Episodes

It’s one thing to mispronounce the name of a colleague or a new friend, but what about mispronouncing the name of the highest elected official in the state of North Carolina? Well, that’s exactly what we’ve all been doing for a very long time. State government reporter Travis Fain discovered this and decided to set the record straight. He joins us in this episode with what he learned.

This story falls into the category of cool jobs I didn’t even know existed. The fancy name is “graphic facilitation.” Basically, it’s an artist who creates a visual representation of a meeting on a whiteboard for all the participants to see and digest. The idea is that these images can help people brainstorm in a way that opens up their minds to new strategies and solutions. In today’s episode, we speak with Nicole Karp, a North Carolina native, who lives in Raleigh and works as a graphic facili...

Sushi has become the go-to food of choice for many Americans today. But how much do we really know about what is in the sushi we eat? WRAL Investigates purchased a variety of sushi in the Triangle and had scientists test it to see what we’re really eating when we ingest America’s favorite meal. Senior Producer Randall Kerr joins us in this episode with what they found.

Rabbi Eric Solomon of the Beth Meyer Synagogue in Raleigh traveled to Israel last week to support victims of the Hamas attack. He was transformed by what he saw, by what he heard, and by what he experienced. In this episode, he shares his emotional journey with us and his feelings about a possible Raleigh city resolution calling for a cease fire.

Democratic former state Supreme Court Justice Mike Morgan is an uphill fight in the North Carolina governor's race. To stand out, he released an unusually cinematic ad that has generated some buzz. Will it be enough for him to overtake Democratic frontrunner Josh Stein? WRAL State Government Reporter Travis Fain shares details from his recent interview with Morgan and political experts. And WRAL State Government Reporter Paul Specht shares what he's learning about messaging in the Republican pri...

N.C. State University officials unexpectedly closed Poe Hall Friday after toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were found inside the academic building. WRAL 5 On Your Side Producer Pritchard Strong explains what was found and who might be most affected by exposure to the cancer-causing chemicals. He reveals concerns dating back years from faculty and staff who worked in the building.

It's hard to believe it has been almost a year since 11-year-old Hailey Brooks was hit by the truck driving her dance school float and killed. She was dancing down Hillsborough Street in the Raleigh Christmas Parade, a day that she and her family had been looking forward to for weeks. The Brooks family sat down and shared their story with WRAL anchor and reporter Debra Morgan. In this episode, Debra talks about their heartbreak and their path forward.

Rabbis from across the country and from North Carolina are in Israel to providing healing and comfort to the victims of the attack by Hamas and their families. One of these rabbis, Rabbi Eric Solomon of Beth Meyer Synagogue in Raleigh, spoke to me after his first full day in Israel from his hotel room about the heartbreaking things he has already experienced.

More than half a million North Carolina taxpayers were overtaxed by the state this year. This is related to a major glitch in the department of revenue’s tax system. The number of people getting incorrect bills is climbing daily. WRAL’s 5 On Your Side team investigated the situation. In this episode, Producer Pritchard Strong joins us with what they learned.

The words “nuclear power” have the ability to make a lot of us fearful. In the Triangle, Shearon Harris comes to mind. The cooling tower is located in southwestern Wake County on 5400 acres. The 36-year-old plant can power one million homes. But big nuclear power plants may soon be a thing of the past. In this episode, WRAL Investigates’ Senior Producer Randall Kerr explains what the future of nuclear power in our area looks like.

A decision by Toyota to build an electric vehicle battery plant has had a cascading effect on the state's economy. Under Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, the state has spent billions of dollars on tax-payer funded incentives, luring clean energy manufacturing jobs to the state. WRAL state government reporter Will Doran shares what he learned about those inverstments after speaking with Cooper and economists.

5 On Your Side recently did a story about a fake hotel listing on Expedia that duped both the customers and the business that was located at the actual address—a law firm. As a follow-up, they decided to create their own fake hotel listing to see what would happen. Would the vetting process that the online platform has in place actually work this time? In this episode, reporter Keely Arthur joins us with what transpired

Pets are family. When we lose a pet the grief can be overwhelming. What if there was a place you could go to remember and pay tribute to your beloved pet, a place where people who understand what you're going through gather together? There is such a place. It's called the Rainbow Bridge. In this episode, WRAL's Hidden History reporter Heather Leah shares the story behind the bridge, her very personal connection this sacred place and how she turned her grief into hope.

Okay, so most of us are familiar with home-sharing apps like Airbnb and VRBO, but have you heard of a pool-sharing app? Yes, I said pool. It was only a matter of time before everything could be shared. “Swimply” rents private backyard pools. But one county’s health department in North Carolina is threatening to shut the site down saying the rentals don’t comply with the state’s rules regarding public pools. In this episode, 5 On Your Side producer Pritchard Strong fills us in on what all the fus...

It’s a little bit like hurricane season. Meteorologists now have the science and the technology to help them predict what our winter weather might look like this year. It’s a big deal for companies who want to make sure their employees can get to work and for parents who get anxious that school will be canceled. In this episode, WRAL meteorologist and weather department executive producer Aimee Wilmoth joins us with a sneak peek at what we can expect.

Overcrowding is forcing thousands of Wake County families to move to new schools every year - the result of a population that is outpacing the county's ability to build schools. WRAL Education Insider Emily Walkenhorst explains how the county determines who moves here, how the county determines who moves where, how this year's reassignment plan will affect families and students, and what families can do if they don't want to be moved.

For a year, WRAL’s 5 On Your Side team has been studying ways to help you navigate the headaches of waiting in line at the DMV. People have been complaining to WRAL for years that there are few appointments, and the lines seem endless. Reporter Keely Arthur asked North Carolina’s DMV Commissioner Wayne Goodwin what the secret is to breezing through the unwelcoming experience. In this episode, she shares what she learned.

It’s not every day that you get to work with your dad on the project of a lifetime. That’s the gift I have experienced for the past year as I delved into one of his old cases to create a true crime serial podcast for WRAL, “The Killing Month August 1978.” Even though I was just an adolescent at the time, it was a murder case that always stuck with me—six people dead, shot, and in some cases, even buried alive. The criminals were a band of brothers known as the Johnston Gang who killed witnesses ...

The WRAL Investigates' team set out to find out what’s in those over-the-counter products that promise to help you sleep or give you a buzz. While marijuana is not legal in North Carolina, a certain level of THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, is. Call it marijuana light—you can find it in smoke shops and convenience stores. In this episode, senior producer Randall Kerr shares what their investigation uncovered.

From the mysterious Gimghoul Castle in Chapel Hill to the curious spinning angel of Oakwood Cemetery, the Triangle area is full of eerie urban legends to tell around Halloween. In this episode, WRAL Hidden History Reporter Heather Leah joins me to explore some of the most popular and chilling haunted places around Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill – many of which you can visit or drive past if you want to give yourself a good scare!

Have you ever wanted to explore a real ghost town? Odds are good you’ve driven or hiked past remnants of a ghost town or a lost community without even realizing it. In this episode, WRAL’s Hidden History reporter Heather Leah takes us on an exploration of several ghost towns hidden atop mountains, beneath lakes, deep in the woods, and even on an abandoned island.

Since 2020, the number of juveniles connected to crimes in North Carolina is up by 19 percent. A juvenile offender is anyone 17 or younger. And some of those accused are as young as 10. This has led to an overcrowding problem in youth detention facilities. It’s also leading many people to ask why younger offenders seem to be committing crimes at a higher rate. WRAL Investigates’ reporter Sarah Krueger joins us in this episode to share what’s she learned about this growing crisis.

The North Carolina State Health plan covers more than 700,000 state employees, retirees, and their family members. There is discussion about dropping coverage of weight loss drugs which have skyrocketed to popularity in the past few years. The Board of Trustees is meeting to discuss concerns over the price of the drugs. WRAL reporter Destinee Patterson joins me in this episode to explain.

Football stadiums and other sports complexes were built to bring people together. But there is some history behind these stadiums that could divide us. Our most recent WRAL Documentary, “Ghosts in the Stadium”, is the story of four iconic stadiums in the Carolinas and their links to the painful history of race relations in the United States. WRAL Sports Anchor Chris Lea hosted this documentary which premiered last night on WRAL and is available to view on WRAL.com.