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Leading up to the 2020 election, South Carolina Lede is keeping you up to speed on what the candidates are saying on the campaign trail in the Palmetto State with these "Trail Bites" mini-episodes.

On this edition for the week of March 14, 2019, host Gavin Jackson takes you to campaign stops by Democractic presidential candidate Sen. Kamala Harris (D-Calif.) this week.

Dark money: What is it, who uses it, and hows does it affect how voters see issues and candidates?

On this episode of South Carolina Lede, host Gavin Jackson speaks with The Post and Courier's Andy Brown about his in-depth report on the $6 million of dark money involved in the 2018 South Carolina elections. They discuss the misleading ads and mailers bought with that money, what state lawmakers are doing to address this issue, and the state grand jury corruption report released last year concerning political consulting firm Richard Quinn & Associates.

Leading up to the 2020 election, South Carolina Lede is keeping you up to speed on what the candidates are saying on the campaign trail in the Palmetto State with these "Trail Bites" mini-episodes.

On this edition for the week of March 7, 2019, host Gavin Jackson takes you to campaign stops by Democractic presidential candidate Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) and potential candidate Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) this week.

When the dance known as the waltz first became popular in Europe in the late 1700's and early 1800's, it was considered by many to be the ultimate in lewdness and licentiousness.

On this episode of South Carolina Lede, host Gavin Jackson is joined by The State's Maayan Schechter and The Post and Courier's Seanna Adcox to discuss the education reform package hitting the floor of the South Carolina House of Represenatives this week for debate. The bill is one of the most sweeping proposals to address Palmetto State education issues in years and could make it to the state Senate by the end of the week, where a similar companion bill continues its way through the committee process.

On this edition of South Carolina Lede, recorded live at T.W. Boons in Greenwood, SC, host Gavin Jackson is joined by The Post and Courier's Jamie Lovegrove and The State's Maayan Schechter to discuss the growing list of Democratic presidential candidates and their visits to the Palmetto State as they vie for their party's nomination in 2020.

For as long as he can remember, Michael Boulware Moore has known the story of Robert Smalls;  a slave who not only gained his freedom by commandeering a Confederate ship and turning it over to Union forces, but later served in the South Carolina State Legislature and the U.S. House of Representatives.

Moore didn’t read about Smalls in school. Such bravery by slaves during the Civil War wasn’t always taught.  Instead, he grew up hearing personal stories from relatives like his grandmother.  Robert Smalls was his great-great grandfather.

On this edition of South Carolina Lede host Gavin Jackson speaks with Colin Demarest, reporter for the Aiken Standard, about the recently terminated MOX mixed oxide fuel fabrication facility project at the Savannah River Site.

The MOX plan was part of a 2000 agreement with Russia to convert 34 metric tons of weapons grade plutonium into reactor fuel. The project was originally estimated to cost $4 billion, but as of 2018 only 70 percent was completed and $12 billion would have been needed to finish it. Gavin and Colin discuss the history of the project as well as what may be on the horizon for the Savannah River Site.

On this episode of South Carolina Lede, host Gavin Jackson is joined by Post and Courier Statehouse Reporter Andy Brown and South Carolina Public Radio's own Statehouse Reporter Russ McKinney to discuss the past and potential future of Santee Cooper, the state-owned utility which partnered with SCE&G on the failed $9 billion V.C. Summer nuclear project.

On this edition of South Carolina Lede, host Gavin Jackson speaks with Greenville News reporters Nathaniel Cary and Mike Ellis about their new series "Taken" about civil forfeiture by South Carolina law enforcement. The pair, along with fellow reporter Anna Lee, combed through more than 3,200 records to compile a comprehensive database of civil forfeiture incidents. Most of the seizures were tied to illegal activity while others have raised questions about the practice which has limited oversight and brings in millions of dollars in revenue.

Ann Marie Luc was just a year old when her mother gave her away in Vietnam.   She was born to a Vietnamese woman and an American father serving in the Army during the Vietnam War.  She had been passed between several families and had four different names by the time she was 17 years-old.   That’s when she moved to the United States with a birth certificate she says was not her own.

“A lot them buy and sell us,” she says of the adoptive families.  “A lot them just use us to come here."

It would be decades before Ann knew she had a sister, born during the war as well.

On this edition of South Carolina Lede, host Gavin Jackson discusses the future of medical marijuana in South Carolina with Post and Courier Statehouse Reporter Andy Brown and South Carolina Public Radio's own Statehouse Reporter Russ McKinney. Debate over the issue rages on with advocates touting massive statewide support to legalize the drug for a handful of medical conditions while opponents, especially law enforcement, say a recently introduced conservative bill to allow prescription marijuana poses risks to the state.

Senator Elizabeth Warren spoke at Columbia College Wednesday night, during a question and answer forum. The potential presidential candidate spoke to a crowd of almost a thousand about fighting corruption, creating more affordable housing and ending the government shutdown.

Thursday marked day 34 of the partial government shutdown and also the day that the Senate is scheduled to vote on two bills, one proposed by the Democrats, the other by the GOP. 

Gov. Henry McMaster delivered his State of the State address Wednesday, January 23, 2019. Addressing a joint session of the South Carolina General Assembly, McMaster laid out his 2019 legislative agenda. 

On this edition of South Carolina Lede, host Gavin Jackson is joined by Meg Kinnard, South Carolina reporter for the Associated Press, and Maayan Schechter, statehouse reporter for The State, to discuss Gov. Henry McMaster's recently released state budget and the unity among lawmakers to make education reform a top priority for 2019. They also look at the roster of Democratic presidential hopefuls visiting South Carolina as they gear up for the 2020 election.

Gov. Henry McMaster was sworn into his first full term as governor last week and laid out his vision for the next four years. On this episode of South Carolina Lede, host Gavin Jackson is joined by AP Reporter Meg Kinnard and Post and Courier Columbia Bureau Chief Andy Shain to look at what McMaster's plan is, the reaction to his inauguration speech, and what we can expect from his budget and upcoming State of the State address.

Traditionally, a night at the symphony has entailed dressing up. For performers and audience members alike, the sight of a sharply-dressed crowd is nearly as much of a given as the sound of orchestral music.   

But the move toward a more casual concert experience is becoming a tradition in its own right, including in the Palmetto State.

After two decades, the South Carolina Philharmonic’s annual “Beethoven & Blue Jeans” concert continues to offer classical music in a casual-clothes setting.

It’s a campaign promise made during an ad last fall as he treaded water in the Atlantic Ocean.  Now Congressman Joe Cunningham is swimming hard against the powerful currents of Washington, as he tries to make good and protect the South Carolina coast from offshore drilling.

The first time politician announced Tuesday he will introduce the, "Coastal Economies Protection Act", as soon as he gets back to Washington, to prevent opening the Atlantic and Gulf Coast to drilling and seismic air gun blasting. 

On this special edition of South Carolina Lede, recorded live at The White Mule in Columbia, SC, host Gavin Jackson is joined by Seanna Adcox, assistant Columbia bureau chief for the Post and Courier, and Jeffrey Collins, South Carolina reporter for the Associated Press, to preview the 2019 legislative session.

South Carolina Public Radio’s own Statehouse Reporter Russ McKinney also drops by to quiz Gavin and the audience on South Carolina history.

When Charleston journalist Brian Hicks first heard the story of U.S. District Judge Julius Waties Waring, he knew what he must do; write a book about it.  He says the son of a Confederate soldier became an unlikely civil rights "hero," and that's a word Hicks doesn't often use. Yet, Waring's name is still fairly unfamiliar, and he was an eighth generation Charlestonian.

On this special edition of South Carolina Lede, recorded live at Munkle Brewing Co. in Charleston, host Gavin Jackson is joined by The Post and Courier reporters Jamie Lovegrove, Thad Moore and Caitlin Byrd to recap the top stories of 2018. The group discusses the midterm elections, the upset in the 1st Congressional District, the ongoing V.C. Summer boondoggle, the future of education in South Carolina and other surprises of the year.

South Carolina Public Radio’s own Statehouse reporter Russ McKinney also drops by to quiz Gavin and the audience on Lowcountry history.

Ask Wynton Marsalis to name his favorite holiday song and he might tell you, “The Christmas Song” by Mel Torme.  Then he’ll likely explain it’s personal.  When Marsalis first moved to New York, he played in a show with Torme.  He was 18 years-old.

“The contractor thought I was only a classical trumpet player,” Marsalis recalled.  “He said this boy can’t play.  I don’t know why he’s playing this gig, and Mel heard me play and said, this boy can play.  Leave him alone.”

On this edition of South Carolina Lede, host Gavin Jackson speaks with Post and Courier Reporters Seanna Adcox and Thad Moore about the paper's new series "Minimally Adequate," which explores the bleak state of South Carolina's education system. The series analyzes how factors such as segregation, lowered standards, and funding cuts have resulted in a history of subpar education in the Palmetto State.

Free access to the entire project is available on The Post and Courier’s website here. 

On this last episode of South Carolina Lede before Thanksgiving, host Gavin Jackson looks back on the 2018 South Carolina midterm elections with Seanna Adcox, The Post and Courier's assistant Columbia bureau chief, and Russ McKinney, South Carolina Public Radio's own statehouse reporter. They profile the constitutional officers who were re-elected around the state, look at the state superintendent referendum that failed on the ballot, and discuss issues with South Carolina's outdated voting machines.

It’s not every day that the musicians of Fort Jackson’s 282nd Army Band have the opportunity to perform alongside an organist.

“This is very unique. This usually doesn’t happen,” Bandmaster George T. Bauer says of the ensemble’s upcoming Veterans Day Concert. With fifteen brass players, three percussionists, and an organist performing selections by composers ranging from J.S. Bach to Maurice Duruflé, the concert is far from what many might think typical for one given by a military band.

The midterms have come and gone and the South Carolina Lede breaks down the results just minutes after they were announced on election night 2018.

Host Gavin Jackson recaps the action from the state Republican watch party with reporters Jamie Lovegrove with The Post and Courier and Meg Kinnard with The Associated Press.

On this special edition of South Carolina Lede, recorded live at the Growler Haus in the Village of West Greenville, host Gavin Jackson is joined by Associated Press South Carolina Reporter Meg Kinnard and Post and Courier Statehouse Reporter Jamie Lovegrove to recap last week's lieutenant gubernatorial debate and preview this week's midterm elections.

South Carolina Public Radio's own Statehouse Reporter Russ McKinney also drops by to quiz Gavin and the audience about Upstate history.