North Carolina Rabbit Hole

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Hardly anybody votes in off-year elections. Why does North Carolina have them? Nov 04, 2025

Show notes

Generations ago, leaders thought local elections should be protected from state and national issues. We're still dealing with the effects of that thinking today.

Find this story (and more like it) by subscribing to the North Carolina Rabbit Hole Newsletter: ncrabbithole.com

Why SO MANY houses are collapsing on the Outer Banks Oct 09, 2025

Show notes

The North Carolina Rabbit Hole's Jeremy Markovich and Outer Banks journalist Sam Walker talk about the collapses of oceanfront homes on the Outer Banks over the last month. What caused them? Why is this happening now? Why don't people just tear then down first? Who cleans them up?

Read more from Sam Walker at samwalkerobxnews.com Get more perspective from Joy Crist at the Island Free Press at islandfreepress.org

Find this story (and more like it) by subscribing to the North Carolina Rabbit Hole Newsletter: ncrabbithole.com

Do It For Dale Sep 26, 2025

Show notes

On September 11, 2001, Brett Sheats was a recent graduate from Wake Forest, had just been commissioned into the Army, and was working in the campus ROTC office. On that day, he heard someone say a single sentence that was "the most incredible thing I have ever heard a human being say." Later, in Afghanistan, he'd put that sentence, and the story that went with it, to good use.

In this episode, Brett tells his story, and he and Jeremy discuss the nature of strange moments that happen during scary times. Past that, it's best if you don't know much than that before you listen.

This story originally appeared in the North Carolina Rabbit Hole newsletter. Subscribe here! It's free if you want it to be.

Here's Brett's original story, via Reddit.

Here's its original appearance on the Shutdown Fullcast.

The Bag of Weed at the NC Supreme Court Sep 18, 2025

Show notes

Recently, a lawyer dangled a baggie of cannibis in front of the North Carolina Supreme Court and dared the cops in the room to arrested him. So, how did he get away with it, and why did he do it? Today, a story about the smell of weed, the state of pot in North Carolina, and why so many products somehow are able to him that they'll get you high, legally.

This episode is also available on the North Carolina Rabbit Hole YouTube Channel.

It's based on a newsletter that you can read (and subscribe to for free, if you want) at ncrabbithole.com.

Sex, Drugs, and Ay Ziggy Zoomba (w/ Joe Ovies) Sep 15, 2025

Show notes

UNC and Bowling Green are polar opposites, yet they both share a weird fight song. Why? Blame a man who the CIA drugged with LSD, wrote lots of erotic novels, and sang a song that makes no sense.

This episode is based on a story from the North Carolina Rabbit Hole titled "Sex, Drugs, and Ay Ziggy Zoomba," and was recorded on the Ovies & Giglio Podcast on September 11, 2025.

Learn more about the North Carolina Rabbit Hole and sign up for our weekly newsletter at ncrabbithole.com.

Why Are North Carolina Politics Like This? Nov 01, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, Western Carolina University political science professor Chris Cooper joins Jeremy Markovich to talk about the things that drive the political scene in our state, why candidates do the things they do, and how the Roy Cooper of the past made things tougher for the Roy Cooper of the present.

Read more at ncrabbithole.com.
Check out Chris's new book, "Anatomy of a Purple State"
Read Jeremy's Politico story referenced in this episode: "I Ran the Worst 5K of My Life So I Could Explain Gerrymandering To You."

What's Up With White Shirts in Abandoned Car Doors? Mar 06, 2024

Show notes

Once you've seen one broken-down junker with a white rag in the window, you start seeing them everywhere. Is this just a North Carolina thing? What's it supposed to mean? Why do so many people do it? And, if so many people are doing the same thing, then where did the idea come from? Reporter Jeremy Markovich investigates to get to the bottom of an old piece of highway folklore.

Subscribe to the North Carolina Rabbit Hole newsletter at ncrabbithole.com/subscribe

How Much of Greenville's Economy Relies on MrBeast? (w/ Drew Harwell) Feb 23, 2024

Show notes

MrBeast (aka Jimmy Donaldson) has more than 300 million total subscribers on YouTube and some of his videos have more viewers than the Super Bowl. He's opened restaurants. He's launched his own food company called Feastables. The MrBeast logo is now on the jerseys of the Charlotte Hornets. Also, MrBeast is 25-years-old.

This multi-million dollar YouTube media empire? It's based in Greenville, North Carolina of all places. So how did that happen?

In this episode, journalist Jeremy Markovich talks to Washington Post tech reporter Drew Harwell about what happens when a big time influencer sets up shop in a small town.

To get more stories like this, subscribe to the North Carolina Rabbit Hole, the reader-supported newsletter that powers this podcast. Get a free-if-you-want-it-to-be subscription at ncrabbithole.com.

The Greatest "I Voted" Sticker Ever Feb 16, 2024

Show notes

A sixth-grade student from the Raleigh area drew a boy riding a unicorn. It's now the official "I Voted Early" sticker for the Wake County Board of Elections. In this episode, artist Shannon Fisher explains some of the details and the background behind a sticker that's turning heads at polling places around Raleigh and beyond.

See the sticker and read more about it: https://www.ncrabbithole.com/p/wake-county-nc-i-voted-early-sticker-unicorn

Subscribe to the North Carolina Rabbit Hole newsletter here: https://www.ncrabbithole.com/subscribe

Thanks to Shannon Fisher, Ashley Millhiser, Gerry Cohen, and the Wake County Board of Elections. Early voting is now underway in North Carolina for the 2024 primary. Find your polling place and sample ballot here: https://www.ncsbe.gov/

The Dick Trickle Maneuver (w/ Ryan McGee) Feb 08, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, host Jeremy Markovich and ESPN senior writer Ryan McGee talk about beer, old school racing, a man named Dick Trickle, and a quiet trick to to help you navigate a boisterous social situation.

Read Jeremy's 2013 SB Nation story about Dick Trickle: "Elegy of a Race Car Driver"

Subscribe to the North Carolina Rabbit Hole newsletter at ncrabbithole.com.

Special thanks to Kenny Wallace.

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