Frank Stasio

Wangechi Mutu's life-size collages attempt to bring the Black female body to the forefront of her work. It is inspired by the complex power she's seen in women, particularly from her native Kenya. Not only are they enormous, but the figures are also mystical and powerful.

Today, Pope Francis officially became the 266th Pope for the Catholic Church, and the first representative of the New World. The 265 men who served before him were all European, but Pope Francis was born in Argentina, where he continued to serve until the church tapped him for the top job in Rome.

When we talk about human rights, we’re usually solidly in the expertise of political scientists. But professors of English and philosophy may have a role to play, too. That’s the goal of The Second Annual Conference on Human Rights and the Humanities. It’s being held by the National Humanities Center, and it brings together a variety of experts to discuss human rights.

The Pew Research Center released its annual State of the Media report for 2012, and television news viewership is down. Political coverage has declined, and on local TV news, 40 percent of the content is made up of traffic, sports and weather. Meanwhile, newspaper newsrooms in 2012 employed 40,000 people, the smallest number of full-time journalists since 1978.

  In North Carolina, when you purchase a handgun, your gun permit goes into the state's public records. Recently, however, Republican lawmakers have sponsored a bill that would remove this information from public access. Today on The State of Things we speak with local experts about the struggle between the first and second amendment.

The Americana music of The Gravy Boys hit the scene about eight years ago. They’re now three albums in and expanding their acoustic sound. Their newest album is called Crackerjack Whistle, and they’ll be playing in Raleigh tomorrow night.

  Out of the varied horrors of the Holocaust, a body of literature survives.  The most famous voice belongs to Anne Frank.  At 15-years-old, she wrote, “I still believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.”  It's hard to believe that anyone, even a child, can be so big-hearted. 

Less well-known is the voice of an adult woman, Etty Hillesum.  And her writing is finally getting its day in the sun.

  The Hofmann Forest is referred to as the "crown jewel" of forestry research in North Carolina, and it’s one of the main educational sites for forestry students.

Baby boomers are coming of retirement age at a rapid pace. The ordinary path forward would be golf, retirement homes and taking it easy, but Bolton Anthony, founder of Chapel Hill non-profit Second Journey, wants to change that conception of old age. He wants the hippies of the ‘60s to become the idealists of the new millennium. Host Frank Stasio talks to Bolton Anthony about his ideas for changing retirement.