Under the Dome

For the week of Nov. 13, 2023, host Dawn Vaughan is joined by News & Observer colleagues Mary Helen Moore, who covers Durham; Tammy Grubb, who covers Orange County; and Kristen Johnson, who covers western Wake County. Big changes on the local government scene arrived with last week’s Election Day. Overall, the three areas still have a common major issue: the cost of housing. Listen to Moore, Grubb...

For the week of Nov. 6, 2023, host Dawn Vaughan is joined by politics team colleague Avi Bajpai and Korie Dean, who covers higher education. Even with the General Assembly out of session, there is still plenty of news in state government and politics to discuss. Both Bajpai and Dean have been covering the latest in HBCU funding. More higher education and politics crossover: why there have been add...

In the latest episode, for the week of Oct. 30, 2023, host Dawn Vaughan sat down with U.S. Rep. Deborah Ross, a Raleigh Democrat who just returned from quite the wild time in Congress this past month. Aside from the drawn out election of a Republican House speaker, the big news for the North Carolina congressional delegation, and potential candidates, was passage of new congressional district maps...

In the latest episode, for the week of Oct. 23, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and host Dawn Vaughan sat down with state Sen. Benton Sawrey, a Johnston County Republican. Sawrey talks about his beginnings in politics, being a freshman in the supermajority party. He also talks about his first, unsuccessful run for state Senate, how he won in 2022 and why he’s not impacted by redistricti...

For the week of Oct. 16, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan is joined by politics team colleague Kyle Ingram and environment and N&O climate change reporter Adam Wagner. Our discussion centers around power: veto overrides, boards and commission appointments, elections and the environment. The Republicans’ supermajority in the General Assembly gives them the ab...

In the latest episode, for the week of Oct. 9, 2023, host Dawn Vaughan is joined by politics team colleague Kyle Ingram and N&O investigative reporter Tyler Dukes to talk about redistricting and what it means. By the end of the week, the public might get to see some of the new maps drawn by lawmakers for the 2024 General Assembly and congressional races. Stay tuned after the break for our picks fo...

It’s three months late, but today is the day for the long-awaited North Carolina state budget to become law. Dawn Vaughan here, The News & Observer’s Capitol bureau chief and host of Under the Dome. Along with the budget comes Medicaid expansion. So our guest for this week’s episode of the Under the Dome podcast for Oct. 2, 2023, is the man leading the major health care change. I talked with N.C....

For the week of Sept. 25, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan is joined (again) by politics team colleagues Avi Bajpai and Kyle Ingram. The General Assembly is full of surprises, not just policy provisions hidden deep in the state budget, but we cover that part, too. This past week brought the final, actually here, budget deal, and casinos weren’t in it. Within...

In the latest episode, for the week of Sept. 18, 2023, Dawn Vaughan, your News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host, is joined by politics team colleagues Avi Bajpai and Kyle Ingram. As much as everyone — especially state employees and teachers waiting on raises — wished for final budget votes last week, they didn’t happen. Will they happen this week? Don’t hold your breath. After the...

For the week of Sept. 11, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan is joined by politics team colleagues Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi and Avi Bajpai to talk about the potential for the long-awaited, much anticipated arrival of the state budget. Stayed tuned to the end for their picks for Headliner of the Week, which range from political soda to the weather to downto...

For the week of Sept. 4, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan talks about the future of sports gambling in North Carolina with Scott Ward, vice president of the Sports Betting Alliance. The alliance is comprised of sports betting companies Draft Kings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Fanatics Sportsbook. After the break, Korie Dean, who covers higher education, and politics...

For the week of Aug. 28, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan talks with retired UNC Chapel Hill history professor Reginald Hildebrand and N.C. Sen. Natalie Murdock about the new North Carolina Freedom Park in downtown Raleigh. Hildebrand and Murdock, who both served key roles on the park’s planning, discuss the site selection to why “I Can’t Breathe,” the words...

For the week of Aug. 21, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast Dawn Vaughan talks with N&O politics team colleagues Kyle Ingram and Korie Dean about the busy one-day voting session last week — from the veto overrides of bills about transgender youth and athletes to new bills. Stay tuned to the end for their picks for Headliner of the Week. Spoilers: they range from new music to th...

For the week of Aug. 14, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan talks with Suzanne Beasley, the government relations director for the State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC). She’s been through delayed budgets before, which means a delay in raises for tens of thousands of state employees. But it’s not just about the wait on raises, according to Beasl...

For the week of Aug. 7, 2023, N&O politics reporter Kyle Ingram is podcast host for Dawn Vaughan. First up is a look into the North Carolina Speaker of the House position, which longtime Speaker Tim Moore recently said he does not plan to run for again. After the break, DC Correspondent Danielle Battaglia joins to discuss former President Donald Trump’s latest criminal indictment. Plus, stick to t...

For the week of July 31, 2023, we broke down our episode into two segments. First up are two of our local government reporters, because while statewide elections are more than a year away, local ones are coming up this fall. After the break, I’m joined by our summer politics interns: Makiya Seminera with The N&O and Jazper Lu with NC Insider, one of our two daily politics newsletters. Host: Dawn V...

For the week of July 24, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan talked with WUNC Capitol Bureau Chief Colin Campbell, a longtime legislative reporter. The NC state budget is delayed again this summer. How often has the General Assembly delayed the budget? Plus, stay tuned to the end for our picks for Headliner of the Week. Host: Dawn Vaughan Guest: Colin Campbell...

For the week of July 17, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan interviews N.C. Rep. Marcia Morey, a Durham Democrat who is also a former judge and Olympian, and the House Democratic whip. Stay tuned to the end for their picks for Headliner of the Week about the timing of the legislative session and what can be done about it. Host: Dawn Vaughan Guest: Rep. Marcia...

For the week of July 10, 2023, Under the Dome politics podcast host and News & Observer Capitol bureau chief Dawn Vaughan talks with her politics team colleagues, legislative correspondent Kyle Ingram and summer intern Makiya Seminera, about three significant bills vetoed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper. All three impact transgender North Carolinians, from sports to health care to public schools. Ho...

On this episode for the week of July 3, 2023, host Lars Dolder talks with politics team colleagues Korie Dean and Avi Bajpai about two landmark rulings delivered by the U.S. Supreme Court that have direct North Carolina connects. Plus, hear about a prominent North Carolina Democrat who is eyeing a gubernatorial campaign, and Headliner of the Week. Host: Lars Dolder Guests: Avi Bajpai, Korie Dean E...

For the week of June 26, 2023, N&O Capitol Bureau Chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan interviews N.C. House Republican Majority Leader John Bell about avoiding the camera, his pick for U.S. president and the lawsuit against House Speaker Tim Moore. Plus, hear Bell’s menu item of choice from the Legislative Cafeteria and stay tuned to the end for Headliner of the Week. Host: Dawn Vaughan Guest: Rep...

On this episode for the week of June 19, 2023, host and state Capitol bureau chief Dawn Vaughan talks with N&O legislative correspondent Kyle Ingram about why bills about boards are nowhere near boring. That’s because they are about control over elections, separation of powers, the role of the governor and how the legislature is trying to shift power. Plus, hear about another elections bill that w...

On this episode for the week of June 12, 2023, host Dawn Vaughan, The News & Observer's state Capitol bureau chief interviewed Sen. Todd Johnson, a Union County Republican. They discuss budget priorities, including raises, and the timeline for passing the state budget. Johnson is on the Senate Appropriations/Base Budget Committee and chairs one of the subcommittees. Listen to what Johnson’s favori...

On this episode for the week of June 5, 2023, host Dawn Vaughan talks with Washington, D.C., correspondent Danielle Battaglia about how North Carolina’s congressional delegation factored into the federal government’s debt ceiling dealings and deadline. Plus, what to expect at the General Assembly this week, including final votes on legalizing online sports betting. Host: Dawn Vaughan Guests: Danie...

On this episode for the week of May 29, 2023, state Capitol bureau chief Dawn Vaughan interviews Ardis Watkins, executive director of the State Employees Association of North Carolina. SEANC and Republican state agency leaders are the latest to sound the alarm about the impact of North Carolina state employees’ vacancy rate, which is is nearing 25%. Stay tuned to the end for their picks for Headli...