WFAE - Charlotte Talks - Latest Audio

Neighborhood Safety - Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Tue, 15 May 2012 12:00 EST

Neighborhood Safety
Recently, a survey done by Johnson C. Smith University looked at communities around the JCSU campus to find out residents' thoughts about the safety of their neighborhoods. The research findings were a cause for concern in the neightborhoods because of the time frame that police officers took to respond to calls after dark. In the aftermath of the Trayvon Martin case in Florida, community members in Charlotte are re-examining their relationships with police and the efficiency of their own neighborhood watch programs. We'll talk with JCSU researchers about the study, and with a community leader about where they are and what they hope to change.

Guests

Dr. Thomas Priest - researcher in the Department of Social Sciences, Johnson C. Smith University
Ms. Mattie Marshall - President of Historic Washington Heights Community Association
Major Burce Belamy - Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department
Captain Mike Harris - Metro Division, Charlotte Mecklenburg Police Department

Add and read comments

· Neighborhoods Survey Results

Big Data - Monday, May 14, 2012

Mon, 14 May 2012 12:00 EST

Big Data
The era of Big Data has begun and Charlotte wants in. Going forward, collecting and analyzing billions of bits of data will be a big business. Proponents of Charlotte capturing a major share of that industry say it will not only make existing businesses here more competitive but also attract new ones, be a major driver for high-end job growth and lead to greater diversification of the region’s economy. We’ll explore the world of big data and Charlotte’s desire to be part of it.

Guests
Yi Deng - Dean and Professor in the College of Computing and Informatics at UNC Charlotte
Dr. Steven Ott - Dean of the Belk College of Business at UNC Charlotte
Bob Morgan - President and CEO of the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce

Add and read comments

Women and the Election - Friday, May 11, 2012

Fri, 11 May 2012 12:00 EST

Women and the Election
We've been hearing a lot about the importance of the so-called "women's vote" in the Presidential election. There is currently a 20 percentage point gender gap between President Obama and Mitt Romney, with women favoring Obama. But how monolithic can the female vote really be? And how does this gender gap impact the candidates' campaigns? We've also heard claims of a Republican 'war on women' with threats to reproductive rights. Is that true or just political hype - and if there is such a thing, is it exclusive to one party? We'll investigate that, find out what issues are important to female voters; examine historical voting patterns - why women vote differently than men (they tend to skew Democratic) and more. [Photo by Flickr/Jessica Whittle Photography]

Guests
Mary C. Curtis - Journalist who contributes to many publications including The Washington Post 'She the People' blog, Fox News Rising Charlotte, NPR, TheRoot.com and Creative Loafing.
Dr. Susan Roberts - Associate Professor of Political Science at Davidson College.
Debbie Walsh - Director, Center for American Women and Politics, Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University.

Add and read comments

College Alternatives - Thursday, May 10, 2012

Thu, 10 May 2012 12:00 EST

College Alternatives
A college education is getting more and more expensive and graduates are less likely to see a substantial return on the investment in their education. The monopoly that four-year institutions hold over higher learning is beginning to unravel, but what will replace it? There are many options for young people who want to learn besides a traditional college education. They could take classes online, pursue internships, or attend intensive vocational school. We explore different ways to approach higher education.

Guests
Blake Boles - Director of Unschool Adventures, Founder of Zero Tuition College, and Author of College Without High School
Marlon Paine - Marketing Director at UnCollege
Cheryl Robinson - School Counseling Specialist at CMS
Mary Vickers-Koch - Dean of the Harris Campus at Central Piedmont Community College and of Business & Industry Training Services, Business and Industry Learning

Add and read comments

Sustainable Development - Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Wed, 09 May 2012 12:00 EST

Sustainable Development: Charlotte & Around the World
Sustainable Development isn’t just a new, hopeful idea being tried in a few places around the US - it has a significant worldwide reach, from here, all the way to places in the Middle East, like Jordan. One of Jordan’s sustainable development experts has made her way to North Carolina to learn more about such efforts being made here, and we’ll meet Ruba Al-Zu’bi on the day that she visits a Charlotte example of Sustainable Development, ReVenture Park. We’ll talk about Sustainable Development here and across the globe.

Guests
Tom McKittrick - President and Founder of Forsite Development, and the lead developer at ReVenture Park, a re-development of a shuttered chemical plant.
Ruba Al-Zu’bi - Director of Environmental Sustainability for Jordan’s Development and Free Zone Commission. She’s an Eisenhower Fellow, a program involving professionals from all over the world to learn about how industries, governments, etc., work in other countries. She’s been in NC for a few days (Raleigh), and is in Charlotte to look at ReVenture Park.

Add and read comments