The State of Things on WUNC

Remember the days when school, work, home life and social engagements kept our schedules packed to the brim, and a little bit of leisure time was hard fought? The coronavirus has turned the work-life balance upside down for many folks.

Death is a taboo topic. Acknowledging it feels like an admission of defeat — that there is no hope left. But in the face of a pandemic, death surrounds us.

As we work to gain perspective during this crisis, we may find ourselves searching our personal and collective memories for precedents, stories or myths that might restore the ground under our feet. What is the relationship between collective memory and identity?

In North Carolina and across the nation, black communities are contracting and dying from COVID-19 at disproportionately high rates. But there has been little consensus about why that may be the case.

The weeks of stay-at-home orders have created space for some families to spend more time together than ever before. This could mean more bonding, family meals and joyful activities. But for others it makes for a dangerous situation.

Abundance emerges even in catastrophe. The earth is telling us so. Emphatic evidence now shows itself following the first warm rains. What plans did winter make in its stillness?

Mia Ives-Rublee grew up surrounded by adults who were worried about her well-being. She has Osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic bone disorder more commonly known as brittle bone disease, and uses a wheelchair to get around.

Across the nation, governors are facing grassroots pressure to lift their stay-at-home orders. More than 100 protesters gathered in Raleigh Tuesday to demand that the state reopen for business.

David Forbes arrived at Shaw University in 1958. In the winter of his sophomore year, the Civil Rights movement swept through North Carolina when four students in Greensboro led a sit-in. Forbes and hundreds of other Shaw students followed suit at the Woolworth’s in Cameron Village.

Usually the dancing is quite erratic at Sand Pact shows. Induced by their chaotic collages, onlookers may find themselves alternately writhing on the floor, head-bopping or paralyzed save a slight eye twitch.