The State of Things

Harry Potter paved the way for many fantasy novels, including one written by Time Magazine book critic Lev Grossman. "The Magicians" (Viking Adult/2009), took an adult look at the mythical world of magic and tackled issues of sex, drugs and existential angst. The sequel, "The Magician King" (Viking Adult/2011), is out now and continues its offbeat examination of the magical life.

Cape Fear Regional Theatre has been presenting professional stage productions in North Carolina for nearly 50 years. The not-for-profit Fayetteville-based theatre company operates with help from the community and under the leadership of Bo Thorp, its artistic director. Thorp, the daughter of Italian-Austrian immigrants, has been devoted to theatre since her childhood in Columbia, South Carolina. When she lost her parents at an early age, plays offered her a sense of family and kinship – something she carried with her to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where she continued to appear on stage and behind-the-scenes of theatrical productions on campus. When she arrived with her husband in Fayetteville in 1960, Thorp noticed that the community was lacking a cultural scene, so she co-founded the company that evolved into Cape Fear Regional Theatre. Just before celebrating the organization’s 50th anniversary, Thorp joins host Frank Stasio to talk about her passion for fine arts, her family and her experience as a leader in Fayetteville’s creative community.

William Michael Dillon spent nearly 27 years in prison for a murder he didn't commit. In 2008, DNA testing proved that he was innocent and he was set free. Dillon, also a musician, sings about his trials and tribulations in his first album, “Black Robes and Lawyers,” released this month.

How many lawyers does it take to make good music? Well, if you’re talking about the North Carolina band Instruments of Justice, the answer is a lot. They’re the house band for the law firm Poyner Spruill LLP, and they’re up to 13 members – enough to make up their own jury with an alternate. Host Frank Stasio gets treated to an in-studio performance and talks to the band about life as music-making attorneys.

Last month, a Charlotte jury awarded $10 million to the family of a teenager who died after a police officer used a Taser on him. Hundreds of people have died over the last decade in similar situations involving police and Taser use. Opponents of the electroshock devices say they've led to an epidemic of police brutality; police say they're effective tools that reduce injuries and deaths caused by more traditional weapons. Host Frank Stasio discusses Tasers, policing, and civil liberties with Sam Walker, an emeritus professor of criminal justice at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and author of several books on policing and accountability; Katy Parker, Legal Director of the ACLU of North Carolina; Darrel Stephens, former chief of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department; and David Cole, law professor at Georgetown University and author of "Less Safe, Less Free: Why We Are Losing the War on Terrorism." (The New Press/2007).

As early as the late 1800s, the United States already had the highest rate of divorce in the world. It has pretty much maintained its status as a world leader of broken marriages ever since. The advent of no-fault divorces in the late '60s and early '70s only made things worse. Now a generation of people raised by split parents is struggling to forge their way through the uncertain bonds of matrimony. Jonathan Weiler and Anne Menkens are one couple who say they found a way to have a “good divorce.” They wrote about their efforts in a series of articles on the Huffington Post.

When Raymond Cobb last made an appearance on “The State of Things,” it was from Tillery Correctional Center in North Carolina’s Halifax County where he was serving his sixth prison sentence. Cobb, who is listed as a “habitual felon” by the state corrections system, was released in May. He says he will make good on the claims to stay out of prison that he made on the show in 2009. Cobb’s transition back into society has already proven smoother than ever before. He has found work, strengthened his relationship with his son and reunited with an old love named Pelvia Harris.

One-hundred and fifty-one of North Carolina’s death row inmates say they can prove their sentencing was racially motivated. Starting next month, they’ll get the chance to take their claims to court. Under the Racial Justice Act – a controversial, two-year old law – convicts are allowed to appeal their sentences as a means to counter racial bias in the justice system. The first Racial Justice Act hearing goes to court in September. The convicted is an African-American man from Fayetteville who murdered a white teenager in 1991. Host Frank Stasio talks to Observer staff writer Paul Woolverton about why Marcus Reymond Robinson believes his death sentence should be changed to life without parole and about other Fayetteville headlines.

An intensive law enforcement training program in Durham teaches police officers how to recognize signs of mental illness when responding to emergency calls. The Crisis Intervention Team program works through a partnership between the Durham Police Department and The Durham Center, a county agency that manages a network of private providers who supply mental disability and substance abuse treatment for low income citizens. Host Frank Stasio talks to Sgt.

Some fans know her as Gallagher Gray or Chaz McGhee, but those who grew up with mystery writer Katy Munger in Raleigh knew her as one of six children in a large, eccentric family that lived in Cameron Park. Her father was the longtime books editor at The News & Observer, her mother was a political activist who took her children with her to protests and marches. Munger's lively childhood has helped shaped the characters she creates in three sets of mystery series, The Hubbert and Lil books, the Casey Jones series and her latest, the Dead Detective series. Host Frank Stasio talks with Katy Munger, who now lives in Durham, about her life, her work and how her characters interact with the justice system as “The State of Things” begins its annual Law & Order Week.