Place

Apple's Big Bite

The tech giant’s proposed RTP campus, and its quieter investment in the foothills, demonstrates the unsettling power of global companies to shape a state like North Carolina. // Art by The Assembly

BY Eric JohnsonMay 05, 2021

Politics

A New Democratic Playbook

Ricky Hurtado bucked party strategists to run a different kind of campaign. Is he the vanguard of Latinx electoral power and millennial campaigning in North Carolina? // Photos by Cornell Watson

BY Barry YeomanApril 21, 2021

Essays

A Life of Do

Kel Landis III personified civic leadership in small town and big city North Carolina alike. In the wake of his early death, what can his ethos of “losing yourself in doing” teach us about priorities in a reopened world? // Illustration by Carolyn Figel

BY John DrescherApril 18, 2021

Essays

Graves by the Sea

Across two narrow strips of sandy, marshy land, a team of volunteers is making Currituck County unique in answering a statewide call to document lost Black gravesites. What can their efforts teach us about remembrance and memorial? // Illustration by Isabel Seliger

BY Emily CataneoApril 14, 2021

Essays

An Alternate History for The Piedmont

A new novel imagines a North Carolina that avoided the school resegregation of the ‘90s and explores the family struggles and community tension that accompany the fight to maintain integration. But the book takes a broad brush to the idea of place, leaving a North Carolinian reader feeling a little overtroped and underwhelmed.

BY Brenna M. CaseyApril 07, 2021

Politics

Election Red Meat

Republicans and Democrats vehemently disagree about how to handle North Carolina’s elections, a fight that will only get more intense over the next two years. It’s time to find a modicum of common ground.

BY Rick HendersonApril 07, 2021

Politics

Locked in Committee

The past decade has seen landmark shifts in public opinion on LGBTQ rights. In North Carolina, Republican control has led to a backlogged wish list as advocacy groups work to drag the state up to national standards. Is this session when the dam breaks? // Art by Rob Dobi

BY Giulia HeywardMarch 31, 2021

Politics

Rocky Mount Is Dead. Long Live Rocky Mount

A deeply divided city has banked on a renaissance fueled by outside investment and historic preservation. But can its reinvention take place without reconciliation?

BY Katie Jane FerneliusMarch 24, 2021

Environment

Silent Waters

Fear, stress, and a growing list of health dangers. “Forever chemicals” have seeped their way into North Carolina’s waters and public awareness. Does anyone have a plan to fix them?

BY Tonya Simpson and Riley DavisMarch 17, 2021

Institutions

A Harebrained Idea

A look at The Assembly’s game plan to create an ambitious read for a growing state // Art by The Assembly

BY Kyle VillemainMarch 11, 2021

Politics

Speaking Into A Void

North Carolina’s paltry hate crime legislation trails the rest of the nation. Now, with the blockbuster HB2 fight fully in the rearview, is the state finally ready to expand its protections? // Illustrations by Derek Abella

BY Giulia HeywardMarch 10, 2021

Politics

A Bottle Too Far

North Carolina stands out for its stringent liquor laws and sprawling control bureaucracy. That rigidity is now crashing headlong into a growing array of outspoken entrepreneurs, intent on exposing the system’s absurdities. // Art by The Assembly

BY Jeffrey BillmanMarch 10, 2021

Institutions

The Ill-Fated Chancellor

In Cecil Staton’s three years as East Carolina University’s leader, football fans revolted, enrollment dropped, and an anonymous dossier questioned his hiring as “gross negligence.” What does his tenure say about ECU’s future? // photo courtesy of City of Greenville

BY Pam KelleyMarch 02, 2021

Institutions

Getting What We Pay For

How North Carolina’s legacy of a “citizen legislature” endures, with far-reaching effects on the state and its General Assembly // art by Rob Dobi

BY Christopher CooperFebruary 23, 2021

Writer Q&A

Behind the Piece: "Today's Outlaws"

An interview with writer Belle Boggs and a look at the reporting behind "Today's Outlaws" // photography by Carolyn de Berry

BY Kyle VillemainFebruary 23, 2021

Writer Q&A

Behind the Piece: "The Motivations of Phil Berger"

An interview with writer Kevin Maurer and a look at the reporting behind "The Motivations of Phil Berger" // photography by Andrew Craft

BY Kyle VillemainFebruary 23, 2021

Place

Today’s Outlaws

Extraordinary actions by law enforcement in Graham, North Carolina, briefly captured national headlines last Halloween. But the long-rooted violence it exposed, and the protest movement that endured, are here to stay // Photos by Carolyn de Berry

BY Belle BoggsFebruary 16, 2021

Place

Memory and Monuments in Tarboro

A national reevaluation of Confederate monuments met small-town politics. As the statue came down, the town of 11,000 was left to ask, “What’s next?” // Photos by Hanna Wondmagegn

BY Brenna M. CaseyFebruary 16, 2021

Essays

Fathers and Strangers

Best selling author of The Last Ballad, Wiley Cash, reflects on his father’s journey from mill town to middle class, and the tensions of character and politics that emerged // Animation by Jimmy Simpson

BY Wiley CashFebruary 16, 2021

Place

Oberlin’s Persistence

Buffeted by racism and urban development, Raleigh’s “premier African American suburb” was nearly lost in the wake of Cameron Village and Wade Avenue. As Raleigh reckons with its past, what’s next for a rising Oberlin? // Animations by Clay Rodery

BY Courtney NapierFebruary 16, 2021

Institutions

Breaking Out of Purgatory

The North Carolina Zoo intentionally left the “city-zoo” model behind, with its sprawling footprint at the center of the state. Today, as zoos question their foundations and principles, that decision looks prescient // Photos by Ucumari Photography

BY Riley DavisFebruary 16, 2021

Politics

The Motivations of Phil Berger

The state’s most powerful politician enters his 20th year in office but remains inscrutable as ever. As Republicans enter their second decade in power, what does Berger want? // Photos by Andrew Craft

BY Kevin MaurerFebruary 16, 2021