Under the Dome

Latest Episodes:

New congressional and legislative maps on the horizon & what to expect this week at the NCGA Oct 09, 2023

Show notes

In the latest episode, for the week of Oct. 9, 2023, host Dawn Vaughan is joined by politics team colleague Kyle Ingram and N&O investigative reporter Tyler Dukes to talk about redistricting and what it means. By the end of the week, the public might get to see some of the new maps drawn by lawmakers for the 2024 General Assembly and congressional races.

Stay tuned after the break for our picks for Headliner of the Week.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Kyle Ingram, Tyler Dukes

Executive Producer and audio editor: Laura Brache

Video shot and edited by: Kevin Keister, Kaitlin McKeown

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NC’s DHHS secretary Kody Kinsley on Medicaid expansion, COVID and the budget. Plus, the federal government shutdown Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

It’s three months late, but today is the day for the long-awaited North Carolina state budget to become law.

Dawn Vaughan here, The News & Observer’s Capitol bureau chief and host of Under the Dome. Along with the budget comes Medicaid expansion. So our guest for this week’s episode of the Under the Dome podcast for Oct. 2, 2023, is the man leading the major health care change.

I talked with N.C. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kody Kinsley in his office in the Adams Building on the DHHS campus at Dix Park last week. Earlier that day he joined Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper to announce Medicaid expansion would launch Dec. 1. He also got his COVID-19 and flu vaccinations that day.

After the break, I’m joined by our Washington correspondent, Danielle Battaglia. She shares the latest on the federal government shutdown and the Senate dress code. And stay tuned for our picks for Headliner of the Week.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Kody Kinsley, Danielle Battaglia

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Video shot and edited by: Kevin Keister

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The budget has left The Building with policy, raises and power plays Sep 25, 2023

Show notes

For the week of Sept. 25, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan is joined (again) by politics team colleagues Avi Bajpai and Kyle Ingram.

The General Assembly is full of surprises, not just policy provisions hidden deep in the state budget, but we cover that part, too. This past week brought the final, actually here, budget deal, and casinos weren’t in it.

Within a week, the budget will become law.

We break down some of the play-by-play, a lot of analysis, and even get to Moore reassigning Rep. Terence Everitt, a Wake County Democrat, to the Legislative Building basement, where his new neighbors include the press corps.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Avi Bajpai, Kyle Ingram

Executive Producer and audio editor: Laura Brache

Video shot and edited by: Kevin Keister

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North Carolina’s state budget drama-rama over casinos Sep 18, 2023

Show notes

In the latest episode, for the week of Sept. 18, 2023, Dawn Vaughan, your News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host, is joined by politics team colleagues Avi Bajpai and Kyle Ingram. As much as everyone — especially state employees and teachers waiting on raises — wished for final budget votes last week, they didn’t happen. Will they happen this week? Don’t hold your breath.

After the break, gun laws after the recent gun violence on the UNC-Chapel Hill campus, and what Berger and Moore’s responses have been.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Avi Bajpai, Kyle Ingram

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Shot and edited by: Kevin Keister

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What the state budget arrival this week would mean for North Carolinians Sep 11, 2023

Show notes

For the week of Sept. 11, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan is joined by politics team colleagues Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi and Avi Bajpai to talk about the potential for the long-awaited, much anticipated arrival of the state budget.

Stayed tuned to the end for their picks for Headliner of the Week, which range from political soda to the weather to downtown Raleigh music.

Host: Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan

Guest: Kyle Ingram, Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Audio and video edited by: Kevin Keister

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What’s next for online sports gambling in North Carolina? Sep 04, 2023

Show notes

For the week of Sept. 4, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan talks about the future of sports gambling in North Carolina with Scott Ward, vice president of the Sports Betting Alliance. The alliance is comprised of sports betting companies Draft Kings, FanDuel, BetMGM and Fanatics Sportsbook.

After the break, Korie Dean, who covers higher education, and politics reporter Kyle Ingram, who also writes our Under the Dome newsletter, share more #ncpol updates from the week.

Host: Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan

Guest: Scott Ward, Korie Dean, Kyle Ingram

Executive Producer: Jordan Schrader

Produced and edited by: Laura Brache

Video: Kevin Keister, Kaitlin McKeown

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How ‘I Can’t Breathe’ ended up at NC Freedom Park Aug 28, 2023

Show notes

For the week of Aug. 28, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan talks with retired UNC Chapel Hill history professor Reginald Hildebrand and N.C. Sen. Natalie Murdock about the new North Carolina Freedom Park in downtown Raleigh. Hildebrand and Murdock, who both served key roles on the park’s planning, discuss the site selection to why “I Can’t Breathe,” the words said by George Floyd before being killed by Minneapolis police in 2020, is among the quotations inscribed on the walls of the new park.

Stay tuned to the end for their picks for Headliner of the Week.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Reginald Hildebrand, N.C. Sen. Natalie Murdock

Executive Producer: Jordan Schrader

Produced and edited by: Kevin Keister, Kaitlin McKeown

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Boards, overrides and elections power plays Aug 21, 2023

Show notes

For the week of Aug. 21, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast Dawn Vaughan talks with N&O politics team colleagues Kyle Ingram and Korie Dean about the busy one-day voting session last week — from the veto overrides of bills about transgender youth and athletes to new bills.

Stay tuned to the end for their picks for Headliner of the Week. Spoilers: they range from new music to the collegiate return to campus and the opening of North Carolina Freedom Park.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Kyle Ingram, Korie Dean

Executive Producer: Jordan Schrader

Produced and edited by: Kevin Keister, Kaitlin McKeown

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Talking state employees with SEANC lobbyist Suzanne Beasley Aug 14, 2023

Show notes

For the week of Aug. 14, 2023, News & Observer Capitol bureau chief and podcast host Dawn Vaughan talks with Suzanne Beasley, the government relations director for the State Employees Association of North Carolina (SEANC).

She’s been through delayed budgets before, which means a delay in raises for tens of thousands of state employees. But it’s not just about the wait on raises, according to Beasley, it’s about what the amount will be.

Host: Dawn Baumgartner Vaughan

Guest: Suzanne Beasley (SEANC)

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Shot and edited by: Kevin Keister

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What’s next for Tim Moore, plus NC connections to Donald Trump's indictment Aug 07, 2023

Show notes

For the week of Aug. 7, 2023, N&O politics reporter Kyle Ingram is podcast host for Dawn Vaughan. First up is a look into the North Carolina Speaker of the House position, which longtime Speaker Tim Moore recently said he does not plan to run for again. After the break, DC Correspondent Danielle Battaglia joins to discuss former President Donald Trump’s latest criminal indictment.

Plus, stick to the end of each segment for their Headliners of the Week.

Host: Kyle Ingram

Guest: Luciana Perez Uribe Guinassi, Danielle Battaglia

Executive Producer: Jordan Schrader

Produced and edited by: Laura Brache

Video: Kevin Keister, Kaitlin McKeown

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