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"

0:13:00

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.

0:33:00

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