The State of Things

Leslie Isakoff grew up climbing, flying and spelunking in Alabama and on international trips with her family, where she made friends with local kids and saw firsthand the effects of hunger.

Writer Mylène Dressler grounds her prose in her experience as an immigrant and the day-to-day happenings of life around her. But for her new book, Dressler realized the story she wanted to tell was decidedly un-grounded.

The music for today's show was written and performed by Beau James . The University of North Carolina at Greensboro alum recently returned to the Triad after stints in Los Angeles and Nashville with his rock band The Heavy Heavy Hearts. James’s solo work taps into Americana sounds and explores themes of heartbreak and identity. Watch the video for James' song "Indigo Road" below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFzh2rHFL2I

Kym Register and Will Hackney are Loamlands , a folk-rock band whose often dark lyrics focus on local stories like urban development in Durham and overlooked queer history. The title track off their newest album, “Sweet High Rise,” is a direct reflection on watching the One City Center on Main Street in Durham climbs upward, forever changing the city skyline. Register’s thoughtful lyrics are supported and sometimes played off against contrasting layers of Hackney’s arrangements.

In the summer of 1937, Jonathan Daniels, the young, white, liberal-minded editor of the News & Observer, embarked on a driving tour of 10 Southern states. He documented the stories of the diverse people he encountered and hoped to change the national perception of the region.

Up to one in five women suffer from a postpartum mood disorder like depression. But a new study finds that 20 percent of them do not report their symptoms to a healthcare provider, even when they are asked directly.

The state Department of Public Instruction released a shortlist of six low-performing public schools last week that are candidates for its Innovative School District. The new program will turn over control of schools to charter school operators.

Half of the adults in the United States are married, according to the Pew Research Center, which is a sharp decline from the 72 percent of adults married in 1960. But are marriages today better or worse than they used to be?

From 2011 to 2016, more than 120 children died in North Carolina within a year of their cases being referred to social services, according to a new investigative series by The Fayetteville Observer.

Reynolds Price was a prominent and prolific voice in Southern literature. Over the span of nearly 50 years, Price wrote dozens of works, including novels, memoirs, poems and plays.