Archive Atlanta

Ever wonder what I’d do with $5 million if saving it was off the table? Or which unsung women of Atlanta’s past I’d invite to a dinner party? In Volume 5 of my Q&A series, I’m answering 12 listener questions — from my favorite neighborhoods and nerdy research habits to the most frustrating parts of podcast production. Plus, I’ll reveal the stories I can’t wait to dive into next and where I see this podcast by episode 600.
 
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This week, I am so excited to share my interview with my friend Julie B. Johnson, where we talk about her latest project, Dancing in Darktown. I’m honored to collaborate with her new work focusing on Black dance halls in Atlanta from 1890-1920. 
Dancing with Digital Archives in Atlanta workshop
 
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This week, I am sharing an interview with Stan Washington, veteran journalist and editor-at-large of The Atlanta Voice. We discuss his career in PR, radio and how he arrived at The Voice, and his unwavering commitment to the Black press. This is a conversation about journalism and a call to preserve and support the institutions that continue to amplify Black voices and shape the narrative from within the community.
 
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In 1950s Georgia, faced with school desegregation, the governor’s plan was simple: abolish public schools. This episode dives into Atlanta’s tense response to Brown v. Board, the courage of 80 white ministers who spoke out against segregation, and the backlash that followed. rom sermons and manifestos to church bombings and cautious integration, we explore how religion, politics, and protest collided in a city trying to avoid another Little Rock.
https://bobshands.com/oasis/ 
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In the fall of 1971, a group of volunteers in Atlanta set out to build a radio station by the people, for the people. By 1973, WRFG was on the airwaves, amplifying voices that mainstream media refused to touch: Black activists, women, laborers, LGBTQ, ex-convicts, and musicians from every walk of life.
But just two months after launch, Atlanta police tried to shut it down — accusing the station of spreading radical politics. From 32 watts to 100,000, this is the story of how one scrappy, volunteer-run station was born in Atlanta.
https://wrfg.org/programschedule/
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Before it became Atlanta’s most iconic cemetery, Oakland Cemetery was just six acres of farmland owned by the Woodings. But as the city grew, so did its need to bury its dead. From Confederate obelisks to disinterred graves, this is the story of the cemetery that tells Atlanta’s story.
Oakland Cemetery
Oakland Cemetery book
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This week, I am re-sharing an episode from 2021 where I cover the history of Atlanta’s City Hall...not just the Art Deco masterpiece you can see today, but also the places that no longer exist. Where they were, how we got them and what their fate was. Our current City Hall (the 4th one in history), was built in 1930 and brought forth something called the Atlanta Graft Ring - an epic corruption scandal that brought down a mayor and won the Constitution a Pulitzer Prize. 
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Before Atlanta was crisscrossed with interstates and highways, there was a bold plan—born from the Great Depression, inspired by Germany’s Autobahn, and fueled by fears of another economic collapse. 
In this episode, we rewind to the 1930s to unpack how the U.S. highway system began, why Atlanta jumped in headfirst, and how a single report—the Lochner Report—shaped decades of urban design, displacement, and, yes... gridlock.
From ambitious plans, to having to teach Atlantans how to drive on the interstate, and even a traffic-stopping turkey, this is the origin story of the Atlanta Expressway and the infamous Downtown Connector.
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This week, we’re talking about Atlanta’s most famous food franchises. Atlanta has been the birthplace of almost a dozen food franchises, including Chick-fil-A, Huddle House, Mellow Mushroom, Great American Cookies, Applebee's, Flying Biscuit and Moe's Southwest Grill.
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Even though this is a bye week for me, I wanted to share a bonus episode related to a special project that I got to do recently. 
I worked with Canopy fellow Damius Smith on his piece "Built for Legacy". Collier Heights was designed by and for Black people, with the architectural design of every house telling a story. From American Small Houses, to ranch-style, to mid-century, each home focuses on the symbolic power of the neighborhood.
https://canopyatlanta.org/2025/06/27/legacy-collier-heights-architecture/
Canopy Atlanta is a community journalism nonprofit founded in 2020. They collaborate with residents to tell stories about their communities, redefining who journalism is by and for. Even better, they pay and train residents to report alongside experienced journalists. And they’ve trained over 200 Atlantans so far.