Season 8 kicks off in Clinton, the small Georgia town where host and writer John T. Edge was born. During season 3, Edge began writing a memoir. House of Smoke, which publishes this September, brought Edge back to reconnect with the places and people that made him. The restaurants that catapult Edge back in time are Nu Way Weiners in nearby Macon, where he and his father ate chili-slaw dogs; and Fresh Air Bar-B-Que near Jackson, to which father and son traveled on pilgrimages. On this return to where he began, Edge asks honest questions about home and belonging that transcended the personal to become universal.

This is one of the most popular tourist destinations in the nation, the subject of endless magazine listicles and breathless influencer reels. Is it possible to sidestep the algorithms and really see and hear and taste Charleston? In the process can we learn something about the past and present South? Those are the questions the crew asked. Answers came in conversations with, among others, architect Reggie Gibson, observer of alleyways and courtyards; Jaime Tinoco and Pamela Sierra of Kooben Cafe Mexicano, the vibrant new brunch restaurant near the airport; Bethany and Dano Heinze of Vern’s, a neighborhood restaurant that out-punches its weight; and the daughters of the Albertha Grant, who serve red rice and okra soup at Bertha’s, the Gullah-soul mainstay named for their late mother.

Across generations, people have flocked to this Atlantic Coast city to follow their dreams. Farm workers from south Georgia arrived here in search of jobs as longshoremen. Immigrants from Lebanon and other Middle Eastern countries came in search of religious and economic freedom. Those dreams inspired prayerful songs like “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” And they inspired the hard work and adaptation that drives a sandwich culture here that’s second only to New Orleans. Getting to know the Salameh family, proprietors of All American Hot Dogs and Sandwiches; and the Doe and Boutros families, who run Russ Doe’s Sandwich Shop, we get a glimpse of what it takes to realize those dreams.

The behind-the-scenes episode returns for a sprint across the belly of the SEC, in search of really good cheeseburgers. Highlights include: Burger Burger in Biloxi, Miss., for po-boy loaves, layered with double patties and onion sauce; Troy’s Snack Shack in Montezuma, Ga., for beautifully sloppy chili-slaw burgers; Hamburger King near downtown Montgomery, Ala., for burgers that pick up an ideal char from the griddle; and Downton Grill in Macon, Ga., for a conversation with Will and Jenni Harris of White Oak Pastures in downstate Bluffton, who talk with Edge about the new-old promise of raising beef cattle on grass.