North Carolina’s prison system is facing a crisis, from severe staffing shortages and budget pressures to the growing needs of an aging inmate population. We sit down with Secretary Leslie Cooley Dismukes to talk about the mounting concerns. Then we hear the story of Kerwin Pittman, a former inmate who is now transforming an abandoned prison into a space focused on opportunity, healing and second chances.

America’s role in the world is changing. The thought used to be that a post-Soviet Russia and a more global China could become more friendly to the West. That has not happened. We hear from New York Times White House and national security correspondent David Sanger about these shifting tides and what they mean.