CC Podcast

On the latest edition of CarolinaCast, Carolina Connection’s podcast, reporter Lauren Mallett talks with Maddie Policastro about the significance of protests ahead of the upcoming midterm elections. She spoke with protestors and organizers at the recent No Kings protests in Chapel Hill and Carrboro, along with Western Carolina University Professor Christopher Cooper, who studies American politics. While Cooper says we are in the midst of a highly polarized political climate, he affirmed that protests do have a place in the order of a functioning democracy. 

Hundreds of Rohingya refugees live under tarps, tin scraps, and spare sheets of wood they’ve found in the heart of New Delhi, India. They fight the unforgiving heat, inconsistent water supplies, and the threat of deportation to Myanmar, where they fled brutal violence. A United Nations report has recognized the Myanmar army’s campaign against the country’s Rohingya minority as genocide.

While Indian officials have expressed their support for the people of Myanmar, the Rohingya’s future is uncertain as human rights experts warn that a lack of legal protection and rights granted by the Indian government jeopardizes their safety.

Gowri Abhinanda traveled to New Delhi to gather this report for the Carolina Connection podcast: “Redefining refugee realities.”

Eating disorders are typically stereotyped as a girl thing, but boys and men struggle with an obsession over gaining muscle and bulking up – sometimes referred to as “bigorexia.” Research shows nearly a third of teen boys in the U.S. report trying to gain weight … and about a quarter report taking supplements, steroids, or eating more. Rachel Moody reports in this edition of the Carolina Connection podcast.

Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) opportunities are reshaping what it means to be a student athlete. But not every sport is benefiting in the same way. As NIL continues to evolve, women in non-revenue sports are finding that success in the marketplace often depends less on performance in competition, and more on the personal brands they build online.

Zoe Behrendt, a non-revenue female athlete herself, discuss the situation with host Reyna Drake.

Patients can no longer receive gender affirming care at UNC Health if they’re under the age of 19. This limit exceeds North Carolina state law, which only bans these treatments for minors — or those under 18. Now, doctors and patients at the Triangle’s largest health system are adapting to the new regulation.

Carolina Connection’s Alice Scott discusses the new restrictions with host Anthony Guerra-Flores.