Spotlight Delaware Podcasts

In June, deputy editor Tim Carlin stopped by "Beyond the Headlines" to give a preview of what to look for in the final weeks of the 2026 legislative session in Dover. In this episode, Spotlight's other deputy editor, Karl Baker, discusses exactly what happened. He shares how the Spotlight team tried to cover the hectic final days, the process for prioritizing what is of consequence in the "mountai...

Spotlight Delaware typically doesn't cover a lot of breaking news. But on June 16th, our team jumped into action when a shooting occurred at ChristianaCare's Wilmington Hospital around 3:30 in the afternoon. Editor-in-Chief Jacob Owens joins the "Beyond the Headlines" podcast to discuss how the team covered this major event in Delaware's biggest city and the unique considerations around reporting...

This podcast brings you one of the five discussions that took place at Spotlight Delaware's Health Care Summit on University of Delaware's STAR Campus on April 29th, 2026.     DELAWARE'S MEDICAL SCHOOL: THE PATH FORWARD Delaware's success obtaining funds from the federal Rural Health Transformation Fund has opened the door to creating the state's first medical school. How would a medical school im...

This podcast brings you one of the five discussions that took place at Spotlight Delaware's Health Care Summit on University of Delaware's STAR Campus on April 29th, 2026.    HOSPITAL LEADERSHIP C-Suite representatives from Delaware's three largest health care systems – Bayhealth, Beebe Healthcare and ChristianaCare – discuss how their institutions are working to address the largest health challen...

This podcast brings you one of the five discussions that took place at Spotlight Delaware's Health Care Summit on University of Delaware's STAR Campus on April 29th, 2026.    AN UPDATE ON THE OPIOID FUND In 2025, Delaware's Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission revised its funding procedures. Commission Executive Director Brad Owens shares how the changes have impacted current gra...

This podcast brings you one of the five discussions that took place at Spotlight Delaware's Health Care Summit on University of Delaware's STAR Campus on April 29th, 2026.    DOWNSTATE DEMAND The health care challenges facing the state are multiplied in rural areas, due to geographically remote populations and fewer care facilities. What are providers and advocates doing to navigate the difficulti...

This podcast brings you one of the five discussions that took place at Spotlight Delaware's Health Care Summit on University of Delaware's STAR Campus on April 29th, 2026.    ACCESS TO SPECIALTY CARE With Delaware's rapidly growing population, there is a rapidly growing demand for specialty medical care. What is the current status for accessing care like OB/GYN, neurology, and pediatrics – and wha...

Health reporter Nick Stonesifer talks about a historic moment in Delaware health care – the announcement of who will be running the state's first medical school. Nick discusses how he goes beyond the press releases and the press conferences to detail the contours of a major policy announcement, and gets into the big unanswered questions behind the medical school project. He also details how he bui...

Tim Carlin, Spotlight's deputy editor for southern Delaware, is today's guest on "Beyond the Headlines." In addition to supervising the reporters focused on Kent and Sussex County, Tim is also Spotlight's dedicated State House reporter, and his legislative coverage is the focus of this episode. The 153rd General Assembly will conclude on June 30th, and Tim joins the podcast to let listeners know w...

Spotlight Delaware education reporter Julia Merola joins the "Beyond the Headlines" podcast to discuss the outcomes of this year's statewide school board elections, the issues that were in play with them and what they might mean for the future of districts around Delaware.  

Last month, Spotlight Delaware held its "Spotlight On: Data Centers" event at Wilmington University in Dover. It featured local and regional experts speaking about the impacts of those energy-hungry facilities on local economic development, energy infrastructure and environmental sustainability.   One panel discussion, led by land-use reporter Olivia Marble, focused on the infrastructure needs of...

Spotlight Delaware recently held its "Spotlight On: Data Centers" event at Wilmington University in Dover. It featured local and regional experts speaking about the impacts of those energy-hungry facilities on local economic development, energy infrastructure and environmental sustainability.   One particular panel discussion, led by land-use reporter Olivia Marble, included four legislators who h...

Wilmington reporter Brianna Hill visits "Beyond the Headlines" to talk about how she has been covering Christina Park, the location of the city-sanctioned encampment for unhoused individuals located on Wilmington's East Side. She discusses the unique challenges of reporting at the park, how she has built contacts with the residents, whether her coverage style differs if she knows other reporters a...

Education reporter Julia Merola and health reporter Nick Stonesifer join "Beyond the Headlines" to talk about their recent investigation into the Rockford Center , a private behavioral health hospital in Newark which has been cited by state regulators in recent years for giving children medications without their or their parents' consent.  Julia and Nick discuss their more than six month process t...

Tim Carlin, deputy editor for southern Delaware, is the guest for this episode of "Beyond the Headlines." While Tim's work for Spotlight normally has him roaming Legislative Hall in Dover, he joins the podcast to discuss the time he spent on the Leipsic River and the Delaware Bay reporting for his article In Leipsic, watermen have toiled for generations to dredge the deep . Tim shares how he devel...

Colby Cox is a fourth-generation Miltonian who left his mark on his hometown two decades ago, when he built Cannery Village. Today, the master-planned community surrounds the Dogfish Head brewery and helped launch the intimate, mixed-use development concept to Delaware. He's recently kickstarted work on his latest Delaware project, The Granary at Draper Farms – a massive project on Milton's southw...

Deputy Editor Karl Baker joins "Beyond the Headlines" to mark the beginning of 2026 election season with a discussion about money – specifically how Delaware's political parties finance their operations. Two of Karl's recent articles have taken on the topic through a bipartisan lens: " Longtime court critic quietly funds PAC controlled by House Speaker ," and " Delaware's GOP projects strength aft...

Since late 2024, municipalities across Delaware have been struggling with how to pass and enforce ordinances related to loitering and panhandling. The cause of the struggle was an agreement reached between the Delaware Department of Justice and the ACLU directing police in Delaware to no longer enforce current loitering and solicitation laws in public spaces. The agreement was a settlement to a la...

Editor-in-Chief Jacob Owens talks about Spotlight Delaware's months-long project looking at the results of Delaware's first reassessment of property values in more than 40 years. Working with Tech Impact , Spotlight produced an interactive map showing how the state's tax burdens and property assessments have shifted in that time.  In his accompanying reporting, Jake highlights questions around the...

Reporter Julia Merola joins the podcast to discuss her article 'Afraid to Die': Parents of Disabled Adults Struggle to Find Housing . The article profiles three families who are concerned they will not be able to provide supportive housing for their adult children with disabilities before the parents pass away.  Merola shares how a previous article built trust and connections in the disability com...

In the last week of 2025, five members of Spotlight Delaware's reporting team created a five-part series on Homelessness in Delaware. At a time of year where news readership normally dips, this series resulted in some of the Spotlight's highest readership numbers in several months. In this episode, reporters Olivia Marble, Brianna Hill and Nick Stonesifer discuss the collaborative nature of report...

In this last "Beyond the Headlines" episode for 2025, each member of Spotlight Delaware's nine-person reporting team reflects on the stories that meant the most to them in the year. From government accountability to long-term investigations, community profiles to breaking news, learn what stuck out to our reporters in 2025. Moms, farmers, politicians, abuse victims and more are all featured in the...

Education reporter Julia Merola talks about the Redding Consortium for Educational Equity and specifically its process to make a recommendation for reworking school district boundaries in Wilmington. She recaps the background of the consortium and the details of the December 16th vote to move forward with a redistricting plan. Julia also discusses why the work of the consortium, which had been fly...

Spotlight Delaware Editor-In-Chief Jacob Owens and Marketing and Events Manager Elsa Kegelman take listeners behind the scenes on the upcoming Our Delaware Cultural Festival in Wilmington, Delaware. They explain the origin of the Our Delaware story series, how it morphed into an in-person event and what attendees can expect. Join hundreds of other Delawareans in taking in the art, music, food and...

Rural communities reporter Maggie Reynolds discusses a controversy that has broken out in recent weeks in Georgetown where a citizens' group is making their disapproval quite vocal of the town's homeless population and the town government's handling of the issue.  Maggie gives insight into the origins of the Make Georgetown Great Again movement, highlights other quieter voices offering perspective...