Episodes

2023 brought its share of wild weather--a busy hurricane season in an unusual weather pattern, near-record heat and a tornado in December. WRAL meteorologist Kat Campbell talks about what was behind this year's trends and walks through what we could see in 2024.

NC Capitol reporter Travis Fain takes a look back at the most impactful--and most intriguing--events in North Carolina politics in 2023.

If you love what you do for a living, it doesn’t feel like a job. Right? Well, this isn’t always the case. As we get older, and become more set in our ways, it’s easy to forget that much of our creative thinking processes grew out of our abilities as children to play and imagine new things. In this episode, we speak to B.J. Davis about her desire to spark these same creative processes in the workplace at any age.

Man-made tornadoes, beached sharks, Mount Rushmore and North Carolina legislators all have one thing in common: They were subjects of some of our most popular PolitiFact fact-checks of 2023. WRAL PolitiFact North Carolina reporter Paul Specht breaks down the year in misinformation and offers tips on spotting misleading ads and social media posts as we head into the 2024 election.

Mary Brown has an army behind her, an army of volunteers and people who donate their time and food to feed people in downtown Raleigh on Christmas day at City Market. She fills in the gaps when many organizations that help people yearround are closed. Mary's Christmas day event has become a tradition for many local families who spend their holiday in service instead of on the couch in front of a cozy fire. Hundreds of people who need a hot meal show up. In this episode, Mary explains her "why" a...

Downtown Raleigh is full of parking lots – but you never know when a plain-looking parking lot is hiding some amazing history. Did you know that there once was a castle on the former campus of Meredith College? In today’s episode, WRAL’s Hidden History reporter Heather Leah and news production assistant Arri Woodhouse unlock the secrets of this mysterious place.

There’s a good chance it has happened to you. You’re driving down the highway and something flies off a truck and hits your windshield cracking it. Windshield repair companies say business is booming. As our population grows, so does traffic. The more cars on the road, the more chances there are for your windshield to get damaged. But who is at fault when this happens? 5 On Your Side’s Keely Arthur investigated one man’s fight to get a trucking company to pay for the damage to his windshield.

It's rare in the television news business for a station to be able to tap into the expertise of a reporter who has cultivated sources and instrinsic knowledge of a community for nearly thirty years. Amanda Lamb is just that reporter. She's leaving WRAL at the beginning of 2024 as one of the longest-serving reporters in the station's history. She's also an accomplished author, blogger, and podcaster. In this episode Debra Morgan interviews Amanda about her WRAL career, her thoughts on the future ...

Individual and small-group tutoring sessions are helping North Carolina students catch up after falling behind during the Covid-19 pandemic. But the federal funding that pays for the tutoring is nearly gone, and it won’t be coming back. WRAL Education Insider Emily Walkenhorst explains how schools are working to keep the tutoring going.

For Jon Frey, recovery from his alcohol and drug addiction six years ago involved more than just a program, it involved a committment to overall health, a committment to fitness. Frey credits Healing Transitions, a program for men and women struggling with addiction, for getting him on the path to recovery. He credits his dedication to fitness for helping him stay there. Frey is the founder of the Oakwood 24, a 24-hour walk/run in Oakwood cemetery on December 22-23 which raises money for Healing...

For the past year, assessors have been evaluating 450,000 residental and commercial properties in Wake County to prepare for new property taxes in early 2024. The last evaluation in 2020 resulted in a 20% hike in taxes. They are likely to climb by an even higher percentage next year. WRAL Investigates reporter Matt Talhelm is covering this issue in multiple reports and joins us in this episode to explain how it all works.

Tonight, "A Christmas Carol" begins its 50-year at performance at DPAC in Durham. This will be Ira David Wood III's last show after creating it and playing Scrooge since he was 27. His son will be taking over the role. My guest today is Mark Olexik, a WRAL photographer and a talented actor who dreamed of being in the play when he first saw it as a little boy. That dream eventually came true. His interview is a true testament to a magical show that has become a timeless Triangle holiday tradition...

An EF-1 tornado with winds as high as 110 miles per hour touched down in Garner Sunday. It hit just seconds after the warning was issued. Amazingly, no one was injured, but the tornado damaged homes, cars, and uprooted trees. WRAL reporter Eric Miller was one of the first journalists at the scene. In this episode, he shares what he saw, what people experienced, and how they are cleaning up the mess.

Lawmakers recently set aside millions of dollars for a pair of education projects that are raising some eyebrows. The companies receiving the money didn’t compete for the contracts, and the state agency that has to implement the projects they fund didn’t have much say in the process, revealing a disconnect between lawmakers and agency officials. WRAL State Government reporter Travis Fain, who teamed up with Education Insider Emily Walkenhorst to look into the contracts, explains how they ended u...

Three people were shot and killed at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas. The gunman was killed in a shootout with police. Witnesses have identified the as a former professor with ties to North Carolina. He was a tenured professor at East Carolina University and graduated from Duke's business school. Chelsea Donovan spoke to people who knew Anthony Polito and joins us with what she learned.

Imagine your child is sick and you don't know what's wrong. Then a routine blood test at the doctor's office reveals she has lead poisoning. A Wake Forest couple recently experienced this nightmare. After testing everything in their environment, they learned a snack food was the source of the lead. WRAL's 5 On Your Side team investigated this case. Producer Pritchard Strong joins us with what they learned.

Tuesday night was the first Wake County School Board meeting since a 14-year-old student was stabbed to death at Southeast Raleigh Magnet High School last week. Several people related to the students involved say that the school was warned that violence could erupt and that they did nothing to stop it. The school system has not responded to this allegation as of this recording. WRAL's Aaron Thomas was at the meeting Tuesday night and says that parents who spoke out want assurances that students ...

For many Americans, medical bills are the thing that pushes them over the edge to a place where financial recovery seems impossible. One in ten people are still paying off medical bills in our country; that’s 23 million people. Fifteen years ago, a Durham police officer tried to save a man’s life after a heart attack. The man died. As a result, Jerry Elliot asked the Durham Bulls to install two defibrillators on the property. One of those was then used to save HIS life one year later. But fast f...

The conflict between Israel and Hamas is causing a rift within the Democratic Party. President Biden has been criticized by some within his own party for not doing enough to help Palestinians who have been hurt by Israel’s attacks on Hamas. Meanwhile, some North Carolina Democrats have faced criticism from some within the party for not showing enough support for Israel, the U.S.’s top Middle Eastern ally. The tension is taking the party’s focus off of the 2024 elections in North Carolina — a sta...

Sometimes, you visit a place so magical it’s hard to believe that it’s real. When you go to the Lake Lure Flowering Bridge you feel like you’re in another country. It is so spectacular, so magical, that it takes you on a journey. In this episode, WRAL’s Hidden History reporter Heather Leah shares the story behind the bridge, the gardens, and the local art that makes it come alive.

Three Cumberland County middle school students were treated and released from the hospital after eating gummies on a school bus. It’s not clear whether the gummies were infused with CBD, THC, or something else. The sheriff’s office is investigating. WRAL Fayetteville reporter Gilbert Baez is covering the story and joins me in this episode to share what he has learned about the incident.

Southeast Raleigh High School was closed Tuesday after violence on campus took the life of a 15-year-old student and sent a 16-year-old to the hospital. A 14-year-old is in custody facing a juvenile petition in the fatal stabbing. The entire school community is in mourning as staff, students and parents try to wrap their heads around the tragedy. WRAL has a team covering this unfolding story. In this episode, we speak to reporter Matt Talhelm about his role in our coverage.

In August, the unthinkable happened in our backyard-a shooting on a college campus. It took place at UNC Chapel Hill. A professor was killed. For hours students and staff sheltered in place in campus buildings while police searched for the shooter. A graduate student was eventually captured and charged in the professor's death. He was in court today, so was WRAL investigative reporter Sarah Krueger. In this episode, she shares what happened in the courtroom.

The 2024 race for North Carolina attorney general is expected to gain outsize attention — and loads of spending — as the role becomes more politicized. No longer is the position just for going after scammers and defending the state in lawsuits. In recent years, partisan debates over abortion rights and voting laws have pitted states’ judicial and legislative branches against one another. The two likely frontrunners for state AG in 2024 are among North Carolina’s most politically outspoken member...