Due South

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When you look out your window, what do you see? Perhaps birds, a tree or bushes — maybe some insects if you look really closely.

North Carolina State University ecology professor Rob Dunn sees all that and so much more, exploring the connections and interactions between humans and the rest of nature in his new book called The Call of the Honeyguide.

Dunn talks with Due South’s Leoneda Inge about why trees are helpful "jerks" and what the paintings of Georges Seurat show us about the natural world.

Rob Dunn, professor in the Department of Applied Ecology and senior vice provost at North Carolina State University, and author of The Call of the Honeyguide: What Science Tells Us about How to Live Well with the Rest of Life

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There's something eerie in a North Carolina forest – an empty, desolate circle where absolutely nothing grows. It’s known as the Devil’s Tramping Ground, where legend has it the Devil himself walks around the circle plotting his evil deeds against the world. The spot has attracted brave campers, paranormal investigators, and curious people passing through for centuries.

So, what’s really going on here? WUNC’s podcast The Broadside investigates.

Cliff Bumgardner, producer and director with PBS North Carolina

Brad Thompson, regional agronomist for the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

Related:

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We check in on the coast after Hurricane Erin. College students return to the Research Triangle as federal funding cuts and potential layoffs loom. Plus, WUNC’s weekly news quiz! Leoneda Inge talks with a panel of journalists about those stories and more, on Due South.

Guests

Brianna Atkinson, Higher Education reporter at WUNC

Rod Carter, Weeknight evening anchor at CBS 17 News

Sam Walker, Editor-in-Chief of SamWalker O-B-X News.com

Adam Wagner, editor of the NC Newsroom

Jason DeBruyn, WUNC’s Supervising Editor for Digital News

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From "Women's Equality Day" to the League of Women Voters’ upcoming 'get out the vote' and voter education plans this fall, Leoneda Inge learns more from Gaye Williams who leads the group’s Wake County chapter.

Guest

Gaye Williams, President of League of Women Voters of Wake County

Hurricane Erin is massive, with risks of storm surge, rip currents and more. We check in on the latest from the Outer Banks.

Jonathan Blaes, Meteorologist at NOAA/National Weather Service in Raleigh

Sam Walker, Editor-In-Chief of SamWalkerOBX News.com

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PlayMakers Repertory Company presents the world premiere of A Good Boy, a new “intimate musical” featuring the stories of men living on death row and the impact on the families of the incarcerated. The play was produced in collaboration with Hidden Voices, a non-profit organization that amplifies the stories of underrepresented communities.

Lynden Harris, writer of the play and lyrics of “A Good Boy” and founder of Hidden Voices

Kathryn Hunter-Williams, chair of the Department of Dramatic Art at UNC-Chapel Hill and director of “A Good Boy.”

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North Carolina Central University will host its 13th annual ‘Give the Drummer Some’ jazz concert and fundraiser on Sunday, Aug. 24. We speak with organizer Thomas Taylor about the annual event, his new book and the work of preserving the genre of jazz at NCCU and beyond.

Thomas Taylor, percussion and jazz studies professor at North Carolina Central University

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Every 15 days, someone is killed on Durham’s roads. 

WUNC's Youth Reporting Institute reporter Max Tendler talked to pedestrians, and local leaders, to figure out what’s going wrong and how they’re trying to make walking safer.

Max Tendler, WUNC digital news intern, reporter of the award-winning story “Asphalt Oceans: How Durham is working to make roads safer,” and Associate News Editor at The Duke Chronicle.

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Banjos, synths and beats will be the soundtrack for music festivals across the state in the coming weeks and months. 

Two music journalists, including WUNC’s Brian Burns, join Leoneda Inge to preview the highlights, and changes to long-running shows here in North Carolina.

Brian Burns, WUNC music reporter

Sarah Edwards, Arts and Culture Editor at The Indy Week

0:33:00

American tariffs are causing problems for this North Carolina small business’ rollout.

Erik Fabian, co-founder of Sourhouse a startup that engineers tools for home bakers

The Raleigh News and Observer has a complicated and consequential history in North Carolina. The story of the N&O – or the “Nuisance & Disturber” as some called it over the years – is also the story of the family that owned and ran the paper from the late 1800s to the end of the 20th century. And about how the News & Observer didn’t just report on politics, but also shaped politics, for generations of North Carolinians. 

Rob Christensen, a former political columnist for the News and Observer, talks with Leoneda Inge about his book, "Southern News, Southern Politics: How a Newspaper Defined a State for a Century." This conversation originally aired February 27, 2025. 

Rob Christensen, former political columnist for the News and Observer in Raleigh, author of "Southern News, Southern Politics: How a Newspaper Defined a State for a Century"

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A coup d'etat on American soil. That’s the basis for a documentary by PBS NC and the American Experience called "American Coup: Wilmington 1898." The directors of the film speak with Leoneda Inge about this dark chapter in North Carolina's history. 

And we meet two descendants of people affected about the legacy of the Wilmington Massacre. This conversation originally aired November 12, 2024. 

Brad Lichtenstein, director of "American Coup: Wilmington 1898"

Yoruba Richen, director of "American Coup: Wilmington 1898"

Kieran Haile, great-great-grandson of Alex Manly, editor and publisher of The Daily Record, Wilmington’s only Black-owned newspaper at the time of the events

Lucy McCaule, great-granddaughter of William Barry McKoy, a Princeton graduate and lawyer who later became the grandmaster of the Masons in Wilmington and was one of the heads of the White Government Unions.

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Paperhand Puppet Project has delighted audiences with giant puppets, elaborate masks, and cloth creations for a quarter century. As the performers prepare for this year’s show, they’ve had to deal with an unexpected challenge: the flooding of their studio by the Haw River due to Chantal. 

Co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with Paperhand Puppet’s Donovan Zimmerman and Barb Ford about drying out props and puppets, and about the organization’s latest performance “The Gift.”

Donovan Zimmerman, co-founder and co-director, Paperhand Puppet Project

Barb Ford, assistant stage manager and stilt walker performer, Paperhand Puppet Project

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UNC System expands partnership with ReUp Education to assist adult learners

More than 43 million Americans belong to the “some college, no credential” (SCNC) population. Roughly one million of them reside in North Carolina. Efforts to re-engage adult learners are on the rise, including a partnership between the UNC System and ReUp Education, a national tech ed company that provides resources and support to returning adult students. ReUp’s services with the UNC System are expanding this year to offer returning college students greater assistance in reaching their graduation goals. 

Terah Crews, CEO of ReUp Education

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Durham Tech dean discusses new book, Getting the Most Out of Your College Experience

Chris O'Riordan-Adjah knows a lot about higher education. In addition to earning two bachelor's degrees, two master’s degrees, and a PhD in Civil Engineering, he’s also taught at a range of colleges, including a large 4-year university, small college, and community college. And he wants to share his knowledge with those embarking on college – or thinking about it. “Professor Chris” talks with co-host Jeff Tiberii about his new book "Getting the Most Out of Your College Experience."

Chris O'Riordan-Adjah, author of Getting the Most Out of Your College Experience; Dean of Building, Engineering and Skills Technology Division, Durham Technical Community College

On the North Carolina News Roundup...

Federal SNAP benefits are being reduced, a change felt across the state and in lunchrooms. 

The results of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools audit. 

An update on federal cuts to universities in our state.

The owner of the Carolina Hurricanes inks a big new deal. 

All that and more as co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with a panel of reporters about the week in North Carolina news.

Mary Helen Moore, Reporter, NC Newsroom

Gary Robertson, Statehouse Reporter, Associated Press

Claudia Rivera Cotto, Political Reporter, Enlace Latino NC

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

As the school year begins, the status of state and federal funding for our public schools remains murky while local funding for school districts seems increasingly fraught.

So how does school district budgeting work? Who holds levers of power to keep our schools operating? And why have school budgets – once something that many of us didn’t think about – become front page news for so many communities in recent years? 

Due South co-host Jeff Tiberii and WUNC education reporter Liz Schlemmer are joined by a local school board member, a school district superintendent and CFO and a county commissioner to discuss how North Carolina schools are funded and the challenges some Triangle school districts have faced recently to keep our schools operating.

Liz Schlemmer, Education Reporter, WUNC

Jamezetta Bedford, Chair, Board of County Commissioners in Orange County

Dr. Anthony Lewis, Superintendent, Durham Public Schools

Tyler Swanson, Vice Chair, Wake County Board of Education

Jeremy Teetor, Chief Finance Officer, Durham Public Schools

Leoneda Inge chats with Dr. Bernice King, the youngest child of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, to discuss her family’s legacy, her work as a social justice strategist and the work of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Change amid a changing political climate.

Dr. Bernice King, strategist, peace advocate and CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change

Leoneda Inge talks to the Greensboro native Daphne Fama about her debut gothic horror novel, House of Monstrous Women. The novel is set in the Philippines in 1986 and draws on Fama’s childhood experiences of listening to Filipino folklore. She talks about the experience of crafting the book, including researching black magic in the Philippines.

Daphne Fama, author of “House of Monstrous Women”

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We hear a lot about federal funding cuts, but it can be hard to understand the impact of these large-scale changes in our local communities. Reporter Heidi Perez-Moreno of the Border Belt Independent recently wrote a story about Federal Emergency Management Agency cuts affecting projects in Columbus and Robeson counties – projects that were aimed at building resilience in the face of storms and flooding.

Heidi Perez-Moreno, reporter at the Border Belt Independent

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Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Ernie Suggs has long thought about the importance of family reunions for Black families. He found multiple studies suggesting African Americans are more likely than any other group to hold large family reunions on a regular basis. Suggs' recent article “What Remains: The Power of Black Family Reunions” delves into the origins and the role of these gatherings today.

Ernie Suggs, reporter covering race and culture, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

0:33:00

Jeff Tiberii and Leoneda Inge talk with food writer Kathleen Purvis about that old saying: only eat oysters in months that contain the letter ‘r’… and why you might be able to chuck that shucking rule. Purvis’ article in The Assembly is “‘R’ You Ready to Eat Oysters All Year Long?”

Kathleen Purvis, food writer based in Charlotte area