This week we'll be talking with Dr. Kevin Kokomoor of Coastal Carolina University about his new book, The Cherokee War of 1776: Native Destruction at the Dawn of American Independence (2026, John Hopkins University Press).Americans remember 1776 as the year liberty was declared, the moment they cast off tyranny and proclaimed the self-evident truths of equality and freedom. But that same summer, as patriots celebrated their defiant new nation, American armies launched another campaign—this one aimed at destroying the Cherokee nation.In The Cherokee War of 1776, Kevin Kokomoor recasts America's founding moment by tracing the importance of westward ambition and settler violence to the origins of the Revolutionary War. And he uncovers the rarely acknowledged war waged by the emerging United States against the Cherokee people just days after the Declaration of Independence was signed. Far from a spontaneous frontier skirmish, this war was a coordinated, state-backed campaign with a clear aim: seize Indigenous land and crush Native resistance.

This week we will be talking with Carl McNair, brother of the late Dr. Ronald McNair, NASA astronaut and Lake City, South Carolina, native. Ron McNair’s story is told in the four-part series, Once Upon a Time in Space, currently streaming on PBS and ETV Passport.Ron McNair’s story is singular: he grew up in a segregated South Carolina and went on to earn a PHD in physics. With the beginning of space shuttle program, NASA chose 35 applicants from a pool of over 10,000 astronaut candidates. In 1984 he became the second African American in space. Though he lost his life in the Challenger disaster in 1986, his story continues to inspire generations of young South Carolinians who want to reach for the stars.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for October 6, 2026: it’s Domestic Violence Awareness Month, and this podcast will focus exclusively on that; we have host Gavin Jackson’s interview with Richland County Sheriff Leon Lott, along with Monique Garvin, director of the Violence Against Women Act programs at the SC Attorney General’s office; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for October 3, 2026: Gov. Henry McMaster and others were at the third annual nuclear summit in Columbia Tuesday to discuss South Carolina’s energy future; several big name Democrats will be floating around the state on Friday, including Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, and California Rep. Ro Kahanna; new zoning is raising concerns among residents over the placement of a major data center; and more!

This week, Bobbi Conner talks with MUSC's Dr. Baron Short about the development of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) & SAINT TMS to treat severe, treatment-resistant depression.

This week, Bobbi Conner talks with MUSC's Dr. Rachel Kaplan about using smartwatches to help detect atrial fibrillation.

AI is changing the way students learn, but perhaps the most important question isn't whether students use AI. It's how they use it.

This Saturday, Sep. 19, volunteers across South Carolina will take part in the annual Beach Sweep/River Sweep, the state’s largest one-day waterway cleanup.

This week, we're hopping in the Who What When time machine and exploring the Gilded Age.

This week, we're staying local and paying homage to our home region: the American South. We’ll ask you to name that southern state, test your knowledge of cinema set in the south, and share some tall tales that are maybe a little too tall to be true.