For the week of Sept. 11, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan is joined by politics team colleagues Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi and Avi Bajpai to talk about the potential for the long-awaited, much anticipated arrival of the state budget.

Stayed tuned to the end for their picks for Headliner of the Week, which range from political soda to the weather to downtown Raleigh music.

Host: Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan

Guest: Kyle Ingram, Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Audio and video edited by: Kevin Keister

For more North Carolina government and politics news, subscribe to the Under the Dome politics newsletter from The News & Observer at newsobserver.com/newsletters and NC Insider at ncinsider.com. Qualified business users are eligible for a short free trial of the daily NC Insider newsletter, as well as a demo account for our Insider Legislative Tracking service. Submit this form: t.co/2ivpV5NSuY.

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For the week of Sept. 4, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan talks about the future of sports gambling in North Carolina with Scott Ward, vice president of the Sports Betting Alliance. The alliance is comprised of sports betting companies Draft Kings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Fanatics Sportsbook.

After the break, Korie Dean, who covers higher education, and politics reporter Kyle Ingram, who also writes our Under the Dome newsletter, share more #ncpol updates from the week.

Host: Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan

Guest: Scott Ward, Korie Dean, Kyle Ingram

Executive Producer: Jordan Schrader

Produced and edited by: Laura Brache

Video: Kevin Keister, Kaitlin McKeown

For more North Carolina government and politics news, subscribe to the Under the Dome politics newsletter from The News & Observer at newsobserver.com/newsletters and NC Insider at ncinsider.com. Qualified business users are eligible for a short free trial of the daily NC Insider newsletter, as well as a demo account for our Insider Legislative Tracking service. Submit this form: t.co/2ivpV5NSuY.

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For the week of Aug. 28, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan talks with retired UNC Chapel Hill history professor Reginald Hildebrand and N.C. Sen. Natalie Murdock about the new North Carolina Freedom Park in downtown Raleigh. Hildebrand and Murdock, who both served key roles on the park’s planning, discuss the site selection to why “I Can’t Breathe,” the words said by George Floyd before being killed by Minneapolis police in 2020, is among the quotations inscribed on the walls of the new park.

Stay tuned to the end for their picks for Headliner of the Week.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Reginald Hildebrand, N.C. Sen. Natalie Murdock

Executive Producer: Jordan Schrader

Produced and edited by: Kevin Keister, Kaitlin McKeown

For more North Carolina government and politics news, subscribe to the Under the Dome politics newsletter from The News & Observer at newsobserver.com/newsletters and NC Insider at ncinsider.com. Qualified business users are eligible for a short free trial of the daily NC Insider newsletter, as well as a demo account for our Insider Legislative Tracking service. Submit this form: t.co/2ivpV5NSuY

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For the week of Aug. 21, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast Dawn Vaughan talks with N&O politics team colleagues Kyle Ingram and Korie Dean about the busy one-day voting session last week — from the veto overrides of bills about transgender youth and athletes to new bills.

Stay tuned to the end for their picks for Headliner of the Week. Spoilers: they range from new music to the collegiate return to campus and the opening of North Carolina Freedom Park.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Kyle Ingram, Korie Dean

Executive Producer: Jordan Schrader

Produced and edited by: Kevin Keister, Kaitlin McKeown

For more North Carolina government and politics news, subscribe to the Under the Dome politics newsletter from The News & Observer at newsobserver.com/newsletters and NC Insider at ncinsider.com. Qualified business users are eligible for a short free trial of the daily NC Insider newsletter, as well as a demo account for our Insider Legislative Tracking service. Submit this form: t.co/2ivpV5NSuY

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For the week of Aug. 14, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan talks with Suzanne Beasley, the government relations director for the State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC).

She’s been through delayed budgets before, which means a delay in raises for tens of thousands of state employees. But it’s not just about the wait on raises, according to Beasley, it’s about what the amount will be.

Host: Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan

Guest: Suzanne Beasley (SEANC)

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Shot and edited by: Kevin Keister

For more North Carolina government and politics news, subscribe to the Under the Dome politics newsletter from The News & Observer at newsobserver.com/newsletters and NC Insider at ncinsider.com. Qualified business users are eligible for a short free trial of the daily NC Insider newsletter, as well as a demo account for our Insider Legislative Tracking service. Submit this form: t.co/2ivpV5NSuY

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For the week of Aug. 7, 2023, N&O politics reporter Kyle Ingram is podcast host for Dawn Vaughan. First up is a look into the North Carolina Speaker of the House position, which longtime Speaker Tim Moore recently said he does not plan to run for again. After the break, DC Correspondent Danielle Battaglia joins to discuss former President Donald Trump’s latest criminal indictment.

Plus, stick to the end of each segment for their Headliners of the Week.

Host: Kyle Ingram

Guest: Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi, Danielle Battaglia 

Executive Producer: Jordan Schrader

Produced and edited by: Laura Brache

Video: Kevin Keister, Kaitlin McKeown

For more North Carolina government and politics news, subscribe to the Under the Dome politics newsletter from The News & Observer at newsobserver.com/newsletters and NC Insider at ncinsider.com. Qualified business users are eligible for a short free trial of the daily NC Insider newsletter, as well as a demo account for our Insider Legislative Tracking service. Submit this form: t.co/2ivpV5NSuY

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For the week of July 31, 2023, we broke down our episode into two segments. First up are two of our local government reporters, because while statewide elections are more than a year away, local ones are coming up this fall.

After the break, I’m joined by our summer politics interns: Makiya Seminera with The N&O and Jazper Lu with NC Insider, one of our two daily politics newsletters.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guests: Kristen Johnson, Mary Helen Moore, Jazper Lu, Makiya Seminera

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Video: Kaitlin McKeown, Kevin Keister

For more North Carolina government and politics news, subscribe to the Under the Dome politics newsletter from The News & Observer at newsobserver.com/newsletters and NC Insider at ncinsider.com. Qualified business users are eligible for a short free trial of the daily NC Insider newsletter, as well as a demo account for our Insider Legislative Tracking service. Submit this form: t.co/2ivpV5NSuY

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For the week of July 24, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan talked with WUNC Capitol Bureau Chief Colin Campbell, a longtime legislative reporter.

The NC state budget is delayed again this summer. How often has the General Assembly delayed the budget? Plus, stay tuned to the end for our picks for Headliner of the Week.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Colin Campbell

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Video: Kaitlin McKeown, Kevin Keister

For more North Carolina government and politics news, subscribe to the Under the Dome politics newsletter from The News & Observer at newsobserver.com/newsletters and NC Insider at ncinsider.com. Qualified business users are eligible for a short free trial of the daily NC Insider newsletter, as well as a demo account for our Insider Legislative Tracking service. Submit this form: t.co/2ivpV5NSuY

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For the week of July 17, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan interviews N.C. Rep. Marcia Morey, a Durham Democrat who is also a former judge and Olympian, and the House Democratic whip.

Stay tuned to the end for their picks for Headliner of the Week about the timing of the legislative session and what can be done about it.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Rep. Marcia Morey

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Editing and video: Kevin Keister

For more North Carolina government and politics news, subscribe to the Under the Dome politics newsletter from The News & Observer at newsobserver.com/newsletters and NC Insider at ncinsider.com. Qualified business users are eligible for a short free trial of the daily NC Insider newsletter, as well as a demo account for our Insider Legislative Tracking service. Submit this form: t.co/2ivpV5NSuY

For more North Carolina government and politics news, subscribe to the Under the Dome politics newsletter from The News & Observer at newsobserver.com/newsletters and NC Insider at ncinsider.com. Qualified business users are eligible for a short free trial of the daily NC Insider newsletter, as well as a demo account for our Insider Legislative Tracking service. Submit this form: t.co/2ivpV5NSuY

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For the week of July 10, 2023, Under the Dome politics podcast host and News & Observer Capitol bureau chief Dawn Vaughan talks with her politics team colleagues, legislative correspondent Kyle Ingram and summer intern Makiya Seminera, about three significant bills vetoed by Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

All three impact transgender North Carolinians, from sports to health care to public schools.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guests: Kyle Ingram and Makiya Seminera

Executive Producer: Jordan Schrader

Produced and edited by: Laura Brache

Video: Laura Brache and Kevin Keister

For more North Carolina government and politics news, subscribe to the Under the Dome politics newsletter from The News & Observer at newsobserver.com/newsletters and NC Insider at ncinsider.com. Qualified business users are eligible for a short free trial of the daily NC Insider newsletter, as well as a demo account for our Insider Legislative Tracking service. Submit this form: t.co/2ivpV5NSuY

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