0:01:00 Duke University finds itself in Trump's crosshairs, even after dropping "DEI" When he was a Duke University student, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller was politically outspoken. And he didn’t hold back on what he thought about his “Leftist University…” as he called it in his column for The Duke Chronicle . A look at Miller's possible influence and the Trump administration's targeting of Duke, despite its efforts ramping down some so-called DEI efforts. Patel shared reporti...
Oct 28, 2025•50 min
“Mutual aid” is a phrase that received renewed attention during the Covid-19 pandemic. But the United States has a long history of mutual aid. Leoneda Inge talks with two scholars about some of that history, and explores how mutual aid has been deeply intertwined with the social, political and economic lives of Black Southerners. Then, Jeff Tiberii talks with two helpers with Triangle Mutual Aid about their responses to recent disasters like Chantal and Helene, and how those efforts go beyond tr...
Oct 27, 2025•50 min
On the North Carolina News Roundup... The state legislature was back in Raleigh to once again redraw Congressional districts, this time at the request of President Donald Trump. And while Republicans all agreed to create another GOP safe seat, things got tense between the House and Senate as talks broke down again over the state budget and Medicaid funding. And outside the legislative building, Governor Josh Stein unveiled a new workforce training program with help from a major aviation company....
Oct 24, 2025•50 min
1:00 Amid government shutdown and growing need, food banks are under strain As food insecurity increases across the 34 counties that the Central and Eastern North Carolina Food Bank serves, funding is decreasing and federal food insecurity tracking has also ended at the USDA. Jason Kanawati Stephany joins us to discuss the long-term impact of these strains on food bank resources. Jason Kanawati Stephany , Vice President of Communications & Public Policy of the Food Bank of Central & East...
Oct 23, 2025•50 min
Broadside event details here . 0:01:00 North Carolina redistricting update As a new measure to redraw North Carolina’s Congressional map moves through the state legislature, Due South checks in with political science professor Chris Cooper to learn the latest and discuss the context surrounding the redistricting effort. Guest Chris Cooper , Professor of Political Science and Public Affairs at Western Carolina University 0:13:00 'Tales from the Haunted South' author casts light on ghost tour indu...
Oct 22, 2025•50 min
Broadside event details here . 0:01:00 The latest free speech culture war? Whether a class syllabus is a public record Universities in the UNC system have been asked to disclose course materials via public records requests from a right-wing think tank. But two of the universities don’t agree on whether the materials should be public record. Leaders’ decisions could shape how so-called “DEI” initiatives on campus are targeted. Brianna Atkinson , Higher Education reporter for WUNC 0:13:00 John T. ...
Oct 21, 2025•50 min
0:01:00 HBCU 101: Campus Safety Edition In response to an uptick in campus and campus-related shootings during homecoming season, HBCUs across the country are implementing heightened safety measures. North Carolina A&T State University is one of them. This move comes following a shooting a homecoming party in 2022 and 2025 shootings at Jackson State University, Alcorn State University and South Carolina State University. Kani'ya Davis , fall 2025 daily news intern at WUNC. She’s also a senio...
Oct 20, 2025•50 min
On the North Carolina News Roundup... North Carolina is joining the recent redistricting efforts we’ve seen across the country. We take a look at NC Republicans’ plans to try to pick up another Congressional seat. Then, we turn to the Triad to check in on a funding shortfall at one of the state’s largest school districts. How 2.5 million North Carolina residents had $6.5 billion in medical debt wiped out. Those stories, plus how the ongoing shutdown continues to be felt in North Carolina, on thi...
Oct 17, 2025•40 min
0:01:00 The NC State Fair returns to Raleigh The 2025 NC State Fair will debut new rides, a rodeo and 88 new foods. NC State Fair director Kent Yelvertson joins us to discuss what attendees can expect this year. Kent Yelverton , NC State Fair director 0:07:00 McBride Concessions celebrates 93 years of family-owned fair concessions Since 1932, McBride Concessions has been traveling to fairs in North Carolina, offering grilled meats, vegetables and other foods. The company was the first to bring s...
Oct 16, 2025•37 min
0:01:00 Duke Basketball’s Kara Lawson tapped to coach Team USA The Duke Basketball program has long been associated with Olympic success. Coach K oversaw three American teams that finished atop the podium. Now, a different Blue Devil leader is readying for international play. Friend of the program Mitch Northam provides all the important details. Mitchell Northam , senior writer at SB Nation 0:08:23 A generation of performers returns to Durham to celebrate 25th anniversary of arts nonprofit This...
Oct 15, 2025•39 min
0:01:00 NC job growth is slow, even while unemployment rates hold steady. Just like the national economy. What the state’s most recent job numbers say about growth, and how North Carolina’s economy is doing while much of the U.S. is in a holding pattern from the global trade war. (This conversation originally aired September 23, 2025.) Michael Walden , William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor Emeritus at NC State University 0:08:00 ‘Navigate Your K-12 Options,’ WUNC live event explores educ...
Oct 14, 2025•37 min
0:01:00 A reporter debrief on Medicaid changes in NC Today, we’re focused on health care. First, Medicaid – the most expansive health care program in America. It has 72 million recipients. Nearly one in four North Carolinians is on Medicaid – primarily people who are living with lower incomes, as well as individuals with disabilities, and children. The program has always operated on thin margins, and now those margins are now even more fragile due to a reimbursement rate cut that took effect las...
Oct 13, 2025•50 min
On the NC News Roundup… State Representative Cecil Brockman faces bipartisan calls for resignation, amid arrest on criminal charges. UNC Football coach Bill Belichick finds himself at the center of controversy, as the team’s season gets off to a floundering start. Sen. Thom Tillis challenges National Guard deployment Guests Pat Welter, sports reporter, WRAL Zachery Eanes , reporter, Axios Raleigh Nathan Collins , investigative reporter, The News & Observer Danielle Battaglia, Capitol Hill co...
Oct 10, 2025•41 min
0:01:00 After her passing, Jane Goodall’s connection to Duke University lives on Jane Goodall’s passing earlier this month prompted tributes from all over the world honoring her work as a primatologist, anthropologist and conversationalist. The impact has been felt here in the Triangle as well. Duke University housed Goodall’s extensive archives, including observations and complete life histories of the more than 200 chimpanzees she dedicated her career to studying. Professor Anne Pusey, right, ...
Oct 09, 2025•36 min
0:01:00 ‘Remembering Blood’ conference in Durham aims to reimagine menopause Menopause is not quite the taboo subject it once was, but many are just beginning to talk about it frankly. Others have been talking about menopause for a long time, how it impacts historically marginalized communities, and how to reframe our thinking on menopause, not as an ending but as a “portal.” This weekend, that portal will be centered here in Durham at a conference called Iranti Ẹ̀jẹ̀: Remembering Blood . Due So...
Oct 08, 2025•36 min
0:01:00 Data centers could raise power bills in North Carolina The massive homes for computer servers, cloud storage and artificial intelligence are in high demand. A recent analysis from NC State University and Carnegie Mellon University projects the rising number of data centers is likely to increase electric bills by an average of 8% nationally by the end of the decade. This conversation originally aired September 16, 2025. Zachery Eanes , reporter, Axios Raleigh 0:08:04 The surprising story ...
Oct 07, 2025•37 min
0:01:00 A year after an Asheville restaurant was destroyed by Helene, not much has changed The co-owners of Gourmand, a French rotisserie, struck out to open a stand-alone restaurant in Asheville’s River Arts District. But before they could open, Hurricane Helene ruined everything. The co-owners are still making food. And still waiting for their restaurant to be service-ready. Peyton Barrell and Katie Grabach , co-owners of Gourmand, a French Rotisserie restaurant that was set to open in Ashevil...
Oct 06, 2025•50 min
On the North Carolina News Roundup... A mass shooting in the idyllic coastal town of Southport. We learn more about the victims, and the alleged gunman. A federal government shutdown could carry on for weeks - how will NC be impacted? And a standoff over Medicaid funding continues between the governor and state legislature. Due South co-host Jeff Tiberii and a panel of journalists cover the week in NC news. Guests Jay Price , Military Reporter, WUNC Benjamin Schachtman , news director, WHQR Wilm...
Oct 03, 2025•50 min
0:01:00 How the government shutdown is impacting NC With what could be a lengthy federal government shutdown underway, we chat with a DC-based North Carolina reporter, about some of the local impacts of the work and service stoppages. Danielle Battaglia , Capitol Hill correspondent, The News & Observer/The Charlotte Observer/McClatchy 0:13:00 New UNC School of Law report examines patchwork of crime legislation in all 50 states. Republican state lawmakers in North Carolina passed a wide-rangi...
Oct 02, 2025•50 min
0:01:00 Riverside High School grad Wildin Acosta discusses new book about his 2016 deportation case In 2016, Wildin Acosta, a senior at Riverside High School in Durham, was detained by ICE agents on his way to school. The Honduras native was kept in detention for months. Students and faculty at Riverside raised media attention about his case through protests, social media campaigns and news coverage, ultimately resulting in his release. Riverside journalism teacher Bryan Christopher worked with ...
Oct 01, 2025•50 min
0:01:00 Leoneda Inge chats with Dr. Bernice King, the youngest child of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Coretta Scott King, to discuss her family’s legacy, her work as a social justice strategist and the work of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Change amid a changing political climate. Dr. Bernice King , strategist, peace advocate and CEO of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change 0:33:00 Leoneda Inge talks to the Greensboro native Daphne Fama about her deb...
Sep 30, 2025•50 min
Twenty years ago, the old-time string band Carolina Chocolate Drops turned heads and wowed audiences. They were young. They were Black. And with their fiddles and banjos, they launched a movement that would challenge long-standing stereotypes about traditional music in America. Today we’re sharing a special program called “Reclaiming the Banjo” – a collaboration between WPLN in Nashville, Tennessee and WUNC’s podcast The Broadside. It’s all about a Black folk music revival sweeping the country a...
Sep 29, 2025•50 min
On the North Carolina News Roundup...Today, Due South broadcasts from Blue Ridge Public Radio in Asheville. It has been one year since Helene caused widespread destruction in Western North Carolina. One hundred and eight people died in what was the deadliest modern storm in state history, and the total damage in the region exceeded $60 billion. Co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with reporters from BPR about what happened a year ago in Western NC, and what has happened since. Also, political updates, in...
Sep 26, 2025•50 min
It has been one year since Helene. We honor the first anniversary with a collection of voices and stories, from Western North Carolina. Remembering the deadliest storm in modern history and looking ahead, a year after Helene. This hour of Due South is a collection of voices of those who lived through the storm and includes reports on some of the lingering issues that face the region. Featuring: Leah Wong Ashburn , President/CEO Highland Brewing Maureen Copelof , Mayor of Brevard Kevin Corbin , N...
Sep 25, 2025•51 min
0:01:00 NC’s future scientists may choose new paths after NIH cuts The effort to end DEI programs across the federal government is having a range of impacts, including the future of science. Due South’s Jeff Tiberii talks with Lynn Bonner and Brandon Kingdollar of NC Newsline about their recent article titled “NC’s next generation of scientists fear careers are going ‘up in smoke’ as NIH grants end.” Lynn Bonner, Investigative Reporter, NC Newsline Brandon Kingdollar, Reporter, NC Newsline 0:13:...
Sep 24, 2025•50 min
0:01:00 NC job growth is slow, even while unemployment rates hold steady. Just like the national economy. What the state’s most recent job numbers say about growth, and how North Carolina’s economy is doing while much of the U.S. is in a holding pattern from the global trade war. Michael Walden , William Neal Reynolds Distinguished Professor Emeritus at NC State University New study shows who got hit the worst by the 2008 recession: Low-income people of color The two previous recessions in the U...
Sep 23, 2025•50 min
0:01:00 Dr. Mandy Cohen on CDC layoffs and vaccine rollbacks In a recent New York Times op-ed , former CDC director Dr. Mandy Cohen joined several other former Centers for Disease Control and Prevention leaders to decry Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s mass layoffs, halting of research projects and changes to vaccine and immunization guidance. She joins Jeff Tiberii to discuss the present and potential of the CDC, under the Trump administration. Dr. Mandy Cohen , internal medicine physician, public healt...
Sep 22, 2025•50 min
On the North Carolina News Roundup... A look at Senator Thom Tillis’ remarks at an FBI oversight hearing this week. Early voting begins in several counties’ municipal elections. And Gov. Josh Stein requests additional Helene relief funding. Due South co-host Jeff Tiberii and a panel of journalists cover the week in NC news. Colin Campbell , Capitol Bureau Chief, WUNC Dawn Vaughan , Capitol Bureau Chief, The News & Observer Gary Robertson , statehouse reporter, Associated Press Claudia Rivera...
Sep 19, 2025•50 min
0:01:00 Raleigh City Council member Jonathan Lambert-Melton on political violence and fear Raleigh City Council member Jonathan Lambert-Melton talks with Jeff Tiberii about fear, political violence, and rhetoric in the public sphere, following the killing of Charlie Kirk. Lambert-Melton says he has cancelled a public event out of fear. Jonathan Lambert-Melton , At-Large City Council Member, Raleigh 0:13:00 North Carolina foliage forecast with the "Fall Color Guy’ The days are getting shorter, th...
Sep 18, 2025•50 min
0:01:00 NC State professor on history of political violence in the U.S. Political violence has reared its ugly head again in the United States. The killing of Charlie Kirk at a college campus in Utah last week is the latest in a string of politically motivated violent acts, which seem to be increasing in frequency. North Carolina State University’s Irwin Morris talks with Due South’s Jeff Tiberii about our country's history of political violence, what’s changed (or not) in today’s political land...
Sep 17, 2025•50 min
