The State of Things

Durham native Heather Havrilesky has spent most of her professional life as a social commentator of sorts. She has written online cartoons about the absurdity of life, reviews of crappy TV reality shows, and columns about why we love crappy TV reality shows. It is perhaps no wonder that she has become a successful advice columnist. Havrilesky is the writer behind "Ask Polly," a weekly column in New York magazine in which she guides readers through existential questions. She dishes out honest

Growing up as a kid in the 1950s, Danny Johnson liked to do two things: read books and work on his grandmother's farm. He's now combined his love for Southern literature with imagery from his upbringing in his debut novel, "The Last Road Home" (Kensington Books/2016). Host Frank Stasio talks with Johnson about his Southern adolescence and creating a story outside of his lived experience. Johnson reads at The Regulator Bookshop in Durham at 7 p.m. on Thursday, August 4, Quail Ridge Books in

With a little more than three months until the 2016 elections, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is facing strong backlash—even from some fellow Republicans—​against his latest verbal onslaught, in which he attacked the parents of a fallen soldier. The controversy comes as Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton opens a sizable post-convention lead in most polls. Will this latest controversy affect Trump's chances in North Carolina? And what effect could it have on Gov. Pat McCrory, who

Note: This segment originally aired February 2, 2016. In 1986, Jesuit priest Father Greg Boyle was appointed to a poor parish in the Boyle Heights neighborhood of Los Angeles. At the time, that area had a major gang problem, and Father Greg decided to start a small job program to help provide positive alternatives for members of his community. More than two decades later, this program, now called Homeboy Industries, is one of the largest and most comprehensive gang intervention programs in the

Eight years ago, Julia Franks and her husband bought a farm in western North Carolina. At the time, the 1800s farmhouse on the land was still standing and when they walked in the doors, they were greeted by dozens of odd artifacts, including animal bones, locks of hair, insect hives, and even a jar with a fingernail in it. Franks is a high school literature teacher and lover of writing, so it was hard for her to not let her imagination run wild. Her curiosity about the lives of the people who

North Carolina’s so-called bathroom bill, House Bill 2, was challenged in court Monday. U.S. district judge Thomas Schroeder heard arguments on a temporary injunction motion. He did not make a ruling on the measure. And on Friday, the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down North Carolina’s controversial voter identification law on grounds of racial discrimination. Guest host Adam Hochberg talks with Winston Salem Journal legal affairs reporter Michael Hewlett and Wake Forest School of Law

For more than 20 years, P.T. Deutermann has channeled his experiences in the military into fiction writing. He has written 19 novels that have been inspired by his time as a Navy captain and an arms-control specialist in the Joint Chiefs of Staff. His latest novel, "The Commodore" (St. Martin's Press/2016) is set during World War II as the Navy is fighting for control of the Solomon Islands from Japan. It follows the story of an unlikely naval hero who is faced with the harsh realities of war.

​In the late 1980s and early 90s, North Carolina photographer David Spear spent several years documenting the lives of his neighbors, the Neugents. The family owned a tobacco farm in Rockingham County, and his photos depicted their attempts to keep their tobacco farm alive at a time when many others were dying. He described the Neugents as "fabulous people" who "raise hell, and they don't try to hide it." Spear published his collection of photographs in the book "The Neugents: Close to Home" in

Justin Natvig has had a flair for performance most of his life. As a young kid, he often snuck into his grandparents’ attic and dug through his grandmother’s things: vintage dresses, hats, wigs, shoes and makeup. He would put it all on, play Diana Ross records and lip sync in front of the mirror. For many years, he kept this passion a secret as he struggled with a family that would not accept his identity. He eventually dropped out of high school and ran away from home, but despite the

Note: This segment originally aired on Wednesday, April 27, 2016. More than 179,000 children in North Carolina have had a parent incarcerated, according to a new report. As a result, these children are more likely to face emotional trauma and financial instability.The report recommends improving a child's relationship with the incarcerated parent and the community as a way to lessen these burdens.

Note: This segment originally aired on Thursday, June 2, 2016. Whether it's reducing carbon emissions or increasing solar energy, environmentalists see a need for people to change the way they treat the earth in the shadow of climate change. Likewise, some religion leaders see their faith as motivation to care better for the environment. Host Frank Stasio talks with Steven Jurovics, author of Hospitable Planet: Faith, Action and Climate Change (Morehouse Publishing/2016), and Dr. Norman Wirzba,

Note: This segment originally aired on Friday, February 19, 2016. For Ellis Dyson, there is something alluring about the music from the 1920s. He sees it as dirty, raw and mysterious. With the help of fellow musicians at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Dyson has blended the sounds of Dixieland jazz with themes of standard folk ballads to create a "whiskey folk" ensemble. Host Frank Stasio talks with Dyson about the band's origins and influences as a young group channeling

Hillary Clinton is now the official Democratic nominee, making her the first woman in history to become a presidential candidate of a major party. President Obama took the stage last night to voice his support for Clinton with a speech filled with familiar themes about hope and change.

Science Fiction and fantasy have traditionally created worlds of aliens, robots and monsters of various sorts. And there was a time when readers might have been stereotyped as nerds and geeks. But now sci-fi is exploding in the mainstream through digital media. And authors who were once niche writers are now mainstream. Three leading writers in the genre read this Saturday at Malaprops Bookstore in Asheville as part of the Shared Worlds event. The event features authors who are participating in

This program originally aired on April 21, 2016. Ken Ilgunas was working as a dishwasher near the oil refineries of Alaska when his friend suggested they should hike the entire length of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. He immediately agreed, and a year later he started the journey from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf Coast of Texas on foot. Along the way, he interviewed the people he met about the prospects of a pipeline running through mostly private land. His adventures and his interviews are