On this episode, WHQR's Benjamin Schachtman and Rachel Keith dig into the latest season of the Scene on Radio podcast. Co-hosts John Biewen and Chenjerai Kumanyika took a long, hard look at why people are upset with the news, what’s really wrong with our media ecosystem, and how things might be different — and better.

This week, on The Newsroom, reporters Sofia Dinka and Kelly Kenoyer dig into the current status of the Cape Fear Memorial Bridge, after a private company’s bid got rejected last month. While the specifics for the replacement aren't nailed down, a toll bridge is looking more and more likely. We'll look at the history of 1898 with Reporter Rachel Keith and how it was framed by the media at the time. She attended an educator’s summit in Wilmington that made that history come alive. And we'll look at Kelly Kenoyer's top stories in the past five years before she leaves WHQR and Wilmington.

On this edition of The Newsroom, author Lauren Collins joins us to talk about her newest book: They Stole A City: Wilmington’s White Supremacist Coup and the Families Who Live with its Legacy, a project that took her a decade to write.

Earlier this year, 21-year-old Edilberto Espinoza Sierra was killed by law enforcement officers in a downtown Wilmington parking deck. WHQR's Aaleah McConnell digs into the decision not to charge officers involved in the shooting and the family's ongoing search for justice.

On today's show, Kelly Kenoyer discusses her months-long investigation into alleged morale issues in Wilmington City Hall. And Rachel Keith sits down to discuss her recent reporting on the Upperman family’s decision to stop supporting UNCW scholarships over the university’s anti-DEI policy, plus her recent efforts to track the $20 million nursing pipeline grant.

This year's WHQR luncheon guest was Tamara Keith, Senior Political Correspondent and co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast. Keith spoke about covering the president, the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and her new series, Swing Shift, a long-term project to document the perspectives of voters in swing states. Keith also took questions from our audience and sat down with WHQR News Director Ben Schachtman.

WHQR News Director Ben Schachtman revisits his conversation about Juneteenth with Joe Conway, former chief equity and inclusion officer for the City of Wilmington and currently director of community engagement at UNC Health. Three years later, what's changed about the holiday, and how the nation is dealing with identity and history?

Cape Fear Community College recently settled a lawsuit filed by former trustee Ray Funderburk, and WHQR’s Rachel Keith has been poring over depositions from the case, including sworn testimony from top college officials. She joins News Director Ben Schachtman to share what she’s learned about the case — and more broadly, about CFCC’s leadership.

Aaleah McConnell has an intimate look at how the family of Edilberto Espinoza-Sierra is coping with grief and searching for justice, after the 21-year-old was killed by law enforcement in March. Plus, Rachel Keith and Ben Schachtman dig into public school funding, with a look at this year’s budget – and some potential issues on the horizon.

It’s been over a month since the family of Edilberto Espinoza-Sierra learned about his death, which has left them with many questions. In part one of this two-part series, WHQR's Aaleah McConnell breaks down some details of this case, and sits down with the family to learn who Edilberto was and how they are working through the loss.