Bill McArthur rose from a farm in Robeson County to the International Space Station. Now he rides with a different crew.
John Drescher
Posted inCourts
The New Judge in Town
An independent state office that functions like a court has long had a reputation for stability and impartiality. But its new leader, with help from the legislature, is making waves and consolidating power.
Posted inCriminal Justice
Good Cop, Bad Cop
While state legislators in North Carolina were able to find common ground and approve police reform bills, members of the U.S. Congress couldn’t get beyond their differences. The contrast shows what can be good—and bad—about politics in our divided era.
Posted inSports
N.C. State’s Band of Brothers
Fifty years ago, as the number of Black athletes began to grow rapidly at Southern universities, a group of young men joined forces in Raleigh in a quest for a national college basketball championship. Now, after the death of an irrepressible teammate, they look back on the bond they still share.
Posted inPolitics
The Forgotten Lessons of the Hamlet Fire
Thirty years ago, a deadly fire at a chicken-processing plant in a poor North Carolina town prompted a push for employee safety. Now, workplace fatalities in the state are rising, and an Assembly investigation shows a federal agency involved in the tragedy failed to keep its promise.
Posted inHigher Education
The Struggle for Power at UNC
Nikole Hannah-Jones declined UNC-Chapel Hill’s offer of tenure, the result of a costly and drawn-out governance debate. At Carolina, the backlash is just beginning.
Posted inHigher Education
Nikole Hannah-Jones, a Mega-Donor, and the Future of Journalism
Emails obtained by The Assembly show that UNC-Chapel Hill’s largest journalism-school donor warned against Nikole Hannah-Jones’ hiring. Their divergent views represent a new front in the debate over objectivity and the future of the field.
Posted inEssays
A Life of Do
Kel Landis III ’s The Little Book of Do! was published in the summer of 2014 when he was 57 years old. Landis, a former marathoner who became a devoted walker, was healthy and happy. He had every reason to believe there was a long stretch of runway ahead. Landis was good at getting things […]