Small Business "Backbone" Podcast

Rom Reddy said that he has lived the true American dream. He immigrated from India as a teenager, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, working in the corporate world, becoming a business owner and ran for Governor of South Carolina this year. While he was not successful in his Gubernatorial campaign, Mr. Reddy tells the podcast host, Frank Knapp, the experien...

SC Congresswoman Nancy Mace spoke with Small Business “Backbone” Podcast host Frank Knapp about what she intends to do about data centers if she is elected Governor. She says that she has heard from a lot of people across South Carolina that they are against data centers and that they don’t think that their voices are being heard. Congresswoman Mace severely criticized one of the Senate bills, off...

Anthony Elmo, Public Education Defender for Good Jobs First, a national organization founded in 1998 that fights for transparency around public money used for economic development purposes. His organization pushes back on corporate welfare, he told podcast host Frank Knapp. Elmo’s organization cites data center tax abatement as one of their concerns, especially because it results in public schools...

Charleston Senator Matt Leber has worked in the SC House and now in the Senate to push legislation to regulate Artificial Intelligence. He talked with podcast host, Frank Knapp, about how he has sponsored bills that address guardrails on chatbots, computer programs that pose as humans to engage AI users in conversations online. These computer-driven chatbot conversations have been responsible for...

Senator Carlisle Kennedy of Lexington County believes that helping small business owners should be a priority for the state legislature. While big businesses, with their out-of-state ownership and shareholders, often get the tax breaks and other state incentives, Senator Kennedy tells podcast host Frank Knapp that he wants to focus on in-state small business owners who are the heart of communities...

Professor Siwei Lyu, University of Buffalo, started his research on detecting computer manipulated images and audio 26 years ago. Then in 2017 Artificial Intelligence (AI) came on the scene and he was both excited and concerned. The ability to produce realistic deepfake manipulated images, videos and audio exploded. Professor Lyu told podcast host Frank Knapp that detecting deepfakes will no longe...

The whole world has been watching immigration enforcement in Minneapolis. Probably not too many South Carolinians have been there during this time. But Professor Will McCorkle just returned from Minnesota. McCorkle is an Associate Professor at the College of Charleston with a research focus on the intersection of nationalism, immigration, and education with a particular focus on more marginalized...

Ben Winters, Director of AI and Data Privacy at the Consumer Federation of America, leads his 57-year old organization’s efforts to have states regulate artificial intelligence to protect the public. Winters argues that there is no better time for states to regulate AI to address problems ranging from algorithms used to recommend actions impacting consumers, deep fake images, utilization of person...

Realizing that his young adult children and their generation had been very poorly served by a failed policy experiment to let social media go completely unchecked with no regulation for 20 years, Rob Eleveld, who has an extensive background as the CEO of tech software and data companies, co-founded the Transparency Coalition in 2023. Eleveld talked with podcast host Frank Knapp about the mission o...

Dori Jaffe has a difficult job--as the national Sierra Clubs' managing attorney she oversees the organization's work in numerous states advocating the creation of regulations needed to protect consumers from paying higher electric rates due to the growth of data centers. She discusses with podcast host Frank Knapp how large load tariffs and new cost of service models are essential to protect resid...

Representative Brandon Guffey of York County talks with podcast host Frank Knapp about the loss of his son due to sextortion and what he has and is doing to stop other children from this crime and other threats from Artificial Intelligence industry. He describes how children are being extorted for money and even commit crimes to keep private photos they have shared after being lured into fake onli...

Jay Doyle tells podcast host Frank Knapp why he recently ran for the Mayor of the City of Georgetown as the Forward Party candidate and how he successfully defeated the GOP incumbent. Doyle, a retired small business owner, says that did not have a lifelong goal to be a politician but somebody needed to stand up to challenge his city’s direction. The City of Georgetown has experienced a massive eco...

Community Development Financial Institutions provide capital and technical assistance to rural and underserved small businesses, farmers, and affordable housing projects using federal and large private financial institution funds. There are over 1,400 of these mission-driven community lenders in the U.S. Now, the Trump Administration is planning on terminating federal staff at the CDFI program. An...

The rule of law is the bedrock of a strong economy is a top concern of a relatively new national small business coalition, Integrity Matters . Audrey Roofeh, who founded the organization this past April, told podcast host Frank Knapp that when she heard many complaints from some of her consulting clients about how their federal contracts had been cancelled, and they would not receive payment for s...

In a recent opinion editorial in the Charleston Post and Courier, South Carolina state Senator Sean Bennett (R-Dorchester County) wrote: "ABC’s suspension of the late-night host after his crude remarks on the murder of Charlie Kirk was greeted by some with applause. Even President Donald Trump called it 'great news for America.' I cannot agree." Senator Bennett talks with podcast host Frank Knapp...

Christopher Purdy, founder and CEO of The Chamberlain Network , talks with podcast host Frank Knapp about the National Guard being inappropriately used by the Trump Administration. Knapp, CEO of the South Carolina Small Business Chamber of Commerce, is also the managing director of the Secure Growth Initiative, a national small business coalition focusing on the need for positive immigration refor...

Affordable health insurance is facing a crisis if Congress refuses to extend the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits in the Affordable Care Act. Matt McGough of KFF talks with podcast host Frank Knapp about how these tax credits make health insurance more affordable and why over 12 million Americans, many of whom are small business owners and their employees, will likely not be able to afford health insu...

Pamela Evette, candidate for Governor, tells podcast host Frank Knapp about her surprise when Governor Henry McMaster called her to his office and asked her to be his running mate as Lt. Governor—something they had not previously discussed. The Lt. Governor position has enabled her to promote technical training as well as hard and soft skills for the state’s youth. She has used her office to start...

Karen Riordan, president and CEO of Together SC (formerly the SC Association of Nonprofit Organizations) talks with podcast host Frank Knapp about how she got from the smallest state in the nation, Rhode Island, to running a SC association. She describes the extensive services her 28-year organization provides to the 1000 nonprofits in their network. In addition to direct services, Together SC wit...

First elected in 2024, Representative Hamilton Grant of Richland County went into his first year as a legislature with no expectations. He cites his leadership experience, including being a drum major at South Carolina State University, as his preparation for serving as a legislator. His business experience working with small business lending needs has given him an understanding that entrepreneurs...

Senator Ed Sutton, an active reserve Air Force pilot, experienced his first session in the legislature that turned out to be more contentious than usual. He tells podcast host Frank Knapp that his Charleston district probably has more bars and restaurants than any other and he wanted to help them with the rising cost of liquor liability insurance. He did vote to pass the bill that largely addresse...

Representative Heather Bauer shares her story about how a high school guidance counselor/ volleyball coach turned her life around by opening the door for her going to college. Now in her third year in the SC House where she is in the minority party, she believes that bipartisanship is important for being successful on legislation. However, Rep. Bauer also believes that the House Democratic Caucus...

First year Representative Robert Reese gives his professional and volunteerism background and how he came to run for office. He says that his first year was “revelatory”. Rep. Reese tells the story of how a dormant family farm, on which his great grandmother grew and picked cotton, led him to ask to serve on the House Agriculture Committee. He shares how he felt compelled, due to his decades of pr...

Senator Rex Rice of Pickens County believes that this past legislative session was one of the best. He gives credit to the leadership of Senators Thomas Alexander, Harvey Peeler and Shane Massey. Senator Rice discusses ear marks in the budget that were not allowed this year. He cites the quality of the many new Senators and working across party lines for the Senate having a great year. Senator Ric...

Rep. Seth Rose of Richland County shares his enthusiasm for any sport that translates from tennis. The former First Team All-America Singles Tennis Player at the University of South Carolina has found a new love, padel tennis, which he describes as fast growing in popularity. On the legislative front Rep. Rose says that he is greatly concerned about the information being fed to our youth via socia...