Due South

On the North Carolina News Roundup… State lawmakers returned to Raleigh to vote on a Helene relief bill that also includes measures to strip power from Democratic state officials. Major changes to election administration and school funding are on the move. Several local races are still undecided, including a key NC Supreme Court seat, destined for a recount. And fresh water is again flowing in Asheville. Join Jeff Tiberii and a panel of reporters for context and analysis of the week's news.

Guests: Colin Campbell, Capitol Bureau Chief, WUNC; Bryan Anderson, freelance reporter, creator of the “Anderson Alerts” newsletter; Danielle Battaglia, Capitol Hill correspondent, The News & Observer/The Charlotte Observer/McClatchy; Michael Hewlett, staff writer, The Assembly, concentrating on criminal justice

We’re deep into football season and early in basketball season, so you know this is an important time of year for college sports fans, especially here in the Triangle. And whose job is to make sure those fans get whipped up into a frenzy? The mascots, of course!

If you're a Wolfpack fan, you know North Carolina State’s Mr. and Ms. Wuf, but another NC State mascot has emerged in recent years: a live mascot named Tuffy III. Co-host Leoneda Inge talks with Tuffy III’s owners, Lisa and Joe Downey, about how the dog brings sweet, cuddly vibes to even the fiercest of competitions.

Then, an encore conversation originally aired in November 2023 with two recent graduates who spent much of their college careers dressed as mascots: Cate Schick at Duke University and Daniel Wood of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

The former Blue Devil and former Rameses met for the first time with their masks off in our studio. Some good-natured ribbing ensued and so did a great conversation about what life is like in those costumes and what it meant to each of them to represent their schools.

Asheville residents can now turn on their faucets and get something they haven’t had for almost two months — drinkable water. Laura Lee, News Director at Blue Ridge Public Radio, tells Due South how residents are responding.

Then, if you’re an avid public radio listener, you’ve heard composer BJ Leiderman’s name countless times in the credits of NPR shows like “Morning Edition” and “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me.” But have you ever heard his voice? Due South hosts Leoneda Inge and Jeff Tiberii get the chance to interview the man behind those timeless tunes from his home studio in western NC, where he’s still making music.

Leoneda Inge chats with food historian and UNC Chapel Hill associate professor Kelly Alexander about Thanksgiving trends and traditions. Then, the editors of a new cookbook called When Southern Women Cook stop by to discuss the process of assembling more than 300 recipes from women from the American and global South.

Jose Sandoval shares Spanish-language broadcasts with BPR listeners after Helene
Jose Sandoval was one of the voices on Blue Ridge Public Radio sharing that life-saving information in the aftermath of Helene. And he started sharing it in Spanish to make sure people who speak Spanish in the region were staying informed, too. 
Jose Sandoval, All Things Considered host at Blue Ridge Public Radio

A push to employ more people with intellectual disabilities in North Carolina
There are nearly 7.5 million people living in America with intellectual and developmental disabilities. "IDDs" are disabilities that generally present at birth and affect an individual's physical, intellectual, and/or emotional development. Still, this portion of our population holds many abilities – to contribute to their communities, including in the area of employment. However, making connections between employers and would-be employees has its challenges.
Alex Martel, Extraordinary Ventures employee and member of B3 Coffee
Lisa Kaylie, Executive Director of Extraordinary Ventures in Chapel Hill
Jacklyn Boheler, Executive Director of B3 Coffee, community-based occupational therapist, coordinator of Work Together NC

Final ballot counts, the incoming Governor's office, what's next for Roy Cooper, the UNC could implement protest policy system-wide all on Due South's North Carolina News Roundup.

Guests
Dawn Vaughn – Capital Bureau Chief, The Raleigh News & Observer

Gary Robertson – Statehouse Reporter for the Associated Press

Lynn Bonner – Investigative Reporter, NC Newsline

Brianna Atkinson – WUNC’s Higher Education Reporter

Comedian Paula Poundstone discusses her long career in comedy and her ties to the South. Dr. Kristen Wynns, comedian and founder and owner of Wynns Family Psychology, offers tips for managing mental health during post-election and holiday season. 

Our focus today is on the environment. North Carolinians have come to expect damaging hurricanes on the coast, but the devastation brought by Helene in the mountains has upended what many of us thought we knew about “safe” places to live. How could damaging storms, extreme heat, and sea level rise impact migration in our region? Abrahm Lustgarten has been reporting on “climate migration” for many years and turns his lens toward the South.

Then, environmental historian Daniel Lewis shares stories of the longleaf pine and the bald cypress, two trees entwined in the history of North Carolina.

A coup d'etat on American soil. That’s the basis for a new documentary by PBS NC and American Experience premiering today, Nov. 12, 2024. 

The directors of the film speak with Leoneda Inge about the historic massacre and coup. And, a conversation with two descendants on opposite sides of the violent massacre, who have reconciled and want more people to learn this history. 

Guests

Brad Lichtenstein, director of "American Coup: Wilmington 1898"

Yoruba Richen, director of "American Coup: Wilmington 1898"

Kieran Haile, great-great-grandson of Alex Manly, editor and publisher of The Daily Record, Wilmington’s only Black-owned newspaper at the time of the events. He is married to Priscilla Haile, who also appears in the film.

Lucy McCaule, great-granddaughter of William Barry McKoy, a Princeton graduate and lawyer who later became the grandmaster of the Masons in Wilmington and was one of the heads of the White Government Unions. 

Leoneda Inge sits down with WUNC military and veteran affairs reporter Jay Price about regional VA outreach to high-risk veterans in need of health care and medical supplies in Western NC. Jeff Tiberii talks to Michael Ramos, a war veteran and creative writing professor whose first book, "The After," details the challenges of post-civilian life.