Podcasts Archives | NC Newsline

NCDHHS Sec. Kody Kinsley

In a special two-part conversation, NC Newsline chats with North Carolina state Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley about the upcoming December 1st expansion of Medicaid, how it will work, and what it will mean for hundreds of thousands of North Carolinians.

The post Health and Human Services Sec. Kody Kinsley discusses the upcoming Dec. 1st expansion of Medicaid appeared first on NC Newsline.

Political scientist and pollster David McLennan

The 2024 primary election in North Carolina is only just over three months away and according to the most recent Meredith College poll, we may very well already know which major party candidates are likely to prevail. According to Meredith College political scientist and pollster David McLennan the latest poll found Democratic Attorney General Josh Stein and Republican Lt. Governor Mark Robinson way ahead of their top challengers – Democratic former Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan and Republicans, attorney Bill Graham and state Treasurer Dale Folwell.

McLennan told NC Newsline, however, th...

Art: Getty Images

The post Climate debate boils down to whether we pay a lot now or heck of a lot more later appeared first on NC Newsline.

A bridge spans a creek in Umstead State Park. Opponents of a proposal for adjacent mine say the operation will harm waterways leading to and within the park. (Photo: NC Parks)

The post RDU quarry settlement is a step backwards appeared first on NC Newsline.

(Photo by Maskot/Getty Images)

The post Hungry and homeless need more that holiday charity appeared first on NC Newsline.

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The post Conservatives face some inconvenient economic truths appeared first on NC Newsline.

Photo: NC Education Lottery (nclottery.com)

The post State lottery’s expansion into online gambling is wrong appeared first on NC Newsline.

House Minority Leader Robert Reives (Photo: NCGA)

The job of leading North Carolina House Democrats – a diverse group with an array of ideologies and priorities — has always been a tough job. And in the current era in which aggressive Republican gerrymandering has rigged the outcome in so many districts that it’s all but impossible for Democrats to win their fair share of seats, the leader’s role can frequently be a downright thankless task.

All that said, the current holder of the position – State Rep. Robert Reives of Chatham and Randolph Counties – has somehow managed to n...

ACLU of North Carolina attorney Michele Delgado

In “The Consequences of Cops in North Carolina Schools,” researchers report that current state law – which grants police broad and vaguely worded authority – has led to a situation in which school-based complaints of disorderly conduct against Black students occur at four times the rate of white kids. In some counties, the numbers were even worse.

Recently, in order to get a better handle on the report’s findings and the recommendations it makes, NC Newsline caught with one of the experts behind it, ACLU attorney Michele Delgado.

The full...

(Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)

The post Latest numbers highlight North Carolina’s shameful underfunding of public schools appeared first on NC Newsline.

Photo: Alex-Wong-Getty-Images

The post It’s the guns that are to blame appeared first on NC Newsline.

Photo: Getty Images

The post NC school discipline numbers show that police are not the answer appeared first on NC Newsline.

Image: iStock/Getty Images

The post The right’s bogus stance on parental rights appeared first on NC Newsline.

State Treasurer Dale Folwell (Photo: nctreasurer.com video stream)

The post Budget provision impacting state pension system raises concerns appeared first on NC Newsline.

U.S. Representative Kathy Manning

U.S. Representative Kathy Manning of central North Carolina’s sixth congressional district is less than halfway through her second two-year-term in Washington, but it’s already been one heck of a tumultuous ride. From the January 6 insurrection, through the pandemic, a national economic recovery, two chaotic House Speaker elections and dozens of controversial policy debates and court rulings, Manning has remained a remarkably active and outspoken voice for progressive change.

Now, however, thanks to the latest Republican redistricting scheme, Manning finds herself living in a district that’s likely imposs...

Senator Lisa Grafstein, Wake County

Wake County State Senator Lisa Grafstein was recently a target of Republican gerrymandering. Under the state’s newly enacted legislative maps, Grafstein – a skilled attorney and one of the Senate’s most vocal and articulate critics of culture war legislation, regressive tax policies and efforts to alter state elections laws – was double-bunked with another progressive Democratic colleague in the obvious hope of scuttling her career in Raleigh.

Reports of Grafstein’s political demise, however, are clearly premature. Not only has the senator already moved to a new home in an a nearby W...

Lauren Fox, Ph.D. Senior Director, Policy & Research, Public School Forum

As news reports have made clear repeatedly in recent years, North Carolina is suffering from a big and deeply problematic teacher shortage – especially in rural low wealth districts and when it comes to teachers of color. The problem was big and bad even before the pandemic, and it’s gotten worse in its aftermath.

Thankfully, the causes of the shortage are no particular mystery. Indeed, as researchers at the Public School Forum of North Carolina make clear in a new report, there are several emin...

As he prepares to run for Congress, House Speaker Tim Moore recently announced he will allocate $45 million from the House Contingency Fund for the busy interchange. (Background traffic photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The post Slush fund for House Speaker is no way to fund government appeared first on NC Newsline.

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The post North Carolina would look very different if it allowed ballot initiatives appeared first on NC Newsline.

Photo of Alex Mavrogenis by Elaina James for the UNC media Hub

The post Ill-conceived “Parents’ Bill of Rights” law already having a negative impact appeared first on NC Newsline.

Nearly 45 million Americans collectively owe more than $1.7 trillion in 2023 and have an average outstanding loan balance of less than $25,000, according to the Federal Reserve. (Getty Images)

The post Failure to provide student debt relief will harm the economy appeared first on NC Newsline.

Photo: State legislative building and reporter Lynn Bonner

Gerrymandering. It’s a topic that’s been on a lot of lips in recent weeks as the Republican leadership of the North Carolina legislature, for what seems like the umpteenth time, drew new legislative and congressional maps for our state.

Interestingly, while gerrymandering – that is to say, rigging maps to favor certain outcomes – is something politicians are normally rather circumspect about, this time that wasn’t the case. Instead, Republican legislators openly bragged that they were drawing maps to guarantee Republicans victories in most legislative and congressio...

Laura Webb and Rochelle Sparko

There are a lot of significant real-world problems that the state legislature’s cheapskate budgeting practices have caused in recent years, and here’s a classic example: Because it receives inadequate funding, the state’s court system has been forced to try and fund itself by imposing big fines and fees on people accused of crimes.

Of course, however, the big problem here is that most of these people are poor and unable to pay. Right now, the state tries to collect over time by converting these fines and fees into c...

Photo: Chris Lea (Courtesy WRAL-TV)

A fascinating new documentary from WRAL TV looks at the hidden and troubling histories of some iconic sports venues in the Carolinas. “Ghosts in the Stadium” explores the sobering legacy of white supremacy at Kenan Stadium at UNC Chapel Hill, Carter-Finely Stadium at NC State, Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte and Memorial Stadium at Clemson University.

The documentary was conceived and produced by Investigative Documentary Producer Cristin Severance, Sports Anchor Chris Lea and Documentary Photojournalist Dwayne Myers, and recently Lea was kind enough to join NC Newsline for a conv...