Jesse Steinmetz

The rise in the number of data centers to power artificial intelligence is driving a surge in demand for electricity. Nuclear energy may be poised to fill the gap. Some see nuclear power as clean but, in the U.S., we haven’t built a new plant since the 1980s and the specter of accidents casts a dark shadow. So, with demand rising, is it time to take another look?

Moshe Gildenman was a civic leader and musician in a small Ukrainian town until — one day in 1942 — Nazis murdered 2,000 Jews in his village, including his wife and daughter. He escaped with his son, carrying a revolver, a handful of bullets and a Yiddish songbook. His story of resilience, resistance and revenge is told in a new book by UNC Charlotte musicologist James Grymes.

On the next Charlotte Talks: freedom of the press. It’s a bedrock principle of American democracy and yet, one year into the second Trump administration, it is under attack. The Associated Press was banned from the White House Press room, journalists refused to comply with Pentagon rules controlling the narrative, the government defunded Public Broadcasting and Trump is suing and threatening networks and newspapers. We look at the damage done and what might be next.

On the next Charlotte Talks, Donald Trump appears to be sharpening his sword. Earlier this month, the United States conducted a large-scale strike against Venezuela, capturing their president. Trump has threatened Iran and Cuba, and he’s said he’ll take Greenland one way or another. Plus, he’s spoken of plans to send our military to an American city — Minneapolis. No matter what you think about this, North Carolina stands to profit, and so does Charlotte.

Congress is back in session for 2026, but as has been the case since January of last year, much of the action has been in the executive branch. Donald Trump announced the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro without notifying Congress in advance of the military extraction. Still, some in Congress are working on the release of the Epstein files, and another shutdown is looming at the end of the month. Here’s a look at what’s happening on Capitol Hill.

When Donald Trump returned to office, he took aim at scientific research and discontinued or disrupted funding, at one point cutting it to the lowest levels in decades. Our state has felt the impact and stands to lose billions of dollars. As the Trump administration refocuses its research priorities, we hear more about how North Carolina is navigating these shifts.

A conversation with the man who took Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant’s careers to legendary heights. From the biggest deals in the history of sports marketing to a campaign against the NCAA, we sit down with Sonny Vaccaro and his co-author, Armen Keteyian, to discuss his new book "Legends and Soles."

Artificial intelligence is weaving itself into many aspects of our lives, including medicine. We look at the promise and peril of that intersection.

Two years ago, the then-surgeon general published an advisory stating up to 95% of teens reported using social media “almost constantly.” We know that this increases depression and anxiety, and that is why nine states have taken steps to regulate its use. Now, North Carolina may be jumping on the bandwagon.

When President Trump announced tariffs, he said it would make the nation wealthy. But retailers are planning for price hikes and investors are selling, driving stock markets down around the world. We discuss the impact this has on North Carolina, on Charlotte and on your wallet.