Wildfires in North Carolina
Six months after Helene’s flooding devastated parts of western North Carolina, wildfires have now added to the destruction in the region. While fire officials say the current fires are getting under control, the conditions that led to them are not going away. Jeff Tiberii talks with NC State's Robert Scheller about why wildfires are becoming so common in our state and across the Southeast -- and what the future might hold.
Robert Scheller, Associate Dean for Research in the College of Natural Resources and Professor of Landscape Ecology in the Department of Forestry and Environmental Resources, North Carolina State University

As black bear population rises in North Carolina, more bear sightings in populated areas
Black bear sightings are up in North Carolina, including in cities and in suburban backyards. Colleen Olfenbuttel of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission joins us to talk about where you might find black bears and what to do if you encounter one.
Colleen Olfenbuttel, Wildlife Biologist, Game and Furbearer Program, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission

Durham’s Full Frame Documentary Film Festival to feature several Southern stories
Documentary film fans in North Carolina have only one place to be when early April rolls around --in Durham for the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Festival Co-Director Emily Foster joins Due South’s Leoneda Inge to talk about some of the documentaries at this year’s Full Frame that tell stories from the South.
Emily Foster, Co-Director, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival

The foreign correspondent based in China for seven years recently returned to Duke University for a conversation hosted by the Asian Pacific Studies Institute (APSI), and for her class reunion.

Plus, a conversation with Durham County's Tax Administrator breaking down county property revaluations.

And, a Raleigh office space buy up in North Hills reflects commercial real estate industry’s hope.

Guests

Keyar J. Doyle,  Durham County Tax Administrator

Emily Feng, foreign correspondent for NPR who was based in Beijing and Taipei, and author of the new book Let Only Red Flowers Bloom

Zachary Eanes, Reporter for Axios Raleigh and the Axios Raleigh newsletter

Durham County Library welcomes its fifth annual Library Fest during National Library Week, April 6-12.  Leoneda Inge sits down with Sara Stephens, Library Development Officer, to learn more about the festival. Zelda Lockhart. Lockhart is one of the week’s keynote speakers and will be delivering a talk on how to write multigenerational stories. The nonprofit organization, NC Catch, the Black seafood community and researchers have teamed up for a new project called “Recognizing African American Participation in the North Carolina Seafood Industry.” Barbara Garrity-Blake, cultural anthropologist and president of NC Catch, and Captain John Mallette, co-owner of Southern Breeze Seafood Co. in Jacksonville, discuss the project.

Wildfires in the western reaches of our state, a new North Carolina "bathroom bill," a leading state lawmaker steps down, updates on two state immigration bills, and the Duke men's basketball team advances to the Elite Eight.

Due South's Jeff Tiberii is joined by a panel of journalists to talk about all that and more on the North Carolina News Roundup.

Western North Carolina continues to await state and federal funding six months after Helene
Six months after Helene, Gov. Josh Stein has signed into a law a bill that will provide more than a half-million dollars in relief funding. The funding approval comes as a new disaster is further ravaging the region, as Henderson and Polk counties continue to fight wildfires.
Gerard Albert III, Western North Carolina Rural Communities Reporter, Blue Ridge Public Radio

WNC tourism, arts, and restaurant check-in
We turn our attention to Avery County — home to Grandfather Mountain, the Blue Ridge Parkway, and several ski resorts — for an update on business recovery and tourism. And we check back in with two activists who are entrenched in the Asheville arts, restaurant, and hospitality industries to talk about the “yes and” of living with both grief AND hope.
Robin Morgan, Executive Director, Avery County Chamber of Commerce
Jessica Tomasin, studio manager of Echo Mountain Recording Studio, Asheville
Jen Hampton, co-chair, Asheville Food and Beverage United, Asheville

Helene debris is causing problems for wildfire fighting
Fire management specialists and landowners tried to clear up debris left over from the hurricane last fall, but some of the brush they didn’t get to is making it hard to fight an ongoing wildfire in Polk County.
Zack Turner, Climate Reporter at WFAE 

Celeste Gracia, Environment Reporter at WUNC, takes a look at Brunswick County's PFAS problem. Walt Wolfram, William C. Friday Distinguished University Professor of English at North Carolina State University and the director of the North Carolina Language and Life Project, analyzes the Southern accents on Season 3 of The White Lotus. Linda Johnson Dougherty, chief curator and curator of contemporary art at the North Carolina Museum of Art and Maya Brooks, associate curator of contemporary art at the North Carolina Museum of Art, discuss a new ticketed exhibition featuring over two dozen acclaimed Black artists. 

There are approximately 300,000 people living in North Carolina without legal status. And they are not the only North Carolinians grappling with the Trump administration’s deportation promises. Mixed status families, people who had their legal status revoked through recent changes made by the Trump administration, and even people who hold visas and green cards, may be facing anxiety, tumult, and fear.

Due South’s Jeff Tiberii talks with Manolo Betancur, a Charlotte bakery owner and community activist, about how the stress of potential deportations has impacted his business, his community, and his family. They are also joined by Nikki Marín Baena, co-founder and co-director of Greensboro-based advocacy organization Siembra NC, and by Aaron Sánchez-Guerra, Race, Class & Communities Reporter for WUNC.

Then, Midway, North Carolina is a town that might be easy to miss, but it signifies a growing movement in the state: a community that incorporates to fend off annexation, and remain a low-tax, low-density town. As part of WUNC's Mainstreet NC series, reporter Colin Campbell visited Midway to see why residents there wanted a "slow growth" future.

North Carolina food banks brace for funding cuts 
Local schools, food banks, and farmers in North Carolina are expected to be impacted by the Trump administration’s cuts to federal programs through the USDA. These programs allow schools and food banks to buy fresh produce and meat from NC farmers. We’ll talk with the head of one of the state’s largest food banks about the potential impact.   
Amy Beros, President & CEO of the Food Bank of Central & Eastern North Carolina

Due South sits down with North Carolina’s new State Treasurer Brad Briner
North Carolina’s newly elected State Treasurer joins Due South to discuss his plans for addressing a $507 million budget deficit, which includes large funding gaps in the State Health Plan and the state pension plan, as well as how he will distinguish himself from his longtime predecessor.
Brad Briner, State Treasurer of North Carolina

Durham Chefs Melanie Wilkerson and Sicily Sierra
Renowned Durham-native chef Melanie Wilkerson returns to her hometown roots, with a new position as executive chef of Counting House in 21c Museum Hotel Durham, and a culinary education nonprofit, Kind Kitchen Group, co-founded along with her wife, Chef Sicily Sierra.
Melanie Wilkerson, executive chef at Counting House in downtown Durham and Sicily Sierra, co-founder of Kind Kitchen Group

On this week’s North Carolina News Roundup... the North Carolina Senate passes a $500 million Helene relief bill. Gov. Josh Stein unveils his budget proposal. And more than 200 justices, judges and attorneys called for Jefferson Griffin to end his election lawsuit. Co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with a panel of journalists about those stories and more, on Due South.

Guests: Bryan Anderson, reporter, Anderson Alerts newsletter; Colin Campbell, WUNC Capitol Bureau Chief; Liz Schlemmer, WUNC K-12 Education Reporter; Danielle Battaglia, Washington Correspondent, News & Observer/Charlotte Observer

A seasonal allergy forecast as pollen rains down on NC
It’s springtime in North Carolina – flowers are growing, trees are blooming, and people are sneezing. The notorious yellow-green particles of pollen are dusting cars, roads and surfaces everywhere. Robert Bardon, a professor of forestry and environmental resources at NC State, joins Jeff Tiberii to discuss pollen trends, impacts and severity.
Robert Bardon, Associate Dean for Extension, College of Natural Resources, North Carolina State University  

Local sports reporters talk March Madness
March Madness is ramping up with a smidge of controversy, as critics question UNC men’s basketball’s inclusion in the 2025 NCAA Tournament First Four. A panel of sports reporters weighs in on their odds, as well as the women’s teams. We’ll also check in on Duke men’s and women’s teams’ standings as the most thrilling section of the college basketball season gets underway.
Mitch Northam, digital producer for WUNC and senior writer for Breakaway
Kate Rogerson, sports reporter/anchor for ABC 11
Jack Taylor, sports reporter/anchor for WCCB in Charlotte

‘Shattering the Glass’
Last year’s NCAA women’s basketball championship brought together a dynasty team in the University of South Carolina, and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, already a basketball legend. The game’s popularity is as high as it’s ever been as we approach the 2025 tournament. Historian Pamela Grundy and former sportswriter Susan Shackelford are authors of a revised edition of "Shattering the Glass: The Remarkable History of Women's Basketball.” They join Due South’s Jeff Tiberii to talk about the importance of the women’s college game in this moment, especially here in North Carolina.
Pamela Grundy and Susan Shackelford, authors of "Shattering the Glass: The Remarkable History of Women's Basketball" (revised edition)