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'Paperhand Puppet' celebrates 25 years despite Chantal damage. Plus, Rob Christensen's book 'Southern News, Southern Politics.'

Part of the set from a Paperhand Puppet Intervention performance.
Paperhand Puppet
Part of the set from a Paperhand Puppet Intervention performance.

0:01:00

Southern News, Southern Politics: How a Newspaper Defined a State for a Century

Rob Christensen headshot by Robert T. Willett

The Raleigh News and Observer has a complicated and consequential history in North Carolina. The story of the N&O – or the “Nuisance & Disturber” as some called it over the years – is also the story of the family that owned and ran the paper from the late 1800s to the end of the 20th century. And about how the News & Observer didn’t just report on politics, but also shaped politics, for generations of North Carolinians.

Rob Christensen, a former political columnist for the News and Observer, talks with Leoneda Inge about his book, "Southern News, Southern Politics: How a Newspaper Defined a State for a Century." This conversation originally aired February 27, 2025.

Rob Christensen, former political columnist for the News and Observer in Raleigh, author of "Southern News, Southern Politics: How a Newspaper Defined a State for a Century"


0:13:00

"American Coup: Wilmington 1898;" Descendants of people affected by the Wilmington Massacre

A coup d'etat on American soil. That’s the basis for a documentary by PBS NC and the American Experience called "American Coup: Wilmington 1898." The directors of the film speak with Leoneda Inge about this dark chapter in North Carolina's history.

And we meet two descendants of people affected about the legacy of the Wilmington Massacre. This conversation originally aired November 12, 2024.

Brad Lichtenstein, director of "American Coup: Wilmington 1898"

Yoruba Richen, director of "American Coup: Wilmington 1898"

Kieran Haile, great-great-grandson of Alex Manly, editor and publisher of The Daily Record, Wilmington’s only Black-owned newspaper at the time of the events

Lucy McCaule, great-granddaughter of William Barry McKoy, a Princeton graduate and lawyer who later became the grandmaster of the Masons in Wilmington and was one of the heads of the White Government Unions.


Paperhand Puppet Intervention sets out their props to dry as the Haw river floods the town of Saxapahaw, NC after a night of torrential rain on Monday July 7, 2025.
Matt Ramey
/
For WUNC
Paperhand Puppet Intervention sets out their props to dry as the Haw river floods the town of Saxapahaw, NC after a night of torrential rain on Monday July 7, 2025.

0:33:00

Paperhand Puppet Project celebrates 25 years despite damage sustained by Chantal

Paperhand Puppet Project has delighted audiences with giant puppets, elaborate masks, and cloth creations for a quarter century. As the performers prepare for this year’s show, they’ve had to deal with an unexpected challenge: the flooding of their studio by the Haw River due to Chantal.

Co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with Paperhand Puppet’s Donovan Zimmerman and Barb Ford about drying out props and puppets, and about the organization’s latest performance “The Gift.”

Donovan Zimmerman, co-founder and co-director, Paperhand Puppet Project

Barb Ford, assistant stage manager and stilt walker performer, Paperhand Puppet Project

Leoneda Inge is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Leoneda has been a radio journalist for more than 30 years, spending most of her career at WUNC as the Race and Southern Culture reporter. Leoneda’s work includes stories of race, slavery, memory and monuments. She has won "Gracie" awards, an Alfred I. duPont Award and several awards from the Radio, Television, Digital News Association (RTDNA). In 2017, Leoneda was named "Journalist of Distinction" by the National Association of Black Journalists.
Jeff Tiberii is the co-host of WUNC's "Due South." Jeff joined WUNC in 2011. During his 20 years in public radio, he was Morning Edition Host at WFDD and WUNC’s Greensboro Bureau Chief and later, the Capitol Bureau Chief. Jeff has covered state and federal politics, produced the radio documentary “Right Turn,” launched a podcast, and was named North Carolina Radio Reporter of the Year four times.
Rachel McCarthy is a producer for "Due South." She previously worked at WUNC as a producer for "The Story with Dick Gordon." More recently, Rachel was podcast managing editor at Capitol Broadcasting Company where she developed narrative series and edited a daily podcast. She also worked at "The Double Shift" podcast as supervising producer. Rachel learned about audio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Prior to working in audio journalism, she was a research assistant at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.
Cole del Charco is an audio producer and writer based in Durham. He's made stories for public radio's All Things Considered, Morning Edition and Marketplace. Before joining Due South, he spent time as a freelance journalist, an education and daily news reporter for WUNC, and a podcast producer for WFAE in Charlotte.