Episodes

“Ghosts in the Stadium” is a new historical documentary from WRAL looking at the unknown pasts of four iconic football stadiums in the Carolinas and their links to the painful history of race relations in the United States. WRAL Documentary Producer Cristin Severance and WRAL Sports Anchor Chris Lea set out to uncover who these stadiums were named after, where they were built, and what communities were replaced. In this episode, Chris Lea joins us now to talk about the making of this documentary...

Monday afternoon a man was shot in downtown Raleigh near Moore Square Middle School. He was taken to the hospital and police arrested a suspect. The school was briefly put on lockdown. Multiple streets were shutdown. This brazen act of violence in a highly populated area has many people in the neighborhood very concerned about safety. In this episode, WRAL reporter Willie Daniely explains what happened and how people are reacting.

North Carolina's voting districts have been debated for years - fought over in the state house and in the country's highest court. Now lawmakers and lawyers are preparing for another round. New voting districts proposed by Republican lawmakers would tilt North Carolina's representation in Congress far to the right. The proposal has drawn criticism and threats of legal action from the left. But this time, challenges may be less fruitful than past efforts. WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran...

In today’s episode we’re talking about junk health insurance. Basically, it’s a phrase that describes short-term, very limited health insurance. It was meant to be used as emergency coverage, not as a main source of health insurance, and it looks like the government is getting ready to crackdown on this industry. WRAL’s 5 On Your Side producer Pritchard Strong joins us to explain the situation.

A 19-year-old freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill ingested fentanyl on campus at Duke University back in March and died according to papers now filed in federal court. Grace Burton’s death had been kept very quiet even though the student she was with at the time and the suspected drug dealer are now charged in the case. A student journalist at Duke wrote about what happened for an online news site. In this episode, WRAL’s Enterprise Team Executive Producer Ashley Talley sheds light on this tragic case.

In today's episode, podcast host Amanda Lamb switches chairs with WRAL anchor Debra Morgan for a very intimate interview. For the past year Amanda and the team at WRAL Studios have been working on "The Killing Month August 1978," a true crime series. The story takes place in rural Pennsylvania and follows the exploits of a crime family whose empire starts crumbling when snitches begin talking to police. That's when witnesses started to disappear. Some of them were found shot to death and buried ...

Imagine booking a hotel for the weekend and showing up at the address only to learn it’s not a hotel at all, but a personal injury law firm. Or you make a hair appointment and pay a deposit online only to learn that the person who took your money isn’t affiliated with the hair salon. These are just a few examples of online scams that are burning both customers and businesses. In this episode, WRAL 5 On Your Side’s Keely Arthur joins us with how these scams work and how you can protect yourself.

Sex education is a controversial topic in North Carolina, from legislation that school districts believe requires them to get parental permission to teach it, to the limited messages it includes, there are big concerns about whether it goes far enough. In this episode, WRAL education reporter Emily Walkenhorst explains where we are at this moment.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been one year since witnesses say a teenage boy opened fire on a Raleigh greenway in the Hedingham community killing five people. To mark the anniversary, WRAL has been speaking with people whose lives were changed forever by this tragedy. In this episode, anchor and reporter Ashley Rowe shares her powerful experience interviewing Tom Karnatz, the husband of one of the victims, Sue Karnatz, who went jogging that day and never came home leaving three children behind...

The images on television and online seem unreal, a world away. But for many Americans, including North Carolinians, what is happening in Israel is very real to them because of their personal ties to the country and its people. In this episode, WRAL reporter Chelsea Donovan shares her experience interviewing people from the Triangle who have witnessed the violence firsthand.

Tiny but mighty, some scientists say beans can help fix the future. “Beans is How” is a global effort to double the consumption of beans, peas, and legumes by 2028. These foods are some of the planet’s most sustainable protein sources, using dramatically less water, land, and fossil fuels to produce than animal products do. More high-end restaurants are getting creative by putting #BeansOnTheMenu, including Chef Sean Fowler at Mandolin in Raleigh. WRAL’s climate change reporter Liz McLaughlin jo...

Recession is a word that’s been thrown around a lot over the past two years. It’s left a lot of people concerned about their economic futures. 5 On Your Side has been asking experts what their forecast is for the economy. In this episode, WRAL reporter Keely Arthur brings us up to date on what economists are predicting.

Interim U.S. House Speaker Patrick McHenry of North Carolina is poised to lead his fractured Republican Party through the election of a permanent chamber leader starting this week. WRAL State Government Reporter Will Doran explains why one of McHenry's Democratic colleagues thinks he's the right leader for the moment - and how the beer they're brewing together offers a glimmer of bipartisanship in a time of division.

In 2006, way before she was a superstar, a 16-year-old Taylor Swift shared her music with students at Athens Drive High School in Raleigh after they won a concert from a local radio station contest. Little did they know at the time that the up-and-coming country music singer was going to be one of the most famous entertainers of their generation. Ironically, no local media covered Swift’s concert seventeen years ago which was attended by less than two hundred people. But those who were there now...

Major League Baseball is likely to expand by two teams in the near future. The owner of the Carolina Hurricanes wants Raleigh and North Carolina to be part of this conversation. North Carolina is home to franchises in the NHL, NFL, NBA, MLS and NWSL as well hosting NASCAR and PGA Tour events annually. It’s still very early in the process of putting together a potential MLB ownership group and identifying stadium locations, but it’s a conversation lots of sports fans are watching closely. WRAL In...

One year ago this month, the unthinkable happened in Raleigh. Five people were killed and another person was critically injured after witnesses say a teenager opened fire on a greenway at the end of the workday. The suspect, 15-year-old Austin Thompson, was also wounded. It was expected that his case would ultimately move from juvenile court to superior court where he would be charged as an adult. As of Tuesday afternoon, this has not happened. WRAL reporter Chelsea Donovan joins me to bring us ...

As a parent, or an employer, it can be extremely frustrating. A big storm is predicted, schools are closed, and parents are home with their kids trying to balance work and child care. And to make it even worse, sometimes that big storm never materializes. In this episode, WRAL meteorologist Kat Campbell shares what she learned about how school systems make decisions to delay and cancel classes due to weather.

When Republican lawmakers crafted the North Carolina budget, they set aside a big chunk of change for ambitious economic development projects. One-tenth of the $30 billion spending plan is devoted to projects meant to attract companies to the state and keep existing ones here. WRAL state government reporter Will Doran breaks down some of the biggest economic development earmarks in the 1,400-page budget.

About 100,000 babies are born in the U.S. every year thanks to invitro fertilization known as IVF. But as the interest in IVF increases, so does the wait times for treatment. It can take up to six months just to get an initial consultation. In this episode, WRAL Investigates’ reporter Sarah Krueger shares what she learned about the process.

Raleigh’s Catholic Diocese is about to celebrate its one-hundred-year anniversary. The area is now home to half a million practicing Catholics. In this episode, WRAL anchor and reporter Debra Morgan shares her experience interviewing with Bishop Luis Zarama. He talks about how the church weathered the pandemic and has managed to thrive. He also reflects on the sacred beauty of slowing down and embracing the quietness.

A quarter of a million people gathered in our nation’s capital 60 years ago on August 28, 1963, for the March on Washington headed by Dr. Martin Luther King. The historic event is largely credited as helping pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act. One of the people in that crowd was veteran North Carolina state lawmaker Rep. Mickey Michaux of Durham. He has vivid memories of that day. Michaux just turned 93 and he sat down with WRAL anchor and reporter Ken Smith to share his recollections of this monume...

First there is the relief…you’re okay, your family is okay. Then there is the realization that your property is not okay. Hurricanes can wreak havoc on your home. From downed trees, to holes in your roof, to flooding, knowing what to do and where to turn after a storm damages your property can be overwhelming. In this episode, WRAL’s 5 On Your Side reporter Keely Arthur shares what homeowners should do in the wake of a hurricane.

Remote teaching during the pandemic wasn’t the best way for many students to learn, but it was a stopgap measure to help schools get through the crisis. Now, some schools across the state are finding themselves turning to virtual teaching companies to help them fill the vacancies left by an extreme teacher shortage. In this episode, WRAL education reporter Emily Walkenhorst explains exactly what these companies do and how this virtual education experiment is going.

The pandemic set children back in so many areas—academically, socially, and emotionally. For many parents, helping their children regain what they lost and thrive has been a major struggle. In this episode, we speak to local author Dr. Rebecca Jackson about how brain development impacts everything our children do. In her new book, Back on Track, she helps guide parents to create an action plan that can give their children the tools they need to thrive from birth through the teenage years.