Due South

0:01:00

State lawmakers appear to be done for the year. They’ve adjourned without passing a state budget. And despite being called back by the governor – will NOT address a projected Medicaid funding shortfall. We break down the standoff over Medicaid funding in North Carolina.

Adam Wagner, reporter/editor covering state politics for the North Carolina Newsroom

0:09:45

Chef Vivian Howard returns to television in a new food variety show on PBS. “Kitchen Curious” tackles the everyday questions both novices and seasoned cooks face in the kitchen. Leoneda Inge talks to Howard about returning to television after years away, reimagining her work as a restaurateur and what to expect from the first season of her new show. (This Due South encore conversation originally aired October 9, 2025.)

Vivian Howard, award-winning cookbook author, TV personality, chef and restaurateur

0:01:00

We meet UNC-Chapel Hill students part of the campus group “Reproductive Access at UNC Chapel Hill at the Y,” also known as “RAUNCH-y.” They are working to inform their peers about reproductive health care and are even providing Plan B contraception to students.

Netra Parikh, Co-President of “Reproductive Access at UNC Chapel Hill at the Y,” also known as “RAUNCH-y.”

Diana Cantu-Melo, Co-President of “RAUNCH-Y”

0:13:00

Bob Crawford might be best known for his music, but his podcast American History Hotline and forthcoming book on John Quincy Adams might change that. Bob speaks with Jeff Tiberii about his work and life. (This Due South encore conversation originally aired August 4, 2025.)

Bob Crawford, bassist for The Avett Brothers, and host of the iHeart original podcast, American History Hotline

0:01:00

Chef Sheri Castle talks holiday dishes and her Blue Ridge Mountain culinary roots

Sheri Castle joins Due South to discuss growing up in the Blue Ridge Mountains, developing her first recipe at four years old and how to make less predictable holiday side dishes this year.

Sheri Castle, cook, recipe developer and TV personality

0:33:00

Durham Community Fridges bring a mutual aid focus to addressing food insecurity

Over 78,000 people experience food insecurity in Durham County -- including more than 20,000 children. One mutual aid group working to provide greater access and to reduce food waste is Durham Community Fridges.

Taylor Holenbeck and Sharmîn Aziz, co-organizers of Durham Community Fridges

0:01:00

Mo Green is on a mission to improve NC public schools

In the 11 months since Maurice “Mo” Green was sworn in as the North Carolina’s 22ndSuperintendent of Public Instruction, the state’s public schools have faced unprecedented challenges. From long-term Hurricane Helene recovery to school-based care for students navigating SNAP cuts and the possibility of ICE detainments, Green has weathered several significant changes. He joins Due South to discuss his first year in office and his five-year plan for making North Carolina schools among the “best in the country.”

Maurice “Mo” Green, State Superintendent of North Carolina

0:33:00

The Broadside: The rock that runs the world

The tiny mountain town of Spruce Pine, North Carolina is the site of the single biggest source of ultra-high purity quartz in the world. It’s a vital component in the manufacturing process of semiconductors for computers and solar panels. In fact, the mine in Spruce Pine is quite possibly the most important mineral extraction site on the planet. Because we don’t have a backup.

Featuring:

Alan Schabilion, owner of Emerald Village in Spruce Pine, NC

Ed Conway, author of Material World: The Six Raw Minerals That Shape Modern Civilization

0:01:00

Leoneda Inge speaks with attorney Ricardo Valasquez about his work, career, and the changes to immigration law and enforcement under President Trump’s second term.

Ricardo Valasquez, Immigration Attorney who started Valasquez and Associates more than 20 years ago.

0:13:00

The philanthropist, and ex-wife of Jeff Bezos, has now given more than $100 million to the university.

Todd Simmons, Associate Vice Chancellor for University Relations at NC A&T State University

0:33:00

A partnership between Wells Fargo and the university is convenient for students, and faculty, with ATMs and other financial services available on or near campus. Several students are creating the Carolina Credit Union Initiative as an alternative.

Mohammad Qureshi, Chair of the Outreach Committee for the Carolina Credit Union Initiative

Sarah Galdi, Vice President of the Carolina Credit Union Initiative

On the North Carolina News Roundup...

Federal raids in Charlotte and the Triangle have led to hundreds of arrests and instilled further fear in countless North Carolinians.

An update on legal challenges to North Carolina Congressional maps.

Plus, a billion-dollar project heads to Johnston County.

Due South co-host Jeff Tiberii and a panel of journalists cover the week in NC news.

Mary Helen Moore, reporter, Axios Raleigh

Claudia Rivera Cotto, political reporter, Enlace Latino NC

Bryan Anderson, statewide politics reporter for The Assembly, creator of the “Anderson Alerts” newsletter

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

Julian Berger, Race & Equity Reporter, WFAE

0:01:00

Due South checks in with Siembra NC co-director Nikki Marin Baena about the organization’s ongoing efforts to inform the public about immigration enforcement, interactions, and detainments and to protect potentially vulnerable communities from unlawful arrests.

Nikki Marin Baena, co-director, Siembra NC

0:13:00

More than 250 people have been arrested in the latest immigration sweeps in North Carolina, according to the Department of Homeland Security. The Charlotte Observer has reported that the agency did not release information that would detail, “where people are being held or where they were taken.” Leoneda Inge speaks to an immigration law professor about the current operations in the state, and discusses the legal arrest process.

Eisha Jain, Henry P. Brandis Distinguished Professor of Law at UNC Chapel Hill.

0:33:00

The 29-year-old’s death came as a shock to the world of chess. Naroditsky had played in the U.S. Open just a few months before. He was known for playing, commentating and analyzing matches on social media, was a Chess Life columnist, and The New York Times’ chess columnist starting in 2022. Due South speaks with a chess educator who first met Naroditsky when he was 21-years-old and played against him in bullet chess at the U.S. Open earlier this year.

This week, the Charlotte Chess Center announced it has created the Naroditsky Memorial and Fellowship Fund, "Creating opportunities for others to experience the same beauty, curiosity, and joy that Danya brought to the chess world." You can find more information and how to donate here.

Elliott Neff, founder of a chess educational group, an NM (National Master) of Chess, and the author of “A Pawn’s Journey: Transforming Lives One Move at a Time.”

0:01:00

Federal Border Patrol agents are in North Carolina carrying out arrests in Charlotte and the Triangle. This federal operation is part of a months-long effort by the Trump administration to crackdown on illegal immigration. We get the latest.

Jay Price, Military Reporter, WUNC reporting from the Triangle

Eduardo Medina, reporter for The New York Times based in Durham, reporting from Charlotte

0:13:00

Tupac Shakur remains one of the most revered and influential hip hop figures of all-time – twenty-nine years after his premature death. The legendary figure was part poet, part activist, part actor – and his brief career was one of incredible success. 

A new book chronicles the life of Shakur - from his childhood in New York City, to his California days as the central figure of the West Coast rap scene, to his legacy. Shakur also had some little-known ties to North Carolina.

Jeff Pearlman, Author of "Only God Can Judge Me: The many lives of Tupac Shakur"

0:33:00

The childhood home of legendary soul singer Nina Simone has been renovated in Tryon, NC. The National Trust for Historic Preservation’s African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund joined the effort, along with several private donors, in order to see the long-delayed project reach fruition.

Tiffany Tolbert, senior director of preservation, African American Cultural Heritage Action Fund

0:01:00

Dr. Brittany Hunt grew up in Robeson County, North Carolina, where there's a large Indigenous population. But when she got to college, she was just one of a few Native students on campus. That’s when she realized how little most people know about Native history and culture – and what they think they know is often flawed and racist.

So instead of pursuing her dream of becoming a pediatrician, she became another kind of doctor. Hunt is now an assistant professor at the Virginia Tech School of Education, where she teaches the teachers about centering Indigenous stories and changing how history is taught. (This encore interview originally aired November 13, 2023)

Dr. Brittany Hunt, Assistant Professor, School of Education at Virginia Tech

0:13:00

Indigenous languages are declining around the world at an alarming rate. Some studies estimate that one language dies out every two weeks. And the United States is no different. Of the 197 living indigenous languages spoken in this country, 193 are endangered.

But one, in particular, has experienced a shocking downturn. Cherokee, once the most well-documented and commonly spoken Native American language in North America, is in serious danger of becoming extinct.

Thanks to our WUNC colleagues and the podcast, The Broadside and host Anisa Khalifa. This episode The race to save the Cherokee languagewas written, produced, and co-reported by Jerad Walker.

Featuring:

Brooks Bennett, documentary filmmaker and director of A Sacred Thread

Gil "Doyi" Jackson, Cherokee language instructor

Dr. Courtney Lewis, associate professor at Duke University

Tessa Dahlmann, teaching assistant at Duke University

Jack "Tsegi" Cooper, Cherokee language instructor at Western Carolina University

0:01:00

The US Department of Homeland Security launched over the weekend what it calls, “Charlotte’s Web.” It’s part of President Trump’s “crackdown” on illegal immigration – this time in Charlotte, North Carolina. We get the latest.

Nick de la Canal, reporter and host at WFAE, Charlotte’s NPR member station

0:13:00

A writer explores the sacrifices people make to pursue the “art life.” Through interviews with visual artists, performers, and writers around the world, Griest explores what she herself has given up in terms of stability, and what her peers have chosen to give up, too.

Stephanie Elizondo Griest, author, memoirist, and Creative Writing Professor at UNC-Chapel Hill. Her newest book is called Art Above Everything: One Woman’s Global Exploration of the Joys and Torments of a Creative Life

0:33:00

Recording folk music commercially in Appalachia had never happened before. That is, until the 1925 Asheville sessions, when a producer invited musicians from across the region to record. 

To mark the historic event, the city of Asheville and partners are hosting events and celebrating the release of remastered recordings, and reimagined renditions by current artists. The record is called Music from the Land of the Sky.

Richard Emmett, Program Director, Blue Ridge Music Center (BRMC)

Vic Isley, President and CEO of Explore Asheville