The State of Things

Researchers have long been aware of a link between exposure to violence and obesity in adolescents. Now a new study is untangling some of the reasons that connection exists. The study used smart phones to monitor adolescents in California and North Carolina. It tracked their exposure to violence and subsequent activity levels, fatigue, and consumption of fast food and soda. The study found that at-risk children were more likely to report feeling fatigued and consuming soda on days when they were

A new exhibit at the Rural Heritage Museum at Mars Hill University hopes to show people that the Civil War played out in North Carolina in complicated ways.

Photographer Christer Berg has spent the past few years experimenting with the art of portraiture. He started with a series of environmental portraits of individuals around the state, ranging from ballerinas to business people.

Protesters toppled a confederate monument in Durham last night. The statue came down during a demonstration against the violence that erupted in Charlottesville, Virginia this past weekend.

Nearly 20 percent of residents in Greensboro live in poverty, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. A new series by WUNC reporter Naomi Prioleau examines the specific barriers these individuals face as they try to change their economic future.

Clark Whittington never set out to secure a spot in a famous art museum. The Winston-Salem artist instead dreamed of creating art for the masses. 20 years ago he repurposed old cigarette vending machines to sell and distribute pocket-sized black-and-white photographs.

Melissa Reaves is a blues-inspired rock ‘n’ roll artist whose passion for entertaining has led her to perform more than 200 shows each year. She is an independent musician who collaborates widely throughout her adopted state of North Carolina and has released seven albums.

For close to two decades, Richard Joyner fought to get away from the farms of Pitt County, North Carolina. He grew up in a family of sharecroppers and repeatedly witnessed racial and economic injustices. His family was never properly compensated for their labor, and his father was treated poorly by white land owners. Later in his life, Joyner became the pastor for the small 300-person community of Conetoe, North Carolina. Within one year, 30 of his congregants died from health-related illnesses.

In 2012 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that a mandatory life sentence without parole for juvenile offenders is unconstitutional. Last year, the court said the ruling also applies to more than 2,000 inmates who were convicted as teens and are serving life sentences across the country.

In the early 1970s it was not easy for LGBTQ people to be open about their sexuality no matter where they lived in the U.S. But those in the South had an especially difficult time finding safe and supportive spaces.