The State of Things

Joan Soriano's musical career began in the rural Dominican countryside when he made an instrument with a tin can and fishing line. Soon after, he and some of his 15 siblings formed a bachata band, a type of Dominican music they'd been hearing on the radio for years. Soriano left his family at age 13 to pursue a career in music and was eventually christened “The Duke of Bachata.” Today, he continues to perform with his family, traveling internationally to spread bachata to the world.

The nature of consciousness is hotly debated among philosophers, scientists and artists. We have thoughts, we feel, we remember the past and we anticipate the future. We think that is what it means to be conscious, but nobody can explain just exactly what that is or how it comes into being.

High unemployment persists in North Carolina, more than two years after the official start of the economic recovery and many of those who are working are slipping into poverty, unable to work enough hours or earn an adequate wage.

Given how often we turn to The Weather Channel to find out what to wear, when to wash our cars or whether we should be evacuating in the face of a hurricane, it's hard to believe there was a time when the idea seemed like a joke. But media mogul Frank Batten believed a 24-hour weather network could both save lives and make money. Host Frank Stasio talks with author Connie Sage about Batten's life and his achievements in a new book, "Frank Batten: The Untold Story of the Founder of the Weather Channel" (University of Virginia Press/2011).

Composer and violinist Mark O'Connor's newest piece of music recounts the story of the pirate Blackbeard's most famous conquest, the frigate Queen Anne's Revenge. O'Connor was commissioned to create a new overture for the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra, which will debut the piece on Thursday as part of the 17 Days Festival.

Jamie Bernstein lived and breathed her father Leonard's music throughout her life. Now she is working to keep her father's legacy alive. This weekend, she comes to Raleigh to narrate a concert of Leonard Bernstein's Broadway hits, performed by the North Carolina Symphony.

Doug Rader's family has lived in North Carolina's mountains for centuries, but as a child it was the coast that fascinated him. As he combed the tidal swamps for wildlife, he knew he wanted to spend his life studying and protecting the state's aquatic ecosystems. Now he's chief oceans scientist for the Environmental Defense Fund, and he's gained a reputation for finding consensus among fishermen, environmentalists and regulators.

Each day, building materials that could be recycled or reused are removed from homes and businesses and sent to the landfill. A new business in Durham called The ReUse Warehouse has begun collecting these products and reselling them at discounted prices. The warehouse is designed to divert materials from the landfill and give local families access to reasonably-priced building goods.

Sun Records founder Sam Phillips discovered music legends like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Johnny Cash, but Phillips said the greatest talent he ever met was Chester Arthur Burnett, better known as Howlin’ Wolf. The University of North Carolina will honor the Delta Blues great with a symposium and tribute concert on Monday. The event includes a talk by music scholar Peter Guralnick, who had the opportunity to see Howlin’ Wolf in concert. Guralnick is also writing a book on Phillips. He joins host Frank Stasio to talk about how Wolf’s talent and Phillips’ business sense helped shape the blues sound in the 1950s and 1960s.

Grammy-nominated blues artist Ruthie Foster grew up on gospel music. Her family sang and performed religious tunes and touches of that tradition are found in Foster’s sound. But she is also heavily influenced by folk and that combination gives her blues an authentically soulful sound that earned her the title of Contemporary Blues Female Artist of the Year at the Blues Music Awards last year. Foster performs at North Carolina State University’s Stewart Theatre tonight at 8 p.m., but first she plays live in the studio and joins host Frank Stasio to talk about her path to discovering the blues.