The State of Things

Scott Reintgen knew many of his students at Jordan High School in Durham loved reading science fiction and fantasy novels, and he wanted to encourage these young readers. But most young adult novels feature white protagonists, and many of his students were unable to see themselves in these books.

As a political reporter Lauren Horsch often passes by the photographs of politicians that adorn the halls of the General Assembly. They capture a harsh reality: while women make up just over half of the state’s population, women make up only a quarter of the state legislature.

In September, 1991, a deadly fire killed 25 people at the Imperial Food Products plant in Hamlet, North Carolina. Workers at the chicken processing facility tried to escape after a hydraulic line spilled flammable liquid on a fryer and ignited a fireball inside the facility.

In Tyree Daye’s debut book of poetry, the young author builds on the stories and superstitions of his mother, as well as his own memories of growing up in two small towns in North Carolina: Youngsville and Rolesville.

Thomas J. Brennan first started writing about war through letters home to his wife when he was deployed in a remote village in Afghanistan’s Helmand province.

After multiple failed attempts by Republican leaders to repeal the Affordable Care Act, GOP lawmakers are back with their newest repeal effort. The Graham-Cassidy bill would cap funding to Medicaid, and many opponents say it would leave millions of people without healthcare coverage.

Charles Frazier’s Appalachian novel and love story “Cold Mountain” became a modern classic. And now the story of Confederate deserter W.P. Inman and his journey to find his way back to his sweetheart Ada Monroe is on stage at the North Carolina Opera. Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Jennifer Higdon crafted a score for the opera that reflects the rich characters originally created by Frazier. Host Frank Stasio previews the production with Higdon , along with soprano Melinda Whittington who plays

Diali Cissokho and Kaira Ba have long had a dream of traveling to Senegal to record an album. This year they made it happen. The band just returned from M’bour, Cissokho’s hometown and the city where his family still maintains a large compound open to musical relatives and friends.

Amazon’s recent announcement to establish a new headquarters in North America has ignited a frenzy of proposals from various cities.

On a winter evening in 1864, the H. L. Hunley became the first combat submarine to sink a warship. The vessel successfully sank its target but then disappeared along with its eight crew members. The Hunley was not found until 1995, when a number of hypotheses as to why it sank rose to the surface. But after hundreds of hours of calculations and experiments, a North Carolina-based naval engineer came up with a new theory: the Hunley sank itself with the blast it created by firing on the USS