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The pandemic tanked small businesses at an alarming rate. Entrepreneurs of color were hit hardest. Carolina Small Business Development Fund President and CEO Kevin Dick tells host Leonede Inge about what is being done to help small businesses stay afloat during the crisis. Plus, Tina Travis founded Errand Girl concierge service during the last recession, and has grown and adapted the business ever since.

COVID cases are dropping and vaccine doses are becoming more plentiful. Scientists are even working on a pill that could prevent future coronavirus pandemics. But Lisa Gralinski of the UNC Department of Epidemiology reminds host Dave DeWitt that this pandemic is not over yet.

In 1898, the elected government in Wilmington, N.C. was overthrown by white supremacists who sought to undermine Black progress. The impact of the violent insurrection still lingers in the city today and illuminates existing national political tensions. In this special episode, Phoebe Judge, host of the podcast “Criminal,” shares that show's exploration into events that led to the violence and its aftermath.

As educators become eligible for the vaccine, some school districts are reopening for in-person learning. The move is forcing families and educators to grapple with what’s possible to ensure health and safety inside the classroom. Host Dave DeWitt talks with James Hopkins, principal of Lakewood Elementary in Durham, about the transition to in-person learning. Plus, two North Carolina teachers share how they are coping with the road ahead.

The waitlist for a COVID vaccine can be long, and there isn't enough to go around. So some people are finding ways to jump the line. Host Leoneda Inge talks with Benjamin Money of the NC Department of Health and Human Services and WUNC Data Reporter Jason deBruyn about attempts to promote and protect equity in the vaccine distribution process.

The COVID crisis has not only stalled the visa application process for immigrants in the U.S., it's made returning home an uncertain option when many borders are closed. Host Dave DeWitt and producer Rebecca Martinez tell a story about Nicolas Duchamp, a world-class flute player from France who hoped to gain permanent residency in the U.S.

The pandemic has made it hard for singles to find romance, and for couples to keep it alive. Host Leoneda Inge interviews couples therapist Mary Hinson about how partners can reconnect after a bit too much time together. Plus, Laura Stassi introduces "Dating While Gray," the latest addition to the WUNC podcast family.

Governments are trying to develop a pattern of COVID-19 vaccine distribution that satisfies a variety of interested parties. Meredith College Religious and Ethical Studies Professor Steve Benko tells host Dave DeWitt that the most efficient system isn’t always the most equitable.

PAULI: EPISODE THREE After spending decades fighting for gender equality and racial justice, Pauli Murray decided to unite her convictions for human rights with her religious spirituality. In her early 60’s, Pauli entered a seminary and became the first Black woman ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1977. She brought to the priesthood the same power she’d carried as a firebrand all her life ― a power that is strengthened by women in the church today standing tall on Pauli’s shoulders.

PAULI: EPISODE TWO In 1948, Pauli Murray began a years-long journey, crossing the country to document each state's segregation laws. The result was an exhaustive, 700-page tome. The text, published in 1951, may have a pretty unexciting title — “States' Laws on Race and Color” — but its nickname is more glamorous: the “bible of civil rights law." Pauli's work documenting discriminatory ordinances across the nation was pivotal to the NAACP’s legal team as they fought key battles against segregation in the mid-20th century. But Murray’s road to writing that bible was anything but easy, and she was often on the verge of having to forego the seminal project.

PAULI: EPISODE ONE As a Black, queer, Southern woman, Pauli Murray endured a sinister combination of sexism and racism. She called this specific kind of discrimination Jane Crow, and no matter where Pauli went, Jane Crow followed. But Pauli refused to let that dictate her life. With the pen as her sword, Pauli fought to undermine Jane Crow’s grip on the lives of Black women, wielding the written word as a weapon for truthtelling. As a legal scholar, she inspired the likes of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and helped secure equal rights for women. As a poet, Murray has given hope and resilience to countless women of color ― offering messages of brave love and bold defiance that resonate today.

Pauli Murray was a powerhouse for social justice. She worked tirelessly as a lawyer, an activist, a poet, and a priest to push for racial equality and gender rights, and influenced the likes of Thurgood Marshall and Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She rarely received appropriate recognition during her lifetime, but global awareness of Pauli’s legacy grows more by the day. Now, a faculty movement at UNC Chapel Hill aims to honor the social justice warrior by naming a building after her. But the proposed commemoration comes with a complicated history.

J.G. de Roulhac Hamilton’s name has marked an academic building on UNC-Chapel Hill’s campus for decades, a testament to his impact as a historian of the American South in the 20th century. But beneath his cloak of academic legitimacy, Hamilton was a white supremacist. Now faculty at the university are working to unravel and reform his harmful legacy with a push to change the name of the building currently called Hamilton Hall.

The pandemic has shuttered traditional performing arts venues, but many artists have been inspired to create new shows to entertain the public while educating audiences about health disparities. Host Leoneda Inge interviews playwright Dasan Ahanu, whose ethno-drama “A Crisis of Moments” was staged at North Carolina Central University this winter. Plus, Christina Rodriguez of Carolina Performing Arts previews the organization's virtual spring season.

Free and reduced-price school lunch programs are designed to guarantee meals for students who experience food insecurity at home. But now that many kids are learning remotely, meals aren't always making their way to the mouths for which they are intended. Guest host Rebecca Martinez and WUNC education reporter Cole del Charco explore what districts and communities can do to prevent children from going hungry during the pandemic. Plus, Friends of Geer Cemetery are teaching about the overlooked history of Black Durhamites.

Retired Four-Star Army Gen. Lloyd Austin will be the first Black U.S. secretary of defense. Host Leoneda Inge talks about what this historic appointment might mean for troops and veterans of color with David Chrisinger, an expert on white supremacy in the military, and Mary Tobin of the West Point Women's alumni association who mentors young Black officers.

It’s been a year since the coronavirus began spreading in the U.S. and it shows no sign of slowing down. Tim Sheahan is a coronavirus researcher and assistant professor of epidemiology at UNC’s Gillings School of Global Public Health. He tells host Dave DeWitt about the relentless workload that comes with an unforgiving pandemic.

Many African Americans have a healthy skepticism of a racist health care system. Now Black health professionals have an uphill battle to promote the COVID vaccine. Host Leoneda Inge talks about trust in both the medicine and messaging with Meharry Medical College President James Hildreth, Duke Medical Center nurse Faye Williams and clinical trial participants Curtis and Benita Perkins.

Five people died after President Trump incited rioters to storm the U.S. Capitol. North Carolina Central University Law Professor Irving Joyner tells host Dave DeWitt that what happens next will help define this moment in our history.