Due South

Tupperware Brands announced its filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2024. The news sent a wave of nostalgia through households across the country. Due South co-host Leoneda Inge speaks with three different guests about how Tupperware has revolutionized American culture, created streams of income for working class women and ultimately, survived long enough to see the power of its brand wane. Guests are Kara Bruce, law professor at UNC Chapel Hill; Kelly Alexander, food historian and an assistant professor of American Studies at UNC Chapel Hill and Dixie Longate, actor, writer, comedian.

WUNC’s military reporter Jay Price flew with National Guard troops who were dropping off food and water to residents… Many who’ve been without power and water for more than a week now.

An excerpt from The Broadside for our Purple Ballot series: “This year, a record $12.3 billion will be spent on US political campaigns. The majority of that is earmarked for political advertising, particularly in battleground states like North Carolina. But where does that money go, and what exactly does it buy? The answers might surprise and alarm you.”

And, an NC political advertisement that echoes through to our current election year.

Guest

-Jay Price, Military Reporter WUNC and the American Homefront Project

-Anisa Khalifa, Host The Broadside

-Ben Bradford, Host of the Landslide podcast from Nuance Tales and WFAE

Notes: Listen to the full episode of the Broadside here

Known to some during his time on the 1976 presidential campaign trail as a "New South" moderate, President James Earl Carter came to the White House as a Washington outsider and strived to learn and manage the work of the office both stateside and abroad. 

The one-term president's political career is often understood but his work post-presidency has been better remembered and regarded, as is evidenced by his Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 and his decades of work as a humanitarian. 

Due South takes a look at the long life of the "oldest living ex-president," with an historian who has dedicated her career to the study of his work.

Editor's note: this conversation originally aired December 18, 2023.

Guest

Nancy Mitchell, professor of history at North Carolina State University and the author of the book, Jimmy Carter in Africa.

On the North Carolina News Roundup… Helene’s devastating toll on Western North Carolina is still being calculated. We’ll hear from a Blue Ridge Public Radio reporter on the ground. A reporter also fills us in on access to health care in the storm ravaged areas. And the executive director of the NC Council of Churches joins us to discuss the intersection of religion and politics during this election cycle. Join Leoneda Inge and a panel of reporters for context and analysis of the week's news. 

Laura Hackett, reporter at BPR

Rachel Crumpler, NC Health News reporter

Colin Campbell, WUNC capitol bureau chief

Zachery Eanes, Axios Raleigh reporter

Rev. Dr. Jennifer Copeland, executive director of the NC Council of Churches

Rescue and evacuation efforts continue in western North Carolina, with many people still unaccounted for. There is also a widespread effort to get resources out to people in hard-to-reach areas of our state. We’ll check in with North Carolinians from Avery County and Buncombe County.

Then, WUNC’s Rusty Jacobs tells us how Helene’s impacts are reshaping the election with in-person early voting scheduled to start in two weeks. We also hear from a Duke Energy official about when power could return to the hundreds of thousands of people still in the dark.

Guests

Duncan McFadyen, freelance reporter based in Avery County, NC

Rusty Jacobs, WUNC's Voting and Election Integrity Reporter

Hope Turpin Turner, Buncombe County resident

Jeff Brooks, spokesperson for Duke Energy

Jaclyn Rothenberg, Public Affairs Director, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)

Charlotte baker Manolo Betancur and El Centro Unido's Margarita Ramirez are among the many people providing food and support for people in western North Carolina in the aftermath of Helene.

Plus, workers who labor on farms, and construction sites experience extreme heat frequently in the workplace, but there are also service workers who face extreme heat. WUNC's new series "Scorched Workers" shows how outdoor workers in NC are dealing with extreme heat.

Guests:

Manolo Betancur, owner, Manolo's Latin Bakery, Charlotte, NC

Margarita Ramirez, executive director, El Centro Unido, Marion, NC

Juanita Constible, is the Senior Advocate for Environmental Health at NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council).

Dr. Modjulie Moore, is a family medicine physician and current Medical Director for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services Farmworker Health Program.

Aaron Sánchez-Guerra covers issues of race, class, and communities for WUNC.

Celeste Gracia is WUNC’s Environment Reporter.

Note: The project is funded in part by the National Press Foundation and the National Press Club Journalism Institute.

Surveying the damage from Helene in NC's rural high country
In Western North Carolina, recovery efforts continue while relief is ramping up. Co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with reporter Duncan McFadyen from Linville in Avery County for a view from NC's high country. And we hear from a Charlotte resident who hiked 11 miles to check on his parents in Little Switzerland, NC.
Duncan McFadyen, a former WFAE reporter who is in the mountains
Sam Perkins, Charlotte resident who traveled to the mountains to check on his parents

Purple Ballot: How polling can get it right…and get it so wrong.
In this high intensity election season, the latest polling numbers can make for a good headline. But what’s behind those numbers? Experts on polling and polling methodology join co-host Jeff Tiberii to talk about what makes a good poll, where polls often go wrong, and how polling impacts elections.
Jason Husser, assistant provost for Academic Excellence and Integrity, director of the Elon Poll and professor of Political Science and Public Policy, Elon University
David McLennan, professor of Political Science, director of the Meredith Poll, Meredith College
Sunshine Hillygus, professor of Political Science and Public Policy, director, Duke Initiative on Survey Methodology, co-director, Polarization Lab, Duke University
Lonna Atkeson, director, LeRoy Collins Institute, Florida State University
Peter Francia, professor of political science and director of the Center for Survey Research at East Carolina University

The latest from Western North Carolina where Helene has caused 'biblical devastation'
Western North Carolina has been devastated by the remnants of Hurricane Helene. Officials are now calling it that region’s Hurricane Katrina and the impact of the damage ‘biblical.’ There have been at least 30 deaths and hundreds more are missing. Major roads are destroyed or shut down. Power outages and limited cell access have left some areas isolated. The full extent of the damage may not be known for days or weeks as the floodwaters recede. We survey the situation and find out what can be done to help people in our mountains.
Laura Hackett, reporter, Blue Ridge Public Radio (BPR)
Gerard Albert III, Western North Carolina rural communities reporter, BPR News
Brad Panovich, chief meteorologist, WCNC Charlotte

Princeville, NC's mayor on the challenge of ‘outmigration’ and Hurricane recovery
The town of Princeville, NC knows first-hand about major hurricane damage and recovery. Leoneda Inge talks with the mayor of Princeville about the challenges that town has experienced and how they're grappling with residents moving out of town, or 'outmigration.' This conversation originally aired September 26, 2024.
Bobbie Jones, Mayor of Princeville, North Carolina for 14 years.

On the NC News Roundup...

We’re less than three weeks away from the beginning of early voting in North Carolina, and the scandal surrounding Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson continues to dominate the headlines. Our panel of journalists will tell us about the latest on the allegations against Robinson and responses from other Republican politicians.

And, as Tropical Storm Helene pushes through the Southeast, we get an update about the impact in western Carolina and here in the Triangle.

Join co-host Jeff Tiberii and a panel of reporters for context and analysis of the week's news.

Guests

Jonathan Blaes, Meteorologist-in-Charge, National Weather Service

Gerard Albert III, Western North Carolina rural communities reporter, Blue Ridge Public Radio (BPR)

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

Bryan Anderson, freelance reporter, creator of the “Anderson Alerts” newsletter

Claudia Rivera Cotto, political reporter, Enlace Latino NC

Steve Harrison, political reporter, WFAE Charlotte

A local reporter explains why young residents are leaving the Hampton Roads region in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina, and how local leaders are trying to attract them to stay.

A long-time North Carolinian, and demographer, helps us understand the long-term trends in our shifting population

And, the mayor of Princeville shares the unique challenges his town faces, including two devastating floods in recent decades.
 

Guests:

Ryan Murphy, WHRO’s business and growth reporter

Nathan Dollar, director of Carolina Demography and a native of Wilson, North Carolina

Bobbie Jones, Mayor of Princeville, North Carolina for 14 years.