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Walter Edgar's Journal

From books to barbecue, and current events to Colonial history, historian and author Walter Edgar delves into the arts, culture, and history of South Carolina and the American South. Produced by South Carolina Public Radio.
Walter Edgar's Journal

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Walter Edgar's Journal

Walter Edgar's Journal

From SCPR News & Music

From books to barbecue, and current events to Colonial history, historian and author Walter Edgar delves into the arts, culture, and history of South Carolina and the American South. Produced by South Carolina Public Radio.

Most Recent Episodes

Liberty is Sweet: The hidden history of the American Revolution

This week we are digging into our broadcast archives to bring you an encore of an episode that is perfect in this 250th-annivesary year of the start of the American Revolution. Walter’s guest is Dr. Woody Holton of the University of South Carolina, and they will be talking about Horton’s book, Liberty is Sweet: The Hidden History of the American Revolution. (2021, Simon & Schuster).Liberty is Sweet has been described as a “deeply researched and bracing retelling” of the Revolution, which shows how the Founders were influenced by overlooked Americans—women, Native Americans, African Americans, and religious dissenters.

Liberty is Sweet: The hidden history of the American Revolution

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Mary Whyte: An artist's life

This week we will be talking with South Carolina watercolor artist Mary Whyte. A traditionalist preferring a representational style, and the author of seven published books, Mary has earned awards for her large-scale watercolors. Today we’ll look back on Mary’s career and talk with her about her new book, An Artist's Life: Unlocking Creative Expression.

Mary Whyte: An artist's life

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Exploring "South Carolina from A to Z" - In depth,  redux

We had so much fun last time out, exploring topics featured in “South Carolina from A to Z,” that we decided to do it again!South Carolina from A to Z is our sister podcast – also broadcast each weekday on South Carolina Public Radio – that brings you “bite-sized," one-minute topics from the South Carolina Encyclopedia.This episode we have selected five new topics to explore

Exploring "South Carolina from A to Z" - In depth,  redux

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“South Carolina from A to Z” in depth

This week our we are bringing you another episode in our occasional series which explores “South Carolina from A to Z” in depth.South Carolina from A to Z is our sister podcast – also broadcast each weekday on South Carolina Public Radio – that brings you “bite-sized," one-minute topics from the South Carolina Encyclopedia.This episode we have selected five of those topics to explore.

“South Carolina from A to Z” in depth

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The Father of American Opera: Carlisle Floyd at 100

This week we’ll be talking about the life and career of the man that many call the Father of American opera: Carlisle Floyd. Our guests are Floyd's neice, Jane Matheny, and his biographer, Thomas Holliday. A native of Latta, South Carolina, Carlisle Floyd became a professor of composition at Florida State University in 1947. His magnum opus, Susannah, was first performed in 1955 and became the most performed American opera, second to Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess.Floyd was both composer and librettist of his operas, which typically portrayed themes common to rural America, especially the post-Civil War South. 2026 in the centennial of Carlisle Floyd’s birth and today we’ll talk with our guests about his long life and his career.

The Father of American Opera: Carlisle Floyd at 100

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Victoria Benton Frank: Making a new path while walking with grief

This week we’ll be talking with Charleston author Victoria Benton Frank about her new novel, The Violet Hour. Victoria was born in New York City, raised in Montclair, New Jersey, but considers herself to have dual residency in the Lowcountry. She is a graduate of the College of Charleston and the French Culinary Institute. Her mother was the late Dorothea Benton Frank, a best-selling novelist and native of Sullivan’s Island.With the release of The Violet Hour (2026, Simon & Schuster), her second novel, she continues to hone her craft, this time with a story of grief and healing.

Victoria Benton Frank: Making a new path while walking with grief

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Gullah Culture in America

The book, Gullah Culture in America (Blair Publishing), chronicles the history and culture of the Gullah people, African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of the American South. Written by Wilbur Cross in 2008, it chronicles the arrival of enslaved West Africans to the sea islands of South Carolina and Georgia; the melding of their African cultures, which created distinct creole language, cuisine, traditions, and arts; and the establishment of the Penn School, dedicated to education and support of the Gullah freedmen following the Civil War.Dr. Eric Crawford, editor, of the book’s second edition (2022), is a Gullah Geechee scholar and Associate Professor of Musicology at Claflin University in Orangeburg. He joins us to talk about Gullah culture and about updating the late Dr. Cross’ book.This is an encore presentation from September 29, 2023.

Gullah Culture in America

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The Ramos Gin Fizz: a history of the complex New Orleans cocktail that survived Prohibition

This week, in a "nod to all things Southern," we’ll be talking with Dr. John Shelton Reed about his book, The Ramos Gin Fizz (Iconic New Orleans Cocktails) (2025, LSU Press).In the book, John attempts to reconstruct Ramos’s original recipe using modern ingredients and addresses the question of how and how much to shake the drink, a subject on which there is surprisingly much to be said. Offering recipes for the original drink, a modern version, and many imaginative riffs, this eminently readable book is a must-have for any cocktail lover’s library.The Ramos Gin Fizz was invented sometime around 1890 by Henry Charles “Carl” Ramos at his Imperial Cabinet saloon in New Orleans. It includes lemon and lime juice, egg white, cream, and orange flower water, and, shaken properly, it becomes a foamy white concoction that has been called “the nectar of New Orleans,” “the Cadillac of Cocktails,” and “the Crescent City’s most notable contribution to civilized tippling.”

The Ramos Gin Fizz: a history of the complex New Orleans cocktail that survived Prohibition

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25th Anniversary of Walter Edgar’s Journal

(Broadcast on SC Public Radio on December 12, 2025) – Today we are featuring a very special edition of the Journal, taken from a live broadcast on SC Public Radio on December 12. Sean Birch, Director of SCPR, will be your host, talking with Walter Edgar and Alfred Turner about the 25th anniversary of Walter Edgar’s Journal. The program features questions and comments from our radio audience and clips from past programs.

25th Anniversary of Walter Edgar’s Journal

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Master of horror: Grady Hendrix

Today our guest is Mt. Pleasant native Grady Hendrix, author of the horror novel Witchcraft for Wayward Girls (2025, Berkley Books).  The novel is set in Florida in 1970 and is about a group of pregnant teenage girls, living in a maternity home for unwed girls, who discover a book on witchcraft. For the first time in their lives power seems to be in the hands.We’ll talk with Grady about this latest book, as well as some of his past one, and explore how he came to specialize in the horror fiction genre.

Master of horror: Grady Hendrix

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