Pets are family. When we lose a pet the grief can be overwhelming. What if there was a place you could go to remember and pay tribute to your beloved pet, a place where people who understand what you're going through gather together? There is such a place. It's called the Rainbow Bridge. In this episode, WRAL's Hidden History reporter Heather Leah shares the story behind the bridge, her very personal connection this sacred place and how she turned her grief into hope.

Okay, so most of us are familiar with home-sharing apps like Airbnb and VRBO, but have you heard of a pool-sharing app? Yes, I said pool. It was only a matter of time before everything could be shared. “Swimply” rents private backyard pools. But one county’s health department in North Carolina is threatening to shut the site down saying the rentals don’t comply with the state’s rules regarding public pools. In this episode, 5 On Your Side producer Pritchard Strong fills us in on what all the fuss is about.

It’s a little bit like hurricane season. Meteorologists now have the science and the technology to help them predict what our winter weather might look like this year. It’s a big deal for companies who want to make sure their employees can get to work and for parents who get anxious that school will be canceled. In this episode, WRAL meteorologist and weather department executive producer Aimee Wilmoth joins us with a sneak peek at what we can expect.

Overcrowding is forcing thousands of Wake County families to move to new schools every year - the result of a population that is outpacing the county's ability to build schools. WRAL Education Insider Emily Walkenhorst explains how the county determines who moves here, how the county determines who moves where, how this year's reassignment plan will affect families and students, and what families can do if they don't want to be moved. 

For a year, WRAL’s 5 On Your Side team has been studying ways to help you navigate the headaches of waiting in line at the DMV. People have been complaining to WRAL for years that there are few appointments, and the lines seem endless. Reporter Keely Arthur asked North Carolina’s DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin what the secret is to breezing through the unwelcoming experience. In this episode, she shares what she learned.

It’s not every day that you get to work with your dad on the project of a lifetime. That’s the gift I have experienced for the past year as I delved into one of his old cases to create a true crime serial podcast for WRAL, “The Killing Month August 1978.”  Even though I was just an adolescent at the time, it was a murder case that always stuck with me—six people dead, shot, and in some cases, even buried alive. The criminals were a band of brothers known as the Johnston Gang who killed witnesses when they threatened to snitch on them to police. My dad, William Lamb, was the prosecutor, who along with a very talented assistant district attorney and a dedicated group of investigators, sought justice in this case. In today’s episode, I have the privilege of interviewing my dad in person about what this experience has been like working with me on the podcast and about what he thinks about the final product.

The WRAL Investigates' team set out to find out what’s in those over-the-counter products that promise to help you sleep or give you a buzz. While marijuana is not legal in North Carolina, a certain level of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, is. Call it marijuana light—you can find it in smoke shops and convenience stores. In this episode, senior producer Randall Kerr shares what their investigation uncovered.

From the mysterious Gimghoul Castle in Chapel Hill to the curious spinning angel of Oakwood Cemetery, the Triangle area is full of eerie urban legends to tell around Halloween.

In this episode, WRAL Hidden History Reporter Heather Leah joins me to explore some of the most popular and chilling haunted places around Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill – many of which you can visit or drive past if you want to give yourself a good scare!

Have you ever wanted to explore a real ghost town? Odds are good you’ve driven or hiked past remnants of a ghost town or a lost community without even realizing it. In this episode, WRAL’s Hidden History reporter Heather Leah takes us on an exploration of several ghost towns hidden atop mountains, beneath lakes, deep in the woods, and even on an abandoned island.

Since 2020, the number of juveniles connected to crimes in North Carolina is up by 19 percent. A juvenile offender is anyone 17 or younger. And some of those accused are as young as 10. This has led to an overcrowding problem in youth detention facilities. It’s also leading many people to ask why younger offenders seem to be committing crimes at a higher rate. WRAL Investigates’ reporter Sarah Krueger joins us in this episode to share what’s she learned about this growing crisis.