Dave DeWitt

  Taylor Branch's trilogy on Martin Luther King, Jr. -- "The King Years" -- is widely considered the seminal work on one of the 20th century's most important figures. But at 2,300 combined pages, the three volumes can be a bit daunting for even the most interested reader.

Big changes are coming during this year's legislative session. Republican leaders and Gov. Pat McCrory are expected to push legislation that would significantly alter policies in education, energy, governmental regulations and health care, among others. Host Frank Stasio previews the session with WUNC Capitol Bureau Chief Jessica Jones.

Governor Pat McCrory says he has instructed his staff to write legislation that would revamp how state universities are funded. McCrory told the Bill Bennett radio show Morning in America that universities should be funded not by how many students they enroll, but how many students get jobs after college.

"I think some of the educational elite have taken over our education where we're offering courses that have no chance at getting people jobs," McCrory said. 

  The General Assembly is expected to consider legislation this week that will reform the federal unemployment insurance program. Republican leaders say the changes will help pay back a growing debt the state owes the federal government.

Advocates for workers say they are unnecessary and will push thousands of residents over a financial cliff. News and Observer reporter Mandy Locke joins Frank Stasio to discuss the changes and how it may affect tens of thousands of North Carolina residents.

Five women have filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They contend that the University mishandles and under-reports cases of sexual assault. UNC officials disagree, and call it a "fair, respectful" process.

Host Frank Stasio speaks with Daily Tar Heel reporter and UNC-Chapel Hill junior Caitlin McCabe about the complaint and the reaction on campus.

A battle over changing the tax code is looming in Raleigh. Some Republicans want to eliminate personal and corporate income tax. Democrats and a key member of Governor McCrory's staff call the proposal a regressive tax on the middle class and poor.

Host Frank Stasio talks taxes and other stories with Chris Fitzsimon of North Carolina Policy Watch; and Mitch Kokai with the John Locke Foundation.

In the fall of 1963, five undergraduate black students walked onto the campus at Duke University, integrating one of the last remaining segregated schools in the South. Their experience -- and that of the African-American students who followed -- was challenging as they overcame overt racism, biased faculty and social isolation.

A new governor and a new legislature are in place and ready to make big changes. The UNC system may let in more out-of-state students. And what does the latest Bank of America settlement mean for homeowners?

Tomorrow night, Concord-based folk-rock band The Avett Brothers will play in Raleigh at the Governor’s Inaugural Ball Gala. But before they do, bassist Bob Crawford will join host Frank Stasio to talk about the evolution of the band from three guys in a van playing 200 shows a year to a Grammy-nominated, chart-topping phenomenon.

During the height of the recession, The Johnson Nursery Corporation owed its bank more than $1.5 million. But a few shrewd decisions and a lot of hard work has pulled the company out of the red and put it solidly in the black — and earned the company the award of Small Business of the Year from Business NC magazine.