The Rant was joined this week by Chad Blackwelder, longtime chef and current food service marketing specialist for the N.C. Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services. Blackwelder talks about the industry, how restaurants have adapted to COVID-19 regulations and why Thousand Island dressing is frowned upon. We also play a little game of “guess that […]

Friends of The Rant

Podcast | Chad Blackwelder talks food, food, food

  Cardinal & Pine managing editor Billy Ball (formerly a writer for The Sanford Herald), talks to The Rant about starting a news site from scratch, the state of journalism today and how his site has covered COVID-19 and Black Lives Matter protests in North Carolina. Hosted by Gordon Anderson, Billy Liggett and Jonathan Owens.

Podcast | Cardinal & Pine’s Billy Ball on protests, COVID-19 and journalism

  The Friends of The Rant podcast had a little bit of everything this week. Hosts Gordon Anderson, Billy Liggett and Jonathan Owens relive their newspaper days, discuss local news regarding COVID-19 and controversial commissioners and share a ukulele cover of an Oort Patrol tune performed by a 10-year-old girl. Fun times were had by […]

Podcast | Our old newspapering days, COVID-19 news and ukulele covers

  Margaret Murchison, longtime news director at WWGP in Sanford, joined The Friends of The Rant podcast this week to talk about losing her sister, Renda McRae, to COVID-19 last week. She also gives her thoughts on the nationwide protests of the death of George Floyd and her own experiences facing segregation in Sanford during […]

Podcast | Margaret Murchison on losing her sister to COVID-19, the nation’s racial divide

  Sanford Area Growth Alliance Existing Industry Development Manager Jimmy Randolph joins the Friends of The Rant podcast to talk about the recent announcement of clothing manufacturer Through6 coming to Sanford and other recent big job announcements made in the past six months. Hosts Gordon Anderson, Billy Liggett and Jonathan Owens also talk ukuleles and […]

Podcast | Jimmy Randolph talks Through6, other big job announcements

  The Rant discusses today’s second phase of “reopening North Carolina” and talk about restaurants, as well as other tangents in what is a mostly rambling, incoherent beautiful mess of a podcast. Enjoy.

Podcast | May 22 | Restaurant reopening talk

  Stephanie Hoover, First Health of the Carolinas peer support specialist for Lee, Hoke and Montgomery counties, joins the podcast this week to talk about the rising cases of opioid overdose in Lee County and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected addiction and addiction treatment in this area. Hoover — also a health coach, former […]

Podcast | May 13 | Stephanie Hoover discusses increase of opioid abuse in Lee County

  Friends of The Rant hosts Gordon Anderson, Billy Liggett and Jonathan Owens talk about current COVID-19 conspiracies, the columns they wrote for the most recent edition of The Rant Monthly and Billy’s childhood friend who smoked in the fourth grade.

Friends of The Rant | May 7 | Columns and Conspiracies

  The Friends of The Rant podcast returns this week with longtime “friend of The Rant,” Ben Brown, creator of our theme music, and host of the national – and international – “Tourettes Podcast”. Hosts Gordon Anderson, Billy Liggett and Jonathan Owens talk about his podcast(s), time travel and the most recent edition of The […]

Friends of The Rant Podcast | May 2 | Guest: Ben Brown

  The Rant’s quarantine podcast continues with talk of the Reopen NC fiasco in Raleigh, the spike in COVID-19 cases locally and when “suburban” counties like ours will see their peak. Fun stuff! Hosts: Gordon Anderson (pictured), Billy Liggett and Jonathan Owens

Friends of The Rant podcast | April 22

  The Rant’s Gordon Anderson, Billy Liggett and Jonathan Owens talk about the changing world and life at home and are joined by Sanford Mayor Chet Mann, who shares where Sanford and Lee County currently stand in fighting the spread of COVID-19 and how the city will crack down on businesses who do not adhere […]

Friends of The Rant Podcast | April 16 | Sanford Mayor Chet Mann

The Rant’s Gordon Anderson, Billy Liggett and Jonathan Owens do the first of what will be a weekly podcast (thanks to the Zoom gods) discussing local news and issues. This first edition features a discussion on the thing that’s on everybody’s minds right now … Tiger King. Just kidding, we talk coronavirus. Although, in hindsight, […]

Friends of The Rant podcast: quaRANTine talk

The latest Friends of The Rant podcast welcomes local attorney and Sanford city councilman Chas Post to talk law, local government and other fun stuff with hosts Billy Liggett and Gordon Anderson.    

Friends of the Rant | Chas Post

The November Friends of The Rant podcast welcomes Chris DeLambert — cohost of his own radio show and podcast, From the Cheap Seats — to talk sports, beer, adult “book stores” and discount furniture.  

Friends of The Rant | Chris DeLambert

Sept. 13, 2019 The Rant returns in podcast form with “Friends of the Rant.” Our first guest is Jeff Towson, owner of Smoke & Barrel in Downtown Sanford. We talk food, restaurants, downtown, newspapers and more.