SC News

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for August 18, 2020, we speak with MUSC Health CEO Dr. Patrick Cawley about testing, look at the absentee voting situation for the November 3 elections and what state lawmakers' plans are, hear about the financial pressures facing counties and municipalities, and more.

A pale, pink home with contrasting, black shutters sits along 5 Pitt Street in Charleston.  Its window boxes overflow with colorful flowers, vibrant like the women who once lived there.  An historical marker tells their story.

"Hello, we are the Pollitzer sisters," the recording says.  "Carrie, Mabel and Anita."

It goes on to describe how the sisters grew up in Charleston during the end of the 19th century when women had no voice, no vote and no equal rights.  But that didn't stop them.

This episode of the South Carolina Lede for August 15, 2020, features a look at spending for personal protection equipment for school districts, more on mask data from DHEC and which masks protect you better than others, a closer look at how you can cope with mental health issues during this pandemic, and more.

The coronavirus sent everyone at Converse College in Spartanburg packing early in the spring. Graduating seniors barely had time to say their good-byes before the campus shut down and restructured.

As the college reopens to residents this week, it brings a few changes, and not just in the COVID-19 protocols. For the first time, male freshmen are moving in as well. Converse, one of the last all-female colleges in South Carolina, decided that the fall of 2021 would be when it would go coed. But, as it has for a lot of things, the coronavirus pandemic has moved a few things around.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for August 12, 2020, we bring you updates on broadband expansion efforts in the state, remarks from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Gov. Henry McMaster about state and federal response efforts, a health report on the benefits of walking, and more.

Emily Anderson Dunovantfield lived in Edgefield, South Carolina. She was well-educated and what many called a traditional woman. But during the early 1900's, Dunovant used a radical voice to help elevate the women's suffrage cause in South Carolina. 

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for August 11, 2020, we discuss The State's recent report on emails from State Epidemiologist Dr. Linda Bell showing that she regretted not taking a stronger stance during press conferences with Gov. Henry McMaster. In the emails, Bell says the governor's staff misled people into thinking she also supported the reopening of close contact services in May. Also on this episode: a look at recent polling on how Gov. McMaster is handling the crisis; a detailed analysis on what is now forecasted to be an extremely active hurricane season; and more.

On this special edition of the South Carolina Lede, host Gavin Jackson takes you to Tidelands Waccamaw Community Hospital in Georgetown County to speak with healthcare workers at the frontlines of the COVID-19 surge in South Carolina.

On this episode of the South Carolina Lede for August 6, 2020, we bring you updates from State Superintendent of Education Molly Spearman on school reopenings, virtual classrooms, truancy, and more. Also on this episode: a look at how Americans feel about the November election; the state of minority owned small businesses; when high school sports could resume; and more.

Right now, around the country, communities are asking hard questions about the role of police – does policing need an overhaul? How can officers better serve communities? And how can departments ratchet down tensions that can lead to aggression by and against police officers?

Well before the flashpoint that was the George Floyd incident, scholars and social reformers were posing an answer to questions like these: female officers.

Even though the nation is in the midst of the COVID pandemic, other needs go on.  A big one is the need for blood.  According to Red Cross spokesman Ben Williamson, hundreds of blood drives have been cancelled or rescheduled by the pandemic in the last few months.   As a result, thousands of pints of blood have been lost to hospitals.  

This episode of the South Carolina Lede for August 4, 2020, features: Remarks from Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) about his plans for broadband expansion, election security, and the future of TikTok; Details about what digital tools small businesses are using to navigate the pandemic; Comments from Dr. Anthony Fauci before Rep. Jim Clyburn's (D-SC) coronavirus committee; and more.

Lee Ann Bain talks excitedly as she darts from the sun to the shade along Charleston's sweltering city streets.  There's hardly a bead of sweat forming on her face.  Bain knows how to beat the heat.  She's been giving walking tours for 11 years.

Bain remembers studying to become a certified guide.  There was just a small paragraph about the Grimke sisters.  But it catapulted from the page.

"I was like, excuse me who are these ladies?" Bain says.  "I've never ever heard of them before."

This episode of the South Carolina Lede for August 1, 2020, features: details on the economic outlook of our country amidst the worst quaterly GDP rate in the post-war era; insight on DHEC's pandemic response; the latest South Carolina forecast for Hurricane Isaias; and more.

In this final episode of Spoleto Backstage for 2020, cohosts Geoff Nuttall and Bradley Fuller mark the 250th anniversary of Ludwig van Beethoven’s birth by taking a tour through the German composer’s three stylistic periods — early, middle, and late — with commentary and a listen to representative performances from the past twelve years of the Spoleto Festival chamber music series. After discussing Beethoven’s musical beginnings, Geoff and Bradley hear his Piano Trio Op. 1, No. 3, followed by the second and third movements of his Septet in E-flat major, Op. 20.  The conversation then moves to Beethoven’s middle or “heroic” period, with performances of the haunting second movement of the composer’s “Ghost” Trio and the passionate opening movement of his “Kreutzer” sonata to illustrate this stylistic phase at the start of the Romantic era. A discussion of late-period Beethoven serves to introduce two pieces for string quartet by the composer, both from the final years of his life: the achingly beautiful fifth-movement Cavatina from his String Quartet No. 13 in B-flat major, op. 130, and the monumental Grosse Fuge, Op. 133.