This year's WHQR luncheon guest was Tamara Keith, Senior Political Correspondent and co-host of the NPR Politics Podcast. Keith spoke about covering the president, the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, and her new series, Swing Shift, a long-term project to document the perspectives of voters in swing states. Keith also took questions from our audience and sat down with WHQR News Director Ben Schachtman.

WHQR News Director Ben Schachtman revisits his conversation about Juneteenth with Joe Conway, former chief equity and inclusion officer for the City of Wilmington and currently director of community engagement at UNC Health. Three years later, what's changed about the holiday, and how the nation is dealing with identity and history?

Cape Fear Community College recently settled a lawsuit filed by former trustee Ray Funderburk, and WHQR’s Rachel Keith has been poring over depositions from the case, including sworn testimony from top college officials. She joins News Director Ben Schachtman to share what she’s learned about the case — and more broadly, about CFCC’s leadership.

Aaleah McConnell has an intimate look at how the family of Edilberto Espinoza-Sierra is coping with grief and searching for justice, after the 21-year-old was killed by law enforcement in March. Plus, Rachel Keith and Ben Schachtman dig into public school funding, with a look at this year’s budget – and some potential issues on the horizon.

It’s been over a month since the family of Edilberto Espinoza-Sierra learned about his death, which has left them with many questions. In part one of this two-part series, WHQR's Aaleah McConnel breaks down some details of this case, and sits down with the family to learn who Edilberto was and how they are working through the loss.

On this episode, Rachel Keith sits down with Ray Funderburk III, who recently settled with Cape Fear Community College three years after he was ousted from its board of trustees. Plus, Kelly Kenoyer talks with UNCW economist Mouhcine Guettabi about potential economic impacts of a toll bridge over the Cape Fear River, which is looking increasingly likely.

On this edition of The Newsroom, WHQR News Director Ben Schachtman talks to reporter Aaleah McConnell, who has been looking into the arrest of a Wilmington man who claims he was the victim of law enforcement violence — and the laws and policies that govern the use of force by cops and deputies.

On today's show, Lucas Thomae from Carolina Public Press talks about 'wandering officers,' who are fired or resign under suspicion — only to pop up at another agency later. And a conversation with Republican State Auditor Dave Boliek about his vision for the office, applying AI to government audits, and his promise to keep politics out of the job.

On this special edition of The Newsroom, we’re telling the story of the Black Rock Plantation House. At first glance, it’s a mid-19th-century farmhouse. But dig deeper, and it sits at the intersection of multi-generational stories — including the families of enslavers and enslaved people.Over the last few months, WHQR’s Aaleah McConnell and Rachel Keith traveled with descendants of those families as they work to understand their history — which is also the history of America. It is, at times, an ugly history that’s hard to confront, but it’s also an inspiring story of resilience. Now, 250 years after the founding of our country, it seems more appropriate than ever to tell it.

WHQR's Ben Schachtman and Rachel Keith dig into our recent candidates forum for the New Hanover County school board. Five Republicans and six Democrats are running for four seats in each party.