Teaching Diversity – The found director of Asheville’s Center for Diversity Education, Deborah Miles, is retiring. She looks back on what the CDE has accomplished and the challenges ahead for the community.

The Curiosity Drive – On this program, the co-hosts speak with college student Daniel Suber about growing up in public housing and how curiosity and education have powered him forward. He’s now a community activist and advocate focused on finding solutions to the challenges many local communities face.

Brave Reflection – On this program co-hosts Darin Waters and Marcus Harvey continue a conversation that reflects on some of the thornier issues that have been raised during the series.

North Carolina’s Lost Colony – Noted author Andrew Lawler talks about his new book that explores the mystery Roanoke Island, a short-lived settlement that was established in 1585. He also discusses how myths about American identity are tied to this very early English effort to colonize the New World.

For generations, Methodists from across the United States have converged on a small community in Haywood County that’s been a place of renewal and transformation. But Lake Junaluska has undergone some transformation of its own over the past few years, and as the historic Christian retreat emerges from funding cuts and the Great Recession, it’s poised remain an important economic engine well into its second century. Nestled around a small artificial lake tucked away in a scenic valley just

Controversy has erupted in West Asheville over the removal of “Chief Pontiac” the 23-foot-tall Native American statue that looks down on the town from car dealership Harry’s On The Hill. The decision was made to take down the statue after a customer who is a member of the Eastern Band of the Cherokee published an account of a racist incident with a Harry’s salesman in the local Cherokee One Feather newspaper writing, “Discrimination and hate are out there and going to Harry’s on the Hill; I got

Farmers and fans of Industrial Hemp are gathering across the country this week to rally support for the once illegal plant. North Carolina is one of forty-two states that allows the crop through pilot programs or for research. A small farm here in the mountains was chosen to help kick off the week long national campaign. BPR’s Helen Chickering reports. On a sunny breezy morning, Just outside of Asheville, in the scenic countryside of Leicester, a crowd gathered on a farm. They were here to

Former Buncombe County manager Wanda Greene faces 23 new charges including wire fraud, federal program fraud, and money laundering. Those charges were announced in a federal indictment this week. They're in addition to the fraud, conspiracy, and embezzlement charges that were already filed against her in April for allegedly misusing county-owned credit cards to purchase personal goods. Her son Michael, also a former Buncombe County employee, was also charged in that case. In the new indictment,

The French Broad River winds its way through Asheville and provides some of the most picturesque scenery in the region. It’s also a major driver of Western North Carolina’s booming tourism industry. So how healthy is this vital asset? Hartwell Carson has a short answer and a long explanation to the question of how healthy is the French Broad River. First, the short answer. “It’s good. It could be a lot better," says Carson. The long explanation from Mountain True’s Riverkeeper involves all the

A new study put out by the League of Women Voters finds the vast majority of schools taking in students receiving vouchers are teaching a biblical worldview. Many of those schools are using what's called the Abeka Curriculum, which teaches students the earth was created 6,000 years ago, that climate change is a hoax, and refers to media as the "liberal press," according to study author Bonnie Bechard. She spoke with BPR's Jeremy Loeb.