Due South

By Jeff Tiberii, Leoneda IngeNews

Due South episodes

October 17, 2025 NC News Roundup: NC Republican redistricting redux; Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools budget deficit update
On the North Carolina News Roundup...
North Carolina is joining the recent redistricting efforts we’ve seen across the country. We take a look at NC Republicans’ plans to try to pick up another Congressional seat.
Then, we turn to the Triad to check in on a funding shortfall at one of the state’s largest school districts.
How 2.5 million North Carolina residents had $6.5 billion in medical debt wiped out.
Those stories, plus how the ongoing shutdown continues to be felt in North Carolina, on this week’s North Carolina News Roundup.
Guests
Adam Wagner, reporter/editor covering state politics for the North Carolina Newsroom
Dawn Vaughan, Capitol Bureau Chief, The News & Observer
Claudia Rivera Cotto, political reporter, Enlace Latino NC
Amy Diaz, education reporter, WFDD
40 min
October 16, 2025 Step right up to the 2025 NC State Fair! Featuring a famous turkey leg booth, Howling Cow ice cream, and more.
0:01:00
The NC State Fair returns to Raleigh
The 2025 NC State Fair will debut new rides, a rodeo and 88 new foods. NC State Fair director Kent Yelvertson joins us to discuss what attendees can expect this year.
Kent Yelverton, NC State Fair director
0:07:00
McBride Concessions celebrates 93 years of family-owned fair concessions
Since 1932, McBride Concessions has been traveling to fairs in North Carolina, offering grilled meats, vegetables and other foods. The company was the first to bring smoked turkey legs to the North Carolina State Fair in 1932.
Bess McBride Brinkley, VP of McBride Concessions
0:22:00
Raleigh’s beloved Howling Cow ice cream got its start at the State Fair
If you go to the State Fair in Raleigh, you’ll find NC State students scooping Howling Cow Ice Cream — just like they have for some 50 years now. Hear the story behind the ice cream company’s development from the university's agriculture school into a sweet sensation.
Carl Hollifield, Director, Dairy Enterprise System at N.C. State University
37 min
October 15, 2025 Walltown Children’s Theatre turns 25. NC Opera's 'Cinderella.' Plus, a check-in on Duke Basketball and Team USA.
0:01:00
Duke Basketball’s Kara Lawson tapped to coach Team USA
The Duke Basketball program has long been associated with Olympic success. Coach K oversaw three American teams that finished atop the podium. Now, a different Blue Devil leader is readying for international play. Friend of the program Mitch Northam provides all the important details.
Mitchell Northam, senior writer at SB Nation
0:08:23
A generation of performers returns to Durham to celebrate 25th anniversary of arts nonprofit
This weekend, a local institution celebrates 25 years of dance, drama and music. Walltown Children’s Theatre, a nonprofit dedicated to empowering and inspiring children from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds to explore the performing arts, plans a full weekend of activities honoring the quarter century anniversary, including a showcase at the Carolina Theatre on Saturday night.
Due South’s Leoneda Inge will be at the showcase event, featuring country music star Rissi Palmer. Today, Leoneda talks to the executive director of Walltown Children’s Theatre about the organization’s enduring impact on the Durham arts scene.
Cara Williams, Executive Director, Walltown Children’s Theatre
0:23:38
Previewing 'Cinderella' at the North Carolina Opera
Jules Massenet’s opera, Cinderella, makes its company debut at NC Opera on October 17. Leoneda Inge talks to two principal performers in the show about differences between how Cinderella is presented in Massenet’s production and how audiences more commonly recognize the fairy tale.
Nicole Cabell, soprano and star; and Lucia Bradford, mezzo soprano and principal performer, NC Opera’s Cinderella
39 min
October 14, 2025 North Carolina's economic outlook. Plus, 'Navigate Your K-12 Options,' exploring education in the Triangle area.
0:01:00
NC job growth is slow, even while unemployment rates hold steady. Just like the national economy.What the state’s most recent job numbers say about growth, and how North Carolina’s economy is doing while much of the U.S. is in a holding pattern from the global trade war. (This conversation originally aired September 23, 2025.)
Michael Walden, William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor Emeritus at NC State University

0:08:00
‘Navigate Your K-12 Options,’ WUNC live event explores education in the TriangleThe school year is well under way, but that won’t keep parents from thinking about what next year might hold for their kids. From traditional public schools, to magnet schools, charter schools and private schools, the educational landscape can be dizzying.
Last month, WUNC held a live event at Marbles Kids Museum in Raleigh called “Navigate Your K-12 Options” — part of WUNC’s Education 101 series to better understand education in North Carolina.
Due South presents excerpts from that event moderated by WUNC education reporter Liz Schlemmer and featuring parent panelists whose kids attend different types of Triangle area schools.
Liz Schlemmer, education reporter, WUNC
Sarah Keiger, parent and founder of Triangle School Consulting
Keisha Leonard, parent and parent liaison for Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina
Marie Dexter, parent and president of the Wake County PTA Council

38 min
October 13, 2025 Focus on health care: NC Medicaid changes; a life and death insurance denial; local mom on her son's crucial care
0:01:00
A reporter debrief on Medicaid changes in NC
Today, we’re focused on health care. First, Medicaid – the most expansive health care program in America. It has 72 million recipients. Nearly one in four North Carolinians is on Medicaid – primarily people who are living with lower incomes, as well as individuals with disabilities, and children. The program has always operated on thin margins, and now those margins are now even more fragile due to a reimbursement rate cut that took effect last week. We learn more from NC Health News reporter Jaymie Baxley.
Jaymie Baxley, reporter focused on Medicaid and rural health at NC Health News

0:13:00
A NC family fights for mental health care, but even after two suicide attempts, their claims were denied
We’re joined by ProPublica reporter Duaa Eldeib to talk about her recent article entitled ‘Just Let Me Die’ - After insurance repeatedly denied a couple’s claims, one psychiatrist was their last hope. It’s a story about mental health, the failures of insurance companies, and the efforts of a determined wife – and one psychiatrist – to help a man who was near death.
Duaa Eldeib, reporter focused on health care and racial inequity at ProPublica

0:33:00
A Winston-Salem mom on how Medicaid has been crucial for her son's care
Jeff Tiberii talks with someone directly impacted by the federal and state cuts to Medicaid. Rachel Roth Aldhizer is a mom of five. Her four-year-old son, David, has profound brain abnormalities. Medicaid has been a vital service for David and the Aldhizer family. But changes to the health care program are already being felt in their Winston-Salem home.
Rachel Roth Aldhizer, Winston-Salem mom, her op-ed I’m a Conservative. My Disabled Son Needs Medicaid to Live. was published in The New York Times.
51 min
October 10, 2025 NC News Roundup: calls for Rep. Cecil Brockman's resignation; UNC football falters under Belichick leadership
On the NC News Roundup… State Representative Cecil Brockman faces bipartisan calls for resignation, amid arrest on criminal charges. UNC Football coach Bill Belichick finds himself at the center of controversy, as the team’s season gets off to a floundering start. Sen. Thom Tillis challenges National Guard deployment
Guests
Pat Welter, sports reporter, WRAL
Zachery Eanes, reporter, Axios Raleigh
Nathan Collins, investigative reporter, The News & Observer
Danielle Battaglia, Capitol Hill correspondent, The News & Observer/The Charlotte Observer/McClatchy
41 min
October 09, 2025 Chef Vivian Howard on her new show ‘Kitchen Curious' and NC roots. Plus, a Duke professor remembers Jane Goodall
0:01:00
After her passing, Jane Goodall’s connection to Duke University lives on
Jane Goodall’s passing earlier this month prompted tributes from all over the world honoring her work as a primatologist, anthropologist and conversationalist. The impact has been felt here in the Triangle as well.
Duke University housed Goodall’s extensive archives, including observations and complete life histories of the more than 200 chimpanzees she dedicated her career to studying.
Professor Anne Pusey, right, with anthropologist Jane Goodall (3024x2274, AR: 1.3298153034300793)
Anne Pusey, James B. Duke Professor Emerita of Evolutionary Anthropology, studied under Goodall and managed the Jane Goodall Institute Research Center when it was at Duke. She talks to Due South’s Jeff Tiberii about what she learned from Goodall and about the special link Goodall had to our region.
Anne Pusey, James B. Duke Professor Emerita of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University
0:08:00
Chef Vivian Howard explores everyday cooking questions in ‘Kitchen Curious’
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.
Vivian Howard, award-winning cookbook author, TV personality, chef and restaurateur
37 min
October 08, 2025 ‘Remembering Blood’ convening in Durham aims to reimagine menopause. Plus, a fall foliage forecast.
0:01:00
‘Remembering Blood’ conference in Durham aims to reimagine menopause
Menopause is not quite the taboo subject it once was, but many are just beginning to talk about it frankly. Others have been talking about menopause for a long time, how it impacts historically marginalized communities, and how to reframe our thinking on menopause, not as an ending but as a “portal.”
This weekend, that portal will be centered here in Durham at a conference called Iranti Ẹ̀jẹ̀: Remembering Blood. Due South’s Leoneda Inge speaks with conference organizer Omisade Burney-Scott and conference speaker Sonya Renee Taylor.
Omisade Burney-Scott, Founder, The BlackGirls’ Guide to Surviving Menopause
Sonya Renee Taylor, Founder, The Body Is Not an Apology
0:23:45
North Carolina foliage forecast with the 'Fall Color Guy’
The days are getting shorter, the air is getting cooler and leaves across the region are beginning to change from green to brilliant reds, oranges, and yellows. Due South’s Leoneda Inge and Jeff Tiberii talk with Appalachian State University biology professor Howard “Howie” Neufeld, also known as the “Fall Color Guy,” about his fall foliage forecast, and when and where North Carolina leaf peekers are likely to get the best views. This conversation originally aired September 18, 2025.
Howard “Howie” Neufeld, biology professor, Appalachian State University
37 min
October 07, 2025 The surprising story of apples in the South. Plus, comedian W. Kamau Bell on making politics funny.
0:01:00
Data centers could raise power bills in North Carolina
The massive homes for computer servers, cloud storage and artificial intelligence are in high demand. A recent analysis from NC State University and Carnegie Mellon University projects the rising number of data centers is likely to increase electric bills by an average of 8% nationally by the end of the decade. This conversation originally aired September 16, 2025.
Zachery Eanes, reporter, Axios Raleigh
0:08:04
The surprising story of apples in the South
Jeff Tiberii sits down with Diane Flynt, author of “Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived: The Surprising Story of Apples in the South,” to discuss the long and curious history of Southern apple growth and extinction. This conversation originally aired November 21, 2023.
Diane Flynt, author of Wild, Tamed, Lost, Revived and founder of Foggy Ridge Cider in Dugspur, VA
0:23:35
With parents in the South, W. Kamau Bell gets it
Author, filmmaker and comedian W. Kamau Bell is known for taking on difficult topics. Bell spoke with Due South’s Leoneda Inge about his wide-ranging career, their shared Alabama roots, and parenting during these times. This conversation originally aired July 10, 2025.
W. Kamau Bell, author, filmmaker and comedian
37 min
October 06, 2025 Asheville's tourism industry is recovering, a year after Helene
0:01:00
A year after an Asheville restaurant was destroyed by Helene, not much has changed
The co-owners of Gourmand, a French rotisserie, struck out to open a stand-alone restaurant in Asheville’s River Arts District. But before they could open, Hurricane Helene ruined everything. The co-owners are still making food. And still waiting for their restaurant to be service-ready.
Peyton Barrell and Katie Grabach, co-owners of Gourmand, a French Rotisserie restaurant that was set to open in Asheville’s River Arts District before Hurricane Helene
0:13:00
The Biltmore Estate, a major tourism destination in WNC, works to bounce back post-Helene
The Biltmore Estate in Asheville is the largest privately-owned home in the country. The majestic manse welcomes countless visitors each year, but since sustaining significant damage after Helene, the Biltmore has had to work tirelessly to restore its grounds.
Leoneda Inge talks to Chase Pickering, Vice President, Biltmore House Guest Experience & Operations, and fifth-generation Vanderbilt, about the work it’s taken to bounce back.
Chase Pickering, Vice President, Biltmore House Guest Experience & Operations, and fifth-generation Vanderbilt
0:33:00
Asheville leaders want visitors, not just ‘volun-tourists’
Parts of Asheville and the surrounding areas are still recovering, one year after Hurricane Helene. But others, like downtown, are already making a comeback. Leoneda Inge talks with Vic Isley of Explore Asheville about the area's recovery efforts and message to visitors.
Vic Isley, President and CEO of Explore Asheville
51 min

About Due South

From the publisher's feed

“Due South” is WUNC News’ weekday current affairs radio program and podcast. Broadcast from the American Tobacco Historic District in downtown Durham, co-hosts Leoneda Inge and Jeff Tiberii put…