3 chapters across the catalog
Professor Robert Durden provides historical context on the Duke family's independent streak, noting that Washington Duke became a Republican during Reconstruction—a highly unpopular move in the post-Civil War South. The family's wealth, built on tobacco, was used to fund Trinity College (later Duke University) and various benevolent causes, often to maintain stable relations with their black labor force.
The food industry uses "bliss point" modeling to create the exact combination of sugar, salt, and fat that makes consumers crave a product. Investigative reports from "The Fifth Estate" compare the sugar industry's tactics to those of the tobacco industry, highlighting how sugar is hidden in 99% of processed foods. This engineered addiction contributes to a global health crisis that kills more people than illegal narcotics or infectious diseases.
Hayti District, Urban Renewal and the Destruction of Black Business
The Hayti district in Durham, North Carolina, was once a prosperous, self-sufficient black commercial hub supported by unionized tobacco jobs. The hosts discuss how "urban renewal" projects, specifically the construction of the Durham Freeway, destroyed the community by running a highway through its center. This pattern of destroying black business districts via infrastructure projects is identified as a recurring "play" used across America.
