Radio Interviews
Meredith College political science professor David McLennan on top-of-the-ticket political races
With North Carolina being one of the most important and hotly contested states in the upcoming November election, national and state-based pollsters are carefully and regularly monitoring voter attitudes and public opinion trends. And as News & Views listeners are well-aware, one of the best and most reliable experts in this realm is Meredith College […]
Attorney Clermont Ripley on two new workplace rules regarding salaried workers and non-competes
Last week a pair of federal agencies announced some important new rules to protect workers. A new Federal Trade Commission rule bans non-compete clauses that have hindered the rights of workers to take better jobs. Meanwhile, a new Department of Labor rule will make millions of salaried workers employed in executive, administrative and professional industries […]
Dennis Gaddy of the Community Success Initiative on second chances, legislation to improve reentry
For most people who leave North Carolina prisons each year, readjusting to life on the outside is incredibly difficult. A record of incarceration can prevent people from landing apartments or jobs. And even people who have been arrested but never convicted can also have a hard time shaking that history when their mugshots appear forever […]
Senator Natasha Marcus discusses some of the priorities and challenges this legislative session
North Carolina’s General Assembly returned to Raleigh this past week for the 2024 “short session” — a session that figures to feature debates on a number of familiar topics – including public and higher education, an impending childcare cliff, and funding for several state agencies that are struggling with staff attrition and vacancies. One lawmaker […]
Dr. Steven Barnett on where NC stands when it comes to preschool enrollment, funding, and quality
There’s a very good argument to be made that the United States should guarantee free and universal early childhood education from birth to all American families. Nations that invest in the care of young children when their minds and bodies are still developing see vastly improved outcomes later on. Sadly, the U.S. is not yet […]
Congressman Wiley Nickel on a new plan to end gerrymandering and his recent trip to Ukraine
Thanks to new and gerrymandered congressional maps enacted last fall by the Republican-dominated state legislature, the outcomes to almost all of North Carolina’s fall congressional elections have been pre-decided. One lawmaker directly impacted by this is Triangle-area Democratic Congressman Wiley Nickel, who saw his formerly competitive district transformed into one that only a Republican can […]
Newsline reporter Lisa Sorg on the first-ever federal regulations for PFAS in our drinking water
PFAS. Most North Carolinians had never heard that term until a few years ago, but sadly it’s now a permanent part of the lexicon. It refers, of course, to a class of dangerous substances – often referred to as “forever chemicals” because they don’t break down in the environment — that shortsighted manufacturers and polluters […]
Rochelle Sparko discusses the hidden costs of earned wage advances (EWA) and cash advance apps
For consumer protection advocates, the job of monitoring and going after predatory lending scams can sometimes resemble the old amusement park game of whack-a-mole. As soon as one predator is brought to justice, another one pops up. That description came to mind of late when Newsline learned about a new cellphone app that some schemers […]
U.S. Rep. Valerie Foushee on her recent trip to Israel, Ukraine aid, abortion rights and more
North Carolina Congresswoman Valerie Foushee (NC-04) joins NC Newsline’s Rob Schofield to discuss the latest developments in Congress, including a controversial trip to Israel, the possibility of more aid for Ukraine, abortion rights, and the IMPACT Act.
NCAE president Tamika Walker Kelly on what’s causing our state’s high teacher attrition rate
As several news stories have reported in recent weeks, North Carolina public schools have been enduring a sizable and troubling exodus. Education officials disclosed that the state experienced a teacher attrition rate of 11.5% between March 2022 and March 2023. That means that more than 10,000 of the state’s teachers left the profession in that […]
North Carolina’s impending crisis in the childcare system with Janet Singerman and Rhonda Rivers
As is the case in most of the U.S., North Carolina’s childcare system is not what it should be. Across the state, thousands of childcare providers operate in almost perpetual crisis – a crisis in which barely-making-it schools employ overworked and grievously underpaid teachers to serve stressed-out parents who have enormous difficulty finding quality care […]
Ann Webb of Common Cause NC on how the end of the three-day grace period is disenfranchising voters
In 2009, as voting by mail, became more and more a part of North Carolina elections, lawmakers of both parties unanimously agreed that mailed ballots postmarked by Election Day would still be counted if they arrived at county boards of elections within three days afterward. Under a new law passed by Republican majorities at the […]