Due South

For more than a decade American politics has been framed by the Trump era, and during that time President Trump's longstanding support from the religious right has hardly wavered. Within that religious bloc exist factions — including Christian nationalism — bringing new meaning to the crossroads of theology and politics. A new book explores the impacts of these dynamics using history as a guide, and considers religious reckoning in the name of democracy.

Robert P. Jones, president and founder, Public Religion Research Institute and author of Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation after the Christian Turn Against Democracy

This interview originally aired September 9, 2026.

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An elementary school in Wake County may become a legal test case for parents’ rights. At the center of the controversy is a music teacher hired last summer in Apex. The teacher identifies as a trans woman. Some parents would like to pull their students from the class but say they aren’t allowed to. WUNC Education Reporter Liz Schlemmer explains the legal precedent behind parents’ rights in classrooms.

Liz Schlemmer, WUNC Education reporter

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North Carolina is one of just two states that requires a couple to live apart for a full year before they can be granted a no-fault divorce. It is a year in which an upset partner can inflict all kinds of abuse with zero legal consequences. 

Rebecca Feinglos, a former policy advisor in North Carolina state government, has joined forces with North Carolina Senator Woodson Bradley and social media star Jen Hamilton to advocate for reforming our state’s divorce laws. 

Feinglos and Bradley join Shana Carignan, Executive Director of the Durham Crisis Response Center to discuss the fraught time period after leaving a marriage and how it can cause financial, emotional and physical abuse.

Rebecca Feinglos, Certified grief support specialist and former policy advisor in North Carolina government

Shana Carignan, Executive Director of the Durham Crisis Response Center

Woodson Bradley, Senator for NC Senate District 42

A nor’easter caused significant damage in the Outer Banks. Advocacy organizations called for  a lawsuit to challenge NC's last-minute rule changes on mail-in ballots. Changes to Medicaid and SNAP coverage took effect on October 1. The North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles also implemented changes to new vehicle registrations, taking the process digital on Oct. 1.

Corinne Saunders, Editor, Outer Banks Insider

Laura Leslie, Editor, NC Newsline

Kyle Ingram, Democracy Reporter for the News & Observer

James Farrell, Education Reporter for WFAE in Charlotte

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A new book explores the long friendship between Nina Simone and Langston Hughes

Harlem Renaissance icon Langston Hughes first met a 16-year-old Eunice Waymon when she was a high school student in Asheville, NC. Later, Eunice would go on to become a global music sensation under her stage name, Nina Simone. Her friendship with Hughes endured for the rest of the famed poet’s life. A new book explores their bond.

W. Jason Miller, distinguished professor of English at NC State University, public scholar, author of Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood: Nina Simone, Langston Hughes and the Birth of Black Power

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Pioneering mezzo soprano Denyce Graves directs 'Carmen' for NC Opera

By the age of 30, opera singer Denyce Graves was considered one of the world’s best performers of the legendary title role in Georges Bizet’s Carmen. Now retired as a singer, Graves is pouring her talent into mentoring the next generation of opera greats. She joins NC Opera on October 16 and 18 to direct its production of Carmen.

Denyce Graves, award-winning opera mezzo soprano, director and philanthropist

There’s been a barrage of news about the harmful effects of technology on our children, our schools, our lives, and – our humanity. From the Meta and TikTok lawsuits, to the use of cell phones in schools, and the potential threats of AI -- we're talking about all the ways in which tech can harm us and what we can do about it.

Mary Beth Roche, founder of CHCCS Parents for Intentional Tech 

Lee Rainie, Director of the Imagining the Digital Future Center at Elon University 

Mick Tobin, Advocacy Director of the Young People’s Alliance 

Mitch Prinstein, Psychologist and Co-Director of the Winston Center on Technology and Brain Development at UNC-Chapel Hill

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The Redbud Project is a nonprofit school based in Raleigh with the mission of bringing creative writing to everyone in their community. Redbud’s community classes have been offered to all kinds of populations in need, from people struggling with addiction to domestic violence survivors and most recently, people dealing with incarceration.

We talk to founders Emily Cataneo and Arshia Simkin about why they think putting pen to paper can be life-changing. And we talk with Dasia Moore, who taught Redbud’s inaugural class at Butner Federal Correctional Facility, and Mesha Maren, a Duke professor with deep experience teaching inside prisons, about bridging the gap between imprisonment and creative expression.

Emily Cataneo, Co-founder and instructor at the Redbud Writing Project

Arshia Simkin, Co-founder and instructor at the Redbud Writing Project

Mesha Maren, Associate Professor of the Practice of English at Duke University

Dasia Moore, Poet, Journalist and Educator; instructor with Redbud Writing Project

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Empowerment Inc., a Chapel Hill nonprofit, just celebrated 30 years of building and sustaining working class communities in one of the most expensive places to live in the state of North Carolina. Executive Director Delores Bailey and longtime Chapel Hill resident and former chef Bill Smith reflect on Empowerment’s accomplishments and the work yet to be done to counter Orange County’s high rents and gentrification.

Delores Bailey, Executive Director of Empowerment, Inc.

Bill Smith, Chapel Hill restaurateur and philanthropist; retired owner and chef at Crook’s Corner

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The Trump administration wants to do away with a longstanding, little-known rule that doesn't allow for new roads in federal forests. The move could increase the risk of wildfires and harm water sources. The 'roadless rule' is a vestige from the Clinton Administration that could be upended and pave the way for roads through federal forest lands.

Sasha Schroeder, digital producer, NC Local

NC Local: The Trump administration wants to roll back the Roadless Rule, which protects more than 170,000 acres of public land in NC. Here’s what the change could mean for North Carolinians.

This interview originally aired September 8, 2026.

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For most people, whistling is just a casual way to pass the time. But there’s a small worldwide community of whistling enthusiasts who've taken the artform to a whole new level. The Broadside podcast tells the strange story of competitive whistling in America and follows one man’s journey from North Carolina all the way to Japan in a quest to become one of the greats. 

This episode of the Broadside was a co-production with The Assembly. It was produced by Jerad Walker and edited by Charlie Shelton-Ormond. Leslie Boney recorded field tape.

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"Islands in the Sky" shares first-person stories of people who experienced the tragedy of Helene in western North Carolina. The crowd-funded anthology puts narrators with award-winning comic artists to tell their stories. 

Andrew Aydin, third-generation farmer in western North Carolina, creator of ‘Islands in the Sky: A People’s History of Hurricane Helene’ 

Nick Filardi, co-author of "Ripples" with his wife Shannon Burcham, in the graphic novel "Islands in the Sky: A People’s History of Hurricane Helene"

This interview originally aired July 23, 2026. 

On the heels of President Trump’s visit to Gastonia last week, Vice President JD Vance came to Greensboro this week to stump for Republican candidates from Michael Whatley for U.S. Senate to Laurie Buckhout for NC’s 1st Congressional District. As we approach the two-year anniversary of Helene, we get an update from Western North Carolina on the recovery. Plus, Rep. Virginia Foxx weighs in on press access.

Colin Campbell, Capitol Bureau Chief, WUNC News

Dawn Vaughan, Capitol Bureau Chief, The News & Observer

Danielle Battaglia, Congressional impact reporter for The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer

Laura Hackett, Helene Recovery Reporter, Blue Ridge Public Radio (BPR)

Helene upended life in many ways, for many people, in Western North Carolina. Though, in other ways, little has changed and this means continued risks for for some particularly vulnerable communities. 

Reporter Ren Larson has delved into the issue of people still living in flood-prone regions of our state.

We also touch down in Marshall, NC where artist and entrepreneur Josh Copus is working with the community to build a monument, brick by brick. 

And we examine the role houses of worship play in the aftermath of disasters with East Carolina University professor Jason Pudlo.

Ren Larson, Investigative reporter The Assembly

Josh Copus, Artist and Entrepreneur from Marshall, NC

Jason Pudlo, Assistant Professor of Political Science at East Carolina University

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Get ready for those red, orange and yellow bursts of color throughout our region. It's time to check out the fall leaves in the mountains, and soon enough, here in the Piedmont.

Howard Neufeld, recently retired professor of biology, Appalachian State University, a.k.a. “The Fall Color Guy”

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The vast collection of trails and scenic views all along the Blue Ridge Parkway didn’t just happen on their own – the construction of the parkway was part of a big government effort to bring national parks to more concentrated population centers in the eastern United States. Leoneda Inge talks with public historian Anne Mitchell Whisnant about the history of the Blue Ridge Parkway and the legacy it’s created for generations.

Anne Mitchell Whisnant, author of "Super-Scenic Motorway: A Blue Ridge Parkway History;" Associate Professor of the Practice at Duke University’s Social Science Research Institute; director of Graduate Liberal Studies at Duke

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PBS North Carolina recently premiered “Ten to Try: By Way of the Blue Ridge,” a half-hour journey down that majestic roadway with ten stops along the way capturing some of that vast natural beauty and rich culture of the North Carolina mountains. “Ten to Try” series producer Cliff Bumgardner talks with Leoneda Inge about the episode.

Cliff Bumgardner, producer/director, PBS North Carolina

This interview originally aired August 25, 2026.