Out of 5,000 applicants who applied to the Walmart Open Call this past September, only 92 received a deal with Walmart, including today's guest, Wendy Kushel.

More and more organizations that support individuals with disabilities are adding programs that also help this demographic increase their independence, self-advocacy, professionalism, and job skills.

This week we'll be talking with Andrew Waters about his latest book, Backcountry War: The Rise of Francis Marion, Banastre Tarleton, and Thomas Sumter (2024, Westholme Publishing). In it Andrew weaves the history of three key leaders in the American Revolution into in a single narrative, focusing on the events of 1780 in South Carolina that witnessed their collective ascendance from common soldiers to American legends. It was a time when British victories at Charleston and Camden left the Continental Army in tatters and the entire American South vulnerable to British conquest. Yet in those dark hours, Sumter, Marion, and others like them rose in the swamps and hills of the South Carolina wilderness. Their collective efforts led to the stunning American victory at Cowpens and a stalemate at Guilford’s Courthouse the following year that finally convinced British general Charles Cornwallis to abandon the Carolinas for Virginia and eventually to Yorktown where his beleaguered army surrendered.

This week, we’ll be talking with Bennett Parten, author of Somewhere Toward Freedom: Sherman's March and the Story of America's Largest Emancipation (2025, Simon & Schuster).In Somewhere Toward Freedom, Ben reframes this seminal episode in Civil War history. He not only helps us understand how Sherman’s March impacted the war, and what it meant to the enslaved, but also reveals how it laid the foundation for the fledging efforts of Reconstruction.Sherman’s March has remained controversial to this day. Ben Parten helps us understand not just how the March affected the outcome of the Civil War, but also what it meant to the enslaved—and he reveals how the March laid the foundation for the fledging efforts of Reconstruction.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for March 11, 2025: lawmakers in the South Carolina House are debating the $14 billion spending plan that will soon head to the Senate; Sen. Lindsey Graham was in Columbia on Monday where he spoke about a federal government shutdown and other priorities; former 1st District Republican candidate Katie Arrington has a major, new gig; and more!

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for March 08, 2025: we look at Senate bill S. 244 that’s still being debated in the Senate, and House’s H. 3497 liquor liability bill, which passed the chamber on Thursday with unanimous, bipartisan support; a deep dive on tort reform; a reminder to spring forward this weekend; and more!