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Cape Fear River water dispute highlights tensions of fast growth. Plus, is warmer winter weather on the way?

Downtown Raleigh gets its first snowfall of the season.
Matt Ramey
/
For WUNC
Downtown Raleigh gets its first snowfall of the season.

0:01:00

NC water dispute highlights tensions between faster and slower growing regions

Fast-growing Fuquay-Varina has requested to pull water from the Cape Fear River – and not return it. Communities from Fayetteville down to Wilmington object. Reporter Paul Woolverton talks with co-host Jeff Tiberii about the request, the dispute and the stakes for the municipalities, and the people, that would be impacted.

Paul Woolverton, Senior Reporter, City View


0:13:00

A warmer winter weather outlook for North Carolina?

Forecasting the local weather is challenging enough, but what about predicting the climate outlook for an entire state? That’s the task of Corey Davis, an assistant state climatologist at the North Carolina State Climate Office. He joins Due South to talk about what to expect this winter, and how he turns prediction into a playful practice.

Corey Davis, Assistant North Carolina State Climatologist and editor of the State Climate office’s Climate Blog


0:33:00

Growing a more climate-resilient Christmas tree

Frasier firs, which represent the vast majority of Christmas trees grown in North Carolina, face a lot of threats during their ten-year growing cycle, especially from climate change.

Co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with North Carolina State University assistant professor Justin Whitehill, who runs the NC State Christmas Tree Genetics Program, about his efforts to grow trees that can be harvested sooner, hold onto carbon more efficiently and look more like the “perfect Christmas tree”– with a goal to benefit growers, consumers and the environment. (This Due South encore conversation first aired April 10, 2024.)

Justin Whitehill, Assistant Professor and Christmas Tree Genetics Program Lead, North Carolina State University

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.