News & Views

Duke University Sanford School Emeritus Professor of Public Policy Phil Cook (Photo: Sanford School of Public Policy)

Across the United States, gun violence continues to be an ever-more-serious national plague. According to the latest mortality data from the CDC, firearm-related deaths among children and teenagers in the United States have soared by 50% since 2019. In 2023, firearms remained the leading cause of death among American youth for the third year in a row.

So what impact is this having on the attitudes of average Americans? A new report published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, entitled “Valuing the benefits of reducing firearm violence in the United States” indicates that it’s a big one and that most Americans would be willing to make significant sacrifices in order to address it. Indeed, the authors found that Americans would willing to pay nearly $100 billion for policies that reduce gun violence by 20%, and recently NC Newsline’s Rob Schofield caught up with one of the authors — Duke University Sanford School Professor Emeritus of Public Policy Philip J. Cook — to learn more.

Click here to listen to the full interview with Professor Philip J. Cook.

Photo: Environmental Defense Fund

The challenge posed by carbon emissions that drive climate change is one of the most important issues facing humanity. If ever a matter required everyone’s best efforts and collaboration — elected officials, regulators, providers, consumers — this is it.

Unfortunately, many important Republican legislative leaders in Raleigh disagree. They’re sponsoring a bill this year that was written in secret and repeals a painstakingly negotiated law which requires Duke Energy to cut carbon emissions by 2030. As usual, the excuse for the bill is cost. Proponents say the bill will save ratepayers money. As NC Newsline editor Rob Schofield learned, however, in a recent conversation with Will Scott, the Southeast Climate and Clean Energy Director of the Environmental Defense Fund, this is actually not the case. According to Scott, not only will speeding the transition to sustainable energy help combat climate change, it will save consumers big dollars.

Click here to listen to the full interview with Will Scott of the Environmental Defense Fund.

NC State University economist Mike Walden (Photo: NC State University)

Over the past few decades, one of North Carolina’s best known and most prolific economists has been Prof. Mike Walden. Walden, the Reynolds Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Agricultural and Resource Economics at NC State University, is an outspoken champion of free markets and a longtime regular contributor to the pages of the conservative John Locke Foundation.

As with a lot of traditional economic conservatives, however, Walden is not necessarily a cheerleader for the roller-coaster economic policies that President Trump has pursued since his return to office, and recently, Walden joined NC Newsline editor Rob Schofield to share his assessment of what’s been going on thus far and some concerns about what Trump’s trade policies could mean for North Carolina.

Click here to listen to the full interview with economist Mike Walden.

Elizabeth Barber - Photo: ACLU of NC

It’s been nearly a decade and a half now since Republicans legislators took control of the North Carolina General Assembly and commenced an aggressive campaign to consolidate their complete control of state government, while at the same time, rolling back much of the progress that had been achieved in previous years to expand civil rights and civil liberties.

After such an extended period of almost total political dominance, you’d think that GOP leaders might have completed their to-do list, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. As Rob Schofield learned recently in a conversation with ACLU of North Carolina Director of Policy and Advocacy Liz Barber, this year’s legislative session is replete with bills that will seize even more power, roll back hard won progress, and further restrict the civil rights and liberties of North Carolinians.

Congresswoman Valerie Foushee

The initial weeks of the second Trump administration have been — to say the least — chaotic. Between the slash and burn firings and funding cuts Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency has sought to impose on everything from Medicaid and other safety net programs to the Department of Education to veterans services to support for university research, numerous vitally important public services have been placed in jeopardy.

Thankfully, some elected officials are not standing idly by but instead speaking out and pushing back against the Trump-Musk blitzkrieg, and recently Newsliner’s Rob Schofield caught up with one such leader — North Carolina Fourth District Congresswoman, Valerie Foushee.

Click here to hear the full interview with Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04).

Public Policy Polling's Tom Jensen (Courtesy photo)

The second Trump administration is well underway and already bringing a healthy measure of chaos and controversy to the political scene. So, what are North Carolina voters thinking about all this? Are they supportive of what President Trump and Elon Musk are doing, or do they have concerns?

And what about North Carolina politicians? How are they faring in the new environment? North Carolina’s senior U.S. senator, Thom Tillis, is expected to be at the top of the Republican ballot in 2026 and what are his prospects for reelection? And how is new Gov. Josh Stein faring? Recently NC Newsline explored all of these questions and some others in a conversation with one of our nation’s top pollsters, the director of Raleigh-based Public Policy Polling, Tom Jensen.

Click here to listen to the full interview with PPP polling director Tom Jensen.

States Newsroom national technology reporter Paige Gross (Courtesy photo)

Cryptocurrency. The topic is much in the news these days, but as with so many topics related to financial and economic policy, it’s an area in which opinions are plentiful, but genuine knowledge is sometimes rather scarce. Fortunately for NC Newsline readers, a recent report by States Newsroom national technology reporter Paige Gross does a great job of explaining the subject and making sense of the policy debates that surround it, and recently, Gross was kind enough to join NC Newsline to review some of her reporting.

One of her most interesting findings: while crypto is rooted in a libertarian mistrust of government, many supporters are now calling for government regulation to help solidify its place in our economy.

Click here to listen to the full interview with Paige Gross.

Rep. Deb Butler (D-New Hanover)

North Carolina Republicans have enjoyed large majorities in the General Assembly for nearly 15 years, and during that period, Democrats have often done a poor job of crafting and communicating a coherent alternative vision to the GOP’s hard right policy agenda. Recently, however, progressive Democratic legislators have come together to change that situation.

This year, as state lawmakers gather in Raleigh, Democrats are not merely opposing Republican priorities on everything from taxes and education to immigration and reproductive freedom, they’re introducing an ambitious slate of proposals of their own that they believe point the state in a better direction, and recently NC Newsline caught up with one of the leaders of this new, more assertive approach, New Hanover County State Rep. Deb Butler.

Click here to listen to the full interview with Rep. Deb Butler.

Courtesy photo

Few domestic policy issues have proved more vexing to elected leaders in recent years than the nation’s affordable housing shortage. And while there are several obvious causes for the problem — most notably in recent years, the pandemic — it was an issue on which the Biden administration was making some real headway through its support for public programs designed to expedite housing construction and aid renters and first time homebuyers.

Unfortunately, as NC Newsline learned in a recent conversation with the former Deputy Director of the National Economic Council, Daniel Hornung, the new Trump administration’s chaotic slash and burn budget cuts are threatening to undermine much of that hard won progress.

Click here to listen to the full interview with former Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Daniel Hornung

Scott Peoples (Courtesy photo)

No single issue of national policy is capturing more public attention six weeks into the new Trump administration, than the president’s shocking — many would say shameful — embrace of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin.

And among the thousands of voices that have risen up in recent days to decry what they see as Trump’s abandonment of America’s commitment to support democracy and combat tyranny, one of the most eloquent is a retired U.S. Army 82nd Airborne captain named Scott Peoples. Peoples is a North Carolinian who helps lead the group Veterans for Responsible Leadership, and recently NC Newsline’s Rob Schofield caught up with him to discuss the situation in Ukraine, and his deep concerns about what Trump is doing to our military’s senior leadership and the services on which thousands of veterans depend.

Click here to listen to our full interview with retired U.S. Army 82nd Airborne captain Scott Peoples.

Learn more about Ukrainians in the Carolinas.