The long, winding history of the Blue Ridge Parkway. Plus, North Carolina's fall color forecast

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The long, winding history of the Blue Ridge Parkway

The vast collection of trails and scenic views all along the Blue Ridge Parkway didn’t just happen on their own – the construction of the parkway was part of a big government effort to bring national parks to more concentrated population centers in the eastern United States. Leoneda Inge talks with public historian Anne Mitchell Whisnant about the history of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the legacy it’s created for generations.

Anne Mitchell Whisnant, author of "Super-Scenic Motorway: A Blue Ridge Parkway History;" Associate Professor of the Practice at Duke University’s Social Science Research Institute; director of Graduate Liberal Studies at Duke

This interview originally aired September 23, 2026.

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Fall foliage forecast for North Carolina

Get ready for those red, orange and yellow bursts of color throughout our region. It's time to check out the fall leaves in the mountains, and soon enough, here in the Piedmont.

Howard Neufeld, recently retired professor of biology, Appalachian State University, a.k.a. “The Fall Color Guy”