The word "Due" read from top-down and "South" left-right, with the U shared between them. Reminiscent of a compass.

Due South

Two longtime North Carolina political rivals (and friends) are 'Talking About Politics.' Plus, PlayMakers' 'Primary Trust.'

By Jeff Tiberii,

Leoneda Inge, Stacia Brown, Rachel McCarthy

Published February 10, 2026 at 12:00 PM EST

0:01:00

North Carolina political rivals (and friends) are “Talking About Politics”

Two longtime political adversaries join co-host Jeff Tiberii to talk about how they became friends and why they are still talking politics with each other.

Carter Wrenn is a longtime Republican consultant who worked on, among other campaigns, those of Jesse Helms and Ronald Reagan. Gary Pearce has worked for decades in NC Democratic politics. He served as press secretary for the recently passed former four-term North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt. While they rarely share the same opinion, Carter Wrenn and Gary Pearce do share a blog -- Talking about Politics.

Carter Wrenn and Gary Pearce, political strategists and writers, Talking About Politics

Nate John Mark (left) and Rasool Jahan in 'Primary Trust' at PlayMakers.

0:23:27

In ‘Primary Trust,’ grief finds friendship, both real and imagined

PlayMakers Repertory Company’s production of “Primary Trust” features a vulnerable, comedic, and heartfelt performance from its star, Nate John Mark. Leoneda Inge chats with him about what it took to bring the story of a shy, grieving and solitary man to life.

Nate John Mark, actor and star of PlayMakers Repertory Company’s production of Eboni Booth’s “Primary Trust”

Due South

Jeff Tiberii

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.

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Leoneda Inge

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.

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Stacia Brown

Stacia L. Brown is a writer and audio storyteller who has worked in public media since 2016, when she partnered with the Association of Independents in Radio and Baltimore's WEAA 88.9 to create The Rise of Charm City, a narrative podcast that centered community oral histories. She has worked for WAMU’s daily news radio program, 1A, as well as WUNC’s The State of Things. Stacia was a producer for WUNC's award-winning series, Great Grief with Nnenna Freelon and a co-creator of the station's first children's literacy podcast, The Story Stables. She served as a senior producer for two Ten Percent Happier podcasts, Childproof and More Than a Feeling. In early 2023, she was interim executive producer for WNYC’s The Takeaway.

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Rachel McCarthy

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.

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