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Every 15 days, someone is killed on Durham’s roads. 

WUNC's Youth Reporting Institute reporter Max Tendler talked to pedestrians, and local leaders, to figure out what’s going wrong and how they’re trying to make walking safer.

Max Tendler, WUNC digital news intern, reporter of the award-winning story “Asphalt Oceans: How Durham is working to make roads safer,” and Associate News Editor at The Duke Chronicle.

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Banjos, synths and beats will be the soundtrack for music festivals across the state in the coming weeks and months. 

Two music journalists, including WUNC’s Brian Burns, join Leoneda Inge to preview the highlights, and changes to long-running shows here in North Carolina.

Brian Burns, WUNC music reporter

Sarah Edwards, Arts and Culture Editor at The Indy Week

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American tariffs are causing problems for this North Carolina small business’ rollout.

Erik Fabian, co-founder of Sourhouse a startup that engineers tools for home bakers

The Raleigh News and Observer has a complicated and consequential history in North Carolina. The story of the N&O – or the “Nuisance & Disturber” as some called it over the years – is also the story of the family that owned and ran the paper from the late 1800s to the end of the 20th century. And about how the News & Observer didn’t just report on politics, but also shaped politics, for generations of North Carolinians. 

Rob Christensen, a former political columnist for the News and Observer, talks with Leoneda Inge about his book, "Southern News, Southern Politics: How a Newspaper Defined a State for a Century." This conversation originally aired February 27, 2025. 

Rob Christensen, former political columnist for the News and Observer in Raleigh, author of "Southern News, Southern Politics: How a Newspaper Defined a State for a Century"

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A coup d'etat on American soil. That’s the basis for a documentary by PBS NC and the American Experience called "American Coup: Wilmington 1898." The directors of the film speak with Leoneda Inge about this dark chapter in North Carolina's history. 

And we meet two descendants of people affected about the legacy of the Wilmington Massacre. This conversation originally aired November 12, 2024. 

Brad Lichtenstein, director of "American Coup: Wilmington 1898"

Yoruba Richen, director of "American Coup: Wilmington 1898"

Kieran Haile, great-great-grandson of Alex Manly, editor and publisher of The Daily Record, Wilmington’s only Black-owned newspaper at the time of the events

Lucy McCaule, great-granddaughter of William Barry McKoy, a Princeton graduate and lawyer who later became the grandmaster of the Masons in Wilmington and was one of the heads of the White Government Unions.

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Paperhand Puppet Project has delighted audiences with giant puppets, elaborate masks, and cloth creations for a quarter century. As the performers prepare for this year’s show, they’ve had to deal with an unexpected challenge: the flooding of their studio by the Haw River due to Chantal. 

Co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with Paperhand Puppet’s Donovan Zimmerman and Barb Ford about drying out props and puppets, and about the organization’s latest performance “The Gift.”

Donovan Zimmerman, co-founder and co-director, Paperhand Puppet Project

Barb Ford, assistant stage manager and stilt walker performer, Paperhand Puppet Project

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UNC System expands partnership with ReUp Education to assist adult learners

More than 43 million Americans belong to the “some college, no credential” (SCNC) population. Roughly one million of them reside in North Carolina. Efforts to re-engage adult learners are on the rise, including a partnership between the UNC System and ReUp Education, a national tech ed company that provides resources and support to returning adult students. ReUp’s services with the UNC System are expanding this year to offer returning college students greater assistance in reaching their graduation goals. 

Terah Crews, CEO of ReUp Education

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Durham Tech dean discusses new book, Getting the Most Out of Your College Experience

Chris O'Riordan-Adjah knows a lot about higher education. In addition to earning two bachelor's degrees, two master’s degrees, and a PhD in Civil Engineering, he’s also taught at a range of colleges, including a large 4-year university, small college, and community college. And he wants to share his knowledge with those embarking on college – or thinking about it. “Professor Chris” talks with co-host Jeff Tiberii about his new book "Getting the Most Out of Your College Experience."

Chris O'Riordan-Adjah, author of Getting the Most Out of Your College Experience; Dean of Building, Engineering and Skills Technology Division, Durham Technical Community College

On the North Carolina News Roundup...

Federal SNAP benefits are being reduced, a change felt across the state and in lunchrooms. 

The results of the Winston-Salem/Forsyth County Schools audit. 

An update on federal cuts to universities in our state.

The owner of the Carolina Hurricanes inks a big new deal. 

All that and more as co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with a panel of reporters about the week in North Carolina news.

Mary Helen Moore, Reporter, NC Newsroom

Gary Robertson, Statehouse Reporter, Associated Press

Claudia Rivera Cotto, Political Reporter, Enlace Latino NC

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

As the school year begins, the status of state and federal funding for our public schools remains murky while local funding for school districts seems increasingly fraught.

So how does school district budgeting work? Who holds levers of power to keep our schools operating? And why have school budgets – once something that many of us didn’t think about – become front page news for so many communities in recent years? 

Due South co-host Jeff Tiberii and WUNC education reporter Liz Schlemmer are joined by a local school board member, a school district superintendent and CFO and a county commissioner to discuss how North Carolina schools are funded and the challenges some Triangle school districts have faced recently to keep our schools operating.

Liz Schlemmer, Education Reporter, WUNC

Jamezetta Bedford, Chair, Board of County Commissioners in Orange County

Dr. Anthony Lewis, Superintendent, Durham Public Schools

Tyler Swanson, Vice Chair, Wake County Board of Education

Jeremy Teetor, Chief Finance Officer, Durham Public Schools

Leoneda Inge chats with Dr. Bernice King, the youngest child of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, to discuss her family’s legacy, her work as a social justice strategist and the work of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Change amid a changing political climate.

Dr. Bernice King, strategist, peace advocate and CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change

Leoneda Inge talks to the Greensboro native Daphne Fama about her debut gothic horror novel, House of Monstrous Women. The novel is set in the Philippines in 1986 and draws on Fama’s childhood experiences of listening to Filipino folklore. She talks about the experience of crafting the book, including researching black magic in the Philippines.

Daphne Fama, author of “House of Monstrous Women”

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We hear a lot about federal funding cuts, but it can be hard to understand the impact of these large-scale changes in our local communities. Reporter Heidi Perez-Moreno of the Border Belt Independent recently wrote a story about Federal Emergency Management Agency cuts affecting projects in Columbus and Robeson counties – projects that were aimed at building resilience in the face of storms and flooding.

Heidi Perez-Moreno, reporter at the Border Belt Independent

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Atlanta Journal-Constitution reporter Ernie Suggs has long thought about the importance of family reunions for Black families. He found multiple studies suggesting African Americans are more likely than any other group to hold large family reunions on a regular basis. Suggs' recent article “What Remains: The Power of Black Family Reunions” delves into the origins and the role of these gatherings today.

Ernie Suggs, reporter covering race and culture, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

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Jeff Tiberii and Leoneda Inge talk with food writer Kathleen Purvis about that old saying: only eat oysters in months that contain the letter ‘r’… and why you might be able to chuck that shucking rule. Purvis’ article in The Assembly is “‘R’ You Ready to Eat Oysters All Year Long?”

Kathleen Purvis, food writer based in Charlotte area

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For the Winston-Salem Forsyth County Schools, the financial shortfall is causing confusion, disorder, and uncertainty. Jeff Tiberii discusses the situation with WFDD's Amy Diaz.

Amy Diaz, education reporter, WFDD

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Due South presents another conversation in our occasional series “Golden Leaf” about tobacco’s deep roots in North Carolina. The focus today is the history of tobacco warehouses in early and mid-20th century North Carolina.

By day, the work done in these warehouses was governed by the brutal racial injustices of the South. But on some summer nights, those cavernous buildings were transformed into a different world. 

Black music promoters rented the warehouses, invited some of the most famous musicians of the era to perform, and Black party goers danced the night away in a space filled with rich music and glorious decorations – and in doing so, challenged the structures of Jim Crow. This Due South encore edition originally aired in August 2024. 

Elijah Gaddis, Hollifield Associate Professor of Southern History and Co-Director of the Community Histories Workshop at Auburn University, and author of “Work, Play, and Performance in the Southern Tobacco Warehouse”

This week on the North Carolina News Roundup... A look at State Auditor Dave Boliek’s call for the separation of the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles from the Department of Transportation. 

PBS NC’s David Crabtree provides an update on staffing following federal defunding. And rezoning projects meet opposition in Durham and Raleigh. 

Guests

Mary Helen Moore, reporter for the NC Newsroom 

Bryan Anderson, reporter for the newsletter Anderson Alerts 

Zach Eanes, reporter, Axios Raleigh  

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

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More than 43 million Americans belong to the “some college, no credential” (SCNC) population. Roughly one million of them reside in North Carolina. 

Efforts to re-engage adult learners are on the rise, including a partnership between the UNC System and ReUp Education, a national tech ed company that provides resources and support to returning adult students. 

ReUp’s services with the UNC System are expanding this year to offer returning college students greater assistance in reaching their graduation goals.

Guest

Terah Crews, CEO of ReUp Education

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The next mayor up in our Meet the Mayors series is from Asheboro, NC – home of the North Carolina Zoo. David Smith has been mayor there since 2009. And after more than 25 years as an elected official in Asheboro, he plans to not run for re-election this fall.

Guest

David Smith, Mayor of Asheboro

0:33:00

 The Phoebes Band (1440x1440, AR: 1.0)

In just four short years, Triangle-based soul, rock and blues band The Phoebes have made their mark in North Carolina and beyond. 

The Black woman-led band got their start in 2021.

They've toured the summer festival circuit and won WRAL’s 2024 Voters Choice Award for Best Local Band and been named Best Local Band of the Year in 2024 by Bands and Clubs of the Triangle.

Two members of the group speak with Leoneda Inge about their band's success.

Guest

Trea Elise, vocalist The Phoebes

Megan Maloney, co-founder and lead guitarist, The Phoebes