The State of Things

When Suepinda Keith and her husband Kevin Hicks moved to Chapel Hill, they were struck by how few young people they saw on bicycles. Avid riders themselves, they began a youth cycling program called Spoke ‘n Revolutions. When the group started riding last year, they had no idea how far it would take them – 1,800 miles, to be exact. That’s how far they biked this summer with a group of nine students from Chapel Hill High School. They were following the long path of the Underground Railroad all the way from Mobile, Alabama to Niagara Falls, biking roughly 60 miles a day for 33 days—something none of them had done before.

Mark Anthony Neal grew up in a home where the record player spun mostly gospel and soul. His father’s music selections created the soundtrack of his youth and eventually guided Neal to become a pioneer in the field of pop culture studies. Today he’s a professor in the Department of African and African-American Studies at Duke University and the author of five books, including his latest, “New Black Man: Rethinking Black Masculinity” (Routledge/2005). Neal is also the host of “Left of Black,” a Web series that examines social issues within the context of African-American culture.

Demolition came for a Raleigh landmark this week when The Brewery was flattened to make way for classrooms and retail space on Hillsborough Street. During its 28 years in business, The Brewery gave a boost to the careers of bands like Raleigh-born Whiskeytown and, in more recent years, offered a launch pad for pop groups like Paramore and Panic! at the Disco. Up-and-coming local musicians found a home there, too.

In 1991, the campus of Warren Wilson College outside Asheville, North Carolina hosted the first Swannanoa Gathering. From dulcimer workshops to Celtic music traditions, the multi-week, summer intensive featured instruction on just about all aspects of folk art. The first Gathering drew just under a hundred people. Now more than 1,000 flock to Warren Wilson College annually to participate in the program. Jim Magill, director of The Swannanoa Gathering, joins host Frank Stasio to talk about how the small folk culture series grew into a state tradition that draws iconic artists like Janis Ian, Tom Paxton and Patty Larkin to the mountains of North Carolina.

Mary Johnson Rockers is an accomplished singer-songwriter in her own right, but the last couple of years have been a collaborative venture with the members of her band. Mary Johnson Rockers and the Spark are out with their first album, “Hummingbird Heart.”

Same-sex marriage has long been illegal in North Carolina, but some lawmakers want to take the prohibition a step further. Among the proposed amendments to the North Carolina constitution is one that would outlaw gay marriage. When the General Assembly reconvenes in September, it will consider whether to put that amendment on a 2012 ballot.

For nearly two decades, the North Carolina Literary Review has been gathering the state's celebrated writers in its pages, and introducing new ones to a wider audience. To mark its 20th issue, host Frank Stasio talks with editor Margaret Bauer, Rives Chair of Southern Literature at East Carolina University, which publishes the North Carolina Literary Review. Two longtime contributors to the Review, James Applewhite and Bland Simpson, read from their work in the latest issue, centered on the theme of environmental writing.

Jon Herington has played with Steely Dan for 11 years. His guitar stylings are masterful interpretations of the famous rock band's iconic songs. He appears with Steely Dan tonight in Durham, but first he joins host Frank Stasio in our studio to play some original compositions from his solo CD “Shine, Shine, Shine” and discuss how a guy who grew up on jazz keeps a legendary rock sound going.

North Carolina’s legislature has enacted some of the most stringent requirements in the nation for women seeking abortions. How the bill will affect medical practice in the state? What legal challenges is it likely to face? Host Frank Stasio finds out what's in the bill and how this new state law fits into the convoluted history of family planning in America with WRAL Capitol Bureau Chief Laura Leslie; Senator Warren Daniel (R-Burke & Caldwell), who is a primary sponsor of the bill; Dr.

Dolly Parton is an American icon. Her skills as a singer, songwriter, musician, actress, performer and businesswoman are legendary. She brings her rhinestone-studded road show to The Durham Performing Arts Center tonight, so we're taking some time today to sing her praises. Host Frank Stasio is joined by Cecelia Tichi, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of English at Vanderbilt University. She’s the author of the books “Reading Country Music: Steel Guitars, Opry Stars, and Honky-Tonk Bars" (Duke University Press, 1998) and “High Lonesome: The American Culture of Country Music,” (The University of North Carolina Press,1994.); Also joining us will be Daniel Boner, Director of Bluegrass, Old Time, and Country Music Studies at East Tennessee State University.