The State of Things

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.

Several months ago, the PBS show “History Detectives” contacted Cynthia Greenlee-Donnell, a graduate student in American History at Duke. They wanted her help solving a historical mystery near her mother’s hometown in South Carolina. The History Detectives wanted to trace the life of an enslaved girl named Willoughby. Host Frank Stasio talks with Duke graduate student Cynthia Greenlee-Donnell about her journey uncovering the story of Willoughby and her own family history.

Ben Saypol doesn’t think theater is just entertainment. It can also be a force for social change. In 2009, he started Theater Delta, an interactive theater group that uses audience participation as a tool for thought. Host Frank Stasio talks about Theater Delta with Ben Saypol, director of Theater Delta; and two of Theater Delta’s community partners: Ceciel Rooker of the Drossman Center for the Education and Practice of Biopsychosocial Care, and the UNC Center for Functional GI and Motility Disorders; and Heather Altman from Carol Woods Retirement Community.

Back in 2007, two guys in a bar came up with the idea for New Raleigh. It was a hyper local news blog that focused on the innovators and leaders turning Raleigh into an up-and-coming destination city. David Millsaps and Jedidiah Gant, the founders of New Raleigh recently announced they are closing up shop. Host Frank Stasio talks to them about their decision.