Charlotte Talks With Mike Collins

We explore what can be learned about character from seven former American presidents. Presidential historian Mark Updegrove profiles Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, the Bushes, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, illustrating the traits that made each suited to their time in the Oval Office.

During the COVID pandemic, Dr. Mandy Cohen was the face of North Carolina's response to the virus. Later, she would go on to serve as the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention during the Biden administration. Now, she is part of the newly formed Governors' Public Health Alliance, focusing on sharing information about health, emergency preparedness and more. She joins us to talk about all that and the future of public health.

The trial begins for two men accused of murdering Scott Brooks of Brooks Sandwich House. More than 100,000 recipients in Mecklenburg County face losing SNAP benefits due to the federal government shutdown. CMS sets rules on the use of artificial intelligence. And it’s do or die for Charlotte FC in the playoffs after losing on Tuesday.

We bring you highlights of a forum between candidates for Charlotte-Mecklenburg School Board. The candidates answered questions on issues from test scores to school funding. Hosted by WFAE and the League of Women Voters of Charlotte-Mecklenburg and moderated by WFAE's education reporter James Farrell.

Thanks to vaccinations, measles in the United States was eliminated in 2000. But, measles is making a comeback and one of the hot spots is the upstate of South Carolina. We discuss the rise in measles here, how it compares to other parts of the country and what this means for public health.

The word "poetry" is often used as a metaphor. Many see the art form as something from the past, associate it with academics or think of it as unapproachable, it is none of those things. Poetry is alive and well, and in North Carolina, it's promoted by the state’s poet laureate Jaki Shelton Green. She's the ninth person to hold that position and joins us to talk about the role of poetry in modern life.

We look at the boom of data centers across the region and what it means for the state. We’ll examine the pros and cons of a sector only expected to continue growing with million and billion-dollar investments from companies.

A new congressional map passes the N.C. General Assembly likely adding an additional Republican seat in the midterms. 'No Kings’ protests push back on the Trump administration. Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden has yet to decide if he’ll run for reelection. And Charlotte FC is in the playoffs.

Major League Soccer has wrapped up its regular season. Charlotte FC finished fourth in the Eastern Conference and last weekend beat the league’s best team — Philadelphia — to secure home-field advantage in the first round of the playoffs. The Crown will go into that game without one of its best players and will call on younger players to step up. A look at what to expect, this team’s importance to Charlotte and more.

The government shutdown rolls on and it is impacting North Carolina. The Senate is in session, but the House has been out for weeks. We’ll catch up on what has been happening and not happening on Capitol Hill and consider the possible impact in Washington D.C. of North Carolina’s plans to gerrymander districts for the midterms.