Welcome to Chatter with BNC, Business North Carolina's weekly podcast, serving up interviews with some of the Tar Heel State's most interesting people.

On today's episode, David Mildenberg discusses the surging interest in Esports with Jeffrey Palumbo, who is global Esports solutions manager at Lenovo, and N.C. Rep. Jason Saine of Lincoln County, a key state lawmaker on finance and information technology issues. Palumbo and Saine describe North Carolina's efforts to become a key training ground for the industry. Saine championed the $25 million Esports Industry Grant Fund to promote its N.C. growth.