The State of Things

Note: This conversation is a rebroadcast from February 16, 2017. Brooklyn-based hip-hop artist Talib Kweli entered the music scene in the late 1990s as one half of the duo Black Star. The group stressed the importance of lyricism and wrestled with systems of inequality through rap. Since then, Kweli has maintained a reputation as a “conscious rapper.” He’s collaborated with other hip-hop artists like Kanye West, Kendrick Lamar and Durham-based producer 9th Wonder. Host Frank Stasio talks with

Note: This conversation is a rebroadcast from February 16, 2017. In the early 1960s, Stokely Carmichael was a relatively-unknown young activist working primarily with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in Alabama and Mississippi. But he rose to prominence in the summer of 1966 when he introduced the term “black power” into the national dialogue.

In the 1930s and '40s, the community of Tryon, North Carolina supported local girl Eunice Waymon on her path to becoming a classical pianist. But she veered far from that trajectory, and eventually became an internationally-celebrated jazz and soul singer known as Nina Simone. The three-room wooden house Simone was born and raised in was preserved by community members and recently purchased by four New York City-based artists. Guest host Phoebe Judge talks with Blue Ridge Public Radio reporter

Sarah Gaither is interested in how growing up with multiple racial identities shapes one’s social perceptions and behaviors. Gaither is an assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience at Duke University, and her work explores how racial and gender diversity can facilitate positive relationships within different social circles. Guest host Phoebe Judge talks with Gaither about her research and her upbringing. Gaither participates in a panel alongside other multiracial professors in the

President Trump unveiled his budget proposal Thursday with an emphasis on increased spending for the military and the Department of Homeland Security. The plan also included cuts to the Environmental Protection Agency and eliminates federal funding to the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Some Republican lawmakers are wary of the proposed cuts to the State Department and federal aid programs. Meanwhile, a

A new bill in the North Carolina Legislature proposes changing the juvenile penal system to raise the age of adult prosecution for most offenses. The state is currently one of only two in the nation where 16 and 17 year olds are routinely charged as adults.

Flores Forbes joined the Black Panther Party when he was just 16 years old. He became the youngest member of the Central Committee and eventually got involved in the party’s military arm.

A newly-formed group comprised of former politicians, academics, and community leaders will investigate possible connections between North Carolina and the CIA’s interrogation program. Aero Contractors, a private aviation company based at the Johnston County airport, allegedly picked up suspected terrorists and transported them to CIA-run black site prisons. Host Frank Stasio speaks with Jen Daskal , a member of the commission who also formerly served as counsel to the U.S. Department of Justice

I n 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. In the new book “Discovering the South: One Man’s Travels through a Changing America in the 1930s” (The University of North Carolina Press/2017) history professor Jennifer Ritterhouse pieces together Jonathan Daniels’

When E.C. “Redge” Hanes was looking for a backdrop for his latest novel, he decided to draw from his own experience. He once raised hogs on a farm with his brother, and he also participated in an environmental study commission looking into the impact of hog farming on North Carolina’s ecology. Hanes’ new book “Justice By Another Name” (Rane Coat Press/2017) is a tale of love and revenge set in fictional Hogg County, North Carolina. Host Frank Stasio speaks with Hanes about the book and how his