Chris Jones

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is back in session after a bumpy summer revealing tension between Superintendent Crystal Hill and the school board, even as the district celebrates significant post-pandemic academic gains. We’ll talk to Hill about her return, the investigation’s aftermath, recent district academic gains, the challenges facing students and teachers, and what she believes the district needs to accomplish this year.

Nearly two decades after the hazing death of 19-year-old Harrison Kowiak at Lenoir-Rhyne University, North Carolina has enacted Harrison’s Law, expanding the definition of hazing and increasing criminal penalties. We examine what the new law changes, the federal landscape for hazing and whether stronger statutes can truly shift campus culture.

We sit down with Mecklenburg County Sheriff Garry McFadden to discuss jail overcrowding, deaths in custody, cooperation with immigration enforcement officials, the need for a juvenile detention facility, and lawsuits and investigations involving the operation of the county jail.

Ahead of the midterm elections, North Carolina’s early voting locations and hours have been set. We discuss the impact and how voters feel about confidence in election security. Later in the show, we'll examine a new study that shows how Charlotte’s growth is cutting into its farmland.

Summers in Charlotte continue to trend warmer, dry spells are lasting longer, and communities are already grappling with dramatic changes in climate trends. We look back at how the region dealt with another summer of climate impacts.

Last week, President Trump signed an executive order that would reduce the number of childhood vaccines recommended for all children by the federal government. We discuss what parents need to know. We’ll also talk with two education reporters about what’s happening around the region.

Automatic License Plate Readers, ALPRs, have recently come under scrutiny. Police have considered them a force multiplier capable of solving serious crimes faster. Communities across the country, though, have raised privacy concerns regarding the technology. We'll look at how they're used here in the region.

For more than a century, the Outer Banks has been acclaimed as the birthplace of flight — but what if it was also the birthplace of the wireless world we live in today? Monday, we revisit the origins of American radio with author and historian Kevin Duffus and explore how a stretch of the North Carolina coast helped give voice to the world.

Local news is in crisis. Newsrooms have shrunk, newspapers have closed, and communities across the country are increasingly becoming news deserts. In his new book, “Why Local News: A Memoir and Plea for an Endangered Form of Journalism,” Rick Thames argues that strong, local journalism remains essential for informed communities and democracy.

U.S. Rep. Chuck Edwards ended his reelection bid last week following a House ethics investigation confirming he “violated House Rules related to sexual harassment and hostile workplaces.” Now, Republicans are left to replace him. We check in with our roundtable of reporters on the latest from Washington and how it could impact North Carolina.