years. It's been called "Charleston's biggest zombie project." Further Reading: With I-526...

At least 17 jurisdictions in South Carolina have some sort of ban in place on single-use plastic bags, mostly up and down the coast. But they may not stay that way for long. Towns in South Carolina largely pass the bans with the aim of reducing plastic pollution in wildlife and waterways. But single-use plastic bags - the kind you get at the grocery store or that you would carry your takeout home...

Finding a home or apartment you can afford in Charleston and its neighboring counties indeed feels like a crisis to its many, many newcomers. But for those who have owned a home for a long time, there is no affordable housing crisis. In episode 2 of Understand SC, we sat down with Abigail Darlington, longtime city of Charleston reporter, whose reporting has found that Charleston’s housing crisis i...

Thanks for checking out our very first episode of Understand SC. We’re thrilled that our inaugural episode features three-time Pulitzer finalist Tony Bartelme, who along with reporter Joseph Cranny discovered that sheriffs in South Carolina spend thousands of dollars in public money on things like first-class flights, private chauffeurs, and even $10,000 at a single Golden Corral since 2015. It’s...