Scott Slade's Georgia

"An international whale rescue that will culminate in Atlanta." The Georgia Aquarium is set to become part of rehoming beluga whales from a Canadian marine park that has been shuttered since 2024. Hear what is involved in getting them here and why the Georgia Aquarium is one of the few facilities with the expertise to pull off a rescue like this.

"They are smart, reproduce like rabbits and leave a wake of damage everywhere they go. These porcine pests have long been a plague in Georgia." This week, Scott's speaking with Georgia Department of Natural Resources Deer and Feral Hog Biologist Charlie Killmaster about the estimated $150 million damage a year caused by feral hogs in Georgia. They show up in all 159 Georgia counites and now in most of the rest of America, witness a recent episode of John Oliver's "Last Week Tonight" on HBO. Hear why they are so resilient and about the effort to control them. https://gadnr.org/hog-down-awards-program-could-bring-rewards-your-way

"What was Georgia like 250 years ago this summer?" We were untamed, rural, with a brutal plantation economy. And as Berry College History Professor Christy Snider tells us, up to the mid 1770's, we largely stayed out of revolutionary politics. Here's what happened that got those early Georgians involved.

Updating the effort to crown Georgia's first national park. This week, Scott's speaking with Tracie Revis, CEO of the Ocmulgee National Park and Preserve Initiative, to get a progress report on elevating the Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park to a full-fledged national park. Along with the natural beauty and rich biodiversity of the area, Revis says human history there stretches back some seventeen thousand years. The park is just north of Macon and is open year-round. Admission is free. Legislation to declare Ocmulgee Mounds as a national park has cleared a Senate committee and is now waiting on a House of Representatives hearing. https://www.nps.gov/ocmu/index.htm

"Meet the people who continue to find a way to get vital nutrition to hundreds of metro Atlanta seniors -- many who depend on Meals on Wheels Atlanta as their only source of food." This week, Scott's speaking with Meals on Wheels Atlanta (MOWA) volunteers Valerie and Dwayne Williams, and MOWA Culinary Director Robert Gerstenecker. How they are managing to prepare and deliver meals to seniors despite skyrocketing fuel and food costs. www.mowatl.org

This week, Scott's thoughts on Father's Day — and on being a dad.

The super-food harvest underway now in South Georgia. This week, Scott's speaking with blueberry farmer and state senate agriculture committee chairman Russ Goodman about Georgia's number one fruit crop. Why a swatch of South Georgia is ideal for propelling Georgia some years to best in the nation for growing this health-conscious crop.

What your news outlets could look like in the years to come. This week, Scott's talking to University of Georgia Journalism School Dean Charles Davis. It can be a toxic atmosphere for the news business these days; how that might affect future journalists? He’s pretty optimistic.

How Memorial Day can be very personal for Georgia families. Scott speaks with Lisa Jenkins, the Department of Georgia President of American Gold Star Mothers, the service organization that supports families who have lost loved ones while serving our nation.

Speaking with Kim Zane with the City of Alpharetta and Smokestack BBQ owner "Dave" about the 34th annual Taste of Alpharetta, Thursday May 14, 5-10 PM in downtown Alpharetta. Over 70 restaurants involved will make it the biggest ever. Admission is free but "taste bucks" will be required to sample and sip. Details at www.tasteofalpharetta.com.

This week, Scott pays tribute to Congressman David Scott's decades of public service with a story you may not have heard before now.

Speaking with Pamela Lyle with the James Stewart Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution, and their effort to reunite a Purple Heart medal with the family of Atlanta native Raymond Leroy Mauldin. He was killed in action February 2, 1944, during the Battle of Anzio in Italy at the age of 19. The medal had been missing for four decades before it was discovered in a drawer as an estate was being settled. Private Mauldin's nephew, Gary Mauldin, had kept copious notes about the family history over the years, and those notes along with some intense digging by Pamela and her colleagues led to the opportunity to give the medal back to its rightful heirs in a private ceremony on May 2nd in Franklin, Georgia.

Georgia lawmakers approved a measure (HB 1193) that would put a literacy coach in every elementary school in the state more than thirteen-hundred of them. We speak with Dr. Lindee Morgan, the executive director of the Deal Center for Early Language and Literacy, to get a read on how those coaches will be trained and what they will do for Georgia children and the teachers who teach them. There is a big payoff at stake: children are expected to begin reading to learn after the third grade, and if they don't learn to read before then, they can be at a disadvantage that can stretch through a lifetime.

The pack date for this year's Vidalia onion crop is April 13th; that's the date the famously sweet onions can legally be shipped and sold. The Vidalia Onion Act of 1986 established the 20-county growing region and trademarked the onion name to ensure only the highest-quality onions reach consumers. Speaking here with Aries Haygood, co-owner of A&M Farms in Lyons, GA, just east of Vidalia, about what makes the region and the onions grown there special, and the role consumers have in extending the Vidalia season all the way to the edge of autumn. www.vidaliaonions.com www.vidaliaonion.org

For twenty-eight years, Sherry's Produce has been selling farm fresh fruits and vegetables to loyal customers from their stand in the corner of a parking lot at 3863 Lawrenceville Highway. Tina Dorsey helps run the business for her mom, Sherry Harris. When the strip mall and parking lot came up for sale, she tells the story of how neighbors and customers rallied to help raise thousands of dollar to help buy that corner lot when the owners came up short of the purchase price. And just last week, customers went to bat for the business again to make sure they could keep the parking spaces they needed. As one of their customers puts it, "It's all about community." (And the produce is outstanding.)

To this day, it remains Georgia's worst aviation disaster. April 4, 1977. The crash of Southern Airways Flight 242 on a two-lane road in New Hope in Paulding County. Sixty-three people on the aircraft and nine people on the ground died that day. What aviation experts learned from the crash to make future flights safer and how the community came together to build a memorial to honor the victims and their loved ones. A memorial ceremony is planned for 11:30 AM April 4 at the site at 4235 Dallas Acworth Highway.

Speaking with Tom McCall, the president of the 300-thousand member Georgia Farm Bureau Federation about the realities of farming in this economic and political environment. And what Georgia farmers want more than anything else to be able to survive and thrive. Also, State Rep. Jutt Howard from Carrol County, one of the few fulltime farmers in the Georgia Legislature about what he is seeing in the challenging farm economy.

WSB Radio turns 104 years old on March 15, 2026. The north Georgia hydroelectric plants that powered the station had already been generating electricity for nearly a decade when it signed on the air. Speaking to Georgia Power Hydroelectric plant managers Greg Brown and Jimmy Packer from Plant Tallulah at Tallulah Falls, Georgia. Here's how this century-old infrastructure is updated and refurbished to generate even more power today with inputs that rival solar for efficiency.

Scott looks into the largest research ever constructed to find a treatment for young kids with autism.

While the building that houses the Prince Hall Masonic Temple and Lodge is getting ready to open to the public as part of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park this spring, don't miss what was going on upstairs in that yellow brick building at 330 Auburn Avenue. WERD 860 AM radio became the first Black-owned, Black-operated radio station in America when it signed on in 1948. For the first time, Black Atlantans had an outlet for Black news, Black music, promoting Black businesses with Black station celebrities that galvanized the community. And when Dr. King moved his SCLC offices to the building in 1957, it hard-wired the station to become part of civil rights history. This week' Scott's speaking with AJC culture and race writer Ernie Suggs.

This week, Scott's speaking with Scott Shelar, the CEO and President of Construction Ready, the non-profit that works to fill skilled construction worker openings with events like the 20th annual Career Expo, February 19-20, at the Georgia World Congress Center. Twelve-thousand students, teachers and professionals—along with the construction companies they represent--will be on hand for a hands-on experience they hope will help up to fifteen-thousand construction-oriented openings each year in Georgia. It's not too late to sign up to attend. www.constructionready.org

This week, Scott's speaking to Michael Cowan, Board Chairman of the Georgia Native Plant Society, and Sandy Springs State Representative Deborah Silcox, who introduced House Bill 955, proposing that the Sweetbay Magnolia should become the new state flower, replacing the Cherokee Rose. For starters, the Sweetbay Magnolia is a native Georgia plant; the Cherokee Rose isn't, coming from China. In fact, the Cherokee Rose has been declared a harmful invasive weed.

As the important "Point in Time" Homeless count begins after a weather delay this week, Scott's speaking to journalist Brian Goldstone about his remarkable book, "There Is No Place For Us: Working and Homeless In America." Brian took six years to report and research the book, while basically imbedding with five hidden homeless families in Atlanta. Their search for permanent housing inspires both sympathy and outrage at the factors that deny them a roof of their own, no matter how hard they might work to earn it. While the annual Point in Time count is important, Brian says these hidden homeless families are missed by the annual count that looks for those living on the streets or in shelters; they would fill Truist Park three times over in Georgia alone. "There Is No Place For Us" has been declared a 2025 top ten book of the year by The Atlantic and the NY Times Book Review. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/645871/there-is-no-place-for-us-by-brian-goldstone/

This week, Scott's speaking with Tena Clark, owner of Dunaway Gardens in Coweta County. Founded in 1916 by Hettie Jane Dunaway, the gardens became known across the nation and even overseas as a center for the arts, training high school and college kids in theater, music and dance. Hettie Jane constructed a thousand-seat amphitheater (which still stands), a restaurant, cottages and more that attracted the likes of Walt Disney, Tallulah Bankhead, Esther Williams, and many other stars including Minnie Pearl. Tena Clark is determined to continue Hettie Jane's legacy, restoring and expanding Dunaway Gardens to become a storied retreat and events center rooted in the arts and nature. You could call it the "Sundance" of the south. www.dunawaygardens.com

After hearing that Emory University had been awarded an Alzheimer's Foundation grant to explore the effect of music on patients, you have to wonder how even more beneficial playing a musical Instrument could be. Speaking with Maura Nicholson, the executive director of the Frank Hamilton School in Decatur. Founded by folk music pioneer Frank Hamilton ten years ago, the school is dedicated to making playing a music instrument available to anyone willing to work to learn. Frank is 91 now. He still lives in Decatur. And he still shows up to teach and play. He is the last living copyright holder to the classic "We Shall Overcome." Folk music sounds a common thread through American history, and through the lessons at the school and the periodic jam sessions, they are keeping it alive while bringing together musicians of all talent levels. www.frankhamiltonschool.org

This week, Scott's speaking with dentists Dr. Slade Lail in Duluth and Dr. Jay Phillips in Tifton on how Georgia's new tele-dentistry law will work when it goes into effect this month. Not only will it allow a new level of triage for patients in metro Atlanta, but it can also make a huge difference in level of care for patients in rural Georgia and patients with mobility issues.

This week, Scott's speaking with Mike Mies, the executive director of St Vincent de Paul of Georgia. How volunteers make sure donations to Clark Howard's Christmas Kids campaign make it to thousands of Georgia foster children in time for Christmas. Hear how they make it a year-round mission to ease homelessness, hunger and healthcare deficits (with Georgia's only statewide charitable pharmacy.) And now, a $5 million grant from the Bezos Day 1 Family Fund can benefit tens of thousands of homeless Georgia families with everything from emergency shelter to training that can help stabilize a family's income and keep a roof over their heads. St Vincent de Paul touched over 300-thousand Georgians in need in the past year. https://svdpgeorgia.org/

This week, Scott's speaking with Hall County School District Superintendent Will Schofield about the Agriculture Business Program there. Students in the work-based learning program not only get hands on training in everything from meat cutting to ag IT, but they also get high school credits and get paid for their work. They even supply protein to the Hall County school lunch program. The fifty-one-acre campus between Gainesville and Clermont was ninety percent funded by COVID relief and other federal funds along with corporate and private donors. And their farm store in open to the public two days a week to buy meat and pork products and even the honey that's produced there by students. https://agribusiness.hallco.org/

This week, Scott's speaking with long-time Atlanta Journal-Constitution delivery carrier David Neely about the AJC phasing out its print edition after December 31st. After thirty-six years delivering the paper in East Cobb, he figures he's thrown more than two million papers onto yards and driveways, some as heavy as seven pounds. He says he'll miss the printed paper, but he realizes it makes economic as well as technological sense to make the transition. And at 72, after working seven nights a week, he's looking forward to a break!

Scott Slade remembers some Thanksgivings from his youth and looks at how much and how little has changed for his favorite holiday.

This week, Scott's speaking with Kyle Bryner, this year's winner of Food Network's Barbecue Brawl. Every day, his Blue Hound Barbecue in Dillard, Georgia, serves up the same cuisine that wowed judges like Bobby Flay. Kyle is on a mission to infuse Appalachia flavors into everything he serves. While we have him: the one thing backyard BBQ chefs can do to vastly improve their 'Cue. Be sure and try the beef cheeks and BBQ egg rolls while you're there. www.bluehoundbarbecue.com

This week, Scott's speaking with director Amanda Watkins about the 36th year the Alliance Theater will produce an adaptation of "A Christmas Carol." The forty-one-performance run beginning November 15 is shaping up to be more popular than ever with its mix of music, drama, special effects and a timeless message of redemption from the Dickens classic. Plus, actor Andrew Benator waxes on what It takes to be good Scrooge. www.alliancetheatre.org

As we head to Veterans Day, Scott speaks with Gerry Lewis, who was among the veterans who laid out the vision for the John's Creek Veterans Memorial at Newtown Park. The Memorial Walk there pays tribute to those who served in conflicts ranging from World War I through Afghanistan. And the park is now the permanent home for the Traveling Vietnam Memorial Wall inscribed with the names of over fifty-eight thousand Americans who died in the conflict. Through the work of the Johns Creek Veterans Association and a myriad of private and corporate supporters, the John's Creek Veterans Memorial at Newtown Park stands out as a unique and worthy tribute to all who have served. The "Honoring Our Veterans" celebration there begins at 9:00 AM Saturday, November 8.

This week, Scott is speaking with Atlanta Community Food Bank President and CEO Kyle Waide. The Food bank works with more than 700 community-based nonprofit food distribution partners in metro Atlanta and North Georgia, including food pantries, community kitchens, childcare centers and more. They have seen their demand rise 70% is just the past three-and-a-half years. If the government shutdown continues into November, shutting off the flow of additional Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program dollars would be disastrous. Waide suggests identifying additional food resources now through their search feature at ACFB.org. And if you have the ability to make a donation to help, contact your local food pantry or ACFB.org.

This week, Scott's speaking with Alex Willson, CEO and President of Sunnyland Farms in Albany, and Donna Ennis, the Associate VP of the Enterprise Institute at Georgia Tech and Co-Director of their Artificial Intelligence in Manufacturing Program. Sunnyland Farms grows pecans, but they also manufacture cakes, candies, nut samplers and such for a business that relies heavily on cost-effective shipping. Enter the GA Tech AIM program. Here is how they entered data from two years of orders and came up with a way for Sunnyland to carve several percentage points off their shipping costs. The GA Tech AIM program is available to any manufacturing business in the state at no assessment cost. www.sunnylandfarms.com www.georgiaaim.org

This week, Scott updates one of his favorite stories. Everett's Music Barn is a treasure. Hear how Tommy Everett and Rena Everett McDaniel keep the tradition going. Their fall festival and fundraiser is Saturday, October 25, with a band every hour beginning at noon. Everettsmusicbarn.net

Georgia's Apple Crop is a small percentage of the state's number one industry --agriculture--but it punches well above its weight with a positive impact on north Georgia, especially this time of the year. The Georgia Apple Festival in Ellijay is coming the weekends of October 11th and 18th. Agricultural and Natural Resources Agent for Gilmer and Fanin Counties Anna Bass says there will be plenty of apples to go around, despite some challenges for growers this season. Hillcrest Orchards Co-owner Janice Hale says the U-pick season is winding down, but you'll still find varieties like Rome Beauty, Gold Rush and Granny Smith on the trees. 92% of Georgia apples are grown in Fannin and Gilmer Counties. https://georgiagrown.com/2025-apples-map/

This week, Scott's speaking with owner and founder Ben Armstrong about the 29th season of his Netherworld attraction in Stone Mountain, Georgia. This year, the film and TV industry veteran has designed two of the most massive haunts in Netherworld history, together spanning the walking distance of nearly ten football fields. After guests experience "Monsters Attack" and "Return of the Mangler," there's a Halloween festival-styled midway, escape games, even a monster museum. Open select nights through November 8. www.fearworld.com

The C130J Hercules wins the Georgia Chamber's first "Coolest Thing Made in Georgia" competition. Lockheed-Martin executives talk about what makes this tactical airlifter so relevant, resilient and even amazing, even after celebrating its 71st anniversary.

This week, Scott's speaking to author Ron Martz, a former AJC staffer and US Marine. He talks about his investigation into the mystery of Lance Cpl. James "Jimmy" Jackson of Atlanta that has been ongoing for over forty years. Lance Cpl. Jackson disappeared in Vietnam in 1969. We update the story in time for the September 19 National POW/MIA Recognition Day. Jackson's mother passed away in 2008 without ever knowing what happened to her son. The subject of his upcoming book, Martz says he has a good idea on where Jackson's remains are located; his mission is to get them returned from Southeast Asia to an empty grave marked with a headstone with Jackson's name on it in the Marietta National Cemetery.

This week, Scott's profiling legendary "Souper Jenny" Levison. Where she got the inspiration for her popular chain of soup kitchens going strong for 26 years, what keeps her going, and her passion for feeding the hungry on many levels. Her yearly fundraiser, The Souper Walk on September 20, benefits the Zadie Project, her nonprofit that serves a thousand quarts of soup each week to food-insecure metro Atlanta children. www.souperjennyatl.com

A year after the deadliest mass school shooting in Georgia history, Scott's speaking with Children's Healthcare of Atlanta Psychotherapist Jody Baumstein about how students and staff at Apalachee High School are hurting and healing. She offers advice on how to deal with the pain and anxiety that accompanies a tragic event like this and how it can extend far beyond the campus in Barrow County. She says it is normal to continue to feel anxious a year later and speaks to what we can do if current events are keeping us on edge.

Going back to the mid 1960's, Duke and Emory University have the longest-running physician assistant programs in the nation. As of this week, Berry College in Rome, GA., has the newest. Answering a need for a critical shortage of medical professionals in Georgia, Berry College has launched its own Physician Associate program. Classes began on Aug. 25 for the 28 initial graduate students in the two-year program that will eventually graduate 40 new PA's each year. You will hear from student Kirsten Powell, PA Program Director Victoria Galloway, Berry College Medical Director Dr. Ryan Stanger, and Berry College Provost Dr, David F. Slade on what it took the build the new program from scratch and the excellence they expect from their future graduates. By the way, in this context, "physician assistant" and "physician associate" are interchangeable.

The 70th Anniversary of Waffle House is coming up on Labor Day. Waffle House Archivist and Museum Curator Julia Buschman dishes to Scott about the origin of the company, the amazing amount of food they serve every year, and the training cooks and servers must go through to be able to do what they do. 97% of their two-thousand stores are company owned, and even top executives are expected to pull shifts in a restaurant to stay in closer touch to customers and associates. Can you name their most popular menu Item? Plus, Waffle House will announce a special 70th anniversary waffle flavor on August 24.

This week, Scott's speaking to Georgia State Senator Blake Tillery of Vidalia. He chairs a Special Senate Committee looking at how the state could eliminate the income tax. Lawmakers have been whittling away at the income tax rate; Senator Tillery says it's time to do away with it completely and he says his committee will focus on how other states have done it-nine have up until now-and how quickly Georgia could do it. The first special committee meeting is August 19, 10:00 AM at the state capitol.

This week, Scott's speaking with the Kaiser Family Foundation's Robin Rudowitz and Georgia Healthcare Association President and CEO Chris Downing. The impact on Georgia Medicaid could be in the billions. But nursing homes and other long term care facilities get a break, thanks to an extended timeline rolling out the act's provisions, and thanks to a deal on the final version of the bill, Medicaid reimbursements to long term care are minimally affected, if at all. Of course, things could change, and other healthcare cuts could trickle down to long term care, But for now, Downing says he is optimistic—people are not going to be kicked out on the street nor will nursing homes be closing anytime soon.

This week, Scott's speaking with filmmaker Luke Pilgrim about his docuseries "Unknown Ellijay," where locals speak about their encounters with the paranormal in the North Georgia mountains. The docuseries was commissioned by the Gilmer County Chamber of Commerce's "Pick Ellijay" campaign to encourage visitors to come see the sites of these encounters themselves and perhaps form their own experiences. Who knew there was a vibrant market for Paranormal Tourism! Search YouTube for "Unknown Ellijay" to see the series. www.sozobearfilms.com

Aflac Cancer and Blood Disorders Center Director Dr. Doug Graham talks to Scott Slade about what excites him about the coming year. Your donations have made a huge difference advancing treatments and cures for these great children and their brilliant caregivers. Thank you! wsbradio.com/careathon

This week, Scott's speaking with Neighborhood Meals and Wheels coordinator Jenny Allen and her husband Chuck on how they are working to fill a deep gap in services for Georgia seniors, who either through preference or economic necessity, prefer to age at home. neighorboodmealsonwheels.org and www.mealsonwheelsamerica.org

This week, Scott's speaking with Dr. Lewis Bartlett, University of Georgia Assistant Professor in the Department of Entomology and program leadership for the UGA Bee Program. Following up on the colony of so-called "killer bees" found in Barbour County Alabama, just across the Georgia border about 85 miles west of Albany. Dr. Bartlett talks about where and how these bees originated, what makes them more dangerous, and what Georgia beekeepers are doing to limit their spread. By the way, Georgia once led the nation in keeping bees; we are still in the top three behind Texas and California.