Podcasts Archives • NC Newsline

Dr. Mennicke is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work (Photo: Charlotte.edu)

For close to 90 years, most American universities and their faculty members have operated under a popular, useful and commonly understood definition of academic freedom – that is the notion that a free search for the truth and its exposition (one not beholden to politicians or the whims of public opinion) is at the heart of higher education’s mission. Indeed, throughout this period, a national organization known as the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has made championing such a definition its guiding mission.

However, in recent years, conservative partisans have been leading a relentless campaign to undermine academic freedom and, in recent months, that effort has given rise to a new initiative at the UNC System Board of Governors. And recently to learn more, Newsline caught up with an AAUP leader here in North Carolina – UNC Charlotte Associate Professor of Social Work, Anneliese Mennicke.

Click here for the full interview with UNC Charlotte Associate Professor Anneliese Mennicke.

Shannon Schumacher (Courtesy photo)

The nation’s persistent affordability crisis continues to leave large majorities of Americans deeply concerned about the state of the country and dissatisfied with national political leaders and, as Newsline learned in a recent conversation with KFF senior survey polling analyst Dr. Shannon Schumacher, nowhere is this better evidenced than in the field of health care.

As Schumacher told us in a recent conversation, new KFF polling finds that the combination of soaring costs and frayed and uncertain insurance coverage has left millions of people worse off than they were just a year ago and deeply concerned about the policies, actions and inactions of the Trump administration and congressional leaders as we look forward to the 2026 elections.

Click here to listen to the full interview with KFF senior survey polling analyst Dr. Shannon Schumacher.

Dr. Arthur Lavin with the organization Grandparents for Vaccines.

One of the most worrisome trends impacting our nation’s public health right now is the spread of misinformation about the risks and benefits of vaccines. Tragically, this sobering development is on display right now in our state where multiple outbreaks of measles – a dangerous and sometimes deadly and debilitating illness – have emerged thanks to the failure of parents to secure vaccination for their children.

And it’s in light of developments like this that an array of experts and average citizens are pushing back with accurate information and advocacy, and recently we caught up with one of the leaders of that effort – veteran Ohio-based pediatrician Dr. Arthur Lavin. Lavin helps lead a national organization called Grandparents for Vaccines and as he told Newsline, he and his colleagues in this effort are determined to remind Americans of some simple truths about communicable disease that many have forgotten.

Click here for the full interview with Dr. Arthur Lavin of Grandparents for Vaccines.

Veteran political consultant Thomas Mills

North Carolina primary election is just weeks away, and it looks like our state will play host to one of the nation’s most expensive and important U.S. Senate races as former Democratic governor Roy Cooper heads toward a fall clash with one of three candidates seeking the Republican nomination.

In Part Two of our chat, we examined the fascinating state Senate contest in Rockingham and Guilford counties in which long-time Republican leader and Senate President Pro Tem Phil Berger faces a formidable challenge from popular Rockingham County Sheriff Sam Page. We also discussed whether there is a chance for Democrats to gain any seats in the state legislature and U.S. House delegations in light of aggressive Republican gerrymandering and what Mills sees as some of the key issues that are likely to be foremost in voters’ minds as they go to the polls.

Click listen to the full interview with veteran political consultant Thomas Mills. You can read more of his observations at Politics NC.

Sailor Jones, Common Cause North Carolina Executive Director (Courtesy photo)

Few organizations have had a larger impact on the honesty, transparency and overall health of North Carolina’s government over the few decades than the state chapter of the national nonprofit advocacy organization Common Cause. Recently, the group’s longtime executive director Bob Phillips moved on to retirement, turning over the reins to the longtime organizational deputy director Sailor Jones.

NC Newsline recently sat down with Jones to discuss why he’s already redoubling the group’s efforts to resist assaults on fair elections. And Jones weighs in on recent actions by the NC State Board of Elections to reject campus voting sites and curb Sunday voting in several counties.

Click here to listen to the full interview with the new executive director of Common Cause North Carolina, Sailor Jones.

Raul Pinto, Deputy Legal Director at the American Immigration Council

All across the country, ICE and Border Patrol agents have conducted police-state-style raids and other actions that have terrorized communities and raised constitutional issues of profound importance.

At the same time, numerous changes to immigration policy – many of them adopted without public knowledge or input – have made an already complex system more opaque and confusing than ever.

At such a challenging moment, the nation is blessed to have a small and courageous cadre of nonprofit advocates who work each day to monitor and shine a light on the system and advocate for basic American values like due process. And recently Newsline got a chance to talk with one of the most able and best-informed attorneys working in this arena, American Immigration Council Deputy Legal Director, Raul Pinto.

In Part One of our recent extended conversation with American Immigration Council Deputy Legal Director, Raul Pinto, we delved into some of the most worrisome front burner issues related to immigrants and immigration policy currently afflicting the nation – including the deeply disturbing mass raids, arrests and violence launched by the Trump administration in numerous communities across the country.

In Part Two of our chat, we dug deeper into some of these and related issues, including the matter of transparency and accountability in the immigration law system and an ongoing effort by Pinto and his colleagues to compel the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to simply provide immigrants with their own immigration records.

Click here for the full interview with Raul Pinto, Deputy Legal Director at the American Immigration Council

Editor’s note: Newsline’s interview with Pinto was recorded before a second U.S. citizen was shot and killed by federal immigration officers in Minnesota. 

Meredith College pollster Professor David McLennan (Courtesy photo)

The headlines are making clear, big and important debates and actions – especially several controversial actions of the Trump administration and its allies — have continued to roil American policy and politics in the New Year. From the health care wars to the widespread immigration crackdowns to a bevy of contentious foreign policy moves, Americans are concerned about the present and future and, in many instances, deeply divided.

It’s the kind of moment that keeps political scientists and pollsters busy as they work to assess the state of public opinion and how it’s likely to impact voting patterns and upcoming elections, and one especially trustworthy monitor of the situation in North Carolina is Meredith College political science professor and pollster David McLennan. And recently, we caught up with McLennan for an extended interview in which we dug into several of these matters.

In Part One of our recent extended conversation with Meredith College political scientist and pollster David McLennan, we examined some of the top issues making political and policy news in the New Year and how they relate to the latest developments we’re seeing in American public opinion and voter registration numbers.

In Part Two of our chat, we continued this conversation, and looked more closely at some of the most controversial issues – including the Trump administration’s national crackdown on immigrants and its controversial foreign policy actions and statements — as well as how these controversies might impact the 2026 elections and, in particular, North Carolina’s highly anticipated U.S. Senate race between former Gov. Roy Cooper and Republican challenger Michael Whatley.

Bishop William Barber, president of Repairers of the Breach and architect of the Forward Together Moral Movement (Photo: Clayton Henkel/NC Newsline)

Commemorative services are planned across the state Monday as the nation pauses for a federal holiday in observance of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. MLK Day is a national day of service to encourage all Americans to volunteer and improve their communities.

Bishop William Barber – president of Repairers of the Breach and architect of the Forward Together Moral Movement – will mark the day with a series of speeches encouraging people of all backgrounds to come together and sound the alarm against unjust policies that have led to healthcare cuts, gerrymandered districts, reduced funding for public schools, and increased aggressive actions by ICE agents.

Barber and a coalition of North Carolina religious leaders and advocacy organizations recently announced plans for a memorial march in mid-February to speak out against regressive policies while highlighting what they believe is a better path forward for the nation. NC Newsline sat down with Bishop Barber to discuss the upcoming march and his thoughts as we mark the 2026 MLK Day. Barber shared with us one of the key objectives of the upcoming February march is to lift up a vision of what caring and thinking people are for, more than just the policies that they’re against. 

Congresswoman Valerie Foushee

For those who had hoped the New Year might usher in a period of renewed calm in American policy and politics, this first week has been yet another profound disappointment. Topping the list of worrisome developments was President Donald Trump’s decision to use U.S. military personnel to arrest the president of Venezuela Niclas Maduro and his wife.

Trump’s action to decapitate the leadership of a sovereign nation and quote “run” the oil rich country going forward has prompted protests and deep concern across the nation and the world about violations of international law and the U.S. Constitution. And one of the many American elected officials to voice such concerns has been North Carolina Fourth District Congresswoman Valerie Foushee. As Newsline learned in a recent extended interview, Foushee is strongly opposed to putting armed forces personnel in jeopardy in service of another nation-building exercise that she views as unlawful.

We examined several other subjects, including the the failure of Foushee’s GOP colleagues in Congress to renew federal subsidies for Americans enrolled in the Affordable Care Act, the un-American actions of ICE and border patrol agents, the anniversary of the January 6, 2021 insurrection and President Trump’s pardon of numerous perpetrators.

Click here to listen to the full interview with North Carolina Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04)

Editor’s note: NC Newsline’s interview with Foushee was conducted prior to the fatal shooting in Minneapolis by an ICE agent that has ignited nationwide protests. 

Reporter Lisa Sorg (File photo)

As we commence the New Year, few if any subjects raise greater concerns for the wellbeing of Americans than the ongoing global environmental crisis. From climate change to the growing and widespread prevalence of toxic chemicals, to the Trump administration’s ongoing war against environmental protection regulations, this past year has been another deeply worrisome one for the health of our planet.

And while it will clearly be difficult to effect the public policy turnaround that’s so urgently needed anytime very soon, one predicate that will be absolutely necessary is a continuing flow of accurate information and on this front, North Carolina is fortunate to have one of the nation’s best and most knowledgeable environmental reporters – Lisa Sorg of Inside Climate News. And this past week, Newsline caught up with Lisa to discuss some of the most important environmental stories of 2025 and what’s likely to be making news in 2026.

Click here to listen to the full interview with Lisa Sorg of Inside Climate News.