THE ROAST BLOG
EVERY TOWN HAS A STORY
In-depth roasts and real talk about every town we've destroyed.
Welcome to Knoxville, Tennessee—a city that somehow convinced 11 million people to pay to see the Big Ears Festival and built a new Sunsp...
Welcome to Argos, Indiana—a place so small that its population of 1,777 could comfortably fit in a mid-sized concert venue, and probably ...
Welcome to Music City, where the honky-tonk never stops, the hot chicken burns eternally, and approximately 689,447 people live in denial...
Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Roane County, Tennessee, United States. As of the 2020 census, Kingston had a population of ...
Welcome to Lake Balboa, California — the neighborhood with an identity crisis so severe it literally changed its name and hoped no one wo...
Where Six-Figure Incomes Buy Strip Mall Dreams
Welcome to New Haven, Connecticut—the first planned city in the United States, founded in 1638 as a co-capital of the state during the Co...
When 2,936 people decide to declare themselves the epicenter of Cajun music, you know you're either witnessing the birth of delusions of ...
Welcome to Mamou, Guinea's self-proclaimed "Gateway to Fouta Djallon" – a title that's about as impressive as calling yourself the doorma...
Welcome to Charlotte, North Carolina—a city so confused about its identity it built a $160 million NASCAR Hall of Fame right downtown and...
The Town That Lost Its Fizz (But Kept Its Charm)
When most people think of presidential tourism, they picture Mount Vernon's stately elegance or Monticello's architectural genius. Then t...
Welcome to Spartanburg, the city that proves you don't need to aim high to hit your target. This "Sparkle City" (we'll get to that tragic...
If you've ever wondered what happens when a chemical company plays God with urban planning, may I present Old Hickory, Tennessee—a neighb...
Welcome to Beaverton, Oregon—the city literally named after beaver dams and stagnant water. With 97,494 residents as of the 2020 census, ...
Welcome to Kingsport, Tennessee—a city with a melody in its name and a history etched in stone and steel, where the first Pal's opened in...
Picture this: a town that genuinely threw a parade for beans. Not coffee beans. Not jelly beans. Soybeans. Welcome to Martin, Tennessee, ...
A Town Built on Spectacular Failures (And One Famous Neighbor)
Welcome to Sparta, New Jersey – where the only thing more artificial than the lake is the Swiss-German architecture surrounding it. This ...
Welcome to Garfield, New Jersey – where dreams go to pay slightly less rent while still pretending they live "near the city." Nestled in ...
Welcome to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina—"popularly known as the Grand Strand" and spanning "60 miles along the northeast coast" where you...
The "Scenic City" That Made Its Fortune Celebrating Car Problems
The Whaling Capital That Peaked 150 Years Ago
When a town literally named itself after agricultural leftovers and somehow still manages to exist in 2026, you know you've stumbled onto...
Welcome to Kansas City, Missouri — the 520,000-person metropolis that's spent nearly a century playing catch-up to its own golden era. Th...