Due South

This week on the North Carolina News Roundup: Protestors took to Raleigh to voice opposition to President Trump’s executive orders and to efforts to challenge 60,000 ballots in North Carolina's still unsettled State Supreme Court race. An update on Helene recovery efforts, almost five months after the storm ravaged western North Carolina. And, how the state budget surplus, tax cuts, and concerns over dropping off the fiscal cliff are all connected. We’ll get to those stories and more with a panel of reporters who’ve been following our state’s news.

Then, President Trump signed dozens of executive orders on his first day in office. Among them was Executive Order 14163: Realigning the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). Like so many of Trump’s executive orders, the impacts were felt quickly, including here in North Carolina. Celeste Headlee is joined by two reporters and the leader of a refugee resettlement agency to talk about the impact of Trump's suspension of the United States Refugee Admissions Program on resettlement organization operations and the refugees they support.

NC army base renamed for a new Bragg, but echoes of old Fort Bragg linger
The army base near Fayetteville, N.C. formerly known as Fort Liberty is now Fort Bragg — again. The U.S.’s largest military base is no longer named for slaveowner and Confederate General Braxton Bragg, but rather a different Bragg — Private Roland L. Bragg of Maine who served in WWII. Jay Price, military reporter for WUNC, joins Due South guest host Celeste Headlee to explain the history of these name changes and the strategy the Trump administration used to deliver on a campaign pledge to bring the name Fort Bragg back.
Jay Price, Military Reporter, WUNC

Former UNC Chancellor Holden Thorp on NIH funding cuts and this 'tumultuous moment' in higher ed
We’ve been learning more about the Trump administration’s proposal to cut billions of dollars in funding through the National Institutes of Health. That order is temporarily on hold. But if it proceeds, North Carolina’s universities and research institutions stand to individually lose millions of dollars in federal funding. What would that mean for our universities? What would it mean for future research at these universities? Due South talks with Holden Thorp, former chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill, about the intersection of federal funding and academic research – and the potential impact of these cuts. 
Holden Thorp, Editor-in-Chief of the Science family of journals and former chancellor of UNC-Chapel Hill (2008 – 2013)

In 'Black Defender,' a new superhero emerges 
David Washington grew up fascinated with action stars and superheroes but not many looked like him. In his first graphic novel, the Raleigh-based writer creates a Black superhero who fights for a new generation of underdogs.
David Washington, author of 'Black Defender: The Awakening'

Leoneda Inge talks to Jonathan Harward of Josefs Pharmacy about how tariffs may impact medication prices. Celeste Headlee chats with NC State associate professor Andrew Greenland about the history of tariffs and their potential impact on the state. Maggie Robe of Flyleaf Books looks ahead at some of the most anticipated book releases of Winter/Spring 2025. 

Why North Carolina’s State Supreme Court election is the last race still not decided from the 2024 election.

And, we hear from some of the more than 60,000 voters affected by ballot challenges. Including a woman whose Mother died a few days after voting. 

Plus, Doug Bock Clark, a reporter for ProPublica’s South hub, shares the national legal and electoral implications from this challenge.

Guests

Rusty Jacobs, WUNC's Voting and Election Integrity Reporter

Jen Baddour, is a voter whose ballot has been challenged in the NC State Supreme Court and is participating in a lawsuit with the hopes that her vote will count

Leah Kerr, is the daughter of a woman whose ballot is being challenged. Her Mother died after she voted in November

Doug Bock Clark, is a reporter in ProPublica's South unit

'Our History, Our Voice: Latinés at Duke'
There’s a new exhibit at the Museum of Durham History called Nuestra Historia, Nuestra Voz / Our History, Our Voice: Latinés at Duke. Cecilia Márquez, Duke history professor and author of Making the Latino South, helped put the exhibit together along with some of her students. She joins Due South’s Jeff Tiberii to talk about the history of Latinos at Duke and how that connects to the larger story of Latinés in the South. 
Cecilia Márquez, Hunt Family Assistant Professor of History, Duke University

The Broadside’s “Who gets to be Native in America”
WUNC podcast The Broadside delves deep into “Who gets to be Native in America.”
Sarah Nagem, editor of the Border Belt Independent
John Lowery, Lumbee Tribal Chairman
Carrie Lowry Schuettpelz, author of The Indian Card: Who Gets to Be Native in America

What federal recognition of the Lumbee Tribe could mean for tribal health care in NC
President Trump made federal recognition for the Lumbee Tribe a priority during his campaign and has since directed the Department of the Interior to develop a plan to make it happen. Due South’s Leoneda Inge is joined by pediatrician and his brother, a University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill public health expert, to talk about what federal recognition (and a lot of federal dollars) could mean, specifically when it comes to health care and reducing health care disparities in Lumbee communities.
Ronny Bell, Professor, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Chair of the North Carolina American Indian Health Board
Joseph Bell, MD, pediatrician and managing partner at Children's Health of Carolina

On the North Carolina News Roundup...

Republican Senator Thom Tillis tries to retain his partisan bona fides while moderating to win reelection in 2026.

North Carolina native Linda McMahon is in the national spotlight this week with her Senate confirmation hearing for Secretary of Education. And former NC Sen. Richard Burr supports Tulsi Gabbard in her confirmation hearing for director of national intelligence.

And Triangle universities and research institutions respond to NIH funding cuts. 

Guest host Celeste Headlee talks with a panel of journalists about those stories and more, on Due South.

Guests

Bryan Anderson, freelance reporter with the Anderson Alerts newsletter

Danielle Battaglia, Washington Correspondent for the Raleigh News & Observer and the Charlotte Observer

Colin Campbell, Capitol Bureau Chief WUNC

Brian Gordon, Business and Technology reporter for the Raleigh News & Observer

Leoneda Inge speaks with new State Treasurer Brad Briner about the State Health Plan, the state pension plan and how he plans to distinguish his tenure as treasurer from his predecessor's. Grammy-nominated mother and son duo Nnenna Freelon and Pierce Freelon share their favorite love songs in a Valentine's Day-themed Southern Mixtape. 

WUNC’s Higher Education Reporter Brianna Atkinson explains the latest change to National Institutes of Health funding and how it could impact North Carolina universities and research.

Then, Preservation Greensboro Board Member Eric Woodard talks with co-host Leoneda Inge about the long road to recognition for the South Benbow Road Historic District, which was home to many local civil rights movement luminaries.

And, renovations are underway that will impact how visitors access Duke Gardens. Bill LeFevre, Executive Director of Duke Gardens, shares how to (still) make the most of a trip to the 55-acre botanic garden in Durham.

The name Charles W. Chesnutt may sound familiar, even if you don't know where to place it. It belongs to the first African American man to be published in The Atlantic Monthly and to break into the all-white American literary establishment in the late 1800s.

Plus, Winston-Salem’s historic Bowman Gray Stadium hosted a NASCAR series race for the first time in more than 50 years earlier this month. WUNC’s Mitch Northam has been reporting on track renovations and investment here in recent years and shares the NC history of stock car racing. 

Guests

Tess Chakkalakal, associate professor of African American and American literature at Bowdoin College, author of “A Matter of Complexion: The Life and Fictions of Charles W. Chesnutt”

Mitch Northam, Digital Producer at WUNC and longtime sports reporter

ALS took Holley Broughton’s voice, but not her ability to express herself. She uses her clothes and accessories to say “see me.” Holley found a fellow fashionista in her doctor, Richard Bedlack — the founder of Duke University's ALS Clinic — who wears studded leather jackets, intricately designed rhinestone suits, and other fabulous fashions aimed at bringing joy and hope. Dr. Bedlack and Holley have joined forces with a design class at North Carolina State University to create adaptive fashion for people living with disabilities that impact their motor functions. Sam Pearce leads the class and joins Holley and Dr. Bedlack in conversation with Due South guest host Celeste Headlee.
Read an article about the team's effort in Axios Raleigh.

Then, Kiki Wynns launched her standup comedy career on a dare. As soon as she set foot on her first comedy club stage, she was hooked. She also quickly learned that, both locally and nationally, the stand-up landscape is still, quite often, an old boys’ club. Wynns is looking to change that with her new series, Ladies Laugh Lounge, at the Goodnights Comedy Club in Raleigh. Her next show, a Galentine’s Day-themed affair, is on February 13. She also offers humor coaching and workshops to companies and individuals.