Due South

Some Republican-led states have accepted federal funding for a program that will make getting food during the summer easier for children on free and reduced price lunch, others use it as political football.

Families that qualify will receive $40 per month for the three summer months per child. It will be paid out in a lump sum through electronic benefits (EBT). Learn more about "SUN Bucks" or "Summer EBT" here: https://www.ncdhhs.gov/sunbucks 

And, 

Guests:
-Katrina Shealy, Republican South Carolina State Senator

-Tamara Baker, Project & Communications Director at the Carolina Hunger Initiative

-Madhu Vulimiri, Deputy Director of the Division of Child and Family Well-Being at NCDHHS

-Bekah Brunstetter, playwright with a new adaptation of Lysistrata titled "The Game" debuting at Playmakers Repertory Theater in Chapel Hill.

Show Notes:
Here's the Op-Ed Sen. Shealy co-wrote with Democratic Sen. Darrell Jackson.
-https://www.postandcourier.com/opinion/commentary/gov-mcmaster-sc-legislature-summer-ebt-program/article_6807914a-cb71-11ee-a39f-5b488d7b1a17.html

WUNC Capitol Bureau Chief Colin Campbell joins Due South co-host Jeff Tiberii for a preview of the North Carolina General Assembly’s upcoming session. Hummingbird researcher Susan Campbell shares tips for spotting and attracting the smallest bird in North America. In a new "About Dad Time," writer Michael Venutolo-Mantovani shares his family's experience with pregnancy loss.

Nine years ago, three young Muslim Americans were murdered in Chapel Hill in a case that received national and international attention. What was first called a “parking dispute” by police and many media outlets was eventually shown to be what the victims’ families and countless others knew immediately – that the murders were motivated by hate.

Filmmaker Tarek Albaba joins co-host Leoneda Inge to talk about his documentary about the murders, 36 Seconds: Portrait of a Hate Crime, and the fight for justice for Deah Barakat, his wife, Yusor Mohammad Abu-Salha, and her sister, Razan Mohammad Abu-Salha.

Later in the conversation, they are joined by Durham District Attorney Satana Deberry and UNC law professor Joseph Kennedy to talk about the legal case.

2024 has ushered in a renaissance for Black country musicians in an industry that has historically overlooked them. Co-host Leoneda Inge chats with writer Alice Randall and musicians Rhiannon Giddens and Rissi Palmer.

Due South's panel of reporters from across the state on the biggest stories of this week: Falling in line behind violent rhetoric in the name of party unity, another quarter billion for some schools, and a state visit by the Prime Minister of Japan.

Guests
-Colin Campbell, Capitol Bureau Chief, WUN
-Dawn Vaughan, Capitol Bureau Chief, The News & Observer
-Danielle Battaglia, Capitol Hill Correspondent, The News & Observer/The Charlotte Observer/McClatchy
-Steve Harrison, Political Reporter, WFAE Charlotte

He's not a "war hero," and he's not a "victim." Michael Ramos is an Iraq War veteran, and a UNC-Wilmington creative writing professor. He's also a writer. 

*Take care while listening: this episode includes frank discussion about suicide. 

In his first book, a collection of essays, Ramos cuts apart common assumptions and tells stories many of his colleagues find familiar. And, he extends a hand to civilians who want to learn more about the experience of war vets who come home.

The After: A Veteran's Notes on Coming Home was published March 5, 2024. 

Guests

-Michael Ramos is assistant director of UNC-Wilmington's Pub Lab, art director for the literary magazine Ecotone.

WUNC military reporter Jay Price drops by to share the fascinating story of the ‘Ghost Army’ that helped win World War II. This wily crew of misfits were called “combat con-artists” and used tactics like inflatable decoy tanks and phony radio traffic to fool the Germans. 

Two music professors talk about legendary drummer Max Roach and share their appreciation of the jazz great's artistic innovations. Roach's life and music will be honored at a festival in Elizabeth City this weekend. 

A North Carolina State University researcher talks about his lab's efforts to help Christmas trees grow faster, be more climate-resilient and look more like the "perfect" Christmas tree.

Co-host Leoneda Inge revisits the legacy of civil rights pioneer and gender rights advocate Pauli Murray, the latest American icon to be honored with an American Women Quarter by the U.S. Mint. Guests and featured voices include Rosita Stevens-Holsey is the niece of the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, president of Preserving Pauli Murray, LLC and the co-author of Pauli Murray: The Life of a Pioneering Feminist and Civil Rights Activist; Angela Mason is the executive director of the Pauli Murray Center for History and Social Justice in Durham; Kelly Brown Douglas, Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School at Union Theological Seminary in New York City and Rev. Kim Jackson, episcopal priest, state senator in Georgia.

The North Carolina State men's and women's basketball teams made improbable runs and almost went all the way to the championships. Co-host Leoneda Inge talks with two reporters about the ends of the Wolfpack seasons and what to expect for next year.

Then, a North Carolina Health News reporter talks to Leoneda Inge about the use of the abortion pill Mifepristone in North Carolina and how a ruling on a U.S. Supreme Court case could restrict access.

In our last segment, Morehead Planetarium and Science Center science education specialist Dr. Amy Sayle tells Due South where the total eclipse path will be, the recent (and not so recent) history of total solar eclipses in the US and what today’s eclipse will look like from the Triangle area.

Excitement is in the air. NC State is in the Final Four. Both the men’s and women’s teams will play in this year’s NCAA tournament. We’ll talk about the Pack’s historic run and meet two former players who took their teams to the tournament last time. College basketball isn’t the ONLY thing going on this week. We’ll also get the latest in state politics and more, on the North Carolina News Roundup.