Alex Granados

Comic books have long reflected the culture that created them. Captain America represented the power and patriotism of America during the Second World War, and Superman is seen as a symbol of "truth, justice and the American way." But the times are changing. Superman renounced his American citizenship in a recent issue of Action Comics. He said he did not want to be seen as a tool of American policy. What does it say that the “Man of Steel” no longer wants to be associated with the United States? And what can we learn about ourselves by reading comic books?

Mardy Grothe's obsession with quotations began in college, but it wasn't until he battled cancer decades later that he finally sat down to write a book about them. He's been writing books ever since. His latest is called "Neverisms: A Quotation Lover's Guide to Things You Should Never Do, Never Say, or Never Forget" (Collins Reference/2011).

Jeffrey Pugh is a professor of religious studies at Elon University, so he is used to teaching students about God and the Devil. But in his new book, "Devil's Ink: Blog from the Basement Office" (Fortress Press/2011), Pugh takes on the role of Satan himself. Writing from the point of view of the Prince of Darkness, Pugh gives a different take on the world in a series of mock-blog posts.

Recently, the news was focused on President Barack Obama and his critics who publicly doubted that he was native born. In response, the President released his long-form birth certificate as proof of U.S. citizenship. Still, some don't believe him. What is it about conspiracies that draw people in, even after being presented with the facts? Host Frank Stasio talks about the Obama story and other famous conspiracy theories with Kenneth Kitts, a professor of political science at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and author of the book, “Presidential Commissions & National Security: The Politics of Damage Control” (Lynne Rienner Publishers/2006).

Burning Coal Theatre Company in Raleigh wants young playwrights to have a chance to showcase their work. That's why staff there created Kidswrite, a contest that picks and performs the best plays written by junior high and high school students. This year's winning plays include an impressionist romance and a play told from the perspective of a hangman.

Most counties have one school district for all of their students, but North Carolina's Halifax County is an exception. It has three districts for about 8,000 students, and The UNC Center for Civil Rights is targeting them for being separate and unequal. Despite the fact that Halifax County is 39 percent white, two of its districts have almost no white students while one has more than 70 percent.

Helping students become entrepreneurs has become part of the educational mission for many colleges and universities. North Carolina State University does this through its Entrepreneurship Initiative and the Garage. In the Garage, students can design prototypes, meet with investors or brainstorm with their peers. Host Frank Stasio talks about college entrepreneurship with N.C. State graduate students Angela Hollen, creator of the children's clothing company Spitter Spatter; Andrew Misenheimer, creator of SPARKmoto, a company that designs electric superchargers for motorcycles; Tom Miller, executive director of N.C. State's Entrepreneurship Initiative; David Townsend, assistant professor of entrepreneurship in the Department of Management, Innovation and Entrepreneurship at N.C. State; and Micah Gilmer, clinical assistant professor of social innovation at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Each year MerleFest brings some of the best names in traditional music to North Carolina. It began in 1988 as a way to honor the memory of Doc Watson’s son, Eddy Merle Watson, and it raises money for Wilkes Community College in Wilkesboro near where the Watson family lives.

Scientists are predicting up to 16 major storms this hurricane season. But what happens once a hurricane does develop is much more difficult for scientists to predict. Gary M. Lackmann, a professor in the Department of Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences at North Carolina State University has found a way to calculate the severity of a hurricane using a sophisticated forecast system that gives more details about the eye of the storm.

Mentally ill residents in North Carolina don't have a lot of housing options if they can't make it on their own. There is a good chance they will end up in an adult care home. These facilities are usually reserved for the elderly, and they don’t offer mentally ill residents much in the way of services or rehabilitation. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating North Carolina to see if its reliance on adult care homes violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.