Charlotte Newsmakers: Recent Episodes
Queen City Podcast Network
Award-winning journalist Joe Bruno is joined by Charlotte's newsmakers, the people shaping and impacting life in the Queen City. If it affects you, we're talking about it on The Charlotte Newsmakers Podcast.
Joe Bruno talks to Donna Dunlap, the CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters Central Carolinas. It is National Mentoring Month and the 50th Anniversary of BBBS. $100 a month can help support a child for a year and change their trajectory. Click here to donate.
Joe Bruno talk to Kristen Moyer, who helped push Charlotte City Council to pass an exotic animals ordinance.
Joe Bruno talks with Matthews Mayor Pro Tem Ken McCool about his goals for the town and being one of the youngest elected officials in the state.
This year’s holiday celebrations may look different as consumers navigate supply chain challenges.
Joe talks to Abi Olukeye, a Charlotte mom and entrepreneur introducing girls to STEM education and careers.
Joe Bruno talks to the artist behind "Intrude," the giant rabbits that have invaded Uptown Charlotte.
Charlotte City Councilmember Dimple Ajmera joins the Newsmakers Podcast to discuss her return to the dais after maternity leave.
5 years after HB2, Charlotte City Council finally passed a nondiscrimination ordinance.
Former Tent City residents will have to leave their hotels in late September. Mecklenburg County’s Karen Pelletier explains the ongoing push to find permanent housing solutions.
As the 2022 budget kicks in July 1, Charlotte Observer Alison Kuznitz explains what the fuss is all about.
Rell Lowrey discusses anti-trans legislation, trans visibility in Charlotte and how the Queen City can improve.
After a year off due to COVID, the Charlotte Knights are finally resuming play in the Queen City.
Joe Bruno talks to the West Boulevard Neighborhood Association about their quest to bring a grocery store to their area.
From the Charlotte Post and QC Football Chronicle, Ashley Mahoney joins Joe Bruno to discuss all things soccer in the Queen City, starting with Charlotte FC's season ticket controversy.
A chicken farmer, advocate for the homeless and unaffiliated voter, Stacy Phillips is not an ordinary elected official. Stacy joins the Charlotte Newmakers podcast to discuss her background and some of the top issues facing Huntersville in 2021.
Plaza Midwood continues to change. The latest proposal would bring housing to the old Peculiar Rabbit site but neighbors want Charlotte City Council to reject the project.
Mecklenburg County Deputy Health Director Dr. Raynard Washington joins new Newsmakers host Joe Bruno to discuss the county's COVID response, and those viral videos showing packed bars and restaurants in Charlotte's South End.
What does the future of Charlotte look like? Host Konata Edwards sits down with Ely Portillo of The UNCC Urban Development center to discuss the wealth gap in Charlotte and how it can be remedied.
Queen City Nerve's Justin LaFrancois found himself trapped with hundreds of other protesters in Uptown Charlotte on Tuesday, June 2, 2020. What happened next made national news.
Justin talks with host Konata Edwards about the incident.
NOTE: Contains adult language.
Charlotte LGBT advocate James Rice III talks with host Konata Edwards about the issues, COVID-19 and otherwise, facing Charlotte's LGBT youth.
Host Konata Edwards talks with Heal Charlotte's Executive Director Greg Jackson, about the organizations origins, and the tough road ahead for all Charlotte's underserved communities.
Host Konata Edwards talks with Charlotte restauranteur Greg Collier about COVID-19s affect on the restaurant industry, his journey as a chef, and hip hop music.
Host Konata Edwards talks with Charlotte Agenda's Michael Graff about the city's response to COVID-19, and the struggles of low-income families in Charlotte.
Host Konata Edwards talks with Charlotte journalist and entrepreneur Jennifer Moxley (Sunshine Media Network) about COVID-19's effect on the media freelance market, and how to value your work, and how to seek work as a freelancer in difficult times.
Host Konata Edwards talks with Ashley Mahoney from The Charlotte Post, and The Athletic's Jourdan Rodrigue about the effect COVID-19 has had on doing their jobs covering arts and entertainment, and sports in Charlotte.
Mecklenburg County's eviction rate is nearly twice the national average, and it's not even the highest in North Carolina. What are so many families being evicted? Sarah Blake Morgan is joined in-studio by Natalia Botella from The Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy to discuss the city's eviction epidemic.
In The Queen City Podcast Network's first residency recording at Uptown Charlotte coffee shop Coco and the Director, Ely Portillo joins host Sarah Blake Morgan to discuss Charlotte's reputation of bulldozing its past, the sustainability of the city's rapid growth, and to offer some perspective about the city's traffic.
In Part two of this recording of a live event, Sarah Blake Morgan moderates a panel discussion of this country's opioid epidemic.
In this installment, Part Two of the panel, Sarah Blake is joined by physicians Dr. Patrick Connor , former Carolina Panthers John Kasay, Muhsin Muhammad and Mike Rucker, and Debbie Dalton, who lost her son to opioid abuse.
The discussion was presented by the OrthoCarolina Research Institute, and held at Uptown Charlotte's Knight Theater on September 10, 2019.
In Part one of this two-part recording of a live event, Sarah Blake Morgan moderates a panel discussion of this country's opioid epidemic.
In this installment, Part One of the panel, Sarah Blake is joined by physicians Dr. Joe Hsu, Dr. Nady Hamid, Dr. Don Teater, and Betsy Ragone, who lost her son to opioid addiction.
The discussion was presented by the OrthoCarolina Research Institute, and held at Uptown Charlotte's Knight Theater on September 10, 2019.
Kristen Hampton has made the jump from local television news to global internet content creator. Her Facebook lives are routinely viewed hundreds of thousands of times (some in the millions) and her positive message reaches people from all walks of life.
Sarah Blake Morgan talks with Kristen about her journey from local news to the internet, and what her future holds, and why she felt she couldn't let people know who she married.
As the new year begins for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, there are thousands of students who have nowhere to go when the last bell rings.
In this must-listen episode, Meredith Dolhare from RunningWorks joins Sarah Blake Morgan in-studio - along with four special guests - to talk about being in school and being homeless.
CMPD Animal Care and Control's shelter if full of dogs and cats who need homes. Melissa Knicely joins Sarah Blake Morgan in-studio to talk about how you can give a dog or cat a new forever home, or make their time at Animal Care and Control better.
Learn more about CMPD Animal Care and Control here:
https://charlottenc.gov/AnimalsCMPD/Pages/default.aspx
Panthers' beat reporter Jourdan Rodrigue talks with Sarah Blake Morgan about the upcoming Panthers' season, covering the NFL as a woman, and her move from The Observer to The Atlantic.
With a certain type of CBD product under assault from North Carolina lawmakers, those in the business are circling the wagons again. Sarah Blake Morgan talks with Mike Sims from Charlotte CBD about his business, the myths behind CBD, and what's next for recreational marijuana products.
Sarah Blake Morgan sits down with former Green Beret interpreter Booyah Ghafoori, who left his home in Afghanistan after working as an interpreter with the US Armed Forces.
Betsy Ragone joins Sarah Blake Morgan in-studio to discuss her fight against heroin, and her non-profit "Michael's Voice," formed when her 30 year-old son died of an accidental overdose in 2016.
Gabe Cartagena is 21 years old, a UNCC student, and running for a seat on Charlotte's City Council. He's brash and outspoken, and joins host Sarah Blake Morgan in-studio to talk about what the city council can do better.
QCPN's new Charlotte Newsmakers host, journalist Sarah Blake Morgan, talks in-studio with writer Michael Graff. His recent story for Charlotte Agenda about a Charlotte activist and a troubled teenager gave a face to a startling statistic about upward mobility in The Queen City.
Recorded live at the Charlotte SHOUT! Festival at Uptown coffee shop Coco and the Director, QCPN Executive Producer Brian Baltosiewich is joined by Atrium Health's Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer Dr. Rasu Shrestha for a frank discussion about the future of healthcare, and the most important issues facing the industry, and its patients today.
Charlotte's Visart Video has reimagined itself as a non-profit and it's working to re-establish its position as the place to go for cinephiles in the Queen City. Hosts Sharon Smith is joined in-studio by Visart owner Micket Aberman and board director Jay Marong to talk about how a store like Visart can be relevant in the age of streaming video.
Charlotte's non-profits can always use a helping hand, enter Seed20 - the Charlotte organization that targets innovative non-profits and gives them an infusion of cash to help them take that next step. Joining Sharon Smith in the studio are Melissa Hovey from Seed20, Becky Santoro from Foster Village, and Shannon Houlihan from Para Guide.
Mothers of Murdered Offspring's Judy Williams has been emotionally supporting Charlotte families torn apart by violence for more than two decades. Now, with Charlotte's murder rate spiking, Judy joins host Sharon Smith in-studio to talk about the toll on those in the wake of violence, and her own battle with lung cancer.
Firefighters face an increased cancer risk. It's part of the danger in being a first responder. This week, three Charlotte Firefighters - one fighting a cancer battle of his own - join host Sharon Smith to talk about how CFD is changing the way they operate with an eye on decreasing the risk.
The winners of this years' Hackathon Charlotte join Sharon Smith in-studio to discuss their victory, and how to use data to solve some of the problems facing the US health care industry.
Charlotte city employee Melissa Baker's daughter Alexandra- just 20 years old - is homeless, living in Seattle, and battling a heroin addiction. In this heartbreaking conversation, she tells Sharon Smith about her fear every time the phone rings, and what she and her family have done to try to help her daughter.
If you or someone you know is battling addiction, call the National Addiction Hotline at 800-662-HELP.
Mecklenburg County Solid Waste Director Jeff Smithberger joins host Sharon Smith in-studio to discuss the state of recycling in Charlotte, what you can do to make recycling easier, to finally put to rest the debate over what is and isn't recyclable, and he reveals how companies like Amazon are actually making recycling harder.
Media literacy expert Jimmeka Anderson (IAmNotTheMedia.org) and Queen City Nerve Editor-In-Chief Ryan Pitkin join host Sharon Smith in-studio to discuss the state of local news in Charlotte, how people are consuming local news, and the responsibility of the consumer to know where their news is coming from.
Charlotte Chef Roberto Mendoza shares his incredible story with host Sharon Smith - from being born into poverty, orphaned and kidnapped... to becoming a chef for princes and presidents. Now, he's won the lottery, literally, and is giving it all back.
Melanie Hempe (familiesmanagingmedia.com) joins Sharon Smith in-studio to discuss digital addiction in children, how to set boundaries, how much connection to friends is too much, and how she established her home as "Video Game Free."
Charlotte values its tree canopy. In this episode, host Sharon Smith talks with Chuck Cole and head arborist Tim Porter from Trees Charlotte, about the canopy, its importance to the quality of life in Charlotte and the greatest threats to its well being.
WBTV's Dedrick Russell joins Sharon Smith in-studio to discuss how his special community conversation "Black Boys and the Promised Land" came to be, and what he learned about being young and black in Charlotte.
Wrongly convicted of a crime he didn't commit, Willie Grimes spent 24 years in prison. Now free, he joins Sharon Smith in studio to talk about his case, the evidence that would have cleared him and why it didn't, and his first days behind bars.
Host Sharon Smith talks with Charlotte paramedics Lester Oliva and Veronica Michaelis from Mecklenburg EMS MEDIC about the stress, the reward, and what Charlotte residents can do to make it easier for first responders to do what they do, and save more lives.