Due South

WUNC’s military reporter Jay Price flew with National Guard troops who were dropping off food and water to residents… Many who’ve been without power and water for more than a week now. An excerpt from The Broadside for our Purple Ballot series: “This year, a record $12.3 billion will be spent on US political campaigns. The majority of that is earmarked for political advertising, particularly in ba...

Known to some during his time on the 1976 presidential campaign trail as a "New South" moderate, President James Earl Carter came to the White House as a Washington outsider and strived to learn and manage the work of the office both stateside and abroad.  The one-term president's political career is often understood but his work post-presidency has been better remembered and regarded, as is evide...

On the North Carolina News Roundup… Helene’s devastating toll on Western North Carolina is still being calculated. We’ll hear from a Blue Ridge Public Radio reporter on the ground. A reporter also fills us in on access to health care in the storm ravaged areas. And the executive director of the NC Council of Churches joins us to discuss the intersection of religion and politics during this electio...

Rescue and evacuation efforts continue in western North Carolina, with many people still unaccounted for. There is also a widespread effort to get resources out to people in hard-to-reach areas of our state. We’ll check in with North Carolinians from Avery County and Buncombe County. Then, WUNC’s Rusty Jacobs tells us how Helene’s impacts are reshaping the election with in-person early voting sche...

Charlotte baker Manolo Betancur and El Centro Unido's Margarita Ramirez are among the many people providing food and support for people in western North Carolina in the aftermath of Helene. Plus, workers who labor on farms, and construction sites experience extreme heat frequently in the workplace, but there are also service workers who face extreme heat. WUNC's new series "Scorched Workers" shows...

Surveying the damage from Helene in NC's rural high country In Western North Carolina, recovery efforts continue while relief is ramping up. Co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with reporter Duncan McFadyen from Linville in Avery County for a view from NC's high country. And we hear from a Charlotte resident who hiked 11 miles to check on his parents in Little Switzerland, NC. Duncan McFadyen , a former WF...

The latest from Western North Carolina where Helene has caused 'biblical devastation' Western North Carolina has been devastated by the remnants of Hurricane Helene. Officials are now calling it that region’s Hurricane Katrina and the impact of the damage ‘biblical.’ There have been at least 30 deaths and hundreds more are missing. Major roads are destroyed or shut down. Power outages and limited...

On the NC News Roundup... We’re less than three weeks away from the beginning of early voting in North Carolina, and the scandal surrounding Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson continues to dominate the headlines. Our panel of journalists will tell us about the latest on the allegations against Robinson and responses from other Republican politicians. And, as Tropical Storm Helene pushes through the Southeast,...

A local reporter explains why young residents are leaving the Hampton Roads region in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, and how local leaders are trying to attract them to stay. A long-time North Carolinian, and demographer, helps us understand the long-term trends in our shifting population And, the mayor of Princeville shares the unique challenges his town faces, including t...

Cooper administration advances its plan to address state medical debt crisis North Carolina ranks among the top five states in the country with the highest levels of medical debt. Through Medicaid expansion and the cooperation of the state’s 99 hospitals, a long-in-the-works plan from Gov. Cooper’s administration will move forward in 2025. Ames Alexander , investigative reporter for The Charlotte...

Democrat Mo Green and Republican Michele Morrow are the candidates for state superintendent of public instruction – a position that oversees North Carolina’s public schools. Morrow is a former nurse and homeschool teacher who burst onto the statewide scene when she upset the Republican incumbent in the March primary. Controversy over her past and present social media posts have dominated headlines...

CDC Director Dr. Mandy Cohen makes recommendations about when to get your updated Covid and flu vaccines and reflects on her first year heading the CDC. Poet, producer and musician Shirlette Ammons stops by the studio to talk about her latest album, Spectacles . 

On the North Carolina News Roundup… Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson is denying a report that he made racist and sexual comments on a porn website. The flooding effects of a so-called 1,000 year storm on the coast. Some down-ballot races are kicking into high gear. And our public schools still have a high number of vacancies. Join Jeff Tiberii and a panel of reporters for context and analysis of the week's...

Jeff Tiberii talks to News & Observer reporter Dan Kane about state lawmakers' investment in seldom-used science-based games in public schools. Jeff Tiberii chats with author David Daley about the history of the U.S. Supreme Court on the issue of voting rights. Leoneda Inge sits down with actress and educator Jasminn Johnson to discuss her role in the Playmakers Repertory Company production of...

In the latest installment of our ongoing series “Golden Leaf” — about tobacco’s deep roots in North Carolina — we turn to the impact of smoking in our state. How many North Carolinians are dying from disease caused by tobacco use? And what kinds of programs are proven to be successful at helping people quit? Co-host Leoneda Inge talks with Dr. Adam Goldstein about tobacco use prevention and cessat...

Part One: How NC Latino communities could be impacted by immigration enforcement bill We get some analysis on a piece of legislation that went to the Governor last week. It’s a bill that mandates local sheriffs comply with federal deportation efforts, so called ICE detainers. WUNC reporter Aaron Sánchez-Guerra fills us in. Aaron Sánchez-Guerra , race, class and communities reporter, WUNC Part Two:...

As a public radio listener, you’ve no doubt heard The Washington Post personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary give sage advice about money matters. In 2024, many of us need her know-how now more than ever before, especially when it comes to housing. *encore edition* Bull Durham, A New Musical takes the stage in the city of Durham for the first time. It’s an adaptation of the classic 1988 mo...

On the North Carolina News Roundup…  State lawmakers appropriate millions more for private school vouchers – and mandate local sheriffs to cooperate with federal agents. Both bills are headed to the governor’s desk. We review the latest and get a fact check on that widely watched presidential debate.  Join Due South co-host Jeff Tiberii and a panel of reporters for context and analysis of the week...

The only two swing states in the South may have something in common – the Democratic Party is working hard to turn them blue. Millions of dollars are pouring into battleground states that could decide the presidency – including North Carolina and Georgia. Plus, Bryan Tucker, a senior writer on SNL, has worked with the show since 2005. He got his start in comedy as a student at UNC and he returns t...

A look at the State Treasurer’s race in North Carolina. WUNC's Colin Campbell joins Jeff Tiberii to discuss the race and candidates. Leoneda Inge chats with Durham-based poet and scholar Alexis Pauline Gumbs about her latest work, Survival is a Promise: The Eternal Life of Audre Lorde . Leoneda Inge chats with Dr. David Washington about his debut graphic novel, Black Defender: The Awakening .

North Carolina State University historian Ajamu Dillahunt-Holloway joins co-host Leoneda Inge to talk labor movements in North Carolina and the South. He connects the past to the struggles—and accomplishments—of organizing today, and discusses the presidential campaigns efforts to court union voters. Blair LM Kelley is a historian who knows the power of storytelling, weaving her own family's histo...

In this back-to-school installment of "HBCU 101," Due South co-host Leoneda Inge talks to NCCU's director of undergraduate admissions, the author of a new book the influence of HBCUs on Black political engagement and NCCU's director of university bands.

On the North Carolina News Roundup…  The Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ballot hokey pokey has concluded. We think! What’s going on with those absentee ballots set to go out Friday?  Later, new test scores for K-12 public school students are setting off another debate over how to improve outcomes for our young people. Meanwhile, are state lawmakers closing in on a deal for more school voucher funding?  In...

Update on DEI at UNC; concerns from LGBTQ campus communities Co-host Jeff Tiberii gets an update on changes to DEI - Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion - on UNC campuses. Following a proliferation of DEI offices, officers and efforts, the pendulum has swung decidedly back in recent years. We get an update on where it stands now. Plus, with all the changes to DEI on campuses, some in LGBTQ campus com...

Co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with two NC doctors working to combat the stigma associated with PSUD (perinatal substance use disorder) and get pregnant people into treatment. Then, as sea levels increase, so does the water’s impact on North Carolina's coastal communities. From expensive beach rebuilding projects to sewage overflows in the streets to houses collapsing into the oceans, the costs associ...