Shawn Wen

When Ivy and David Sheppard chose a band name, they wanted something that referenced the old time music they played. Many American bands of the 1920s and ‘30s had words like “broadcasters” or “telecasters” in their names, since it was new technology at the time. So the Sheppards chose to go by The South Carolina Broadcasters. Along the way, they have picked up a third band member, Sarah Osborne.

Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act allows United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement to partner with state and local police. Those officers are allowed to enforce federal immigration law. Critics say that the program leads to racial profiling of minorities and makes immigrants fearful of reporting crime in their own communities.

Ayad Akhtar’s book "American Dervish" (Back Bay Books/2012) has launched a flurry of praise as an intelligent, self-assured debut novel. The main character is a Pakistani-American boy growing up in Milwaukee. Akhtar has also stirred controversy for creating idiosyncratic, even unflattering portrayals of Muslim-Americans. Host Frank Stasio is joined in the studio by Ayad Akhtar to talk about writing and identity.

It's no secret that there's a lack of compelling roles for women in Hollywood. Often, they are confined to adoring secretaries or sex objects, but in the noir films of the 1940s and ‘50s, the femme fatale uses her cunning and sex appeal to get the better of men.

In 2008, Barack Obama won North Carolina, marking the first time the state went for the Democratic candidate in over 30 years. In fact, in the previous couple of elections, Republicans won with solid victories. George W Bush had double digit leads over Al Gore and John Kerry. So what happened in 2008, and can it be repeated?

When the animators of “Toy Story” got stuck, they used to watch movies by Hayao Miyazaki for inspiration. Critics often call Miyazaki the greatest animator of all time, but many people have still never heard of him. The Carolina Theatre is about to screen a series of films from Miyazaki’s production studio. It’s called the Studio Ghibli collection. Guest host Isaac-Davy Aronson is joined by Helen McCarthy, the author of "Hayao Miyazaki: Master of Japanese Animation" (Stone Bridge Press/1999).

Just about everyone feels lonely, and yet loneliness is still so often private and difficult to articulate. Tom Dumm is a professor of political science at Amherst College and author of the book “Loneliness as a Way of Life” (Harvard University Press/ 2008).

Luke Powery’s father was a minister, but Powery wanted to go a different route.

He considered pursuing computer programming, but ruled it out after one of his first classes. Eventually, his father’s calling came for him, and he didn’t resist. This fall, Rev. Luke Powery became the first black dean of Duke Chapel. He joins host Frank Stasio to discuss his career and preaching suffering in the light of hope.

When Gov. Beverly Perdue announced earlier this year that she wasn’t running for a second term, she became North Carolina’s first one-term governor in nearly 40 years. Her unexpected bowing out and the recent redistricting have combined to create a turbulent election season on the state level.

Square dancing was popular from the late 19th century to the middle of the 20th, but it's seeing a revival in downtown Durham.

The Pinhook, a beloved bar in the local music scene, now regularly hosts Rowdy Square Dances. A band of old time musicians who call themselves the Five Point Rounders play these events, and they'll join host Frank Stasio in the studio for a do-si-do and live performance.