WUNC State of Things - North Carolina Public Radio

North Carolina State University has a new football coach, and the Charlotte Bobcats are winning games. It's been a busy few weeks in the sports world across North Carolina.

Manbites Dog Theater has been a Durham institution for 25 years now, bringing offbeat works to curious audiences, and fostering other theater groups as they struggle for a foothold. As part of its birthday celebration, the theater company is presenting “Seventy Scenes of Halloween,” the first production to premiere at the theater in 1987.

When you go to a poetry slam, you’ll probably notice the majority of spoken word artists who hit the stage are men. But that’s not representative of the spoken word community at large. Starr, a slam poet, will represent the Bull City Slam team next year in the 2013 Women of the World Poetry Slam in Minneapolis.

The iconic Frank Capra film has captured the hearts and minds of people around the world. It’s the quintessential American Christmas movie. Now, the Playmakers Repertory Company is bringing a stage adaptation to Chapel Hill. “It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play” is showing through December 16th at the Center for Dramatic Art on the campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

As Christmas draws nearer, we are flooded with images of Santa Claus. He is perhaps our most iconic symbol of the holiday. The modern Santa Claus is based on the legends of Saint Nicholas, or Nicholas of Myra from the 4th Century.

Michael Gillespie never set out to be an intellectual. He wanted to play professional football and went to Harvard to begin his athletic career. But illness struck and he was forced to lose 60 pounds. His football career over, Gillespie began searching for a new course in life.

On Tuesday, the North Carolina Council of State is expected to vote on the future of the Dorothea Dix campus. The 300-acre former mental hospital is prime real estate. Gov. Bev Perdue appears on the verge of making a deal to sell or offer a long-term lease to the city of Raleigh for a "destination park." But not everyone is excited about that prospect, including the Governor-Elect Pat McCrory.

Mad Magazine turns 60 this year. Since 1952, its offices on Madison Avenue have buzzed as writers and artists drew parodies, spoofs and takeoffs of the culture of the day. “Totally Mad: 60 Years of Humor, Satire, Stupidity and Stupidity” (Time Home Entertainment/2012) came out this fall to high sales.

When Ivy and David Sheppard chose a band name, they wanted something that referenced the old time music they played. Many American bands of the 1920s and ‘30s had words like “broadcasters” or “telecasters” in their names, since it was new technology at the time. So the Sheppards chose to go by The South Carolina Broadcasters. Along the way, they have picked up a third band member, Sarah Osborne.

As a native to Durham, Jim Lee has always had a knack for looking in places others often miss. His newest exhibit, Spectives, gives his audience a comprehensive look at his work documenting nature through photography, found objects and walks along Durham’s railroad tracks.

When your body’s feeling crummy, someone will likely tell you to remedy it by drinking more water. Whether it’s for clearer skin or lower anxiety, people have a lot of faith in the healing power of this liquid. But water isn’t a plentiful cure-all everywhere. For many people living in places bordered by water masses, it’s hard to gain access to this necessity.

Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement to partner with state and local police. Those officers are allowed to enforce federal immigration law. Critics say that the program leads to racial profiling of minorities and makes immigrants fearful of reporting crime in their own communities.

In 1942, Clarence and Florence Jordan helped found Koinonia right outside of Americus, Georgia. They sought to create an intentional community where residents would live and practice equality and integration.

Ayad Akhtar’s book "American Dervish" (Back Bay Books/2012) has launched a flurry of praise as an intelligent, self-assured debut novel. The main character is a Pakistani-American boy growing up in Milwaukee.

Sticks are more than just sticks to artist Patrick Dougherty. In his hands, they become castles, nests, cocoons and tree houses.