If you’ve ever worn earbuds or the mini earphones that fit into your ears, you have probably experienced the hassle of them falling out or not being comfortable in your ears. Our next guest thinks his Upstate company has found the solution using 3D printing and as a result has spurred the South Carolina Research Authority’s investment affiliate, SC Launch, to invest a quarter million dollars into the company. Mike Switzer interviews Ric Hoke, founder and CEO of WAVS Custom, in Greenville, SC.

Although we’ve been doing this show for over 23 years, we continue to learn about niche segments of the business world that we hadn’t heard of before. And so it goes with our next guest’s company, owner of a local franchise that specializes in paving and maintaining parking lots. Mike Switzer interviews Charlie Mimms, who along with his wife, Melissa, own and operate Everline Coatings in Columbia, SC

This week we will talk with Dr. Bernard Powers about the establishment of the International African American Museum in Charleston, SC. Bernie powers is professor emeritus of history at the College of Charleston and is director of the college’s Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston. He is also on the Board of Directors of the International African American Museum.Bernie is in a unique position to tell the story of the Museum, as he has been involved in the efforts to create the institution from the start - 23 years ago. He will talk with us about those efforts, the evolution of the concept behind the museum, and about some of the stories that the museum strives to tell.

Our guest this week, Steve Procko, tells us the true story of nine Union prisoners-of-war who escaped from a Confederate prison in Columbia, South Carolina, in November 1864, and traveled north in brutal winter conditions more than 300 miles with search parties and bloodhounds hot on their trail. On the difficult journey they relied on the help of enslaved men and women, as well as Southerners who sympathized with the North, before finally reaching Union lines in Knoxville, Tennessee, on New Years Day 1865.

This episode of the South Carolina Lede for November 29, 2023 is the 7th in a series that focuses on the 2024 Republican Presidential Primary. Host Gavin Jackson takes a look at who won, and how they did it, during the 2008, 2012, and 2016 campaigns.Leave us a voicemail at 803-563-7169 to share your thoughts about the topics covered on the show or just whatever's on your mind!You can subscribe to South Carolina Lede in Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and wherever you listen to podcasts. You can also follow the show on Twitter @SCLedePod.

This episode of the South Carolina Lede for November 25, 2023 is a dedicated episode dealing with education, and host Gavin Jackson’s recent interview with State Superintended of Education, Ellen Weaver.