North Carolina is predicted to harvest well over 100,000 acres of tobacco this year, and grows most of the flue-cured tobacco produced in the U.S. As farmers and laborers take to the fields to harvest the crop, Due South takes a look at the impact of tobacco on our state – past, present, and future – in an occasional series called “Golden Leaf.”

Our first conversation is with Dr. Blake Brown, a professor emeritus of Agricultural and Resource Economics at North Carolina State University. He talks with co-host Leoneda Inge about the role of tobacco farming in North Carolina’s economy and discusses some of the big federal policies of the past century that impacted tobacco farming in our state. We also hear from Yesenia Cuello, Executive Director of NC FIELD, who talks to Due South about her own experiences working in tobacco fields as a child, and how the practice persists today. In this occasional series, we'll also talk with public health experts, historians, farmers, and researchers.

In our last segment: gap years. As college students start the fall semester, co-host Leoneda Inge talks with a UNC-Chapel Hill student who took a gap year – instead of going straight from high school to college – about what she learned outside the classroom. 

The State of Real Estate in the Triangle
Home listings and home sales prices continue to increase in North Carolina, but sales have slowed slightly in recent months, with homes staying on the market for an average of just over 4 months. The median sales price of homes in the area has increased by 4% to $374,700, year over year. Leoneda Inge discusses the current real estate landscape in the Triangle with a local real estate agent.
John Wood, Broker-Owner of three RE/MAX UNITED offices located in Raleigh, Cary, and Chapel Hill

A look at affordable housing advocacy in Chapel Hill
EmPOWERment is a grassroots organization advocating for and creating affordable housing in Chapel Hill and its surrounding areas. The organization's core team consists of five Black women, including herself, who have worked together for the past 12 years. Leoneda Inge speaks with EmPOWERment’s executive director about the organization’s efforts to provide affordable housing to some of the town’s 12, 000 residents living below the poverty line.
Delores Bailey, executive director of EmPOWERment, Inc.

How NCModernist preserves local architectural marvels
North Carolina has one of the largest concentrations of modernist houses in the U.S. (second only to California, New York, and Florida) – and the state has a fascinating history with modernist housing design. Leoneda Inge chats with George Smart, the founder and executive director of US Modernist (and its local branch, NC Modernist), nonprofit organizations dedicated to the preservation and documentation of modern houses.  
George Smart, founder and executive director of USModernist and NCModernist

What to watch for at the Democratic National Convention
The Democratic National Convention is underway in Chicago through Friday. In the latest edition of our Purple Ballot series, co-host Jeff Tiberii sits down with a panel of reporters and political analysts to discuss the Democratic Party's platform, key issues, and campaign strategies leading up to the election. We'll also follow the North Carolinians on tap to speak at this week's convention, including Governor Roy Cooper.
Colin Campbell, Capitol Bureau Chief, WUNC
Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time”
Mitch Kokai, senior political analyst, John Locke Foundation
Abby Vesoulis, reporter, Mother Jones

NC Democratic Party Chair Anderson Clayton
With the DNC underway this week and Democrats taking their turn in the spotlight, we check in with the head of North Carolina's Democratic Party, Anderson Clayton. The 26-year-old state party chair chats with co-host Jeff Tiberii about the Democrats' campaign in the Old North State, her hopes for the party, and down-ballot races.
Anderson Clayton, chair, North Carolina Democratic Party

NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson is one of the longest serving at a major public research university in recent years, especially in North Carolina. He talks with Leoneda Inge about what he's learned on the job, the highs and lows, and reflects on his long career at the start of his final year at NC State.

Theatre in the Park, Raleigh’s beloved black box community theatre, is staging Lynn Nottage’s 2011 play, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, from Aug 15-25. The play covers 70 years in the life of a fictional African-American maid who becomes a film star  in the 1930s. Leoneda Inge chats with the director of the production, Yamila Monge.

Guests

Randy Woodson, Chancellor, N.C. State University

Yamila Monge, Box Office & Guest Services Manager, Theatre in the Park

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.