The State of Things

Abdullah Khadra and his family are originally from Syria and currently live in Raleigh on religious worker visas. Last fall, Khadra and his family traveled to Lebanon for a family emergency. But while they were there, the visa expired for Khadra’s three-year old daughter Muna . Now, Khadra and his wife are struggling to get their daughter on a plane back to the U.S. and they are having difficulty because of President Trump’s executive order. Host Frank Stasio talks with Khadra about his family’s

Starting in the 1950s, filmmaker Sam Fuller produced war films that gave his characters room to question the design of war and their role in it. He also raised conversations about equality of men on and off the battlefield. North Carolina State University film professor Marsha Gordon authored a new book on Fuller's work called, "Film is like a Battleground" (Oxford University Press/2017) that explores his legacy of genre shifting war films. Host Frank Stasio speaks with Gordon ahead of a

Durham-based band The Pinkerton Raid released a new album this week called "Tolerance Ends, Love Begins." The new music melds rock and pop with bright harmonies and the twang of traditional Southern instruments. It is the band's third album. Host Frank Stasio speaks with band members Jesse James DeConto, Katie DeConto, Jon DePue, Scott McFarlane, and Eric Johnson about their new work ahead of their album release show at Motorco Music Hall in Durham tonight at 8 p.m. They're also performing in

The battle between the executive and judicial branches continues, both at the state and national levels. A three-judge panel halted the state Senate review of Governor Cooper's cabinet appointees, and the country awaits a ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on President Trump’s travel ban. Host Frank Stasio talks with WUNC capitol bureau chief Jeff Tiberii about the latest.

For more than a decade, comedian Myq Kaplan has concocted witty quips about time travel and veganism. He has appeared on programs like “Late Show with David Letterman,” “Last Comic Standing,” and his own special, “Myq Kaplan: Small, Dork and Handsome.” In his new comedy album “No Kidding,” Kaplan shifts from one-liners to a more long-form comedic approach, all the while mining the theme that he does not want to have children. Host Frank Stasio talks with Kaplan about his roots in comedy and why

In the mid ‘90s , writer Jamie Kalven became immersed in Stateway Gardens, an impoverished and embattled public housing community on the South Side of Chicago.

In 1945, the United States dropped two atomic bombs in Japan, killing more than 200,000 individuals within a year.

UPDATE: The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has granted an easement allowing the final portion of the Dakota Access Pipeline to be constructed under the Missouri River near the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation. In the wake of the Trump administration’s executive order allowing construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe and their supporters say they will continue to fight the pipeline through the courts. Tribal leaders at Standing Rock have asked protesters repeatedly

Comedian Hari Kondabolu has performed on the Late Show with David Letterman, Conan, and Jimmy Kimmel Live. His work explores his experience being raised in Queens, New York by Indian parents. And though his parents have provided him with plenty of comedic gems, Kondabolu does not use Indian accents in his stand-up. Host Frank Stasio speaks with Kondabolu about his new documentary on the Simpson’s character “Apu”, his comedy album “Mainstream American Comic,” and about getting political onstage.

Lisa Hightow-Weidman grew up with her nose always in a book. She majored in English in college and had aspirations of becoming a writer.