Known as the "Furniture Capital of the World," North Carolina is famous for its high-quality furniture. And for over a century, it's been the heartbeat of the American furniture industry. But in recent decades, that business has changed dramatically, decimating the workforce and leaving average American consumers with two less-than-ideal options: high-end luxury products or cheap and mostly disposable mass-produced stuff.

This episode originally published on October 24, 2024 and features a trip to the High Point Furniture Market. The 2026 Spring Market is scheduled for April 25–29.

Featuring:

• Zaki Khalifa, former owner of Zaki Oriental Rugs in High Point, NC
• Tammy Nagum, President and CEO of the High Point Market Authority
• Federico Contigiani, President of Hickory Chair
• Matt Hartman, reporter at The Assembly

Thanks to the team at the High Point Market Authority for their help during Market week, especially Ben Muller.

Special thanks also this week to NC State Libraries' Special Collections Research Center.

Links:

• Check out Matt’s reporting on the evolution of North Carolina furniture.
• You can find a transcript of this episode here.

Aspect: Order no. 329, Directed by Kine, 27 February 1961, ua102_400_309766_20221007_49866, Special Collections Research Center, North Carolina State University Libraries, Raleigh, North Carolina

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Fascinating new research is shedding light on how clothing culture during the American Civil war helped radically transform the nation during its darkest hour. Through the clothes they made, wore, mended, lost, and stole, Americans expressed their allegiances, showed their love, confronted their social and economic challenges, subverted expectations, and, ultimately, preserved their history.

Featuring:

• Sarah Weicksel, author of A Nation Unraveled: Clothing, Culture, and Violence in the American Civil War Era

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In March of 1944, two basketball teams in North Carolina played perhaps the most important game that nobody has ever heard of. It was the first interracial college basketball game in the Jim Crow South. And it remained a secret for half a century.

Featuring:

• Scott Ellsworth, author of “The Secret Game: A Wartime Story of Courage, Change, and Basketball’s Lost Triumph”

Links:

• You can check out Scott’s original 1996 article for The New York Times here.

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