Podcasts Archives | NC Newsline
Health and Human Services Sec. Kody Kinsley discusses the upcoming Dec. 1st expansion of Medicaid

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.
Pollster David McLennan discusses how the 2024 gubernatorial candidates are faring

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...
Climate debate boils down to whether we pay a lot now or heck of a lot more later

Art: Getty Images
Stream and subscribe | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google PodcastsThe post Climate debate boils down to whether we pay a lot now or heck of a lot more later appeared first on NC Newsline.
RDU quarry settlement is a step backwards

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)
Stream and subscribe | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google PodcastsThe post RDU quarry settlement is a step backwards appeared first on NC Newsline.
Hungry and homeless need more that holiday charity

(Photo by Maskot/Getty Images)
The post Hungry and homeless need more that holiday charity appeared first on NC Newsline.
Conservatives face some inconvenient economic truths

(Getty Images)
The post Conservatives face some inconvenient economic truths appeared first on NC Newsline.
State lottery’s expansion into online gambling is wrong

Photo: NC Education Lottery (nclottery.com)
Stream and subscribe | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google PodcastsThe post State lottery’s expansion into online gambling is wrong appeared first on NC Newsline.
House Democratic Leader Robert Reives recaps the legislative session and the impact on NC elections

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 NC’s Michele Delgado on the disparity in referrals for disorderly conduct in NC schools

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...
Latest numbers highlight North Carolina’s shameful underfunding of public schools

(Photo by Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
The post Latest numbers highlight North Carolina’s shameful underfunding of public schools appeared first on NC Newsline.
It’s the guns that are to blame

Photo: Alex-Wong-Getty-Images
The post It’s the guns that are to blame appeared first on NC Newsline.
NC school discipline numbers show that police are not the answer

Photo: Getty Images
The post NC school discipline numbers show that police are not the answer appeared first on NC Newsline.
The right’s bogus stance on parental rights

Image: iStock/Getty Images
The post The right’s bogus stance on parental rights appeared first on NC Newsline.
Budget provision impacting state pension system raises concerns

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. Rep. Kathy Manning on efforts to avoid a government shutdown and her future in Congress

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...
Sen. Lisa Grafstein discusses the recent session and being a target of Republican gerrymandering

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 of the Public School Forum discusses North Carolina’s worrisome teacher shortage

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...
Slush fund for House Speaker is no way to fund government

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.
Voters boost Biden’s re-election chances

North Carolina would look very different if it allowed ballot initiatives

Getty Images
The post North Carolina would look very different if it allowed ballot initiatives appeared first on NC Newsline.
Ill-conceived “Parents’ Bill of Rights” law already having a negative impact

Photo of Alex Mavrogenis by Elaina James for the UNC media Hub
Stream and subscribe | Spotify | Apple Podcasts | Google PodcastsThe post Ill-conceived “Parents’ Bill of Rights” law already having a negative impact appeared first on NC Newsline.
Failure to provide student debt relief will harm the economy

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.
NC Newsline investigative reporter Lynn Bonner on the new gerrymandered electoral maps

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...
Attorneys Laura Webb and Rochelle Sparko on inequities in the way NC collects court fines and fee

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...
WRAL TV sports anchor Chris Lea discusses the new documentary “Ghosts in the Stadium”

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...