The State of Things

The American South is rooted in a complex social, political and cultural history. For some, images of the South include tobacco, barbecue and bluegrass, while others also envision a South forever grappling with a complicated history of racial discrimination. The exhibit "Southern Accent: Seeking the American South in Contemporary Art" includes 120 works from 60 artists that challenge myths about the South and explores it's wide range of perspectives. Host Frank Stasio talks with Miranda Lash,

Election Day is just more than two months away. And the two contenders for the White House are on the trail, making their pleas to voters and attacking each other. No two candidates in history have had less favorable ratings than Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. NPR political correspondent Don Gonyea is taking a look at how voters, especially women in North Carolina, are approaching this race. Host Frank Stasio talks with Gonyea about his reporting, the candidates and life on the trail. ​

In the late 1960s, Jacqueline Woodson and her family moved north from the segregated South to Brooklyn, New York. It was a racially formative time and place that would later be known as the last wave of the Great Migration. But at the time, Jacqueline simply knew Brooklyn as home. It was the place where she and her friends grew from children into adults, and shared the best and worst of a city that had become a vibrant destination for people of color. That coming-of-age story provides much of

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to issue a stay in North Carolina's voter identification law. The Court voted 4-4 on the request from Governor Pat McCrory and others.

Durham teen Wildin Acosta spoke publicly yesterday about his time in an immigration detention facility. The Honduran native said he is happy to be back with his family and intends to advocate for others to be released. Host Frank Stasio talks with WUNC's Will Michaels about the latest.

A bipartisan group of former judiciary members offered their proposal for congressional maps yesterday. The partnership between Duke's Sanford School of Public Policy and the nonprofit organization Common Cause presented a new map of the state's districts to demonstrate that lines could be drawn without regard to voting history or party registration. Host Frank Stasio talks with Terry Sanford Distinguished Fellow Tom Ross who led the panel.

Chris Lucash spent close to three decades working with the endangered red wolf population in North Carolina. He was present when the first wolves were released back into the wild in the late 1980s and helped support the wild population as it grew to its peak in the 2000s. In June of 2015, Lucash was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, and he passed away just one year later. The forthcoming documentary "Staring Down Fate" follows Lucash in the last year of his life as he grapples with knowledge

Kisha Daniels graduated from Skidmore College on a Saturday and started her first master's program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill the following Monday. She has not stopped learning since. She picked up three more advanced degrees at UNC-Chapel Hill and has spent time as a teacher, administrator and principal in the Durham public school system. In her new role as director of consulting for Thinking Maps, she applies brain research to classroom learning. Host Frank Stasio talks

Tarish Pipkins describes puppetry as composing a symphony in 3-D, and one quick glimpse at his work clarifies exactly what he means. Pipkins' puppets are incredibly complex, but they move in both a realistic and graceful way. Pipkins has made art since he was a young kid growing up in the projects outside of Pittsburgh. He would often draw and doodle in his free time, and he always had a knack for making something out of nothing, like a bow and arrow from a popsicle stick and a rubber band.

More than a decade before the sinking of the Titanic, a passenger ferry named "SS Stella" sank during a short crossing in the English Channel. The boat went down in just eight minutes, and less than half of the staff and crew on board survived. This story inspired the play "I Wish You A Boat," that explores the varied experiences of passengers who leave home hoping for a better life in a new land. The production is experimental and nonlinear, incorporating flash backs, slow-motion movement, and