Due South

During the 2024-25 school year, Ashe County Schools students missed 33 days following Hurricane Helene. This compounded the districts usual, frequent school closings for inclement weather, to result in only 99 days of in-person school attendance this year. Ashe is one of 31 Western NC public school districts affected by Helene's devastation. We talk to superintendent Dr. Eisa Cox about her plans for ensuring that students receive supplemental summer instruction following a year of prolonged natural disaster impacts.

Then, “pronatalism” has been in the news a lot lately, in part due to high profile leaders embracing the idea. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill sociologist Karen Guzzo talks about the movement that's gaining momentum and the potential impact on women and families.

On this week's NC News Roundup...

Protests in Los Angeles spread to other cities across the country, including Raleigh.

President Trump touches down in Fayetteville days before his military birthday party parade.

At the state legislature, Trump-centric policies advance, including two immigration bills. What happens after a likely gubernatorial veto?

In Greensboro, a big job announcement.

And, the latest trial related to redistricting and gerrymandering set to begin in federal court.

All that and more as Due South's Jeff Tiberii digs into the week's North Carolina news with a panel of reporters.

Thousands of soccer fans gathered in Chapel Hill this week to see Mexico playTurkey. It was an exciting match-up, but there was also concern about events like this with a backdrop of immigration raids. 

Twenty years after a groundbreaking book on the Ocracoke Brogue accent, the authors worked with a fourth-generation Ocracoke resident to take an even deeper dive into the culture and evolution of the "Ocracoke Brogue."

Guests

Aaron Sanchez-Guerra, Race, Class & Communities Reporter, WUNC

Jeffrey Reaser, English professor at North Carolina State University,  

Walt Wolfram, William C. Friday Distinguished Professor of English at N.C. State.

Initiative to restore Sugarloaf Island
If you summer on the coasts of North Carolina, you may be familiar with Morehead City, a popular port town in Carteret County. But slightly less well-known is the barrier island adjoining the town: Sugarloaf Island. The man-made stretch of land is just off the waterfront and for years has been a draw for tourism. It’s also a layer of protection for the coastline. However, a substantial portion of Sugarloaf Island has eroded over the last few decades. The city hopes that a restoration initiative will reverse the damage.
Celeste Gracia, WUNC environmental reporter

Impact of sea level rise and beach erosion on coastal communities
We head to the coast, where sea levels are rising, buildings falling, as development continues. Coastal geologist Rob Young joins us to discuss rising seas and beach erosion and what, if anything, can be done to lessen the impact in coastal communities.
Robert S. Young, director, Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines and professor of Coastal Geology, Western Carolina University

The Broadside: The hunt for a million dollar fish
Marlin fishing helps fuel a billion-dollar recreational saltwater fishing industry. Much of it is situated on the North Carolina coast, which also happens to be the site of one of the oldest and most celebrated fishing competitions in the world – the Big Rock Blue Marlin Tournament. It’s an event filled with high stakes drama, and it continues to grow. But are there enough blue marlin in the ocean for the good times to keep rolling on?
Ashley Bleau, owner of the Sensation
Neal Conoley, author and former head of the North Carolina Aquarium Society
Dr. John Graves, marine biologist and former professor at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Aaron Barr, first mate of the Never Enough 

Raw milk production and sales remain controversial in North Carolina. After lawmakers rescinded a proposed ban on raw milk sales in May, farmers are hopeful that their business will be able to grow and thrive, despite ongoing safety concerns. Guest: Rob Benor, owner of Benor Farms in Cedar Oak, NC  

Kathleen DuVal’s latest book has been called a “magisterial overview of a thousand years of Native American history.” DuVal’s scholarship on the history of indigenous peoples in America has earned the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for History. Guest: Kathleen DuVal, professor of history, UNC Chapel Hill and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Native Nations: A Millennium in North America

The federal budget proposal presently before the U.S. Senate would advance much of the President’s domestic agenda. Along with Medicaid cuts, this budget plan would slash food assistance programs and clean energy initiatives, extend tax cuts, and limit income-driven student loan repayment programs. Danielle Battaglia, Capitol Hill correspondent at The News & Observer, joins co-host Jeff Tiberii to explain some of the potential impacts in North Carolina.

Then, "Moral Mondays" were born in North Carolina in 2013, but the movement has taken hold in other states and, in recent weeks, in the nation’s capital. On Monday, June 2nd, several clergy and activists connected with the movement were arrested at the U.S. Capitol while praying and opposing President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill.” One of the leaders of the Moral Mondays movement is Durham-based writer, preacher and activist Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. He joins Leoneda Inge to talk about the movement then and now.

And, one of Raleigh’s biggest office real estate owners is expanding its portfolio in North Hills. Reporter Zachary Eanes has the latest on that company’s bet that office space in the Capitol is still hot. And how the rapid population growth here is part of the calculation. (This conversation originally aired in April 2025.)

On the North Carolina News Roundup...

As Congress tries to push through a federal budget, some Republicans are already regretting recent votes in support of it. Meanwhile the state legislature is advancing immigration policy seeking to crack down on "sanctuary cities.”

And, Amazon has announced plans to bring hundreds of jobs and invest billions of dollars in Richmond County.

Plus, we check in on Carolina and Duke, both trying to get to the College World Series.

Co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with a panel of journalists about those stories and more, on Due South.

Editor's note: This interview first aired in April, 2024. Since then, all the students we spoke to have graduated and worked in media and journalism.

Politicians, parents, and pundits have lots of opinions about how to solve mental health problems affecting nearly every campus.

Leoneda Inge speaks with three journalists who worked on and edited stories for The Mental Health Collaborative, a project with nine NC college newsrooms to focus reporting and share coverage around the issue affecting students at each university.

The Mental Health Collaborative was funded by the Solutions Journalism Network. You can find the project here.

Guests

As hurricane season begins in North Carolina, Due South’s Jeff Tiberii talks to WCNC chief meteorologist Brad Panovich about what may be on the horizon regarding storms this summer. NPR investigative correspondent Laura Sullivan shares her reporting the new PBS documentary, Hurricane Helene’s Deadly Warning, and what the fateful storm revealed about America’s lack of preparedness for future natural disasters. J. Harrison Ghee is a 2023 Tony Award and 2024 Grammy Award winner for their work in the Broadway musical Some Like It Hot. But they got their start on much humbler, local stages in Fayetteville, NC, where they began their career in musical theater as a student at E.E. Smith High School. They return to NC for this year’s 2025 DPAC Rising Star Awards, honoring the state’s top high school theater performers.

The recent announcement of a new Michelin guide dedicated to the American South has sent a ripple of excitement through several Southern states, including North Carolina. We’ll talk to a member of one of the tourism boards who help to finance the Michelin guide and learn more about the restaurant selection process. *encore edition* Guest: Scott Peacock, director of tourism, marketing and communications for Visit NC. “Audacity in Motion,” an exhibition at Ella West Gallery in downtown Durham, features mixed media explorations of the past and future, with an all-male artist lineup and several artists with deep connections to North Carolina.  *encore edition* Guests: Linda Shropshire, founder and owner of Ella West Gallery and artists Justin Ellis, Steven M. Cozart, and Lamar Whidbee. One of Carolina Ballet’s founding members is wrapping her career as a principal dancer at the end of the 2025 season. Margaret Severin-Hansen began with the company in 1998 and will continue to work as an educator and director for two of its affiliate programs. We talk to her about her long and storied career and her plans for the future. *encore edition*