NC Deep Dive

A US Senate campaign usually turns into slogans fast, but this conversation goes somewhere more specific: what happens when the people writing laws don’t understand the technology shaping daily life. We sit down with North Carolina Libertarian candidate Shannon Bray, a long-time technologist and Navy veteran, to talk about why he’s running, what he thinks Washington consistently gets wrong about modern systems, and how ...

Your ballot can include offices that rarely make headlines but still shape the water you drink, the flooding you see after big storms, and whether working farms can survive in a fast-growing county. We’re talking about the Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor race, a nonpartisan contest where you get two votes and won’t see party labels next to names, so doing a little homework really matters.
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The fastest way to understand what’s at stake in your local school board race is to follow the money and then watch how it hits real life. Wake County Board of Education District 2 candidate Christina Gordon joins us to explain how persistent underfunding of public education shows up everywhere at once: school safety needs, stretched staffing, classroom materials, student mental health supports, and even reliable access to me...

Court isn’t abstract when it’s your custody case, your misdemeanor charge, your juvenile matter, or your small civil dispute. That’s why we wanted a clear, voter-friendly conversation about the North Carolina district court judge race for District 10D Seat 2 in Wake County, especially for listeners in Southern Wake County communities like Holly Springs and Fuquay-Varina.

I’m joined by judicial candida...

A Supreme Court justice doesn’t “represent” you in the courtroom, but the decisions they help write can still touch your wallet, your vote, and your child’s education. We’re joined by Justice Anita Earls, the Democratic candidate for the North Carolina Supreme Court Associate Justice Seat 1 race, for a clear look at what the court actually does and what voters should be listening for in a judicial elec...

Wake County is booming, but a booming region can still feel squeezed. We sit down with Julie Vvon Haefen, the Democratic candidate for North Carolina House District 36, to get specific about what’s driving anxiety in Apex, Cary, and Holly Springs: housing costs, childcare bills, crowded schools, traffic, and utilities that keep climbing. Julie explains how she approaches the job as a sitting state representative, including th...

Five ballot questions can look simple on paper, then get complicated the moment you ask, “What changes next year, and what changes forever?” We break down North Carolina’s 2026 ballot so you can vote with your eyes open, not your party reflexes. I walk through the three statewide constitutional amendments and the two Wake County bond referenda, focusing on what the ballot language actually does, what it leaves to ...

Growth is reshaping southern Wake County fast, and the choices on your ballot decide how we pay for it, regulate it, and live with it. Join us as we sit down with Robert Von Brederode, the Republican candidate for North Carolina State Senate District 13, for a wide ranging, voter focused conversation about what he wants to change and the principles he says will guide him in Raleigh. His campaign motto is “liberty and common s...

Most people never see the North Carolina Court of Appeals at work, yet its decisions reach into everyday life across all 100 counties. We sat down with Judge Toby Hampson, a Democratic candidate for the NC Court of Appeals Seat 02, to pull back the curtain on what appellate judges actually do and what you, as a voter, should pay attention to in a statewide judicial race.

We talk about the core job: reviewing the cold record,...

County government is where politics stops being abstract and starts showing up in your everyday life, in the schools your kids attend, the roads you sit on, the housing costs that keep climbing, and whether mental health care is actually available when a family needs it. Christine Kushner, a Democratic candidate for the Wake County Board of Commissioners At-Large seat, shares clear, detailed insight about what the county does and w...

Appeals aren’t TV courtroom drama, and they aren’t a second shot at arguing the facts. They’re where the rules get enforced, errors get corrected, and precedent gets set and for most North Carolina cases, the Court of Appeals is the final stop. That’s why we sit down with Judge Michael C. Byrne, the Republican candidate for the North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 1, for a clear, practical conversation about...

Most people can explain what a governor or a legislator does. Far fewer can tell you what the North Carolina Court of Appeals decides even though it is often the final stop for the vast majority of appeals and the place where real lives quietly change course.

We sit down with Judge John Arrowood, the Democratic candidate for North Carolina Court of Appeals Seat 1, to break down how appellate courts work in plain language. We...

Growth in Wake County is changing everything at once: commutes, school capacity, housing prices, healthcare access, and even how we think about data privacy. We sit down with Mona Singh, a Democratic candidate for the Wake County Board of Commissioners at-large seat, to hear how a longtime tech and product leader would bring a root-cause, people-first approach to county government. If you’ve ever wondered why county decisions...

Flooding, drought, dirty creeks after a storm, disappearing trees, vanishing farmland, and rising water demand can feel like separate problems until you trace them back to one place: how we use land in Wake County. That’s why this conversation with Samantha Krop, a candidate for Wake Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor, is so eye-opening. Samantha brings a rare mix of experience as a former educator and current ri...

Growth is reshaping Wake County fast, and the question hiding in plain sight is simple: will we still have clean water, working watersheds, and enough farmland when the next wave of development hits? I sit down with CeCe Grant, a candidate for Wake County Soil and Water Conservation District Supervisor, to connect the dots between what looks like a small, nonpartisan race and the everyday basics we all rely on, from safe drinking w...

Your ballot can feel like a maze, especially after redistricting, but the stakes are simple: the choices in Raleigh shape your rent, your commute, your kids’ schools, and how safe you feel when you lock the door at night. Amanda Benbow Lunn sits down with Mary Insprucker, Republican candidate for North Carolina House District 36, to hear how she wants to represent parts of Cary, Apex, Holly Springs, and Fuquay-Varina in the 2...

Wake County is growing at a pace that feels exciting until you sit in traffic, open your property tax bill, or try to find a home you can actually afford. We sit down with Wake County Board of Commissioners at-large Republican candidate Gary Hartong to unpack what “catching up to growth” really requires, and why he frames his run as an infrastructure-first campaign rooted in long-range planning.

We get specific a...

Wake County is growing fast, and that growth shows up everywhere: school construction, EMS staffing, park demand, housing costs, and the property tax bill that funds most of it. I sit down with Safiyah Jackson, the democratic candidate for Wake County Board of Commissioners District 2, to get specific about how county government actually works and why revenue has become the battlefield where so many community priorities collide.

Your ballot can feel overwhelming until you slow down and hear how a candidate thinks when the questions get specific. I sit down with State Senator Lisa Grafstein, who’s running for re-election in North Carolina Senate District 13, to talk through the issues voters in southern Wake County keep bringing up: the cost of living, the pace of growth, and whether state government is still working for the people who live here.
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