On the North Carolina News Roundup...

It's another busy week for the presidential candidates in North Carolina with former President Trump stumping in Asheville and Vice President Harris rallying in Raleigh.

At the state level, yet more drama surrounding the Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson.

Then, as colleges and universities prepare for fall classes to begin, a discussion about campus DEI office changes and closures.

Plus, the legacy of University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill women's soccer coach Anson Dorrance, who announced his retirement earlier this week after 45 years and 21 NCAA championships.

Guests

Bryan Anderson, Freelance Reporter, creator of the “Anderson Alerts” newsletter

Ray Gronberg, Editor, North Carolina Tribune/Business NC

Brianna Atkinson, Higher Education Reporter, WUNC

Felicia Sonmez, Growth and Development Reporter, Blue Ridge Public Radio

Mitchell Northam, Digital Producer, WUNC

Tim Crothers, Adjunct Instructor, UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media and author of The Man Watching: A Biography of Anson Dorrance, the Unlikely Architect of the Greatest College Sports Dynasty Ever.

Jurassic-era climate research
Researchers at Duke University have uncovered information about a major extinction during the Jurassic period that they believe sheds light on how climate change affects our oceans. Jeff Tiberii talks with Duke researcher Mike Kipp about the discovery.
Mike Kipp, earth and climate science assistant professor at Duke University

New burrowing dinosaur discovery by NC scientists
Researchers at the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences and North Carolina State University have discovered a new dinosaur species that they believe lived at least some of their lives in underground burrows. Due South co-host Leoneda Inge talks with a NC State researcher about the discovery of the new species Fona herzogae. The fossil was found in Utah and can be seen on the 3rd floor of the North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences.
Haviv Avrahami, student at North Carolina State University and first author on the study describing the discovery

Resurrecting extinct species like the wooly mammoth
Colossal Biosciences is a biotech company based in Dallas working to “de-extinct” the wooly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger, and the dodo. They hope their work will be part of slowing down and reversing the massive extinction that we’re living through currently. Co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with an evolutionary biologist and the company's chief science officer about "de-extinction."
Beth Shapiro, an evolutionary biologist and chief science officer of Colossal Biosciences

Burmese pythons have decimated the populations of small mammals in the Florida Everglades since they established a breeding population in the 1990s. Nearly 1,000 have been removed through the annual Florida python challenge since it began in 2013. 

Tropical storm Debby dropped more than a foot of rain in some parts of North Carolina. The water levels in lakes and rivers rose significantly and risks of flooding followed across swaths of our state. 

Before removing thousands of dams, NC first has to remove the nation’s largest amphibian, the Eastern Hellbender salamander.

Guests

McKayla Spencer, Nonnative Fish and Wildlife Program Coordinator at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission 

Lisa Sorg, North Carolina reporter, Inside Climate News 

Zachary Turner, environment reporter at WFAE

Classes at North Carolina Central University start on Monday, but NCCU senior Devin Freeman won't be there. Instead, he'll be on the floor at the Democratic National Convention. Devin talks with co-host Leoneda Inge about how he became one of North Carolina’s delegates for the DNC and what it means to him to be headed to Chicago.

Then, Caitlin E. Jewitt, author of The Primary Rules: Parties, Voters, and Presidential Nominations and political science professor at Virginia Tech, joins co-host Jeff Tiberii to go over the rules and procedures of the Democratic National Convention in this unprecedented election cycle.

And, News & Observer political reporter Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi tells Due South what she and co-author Claudia Rivera Cotto of Enlace Latino NC found as they researched their article "NC’s Latino voters are up for grabs for either party, advocates say. Here’s why."

On the North Carolina News Roundup… 

Debby leaves her mark on the state. We recap the impact and survey the damage caused by the storm with a meteorologist and reporter out on the coast. 

Democrats react to Tim Walz as Kamala Harris' running mate. Republican Mark Robinson tries to pivot on the issue of abortion. 

And we’ll check-in on how some local Olympians fared in Paris. 

Join Due South co-host Jeff Tiberii and a panel of reporters for context and analysis of the week's news.

Guests 

Aimee Wilmoth, meteorologist, WRAL

Benjamin Schachtman, news director, WHQR in Wilmington

Dawn Vaughan, Capitol Bureau Chief, The News & Observer

Zachery Eanes, reporter, Axios Raleigh

Danielle Battaglia, Capitol Hill correspondent, The News & Observer/The Charlotte Observer/McClatchy

The South Sudan men’s national basketball team has a story to tell – with a few North Carolina connections. The team participated in the Paris 2024 Olympics – falling to the U.S., Serbia, and logging its first-ever win at the games, against Puerto Rico. Former NBA and Duke star Luol Deng has been a driving force behind the team since the beginning. Due South co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with a local filmmaker who has followed the trials and triumphs of South Sudan's basketball team.

Then, two members of the Paperhand Puppet Project talk about their upcoming annual summer pageant, "Earth and Sky: A Great Gathering for All Beings," which starts this weekend. This year's show features cicadas, frogs, mushrooms, plants, and a 40-foot illuminated giant lichen puppet.

And, just how big of an environmental impact does toilet paper have? And, what are the alternatives to conventional TP? Due South talks with an North Carolina State University professor to explain.

Legal maneuvers hold up lawsuits by victims of asbestos exposure, via bankruptcy court in Charlotte.

How ‘The Greensboro Six’ broke golf’s color barrier.

And, before there was a U.S. Coast Guard, there were US Life-Saving Service stations dotting the Outer Banks and the Atlantic coast.

Guests
Ames Alexander, investigative reporter, The Charlotte Observer

Josh Sullivan, social media producer, North Carolina Public Radio WUNC

James Charlet, known as "Keeper James,” has spent much of his career at the Chicamacomico Life-Saving Service station in Rodanthe. He is founder of The Outer Banks Coast Guard History Preservation Group

Due South co-host Jeff Tiberii chats with WUNC's Eli Chen about South Asian voters in NC and their perspectives on the Harris for President campaign. And Rep. Mickey Michaux talks about his storied career as the longest-serving member of the NC General Assembly and his hopes for the outcome of the 2024 election. 

The book Red Dead's History: A Video Game, an Obsession, and America's Violent Past is out this week. It's about “the most-played digital renditions of American history since The Oregon Trail.” We talk with the author of that book who teaches an American history course based on the video game Red Dead Redemption. 

And, translating a Mediterranean diet for the Southeastern U.S. population, using southern food staples. Recipes, big ideas, and more from a Doctor of Public Health who focuses on nutrition.

Guests

Tore C. Olsson, associate professor, director of Graduate Studies for American History at the University of Tennessee at Knoxville

Dr. Alice Ammerman, Distinguished Prof. Department of Nutrition, Gillings School of Global Public Health, Director of Center for Health Promotion and Disease prevention

It has been a week in North Carolina news. Gov. Roy Cooper dropped out of the race to be Kamala Harris’ running mate. Families on a waiting list for private school vouchers push for more funding. And state House republicans vote to override three of the governor’s vetoes.

WUNC Capitol Bureau Chief Colin Campbell guests hosts this week's roundup.

Guests

Bryan Anderson, freelance reporter, Anderson Alerts newsletter

Dave Mildenberg, editor, Business NC magazine

Liz Schlemmer, education reporter, WUNC

Ben Wasserstein, Pennsylvania Capitol Bureau Chief, WITF