Shawn Wen

Bill Friday spent his entire adult life devoted to higher education in North Carolina, including serving as president of the University of North Carolina system for 30 years.

The North Carolina Literary Hall of Fame recently brought Kay Byer onto its hallowed roster.

Byer was North Carolina's first female poet laureate, serving from 2005 to 2009. She spent her adult life in the mountains of western North Carolina, channeling the landscape and voices into her work. Her new book of poetry is called "Descent" (Louisiana State University Press/ 2012). Byer joins host Frank Stasio to talk about her writing.

In a floundering publishing industry, mystery novels are consistent best sellers. The CBS crime drama NCIS competes only with Sunday night football for top ratings on the Nielsen scale. Why do mysteries have such a grip on our imagination?

Bill Manbo’s family was just one of many forcibly relocated into Japanese internment camps during World War II. He recorded his time there on a 35 millimeter camera and eventually passed the photos along to Eric Muller, a professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

An article in October’s issue of The Atlantic details a struggling Staten Island high school that turned itself around by implementing an intensive focus on analytic writing in subjects across the board. How did they accomplish that, and what are the implications for the rest of our nation’s struggling writing students?

Gary Kueber went to medical school and became a doctor in Durham, but being an M.D. wasn’t enough for him. He also had a passion for architecture and turned it into his blog, Endangered Durham. He has chronicled the destruction and preservation of Durham’s historic landmarks for years.

In 1979, a socialist movement in Nicaragua led by a group called the Sandinistas overthrew dictator Anastasio Somoza. They set about creating a socialist government for Nicaragua, but during the Cold War era, the U.S. intervened and the CIA supplied and trained a counter-insurgency called the Contras. What proceeded was a decade-long civil war.

In the age of digital technology, storytelling is alive and well. In fact, many professional storytellers travel, working the festival circuit. Donald Davis is on the road 42 weekends this year, entertaining audiences with tales about identity, spirituality and everyday life.

There’s a lot of nostalgia for the 1990s these days. The economy was on the upswing. The music industry, the publishing industry, and the newspaper industry were all in better shape than they are now. And for a time there, it looked like the Triangle region of North Carolina might be the next big thing in popular music.

The aluminum company ALCOA wanted to renew their license to run dams along the Yadkin River, but they are faced with resistance from Governor Bev Perdue and some county commissioners. Critics say ALCOA is harnessing power irresponsibly and, in turn, poisoning the river. ALCOA is fighting for their property and profits. Host Frank Stasio is joined by WUNC reporter and Greensboro Bureau Chief Jeff Tiberii with the details of this story.