CarolinaCast

For the past year, social drinking districts have been popping up in downtowns across North Carolina. Customers can buy their drinks to-go from participating businesses and enjoy them while walking down the street.

An electric cyclist lost his life in a traffic accident at a Franklin Street intersection in late January. The tragedy has sparked a debate around bike safety in Chapel Hill.

Meanwhile, even before the January accident, town leaders were working on new road improvement projects to make walking and biking safer for residents. It’s part of an initiative called “Vision Zero.” The town adopted the plan in October with the goal of reducing  traffic fatalities and severe injuries by 2031.

Carolina Connection reporters Elijah Imlay and Brianna Atkinson talk with Jayda Williams about the latest developments.

The public can now see the controversial images that led UNC to cancel an exhibition by a local photographer. In February, UNC leaders abruptly canceled an exhibition by Durham photographer Cornell Watson that documented Black life and Black activism in Chapel Hill. They said some of the images detracted from the message of “reverence” for the Black community that they hoped the exhibition would convey. Watson called the decision censorship. His photos are now on display at the Chapel Hill Public Library. Carolina Connection reporter Jade Wilson talks with Jayda Williams about the controversy.

In February, though, Coursicle app users began receiving push notifications that said things like “Twitter dies today” or asked for nude photos. At one point, it displayed a large photo of Mark Zuckerberg with a vulgar insult. At first, many users thought Coursicle had been hacked, but Coursicle founder Joe Puccio – a 2016 UNC grad – soon admitted he was the one responsible. Carolina Connection’s Sierra Pfeifer talked with Puccio, and she discusses the story with Jayda Williams.

UNC students and community activists held a climate strike March 25. Students demanded that the UNC system transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. The Chapel Hill demonstration coincided with Fridays For Future, a global youth-led movement in support of climate action that sponsored sister strikes in Raleigh and Durham. Zachary Turner talks about it with Jayda Williams on this edition of the Carolina Connection podcast.

After a decades-long, largely successful public health campaign against smoking, 2020 hit, and cigarette sales went up for the first time in 20 years. Now, anecdotal evidence is pointing researchers in the direction of a trend: A new generation of young adults may be among those smoking more. Sophia Ramirez talks with Jayda Williams about this trend.

On this edition of the Carolina Connection Podcast, Asian Americans in the Triangle reflect on the history of racism in the United States as they share their personal stories and offer ideas on how to fight for a more just and equitable future.

College health centers across the country have struggled to keep up with COVID-19. They’ve faced high testing demands and an influx of student cases, especially before classes moved online. While serving as their university’s hub for student medical care, many don’t have the authority to make large scale public health decisions.

On this edition of the Carolina Connection podcast, Aurora Charlow discusses what has happened this semester at college health centers and what’s next as the pandemic continues.

People are starting new relationships despite COVID-19, but the pandemic has forced them to change the way they think about dating.