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.

Every summer a group of teenagers pitch, report, write and produce radio stories as a part of WUNC’s Youth Reporting Institute . The young reporters pick stories that illuminate aspects of their community.

On the stage stand six men who are serving sentences on death row. They have backgrounds filled with complexity and trauma, and they are the characters in the new play “Count.”

In the past five years, 51 inmates in county jails across the state have died after poor supervision from jailers, according to a report by The News & Observer.

Vacation movies may show off some of the world’s most beautiful scenery, but the most compelling films are the ones that show characters another side of themselves. Take a protagonist out of her usual environment and anything can happen.

According to Eleanor Spicer Rice, ants have a range of personalities, from team player to charismatic. What she will not call them, however, are pests.

In 2014, tens of thousands of families fled Central America to the U.S. in an attempt to escape gang violence. Since that period, asylum requests in the U.S. have increased, but asylum approvals are declining.

In the heart of downtown Asheville sits Pack Square, a bustling center lined by popular restaurants and ongoing construction projects. A stone obelisk stretches skyward from the center of the square honoring Zebulon Vance, North Carolina’s governor during the Civil War.

Cindy Whitehead pursued a career in pharmaceuticals to help solve real problems that were affecting people’s health. She was especially outraged by what she perceived as sexism at the Food and Drug Administration after it rejected a new drug named Addyi that would treat low sexual desire in women.

Singer-songwriter Steven Diaz allows the natural world to both sooth and inspire him. Under the name Mountain Lions , Diaz creates intimate and introspective songs that reflect familiar people and places. In his debut EP “Calm Wind, Starry Night,” Diaz explores motifs of nature and personal identity.