Replay: Prohibition and Moonshine

The common stereotype of moonshiners is one of lawbreakers and profiteers. But Julia Maggard says moonshining was a crucial economic supplement for some families in impoverished regions and that moonshiners supported each other in times of need.

South Carolina saw the statewide prohibition of alcohol in 1915. But not before the state established its own dispensary system more than a decade earlier. In his book The Coming of Southern Prohibition, Michael Lewis tells the story of one South Carolina town at the intersection of race, religion, and alcohol.

Residents of Tangier Island could become some of America’s first climate refugees—unless they get a much needed sea wall. Through a partnership with Google, a Virginia project is hoping to raise awareness of Tangier’s plight by allowing people from anywhere in the world to visit the endangered island—virtually.

Hundreds of thousands of citizens of island nations stand to lose their homes to rising sea levels. Anthony Boese is studying the ethical, political, and economic decisions needed when masses of people are forced to leave their island homelands.

Is there a better way to assess the potential damage of an approaching hurricane? Meteorologist Stephanie Zick believes that studying how, where, and when hurricane loses its power can give us a more accurate picture.