The State Health Secretary Is Facing The Challenge Of Her Career
Since the coronavirus pandemic swept into North Carolina a couple of months ago, Dr. Mandy Cohen has become a familiar figure.
May 05, 2020•24 min
WUNC Politics
The WUNC Politics Podcast is a free-flowing discussion of what we're hearing in the back hallways of the General Assembly and on the campaign trail across North Carolina.
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Episodes
Debate On Relief Stretches Into The Weekend
This week in state politics, lawmakers returned to the North Carolina General Assembly to deliberate how much of the available federal aid should be dolled out immediately.
May 01, 2020•23 min
Governor Says North Carolina Isn't Ready To Reopen, And Students Can't Go Back This Year
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper announced a couple of tough calls this week in the face of increasing frustration with social distancing restrictions.
Apr 24, 2020•20 min
North Carolina's Top Senate Leader Wants To Know How Many COVID-19 Tests Are Enough
As the Republican leader of the state Senate, Phil Berger is the most powerful man in North Carolina politics. For weeks, he's been pushing for random COVID-19 testing so the state can get a handle on the outbreak and reopen for business.
Apr 21, 2020•26 min
Calls For Reopening NC Get Louder
There were new calls this week for the reopening of business across North Carolina — there was even a protest in Raleigh against the governor's stay-at-home order.
Apr 17, 2020•18 min
How To Prioritize Those In Need
Unemployment claims surpassed half a million, and various industries across North Carolina asked for help this week.
Apr 10, 2020•13 min
Congressman And Doctor: Greg Murphy On Remedies For The Coronavirus Ailing Our Health And Economy
Republican Greg Murphy represents eastern North Carolina's 3rd District in the U.S. House. He's also a urologist, and the only doctor on Capitol Hill still seeing patients.
Apr 07, 2020•23 min
COVID-19 Spreads, And So Does Staggering Unemployment In North Carolina
North Carolina is rounding out its first week under a statewide stay-at-home order.
Apr 03, 2020•18 min
Governor Says Stay At Home, Lawmakers Ponder Their Coronavirus Response, And Some Silver Linings
Gov. Roy Cooper ordered North Carolinians to stay at home for thirty days starting 5 p.m. Monday, March 30. Healthcare providers worried about being overwhelmed by COVID-19 patients cheered his decision. Businesses not necessarily.
Mar 27, 2020•26 min
What It's Like To Lose On Super Tuesday
It's been three weeks since Super Tuesday. Dozens of winners in federal, state, and local races were celebrating that night. But the vast majority of candidates who were on North Carolina's packed primary ballots lost.
Mar 24, 2020•21 min
This Week In NC Politics: Richard Burr's Stock Dump And COVID-19
As a global pandemic continues to spread throughout the country, a prominent North Carolina politician landed in the crosshairs on Thursday. Richard Burr, the senior U.S. Senator from North Carolina, gave a grim warning about the virus to a private audience, while striking a different message in public. Reporting this week also revealed he made 33 transactions, dumping as much as $1.7 million in stock as COVID-19 prepared to wreak financial havoc.
Mar 20, 2020•22 min
How Coronavirus Is Impacting North Carolina Politics
North Carolina's response to the coronavirus is changing every hour. Gov. Roy Cooper has strongly advised against gatherings of more than 100 people. And the courts will largely postpone hearings, beginning next week.
Mar 13, 2020•18 min
The Rush Toward Biden, And What To Do With Tainted Political Donations
Presidential primary voters in North Carolina gave Joe Biden a decisive win on Super Tuesday after he'd been lagging in recent polls.
Mar 06, 2020•18 min
WUNC Politics Live! Rural Concerns, And The Week Before Super Tuesday
A two-for this week, recorded at the Carolina Inn in Chapel Hill in front of a live audience.
Feb 29, 2020•28 min
Mega-Donor's Trial Begins, And How About The NC House Speaker For Chancellor?
The insurance tycoon accused of trying to bribe the state insurance commissioner with $2 million in campaign donations went on trial this week.
Feb 21, 2020•23 min
This GOP Operative Says Republicans Should Ditch Conventional Wisdom In 2020
Jim Blaine is an unapologetic and self-identified political hack. He is also one of the most respected political operatives in North Carolina. He was chief of staff to the Republican state senate leader before starting his own consulting company in 2018.
Feb 18, 2020•22 min
Confederate Monument Back In Limbo, Plus: Bloomberg And Sanders Show Up
A judge this week reversed a settlement between the UNC System and the Sons of Confederate Veterans, making the fate of the mangled Silent Sam statue again uncertain.
Feb 16, 2020•16 min
Should North Carolina Have The First-In-The-Nation Primary? This Strategist Thinks So
Morgan Jackson has been a Democratic political tactician in North Carolina for more than 20 years. He is one of Gov. Roy Cooper's closest advisers.
Feb 11, 2020•23 min
Fallout From The Iowa Caucuses Continues, NC Campaign Finance Reports Released
Problems with the Iowa Caucuses dominate discussion about the Democratic presidential contest ahead of the New Hampshire primary. And in North Carolina, we get a look at the candidates' campaign finance reports.
Feb 07, 2020•26 min
No 'Windowless Basement' Here. Democratic Senate Candidate Cal Cunningham Has Another Strategy
U.S Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer purportedly imagined a Democrat would have to lock himself in a "windowless basement" and fundraise nonstop to beat incumbent GOP Sen. Thom Tillis in North Carolina. But, Cal Cunningham's campaign office has plenty of natural light.
Feb 05, 2020•25 min
Impeachment Trial Rolls On, Biden Gets North Carolina Endorsements
While U.S. senators (and our airwaves) were occupied with an impeachment trial, former Vice President Joe Biden picked up a couple of endorsements from notable North Carolinians.
Jan 31, 2020•23 min
Erica Smith Says SHE Is The Frontrunner In The Democratic Senate Primary
State Sen. Erica Smith says she's the progressive, credentialed, electable choice, even if the Democratic Party establishment isn't backing her campaign for the U.S. Senate.
Jan 28, 2020•22 min
A Candidate Remarks On Abortion And Black Genocide, Another Accused Of Illegal Coordination
Republican candidate for governor (and current lieutenant governor) Dan Forest claimed that Planned Parenthood was created to, "destroy the entire black race," during a Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration. Then on Wednesday he compared abortion to slavery.
Jan 24, 2020•24 min
WBTV'S Investigator On How Public Records Make For Great TV
WBTV reporter Nick Ochsner doesn't hesitate to confront a subject who he feels is ducking his questions. He has a reputation for being quick to file a lawsuit when it seems officials aren't following public records laws.
Jan 21, 2020•25 min
No State Budget Breakthrough, Senator Tillis Wants Debates
The North Carolina General Assembly convened for a single day this week. But no budget deal was brokered, and now we'll be without one at least until springtime.
Jan 18, 2020•22 min
State Superintendent Makes Istation Purchase, Billionaire Candidates Spend Big
The state superintendent made a $928,000 emergency purchase that stoked the fight with the state board of education over what tool schools should be using to evaluate reading skills.
Jan 10, 2020•16 min
Meet Holly Grange: The Underdog GOP Candidate For Governor
North Carolina state Rep. Holly Grange is competing against the sitting lieutenant governor, Dan Forest, to be the Republican nominee for governor in 2020.
Jan 09, 2020•33 min
A Ruling On Voter ID, A Coal Ash Settlement, 2020 Has Arrived
A judge put North Carolina's requirement that voters show photo ID on hold for now.
Jan 04, 2020•15 min
2019 In State Politics From The Left And The Right
There was a flurry of political retirements (some spawned by redistricting), followed by a rush of candidate filings as the year came to a close in North Carolina.
Dec 20, 2019•24 min
Former Chief Justice Henry Frye On His Career Of Firsts
The first black person elected to the North Carolina General Assembly in the 20th Century. ... First to win a statewide election. ... First to be the state's chief justice.
Dec 18, 2019•24 min
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