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The number of people who identify as Christian is declining and a new category of ‘nones’, meaning “nothing in particular”, agnostic, and atheist, is growing. That’s according to a study by the Pew Research Center from 2015 called the American Religious Landscape Study. If the current trend stays the course, according to Pew, American society is likely to grow less religious even if today’s adults maintain their current level of commitment. So what do these changing religious views tell us about

December 21 st marks the first official day of winter – and the winter solstice – the longest night of the year. According to Rick Kline of the Spacecraft Planetary Imaging Facility at Cornell University, solstices and equinoxes denote either the beginnings of the seasons or the center points of them. Kline tells USA Today that Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and other holidays have arisen out of just these markings. Whether you celebrate the season by sitting around the Christmas tree, sipping hot

It’s a romp across the holiday table today – whether you’re one of those people who dreads the days-on-end slog in the kitchen as relatives eat you out of house and home or if you love the chance to throw dietary concerns aside and let your creativity fly, we’re going to have some ideas for you. According to The Atlantic , Americans rarely eat together anymore. Three years ago, the average American ate one in every five meals in the car, and most American families eat a meal together fewer than

North Carolina has a teacher shortage. Enrollment in Schools of Education within the University of North Carolina system has dropped 30% since 2010. And that, according to WRAL, is having a big impact on the number of teachers available to North Carolina schools. In southeastern North Carolina alone, 175 UNCW students graduated with education degrees in the 2015 – 16 academic year. That’s down from 233 the previous year and 288 the year before that. Those numbers come from a StarNews report –

ON JUNE 8, LIFE CHANGED IN WILMINGTON. THAT’S THE DAY PAGE ONE OF THE STARNEWS DECLARED “TOXIN TAINTS CFPUA DRINKING WATER.”

GenX is in the local drinking water supply – albeit at significantly lower levels than six months ago. What kind of impact that has had or could have or will have on the people who drink the local water is still unclear. It was June of this year that the news broke about Chemours dumping this unregulated chemical compound into the Cape Fear River at the site of its Fayetteville facility – which sits about 100 miles upriver from Wilmington. For years, local environmental advocates have expressed

The National Flood Insurance Program is set to expire on December 8 th . The U.S. House of Representatives voted in November to reauthorize the NFIP until 2022. Now, the Senate must decide whether and how to move forward with the program. Congressman David Rouzer, a Republican from North Carolina’s seventh district, voted in support of the 21 st Century Flood Reform Act. Fellow Republican Walter Jones, from the neighboring 3 rd district, voted against it – along with a majority of Democrats.

In New Hanover County alone, which has an estimated population of about 220,000 people, more than 1100 kids are served by programs through the Brigade Boys and Girls Club. Two-and-a-half years ago, 352 children were in the foster care program in New Hanover County. Today, the number is closer to 450 – with county staff reporting an across-the-board increase over the last year-and-a-half. When we last addressed this topic more than two years ago, officials could not clearly identify the reasons

Many of us are confronted each morning with our personalized news feed – whether the source is social media, a news app trained to select articles reflecting our preferences, or a TV channel. Pundits have blamed those sources for the societal divides we’re seeing today. Whether it shows up as a rejection of negotiation on Capitol Hill or the uncomfortable moment Uncle Steve criticizes the President while carving the Thanksgiving turkey, it’s a well-documented fact that polarization is at an all

Journalists Matt Lauer. Charlie Rose. Mike Oreskes of NPR. NBC’s Mark Halperin. Chef John Besh. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. Celebrity Photographer Terry Richardson. Investment banker Gavin Baker. David Corn of Mother Jones. Actors Andy Dick. Kevin Spacey. Danny Masterson. Dustin Hoffman. Ben Affleck. Sylvester Stallone. Jeffrey Tambor. Tom Sizemore. Both filmmaking Weinstein brothers – Harvey and Bob. Roy Moore, Republican U.S. Senate Candidate from Alabama. Al Franken,

It was 1929 when Ella May Wiggins decided she would join the fight to unionize mill workers in North Carolina. She also decided she would work to integrate the union -- despite the fact she was a mill worker herself who barely survived on her meager wages, despite the fact she was a woman with no formal education, no help from the father of her children, and not even enough food to fill her belly from day to day. The story of Ella May Wiggins is a real part of North Carolina history – now come

Clyde Edgerton has written ten novels, three of which are now movies. Of those produced, his favorite is Killer Diller. In 2013, he wrote a book of advice, Papadaddy’s Book for New Fathers , and he’s also written a memoir: Solo: My Adventures In The Air. His short stories and essays have turned up in New York Times Magazine , Best American Short Stories, Southern Review, Oxford American, Garden & Gun – among others. He has been a Guggenheim Fellow, he is a member of the Fellowship of

On November 15, 1864, William Tecumseh Sherman began his “March to the Sea” from Atlanta to Savannah. It was the beginning of a major blow to the Confederacy during the American Civil War. While the 19 th century sounds like ancient history to some of us, there exists a tangible division in this country which has this year, played out in an emotional debate over how to treat Confederate monuments and statues. This month is also the 119 th anniversary of the day a white mob seized the reins of

Fracaswell Hyman says he didn’t set out to be a writer. Despite that, he spent years writing for Nickelodeon – on the shows Little Bill, Taina, Gullah Gullah Island. We’ll hear about those years – but we’re also here today to talk about his first middle-grade novel, Mango Delight . And we’ll find out what he thought he was setting out to do for a career and before he unwittingly fell into a life of writing – which he now characterizes as “writing for my life”. Fracaswell Hyman is also an actor

It’s the last election-related show we’ll have in 2017. The day after a small percentage of eligible of voters went to the polls to choose leaders for the boards of towns and cities, we’re taking a look at what happened, what it could say about what’s on voters’ minds, and where we go from here. Also on this edition, we spend a great deal of time on why people didn't vote -- with lots of listeners chiming in via email and phone calls. Guests: Tim Buckland, Senior Political Reporter and Local