Dave DeWitt

Where would you go if someone called you and offered you a free trip to anywhere in the world?

For artist Nerys Levy, the choice was easy. “My deceased husband was Russian-Jewish,” says Levy. “I had grown up on the edge of Russian culture in our married life. So there was an emotional quality. I also knew this would be a wonderful artistic experience.” 

As a landscape artist, Levy saw the trip down the Volga River as a creative opportunity.  “The country has such a rich cultural history that has been submerged and is now re-emerging.”  

  The federal investigation into WakeMed over Medicare fraud looked like it was going to end in a settlement. But a federal judge twice rejected the agreement between the hospital and prosecutors, leaving the case unresolved. News & Observer reporter Joe Neff joins host Frank Stasio in the studio to discuss the case.

Republicans are looking to make big changes to how industries like energy, telecommunications and transportation are regulated. First on the agenda: fire most board and committee members and replace them with people hand-picked by Governor McCrory and the legislature.

  Taylor Branch's trilogy on Martin Luther King, Jr. -- "The King Years" -- is widely considered the seminal work on one of the 20th century's most important figures. But at 2,300 combined pages, the three volumes can be a bit daunting for even the most interested reader.

Big changes are coming during this year's legislative session. Republican leaders and Gov. Pat McCrory are expected to push legislation that would significantly alter policies in education, energy, governmental regulations and health care, among others. Host Frank Stasio previews the session with WUNC Capitol Bureau Chief Jessica Jones.

Governor Pat McCrory says he has instructed his staff to write legislation that would revamp how state universities are funded. McCrory told the Bill Bennett radio show Morning in America that universities should be funded not by how many students they enroll, but how many students get jobs after college.

"I think some of the educational elite have taken over our education where we're offering courses that have no chance at getting people jobs," McCrory said. 

  The General Assembly is expected to consider legislation this week that will reform the federal unemployment insurance program. Republican leaders say the changes will help pay back a growing debt the state owes the federal government.

Advocates for workers say they are unnecessary and will push thousands of residents over a financial cliff. News and Observer reporter Mandy Locke joins Frank Stasio to discuss the changes and how it may affect tens of thousands of North Carolina residents.

Five women have filed a complaint with the Office of Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education against the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. They contend that the University mishandles and under-reports cases of sexual assault. UNC officials disagree, and call it a "fair, respectful" process.

Host Frank Stasio speaks with Daily Tar Heel reporter and UNC-Chapel Hill junior Caitlin McCabe about the complaint and the reaction on campus.

A battle over changing the tax code is looming in Raleigh. Some Republicans want to eliminate personal and corporate income tax. Democrats and a key member of Governor McCrory's staff call the proposal a regressive tax on the middle class and poor.

Host Frank Stasio talks taxes and other stories with Chris Fitzsimon of North Carolina Policy Watch; and Mitch Kokai with the John Locke Foundation.

In the fall of 1963, five undergraduate black students walked onto the campus at Duke University, integrating one of the last remaining segregated schools in the South. Their experience -- and that of the African-American students who followed -- was challenging as they overcame overt racism, biased faculty and social isolation.