This wasn’t how things were supposed to go for Holden Thorp. He was the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s favorite son, the boy genius who’d fallen in love with the chemistry lab and followed that love all the way to the Ivy League, only to look homeward, still. He returned to Chapel Hill […]
June 2021
Posted inSports
Circles in the Dirt
NASCAR’s roots in North Carolina are weaker than ever, as an ever-more-corporate sport looks for its identity amidst declining viewership. Does the back-of-the-pack—the scrappy also-rans and up-and-comers—hold answers?
Posted inPlace
The Pain and Joy of Black Fatherhood
Durham-based photographer and father Cornell Watson traveled the state photographing Black dads—capturing the complexity of raising Black kids.
Posted inMedia
Searching for McClatchy’s North Carolina Future
The News & Observer and The Charlotte Observer remain the state’s most powerful and essential media outlets. But as North Carolina faces a dire local news and information crisis, the papers’ new ownership, shrinking footprint, and challenging business environment raise doubt about their future as the center of the state’s media world.
Posted inEssays
Say His Name: James Cates
A murder 50 years ago rattled Chapel Hill’s Black community, laying bare the college town’s persistent inequality. As the university renames a slate of buildings on campus, it’s time for its historical reckoning to expand to its relationship with the town around it.
Posted inPolitics
The Next Chapter of Hollywood East
Politics wounded the state’s once-thriving film industry. But now, a bipartisan $68 million incentives bill offers a new script, marked by soaring post-pandemic demand and a shaky ideological truce. As neighboring states seize the regional film mantle, can North Carolina compete?
Posted inHigher Education
Reaction and Pushback on UNC’s Hussman Story
“From The Assembly’s Newsletter: Reaction and Pushback from Last Weekend’s Bombshell Story on Nikole Hannah-Jones and Walter Hussman Jr., a Statement from Dean King, and an Update on the Greensboro Hog-tying Story”