Under the Dome

Latest Episodes:

NC’s crossover deadline is here. Here's what bills have a chance. May 06, 2025

Show notes

This is crossover week, the busy time at the North Carolina General Assembly that leads up to the May 8 crossover deadline. That’s a self-imposed cutoff date for legislation to pass at least one chamber. Host Dawn Vaughan talks to politics editor Jordan Schrader and politics reporter Kyle Ingram and break down what that means for North Carolina laws.

Host: ⁠⁠Dawn Vaughan⁠⁠

Guest: Kyle Ingram, Jordan Schrader

Executive Producer: ⁠⁠Laura Brache⁠⁠

Want even more North Carolina politics news? Our Under the Dome newsletter dives deep into all things #ncpol and legislative happenings. It’s sent to your inbox Monday to Friday and Sunday. Sign up ⁠⁠here⁠⁠.

Please consider supporting local journalism with a ⁠⁠subscription to The N&O⁠⁠. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

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The NC elections board control and power shifts lawsuit, explained Apr 29, 2025

Show notes

The North Carolina General Assembly is back in session after a weeklong break, with a packed schedule of bills moving through various committees.

While legislators were away last week, a lawsuit resulting from a bill they passed in December was in court.

Host Dawn Vaughan talks to politics team colleagues Avi Bajpai and Kyle Ingram discuss a ruling in that lawsuit over governor and auditor appointments to the North Carolina State Board of Elections.

Host: ⁠Dawn Vaughan⁠

Guest: Avi Bajpai, Kyle Ingram

Executive Producer: ⁠Laura Brache⁠

Please consider supporting local journalism with a ⁠subscription to The N&O⁠. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

NC Senate Democrats vote for the GOP state budget Apr 22, 2025

Show notes

Four Senate Democrats voted for the Republican-written Senate budget last week, setting up seats at the negotiating table for them as the budget progresses. Host Dawn Vaughan talks to legislative reporting colleague Avi Bajpai and higher education reporter Korie Dean to break down the budget, including how the Senate’s budget impacts the UNC System.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Avi Bajpai, Korie Dean

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to The N&O. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What the latest NC Supreme Court election ruling means for voters Apr 15, 2025

Show notes

North Carolina is getting closer to a resolution in the N.C. Supreme Court case between Allison Riggs and Jefferson Griffin. Host Dawn Vaughan and politics reporters Kyle Ingram and Avi Bajpai talk extensively about the latest in the race between Riggs, who is the Democratic incumbent on the court, and Griffin, the Republican candidate and a Court of Appeals judge. Plus, another court case about the composition of the State Board of Elections and what to expect at the General Assembly this week.

Stay tuned to the end for Headliner of the Week.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Avi Bajpai, Kyle Ingram

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to The N&O. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump’s tariffs — who in Congress is talking, and why others aren’t Apr 08, 2025

Show notes

Host Dawn Vaughan and McClatchy DC's Danielle Battaglia discuss how President Donald Trump’s tariffs are costing Americans money, and not all Republicans are falling in line behind the president’s costly decisions.

So what do North Carolina’s members of Congress say about the tariffs? And who’s not talking yet, and what does that mean?

Stay tuned to the end for Headliner of the Week.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guest: Danielle Battaglia

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to The N&O. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Freshman Sen. Woodson Bradley on concealed carry & being on ‘team normal’ Apr 01, 2025

Show notes

Democratic Sen. Woodson Bradley from Mecklenburg County discusses a debate over concealed carry gun permits on the Senate floor. Bradley talks about how she won a close, and closely watched, race last year in a swing district, and her priorities in office.

Stay tuned to the end for Headliner of the Week.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guests: Sen. Woodson Bradley

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to The N&O. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The latest on the (still) unresolved NC Supreme Court race Mar 25, 2025

Show notes

Host Dawn Vaughan talks to fellow political reporters Kyle Ingram and Avi Bajpai about new developments in the still-unresolved North Carolina Supreme Court race and how a Senate floor debate showed what how debate may go the rest of this session may look like. Vaughan shares that the governor’s budget proposal has landed on lawmakers’ desks.

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

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guests: Avi Bajpai, Kyle Ingram

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to The N&O. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Breaking down NC Gov. Josh Stein’s first State of the State address Mar 17, 2025

Show notes

For the week of March 10, 2025, host Dawn Vaughan talks to politics team colleague Avi Bajpai and higher education reporter Korie Dean. They discuss Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s State of the State speech and House Speaker Destin Hall’s Republican response, and what’s going on in the UNC System scrubbing language related to diversity, equity and inclusion.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guests: Avi Bajpai, Korie Dean

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Want even more North Carolina politics news? Our Under the Dome newsletter dives deep into all things #ncpol and legislative happenings. It’s sent to your inbox Tuesday to Friday and Sunday. Sign up here.

Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to The N&O. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A closer look at upcoming Senate action on the attorney general, DEI in K-12 and immigration Mar 10, 2025

Show notes

For the week of March 10, 2025, host Dawn Vaughan talks to colleagues Avi Bajpai and Kyle Ingram about upcoming Senate action on legislation about the attorney general and President Donald Trump executive orders, diversity, equity and inclusion in K-12 schools, along with immigration bills moving in both chambers.

Plus, what to expect with the upcoming Democratic Gov. Josh Stein’s State of the State Address, and the Trump firing of the head of the Office of Special Counsel, North Carolina native Hampton Dellinger.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guests: Avi Bajpai, Kyle Ingram

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to The N&O. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The NC DMV, DOGE and DEI come up in House Oversight Committee Mar 03, 2025

Show notes

For the week of March 3, 2025, host Dawn Vaughan talks to politics team colleagues Avi Bajpai and Kyle Ingram about the latest news from the North Carolina General Assembly and what to expect this week.

The House Oversight Committee has started a series of hearings about state agencies, particularly the N.C. Division of Motor Vehicles and agencies using any diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs or practices. House Oversight is taking a detailed look at efficiency in agencies, something that has been tied in these discussions to the Trump administration’s new Department of Government Efficiency.

Stay tuned to the end for Headliner of the Week.

Host: Dawn Vaughan

Guests: Avi Bajpai, Kyle Ingram

Executive Producer: Laura Brache

Please consider supporting local journalism with a subscription to The N&O. If you’re already a subscriber, thank you!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices