Human Interest

The arts have always been integral to the Appalachian experience. Helene led to a pause in much of the area’s creative output. But six months later, many artists are back at work and incorporating the tragedy into their projects.

In the second installment of "With Grace and Grit: A mountain community responds to Helene," Paul Garber reports on Lansing’s Bridge to Recovery. The nonprofit was launched post-Helene to help restore vital spans that are not maintained by the state.

When the first case of COVID-19 arrived in Guilford County, former Public Health Director Dr. Iulia Vann was very new to the job. After a wave of fear and anxiety, she says something else quickly followed: determination. In the latest installment of Echoes of the Pandemic, Vann describes working with her team to meet unexpected challenges, and moments when the intensity of it all set in. 

A few decades ago, the High Country town of Lansing was a struggling former train stop. But this century, it has seen a revival, thanks to new residents and businesses.  Then, Helene washed away much of the progress. Six months after the storm, Lansing is again looking to make a comeback.

In Bad Law, Elie Mystal argues that our country's laws on immigration, abortion and voting rights don't reflect the will of most Americans, and we'd be better off abolishing them and starting over.

Comedian Conan O'Brien received the Mark Twain Prize at the Kennedy Center on Sunday night, which David Letterman called "the most entertaining gathering of the resistance ever."

If you lived in North Carolina during the pandemic, Mike Sprayberry’s voice may sound familiar. As the state director of emergency management, he spoke alongside then-Governor Roy Cooper at hundreds of COVID-19 press conferences. In this installment of Echoes of the Pandemic, he reflects on the challenges state officials faced and why he stayed calm when the stakes were high.