While Republicans did not do as well as they wanted nationally, they did better than average in North Carolina winning the U.S. Senate race and sweeping both state Supreme Court seats. For years, we’ve heard North Carolina is a purple state politically, meaning it’s even and a battleground.

But is that true? 

The dynamics and details beyond the headline are fascinating and we are talking with two of the premiere political scientists who are studying it and publishing articles on the issues. Our guests this week are Catawba College’s Dr. Michael Bitzer and Western Carolina University’s Dr. Chris Cooper

In the early 1900s in downtown Raleigh, one of the city’s most prominent attorneys from a well-known family shot and killed another man on Fayetteville Street in broad daylight. 

He never went to prison, and it was potentially over a child he had with a woman who claimed they were married. To this day, it’s one of those stories where we have more questions than answers.

However, in a brand new book, “Life and Death in High Places,” Bruce Miller and Robin Simonton dug deeper than ever into this incredible story that made headlines all over the country. We talk with the authors about this fascinating piece of North Carolina history.

Last week voters in North Carolina picked Republican Ted Budd as the state’s next U.S. Senator. It was a long and winding road to get to election day and this week, Budd’s senior adviser Jonathan Felts takes us behind the scenes from the primary to the hotel suite on election night last week. 

Find out how they think they won, what it says about the state of politics in North Carolina and what to expect from Senator-elect Ted Budd.

In 2020 and beyond, there were outcries of rigged elections and voter fraud by President Trump and his followers. In 2018, however, North Carolina actually experienced perhaps the biggest case of election fraud in modern history. Curious as to what the loser of that 2018 race thinks of it now and what has transpired since, Tim traveled to Charlotte to meet with Dan McCready to find out what he's up to. As it turns out, he has a lot to say about the state of democracy.

In the final days of the campaign, we have a supersized show with two of the state’s top minds: Republican Jim Blaine and Democrat Morgan Jackson. Who has the advantage down the stretch? Which races are they watching closely? Will Republicans win supermajorities in the state legislature? And why is it such a bad thing to have “boring” candidates? Plus, we’ll hear which campaigns have impressed the most and what toilet paper and the Kardashians have to do with North Carolina politics. It’s a must-listen!

North Carolina's U.S. Senate race might be the closest in the country, but you wouldn't know it watching national news. Georgia and Pennsylvania have dominated headlines, while North Carolina's race has been described as sleepy and quiet. Why? This week we talk with two D.C. operatives with deep North Carolina ties to find out why and where they think this race stands, less than two weeks before Election Day. Doug Heye and Brad Woodhouse join Tim Boyum for a fun and enlightening conversation.

Last week, we held conversations with the two candidates for one of the most underrated races on the ballot in November: the North Carolina Supreme Court. This week, we introduce you to the two candidates for the other seat. The races are partisan seats in North Carolina, and Democrats hold a 4-3 advantage. Republicans have put a focus on winning these seats to regain control. This week we introduce you to Democrat and incumbent Sam Ervin and Republican Trey Allen.

While voters are focused on the U.S. Senate race, political insiders say the most important race on the ballot may be the one for two open North Carolina Supreme Court seats. Democrats hold a one-seat advantage, but Republicans have targeted these seats as important cases, like redistricting, loom over the court. The next two weeks we will talk with the candidates for both seats. First up: Judge Lucy Inman and Judge Richard Dietz.

This week, just days before our exclusive and only U.S. Senate debate between Cheri Beasley and Ted Budd, we bring on two of the state’s top political consultants to break down the race and what we can expect. Paul Shumaker represents both current U.S. Senators and Morgan Jackson represents Gov. Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein. 

They both have extensive Senate campaign and debate experience. They will not only give us their take on what’s at stake for both candidates, but they will share behind-the-scenes stories on what it’s like to prepare for these high stake debates.

For more than a decade, Dana Cope grew the State Employees Association’s political power at the state legislature, representing 60,000+ state employees. So much so, a national union joined forces, and he ended up at the White House and exotic locations around the world.

Then, it all came to a screeching halt. In 2015, he pleaded guilty to stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from the same organization. After serving four years in prison, Cope is sharing his story for the first time in great detail.

From behind the scenes of the association’s growing power, to the details of his crime, his time in prison, and now his apology to everyone that used to work for him. 

It’s episode you do not want to miss.