A Tale of Two Skylines
Four decades after committing to a dense, towering downtown, Charlotte has a lot of lessons to offer Raleigh—but the capital city has a different vision.
Trending Topics
Rooted in East Winston
Michael Banner is teaching his neighbors to grow their own food as a means of building self-reliance in Winston-Salem’s food-insecure neighborhoods.
The New Judge in Town
An independent state office that functions like a court has long had a reputation for stability and impartiality. But its new leader, with help from the legislature, is making waves and consolidating power.
Who we are
The Assembly is a digital magazine about the people, institutions, and ideas that shape North Carolina. Founded in 2021, we feature interesting, deeply reported, nuanced stories about our state.
We’re telling big stories and giving our journalists space to be ambitious. We want everything published at The Assembly to surprise, inform, and leave you with a better understanding than when you started.
Latest Stories
The Rooster, the Rattlesnake, and the Hydrangea Bush
Eating is something we must do in order to live. But what does it say about how we live? An excerpt from the posthumous collection of celebrated N.C. writer Randall Kenan.
The Dutiful Son
As a candidate for the state House of Representatives, John Harris has to break out of the shadow of the 2018 ballot-harvesting scandal that implicated his father, Mark Harris, and made them both national figures.
Bad Environment
A veteran human resources officer says she told former state environmental secretary Michael Regan, who now leads the EPA, that his deputy used racist language, and that Regan covered up the allegation. He says that’s not true.
Featured Stories
Schism in the Body
After years of acrimonious debate, the United Methodist Church has started to rupture. One church—with members ranging from ‘flaming progressive to dang near fundamentalist’—tries to reconcile an increasingly unavoidable divide.
King of The Road
Last year, the Burlington City Council unanimously supported transforming a bleak avenue leading from the interstate to downtown. Then power broker Sam Hunt derailed the plan—and helped exile the three-term mayor.
A New Wave Of Top Chefs
North Carolina’s food scene—and Black chefs in particular—are getting a new level of attention in this year’s James Beard Foundation Awards.
The Lithium War Next Door
A lithium mining startup promised to make Gaston County a clean-energy boomtown. But perceived slights and concerns over water have turned neighbors against the project.
Is WUNC Ready to Turn It Up?
North Carolina’s largest public radio station has banked $20 million in cash with strong broadcast numbers and listener support, but it has also left gaps. Now WUNC is seeking a new president, and a vision for moving forward, in a shifting universe of local news and media.
A Higher Ed Subsidy from the Right
The state’s signature college affordability program, once controversial, is now credited with saving one institution, growing two others, and was just expanded to cover a fourth: Is it a model or a fluke?