Due South

DMV funding; PBS NC; and more on the North Carolina News Roundup

This week on the North Carolina News Roundup... A look at State Auditor Dave Boliek’s call for the separation of the North Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles from the Department of Transportation. PBS NC’s David Crabtree provides an update on staffing following federal defunding. And rezoning projects meet opposition in Durham and Raleigh. GuestsMary Helen Moore, reporter for the NC Newsroom Bryan Anderson, reporter for the newsletter Anderson Alerts Zach Eanes, reporter, Axios Raleigh  Danielle Battaglia, Capitol Hill correspondent, The News & Observer/The Charlotte Observer/McClatchy 

Asheboro Mayor is retiring, but first he talks NC Zoo expansion

0:01:00UNC System expands partnership with ReUp Education to assist adult learnersMore than 43 million Americans belong to the “some college, no credential” (SCNC) population. Roughly one million of them reside in North Carolina. Efforts to re-engage adult learners are on the rise, including a partnership between the UNC System and ReUp Education, a national tech ed company that provides resources and support to returning adult students. ReUp’s services with the UNC System are expanding this year to offer returning college students greater assistance in reaching their graduation goals.GuestTerah Crews, CEO of ReUp Education0:13:00Mayor of Asheboro David Smith looks back on more than a quarter century of public serviceThe next mayor up in our Meet the Mayors series is from Asheboro, NC – home of the North Carolina Zoo. David Smith has been mayor there since 2009. And after more than 25 years as an elected official in Asheboro, he plans to not run for re-election this fall.GuestDavid Smith, Mayor of Asheboro0:33:00Emerging Triangle-based band blends rock, soul and blues The Phoebes Band (1440x1440, AR: 1.0)In just four short years, Triangle-based soul, rock and blues band The Phoebes have made their mark in North Carolina and beyond. The Black woman-led band got their start in 2021.They've toured the summer festival circuit and won WRAL’s 2024 Voters Choice Award for Best Local Band and been named Best Local Band of the Year in 2024 by Bands and Clubs of the Triangle.Two members of the group speak with Leoneda Inge about their band's success.GuestTrea Elise, vocalist The PhoebesMegan Maloney, co-founder and lead guitarist, The Phoebes

A new book explores the history of school and residential segregation

Residential and school segregation are closely linkedIt began with the founding of the Federal Housing Administration, ongoing efforts by housing developers and well-meaning parents hoping to provide the best possible education for their small children.GuestKaren Benjamin, associate professor of history at Elmhurst University and author of Good Parents, Betters Homes & Great Schools: Selling Segregation Before the New Deal'Ear Hustle' visits the Triangle on live podcast tourEar Hustle is the first podcast produced in prison. It’s brought stories from life inside to international audiences. It’s been a finalist for two Pulitzer Prizes. Now, Earlonne Woods and Nigel Poor are on tour, sharing stories live, including what incarcerated life and life transitioning out of incarceration is like.GuestsEarlonne Woods, is co-host of the Ear Hustle Podcast, which he started while serving 31 years to life at San Quentin State Prison in 2017. He’s an advocate to repeal “the California Three Strikes Law, the statute under which he was sentenced.” His sentence was commuted in 2018.Nigel Poor, is a visual artist and co-host of Ear Hustle. She got involved at San Quentin as a volunteer teacher in 2011, and started the prison-based podcast with Earlonne in 2017.

Extreme weather and the future of hurricane prediction; plus, filling in North Carolina's flood records

0:01:00Extreme weather and the future of hurricane predictionAs we approach the middle of Atlantic hurricane season, Due South explores federal cuts at the National Weather Service and NOAA and our preparedness in the face of extreme weather events. New York Times reporter and meteorologist Judson Jones and Andy Hazelton, a former NOAA scientist focusing on hurricane and model development, join co-host Jeff Tiberii to talk the past, present and future of storm predictions.Judson Jones, meteorologist and reporter for The New York Times covering extreme weather.Andy Hazelton, Associate Scientist at the University of Miami Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies0:33:00How a new study on flood plains in North Carolina could help determine future flood riskBetween 1996 and 2020, over 90,000 buildings and homes experienced flooding due to a weather event. Many of them were damaged repeatedly. Yet, records don’t reflect the prevalence of these damages across the state, hindering our ability to understand who is most vulnerable to future flooding as climate change worsens.UNC’s Antonia Sebastian tells co-host Jeff Tiberii about her research team’s recent efforts to fill in the blanks in the flood record, and what their findings might mean for home and business owners across the state.Antonia Sebastian, Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in the Department of Earth, Marine and Environmental Sciences and the Environment, Ecology and Energy Program (E3P)

The Avett Brothers' Bob Crawford hosts American History Hotline podcast; the latest on Duke Health's federal funding

0:01:00Duke Health could lose more than $100 million in federal funding.The latest on a threat to Duke Health's federal funding, and allegations of racial discrimination at the medical school and health care system. Leoneda Inge speaks with a reporter to get the latest.Brian Gordon, Business and Technology Reporter at The Raleigh News & Observer0:13:00The Avett Brothers’ bassist has a side hustle – hosting an American history podcast.Bob Crawford might be best known for his music, but his show American History Hotline and forthcoming book on John Quincy Adams might change that. Bob speaks with Jeff Tiberii about his work and life.Bob Crawford, bassist for The Avett Brothers, and host of the new iHeart original podcast, American History Hotline