The State of Things

Eddie Wise comes from a family of farmers who worked the land for three generations. He and his wife Dorothy had dreams of raising animals together, so they decided to start their own farm near Whitakers, North Carolina.

In their recent self-titled debut album, the duo Steph Stewart and Mario Arnez conjures the classic country sounds of Patsy Cline and Hank Williams. Stewart grew up listening to country icons with her grandfather and has always been fascinated with the songwriting style of country music. With the help of Arnez, the duo infuses wit and personal storytelling into its music.

The South is likely to be hit harder by the costs of climate change over the next several decades, according to a new report from the Climate Impact Lab. Researchers studied the impact of past changes in weather patterns and simulated how trends in climate change will affect the U.S. county by county. The report claims the South will see bigger costs because of dying crops, larger energy costs and higher mortality rates.

One year ago today black motorist Philando Castile was fatally shot at the hands of a police officer. The aftermath of the incident was captured and broadcast in real-time by his girlfriend and fueled an ongoing conversation about racial tension and police violence in the United States. The event struck a particular chord with Kerra Bolton , a black writer and artist, who had witnessed the impact of police violence firsthand as a teenager.

For parents who like to provide concrete answers when their children ask questions, the topics of God, faith and spirituality can be especially tricky. Parents who themselves are not sure what to believe are sometimes at even more of a loss when talking to their children about religion.

Women live longer than men in many countries around the world. In the United States, women outlive men by an average of five years. Scientists have long attributed this divide to genetics and biology, but a physician at Duke University is posing an alternative theory: toxic masculinity.

New York City’s Fifth and Sixth Avenues are home to some of the world’s biggest, richest retailers and financial giants. But on a stretch of 47th Street that connects these two thoroughfares, an ancient barter economy for diamonds still holds sway. The diamond industry is built on family relationships and ethnic networks, and it operates independent of modern legal and financial institutions.

In his “Out of Abaton” series, North Carolina author John Claude Bemis has created a fantastic twist on an ancient Venetian empire. But it is one in which monsters and a once-servantile robot-puppet push the boundaries of reality. The second book in the series, “Lord of Monsters,” (Disney-Hyperion/ 2017) brings youth into a new, more regal landscape for the character Pinocchio. It also thrusts Pinocchio and other characters into a battle against ancient monsters.

In the 1930s, the federal government started to map out regions deemed financially stable enough to receive mortgage assistance through a process called “redlining.” The areas identified as “too risky” for loans were largely concentrated in minority and low-income neighborhoods. During the same time, the City of Durham implemented tree-planting programs across various neighborhoods. The percentage of tree coverage correlates with the redlining maps, creating a disparity in tree canopies between

Bird brains are the size of a nut, or possibly even smaller in some cases. But a plethora of new research shows that despite their small brain size, birds are actually among the most intelligent members of the animal kingdom . “The Genius of Birds” (Penguin Books/2016) profiles a range of winged-beasts who are expert problem solvers and mappers with their own social networks and cultural traditions. Host Frank Stasio talks with science writer Jennifer Ackerman about her new book.