Podcasts about bpr's matt bush

Asheville resident Peter Landis was one of the first confirmed 'community spread' cases of COVID-19 in Buncombe County. The 71-year-old retired journalist was told on March 23rd he had tested positive, one week after he had been tested at his primary care physician's office. Landis had not traveled in recent months, and said he was not in contact with a known confirmed case of COVID-19. He has since recovered, and spoke with BPR's Matt Bush over the phone to discuss his symptoms of the virus, and what he wants people to know about his experience. You can hear the whole interview above. EXCERPTS OF INTERVIEW What he did after his diagnosis was confirmed - "I pretty much confined myself to one bedroom (of the apartment he shares with his wife). She stayed in our study which had a Murphy bed. But the fact of the matter is in a small apartment, you can't usually stay entirely apart. And she wound up with symptoms sometime after I did. And although she wasn't tested, we both believe she had

With the month of June over, that means all four major North American sports leagues have conducted their annual player drafts. With that fresh in our minds, John & Marcia sat down with BPR's Matt Bush to figure which of the four drafts is most fair to players, and which one they would want to enter if they had the choice. (Music featured includes Vienna Jazz by Dee Yan-Key)

The installation ceremony for Dr. Nancy Cable as UNC Asheville chancellor takes place this Friday April 26 on the Quad on campus. Cable began her tenure as the school's 8th chancellor began last August, and her first school year at UNC Asheville has seen challenges. In the first days of her tenure, the school's new residence halls had to be closed to students over fire safety concerns. Asheville firefighters lived at the dorms for weeks after. Then in the spring, Eblen Charities CEO Bill Murdock returned his honorary degree that he was awarded from the school just the year before after renewed concerns over his guilty plea to a sex crime charge in 1988 surfaced after reporting from CNN and the Asheville Citizen-Times . Dr. Cable sat down with BPR's Matt Bush to discuss how she felt the school responded to those circumstances, as well as all the events taking place during her installation ceremony this week (which can be read below). Thursday, April 25, in the Blue Ridge Room, Highsmith

This week the Asheville Citizen-Times published a study showing Asheville police were disproportionately charging African-Americans with resisting arrest. The study, which looked at the last five year, found that 35-percent of resisting arrest charges filed by Asheville police were against African-Americans. The city's black population is only 12-percent. The study also found a sizable number of those arrests for resisting an officer included no other charges. Joel Burgess of the Citizen-Times spoke to many people for his story, including some people who were charged with resisting arrest. That includes Johnnie Rush, whose beating and choking by a then-Asheville police officer in August 2017 made national headlines. Burgess spoke with BPR's Matt Bush about what the study found, and how it might affect the future of a police department that's been in flux for multiple years.

The percentage of black students at four of Western North Carolina's universities is low, and so is the number of faculty members at each schools that could mentors for those students. This week, BPR has been talking with students from UNC Asheville who presented at this fall's African-Americans in Western North Carolina and Southern Appalachia conference. In our final interview, BPR's Matt Bush speaks with Jeremy James, who graduated from the school this month. He looked at the lack of African-American mentors for black students at five schools in the region - UNC Asheville, Western Carolina, Warren Wilson, Mars Hill, and Appalachian State. Excerpts from interview: On the significance of the mentor-student relationship in college - "That role is very significant, especially in this new period with colleges where so much is based off of connections. So, I don't know everyone's situation but I know mine, and it's one of the top things (graduate & doctorate programs) recommend is to

When Kathryn Edin was studying poverty in the U.S., she and Luke Schaefer made a startling discovery - the number of households in the U.S. living on just $2.00 a day had skyrocketed in the past two decades. The pair authored the 2016 book ' $2.00 A Day: Living On Almost Nothing In America' which chronicles their research into why extreme poverty has risen so much in America. At the time of the book's release, they estimated 1.5 million households in America qualify as extremely poor, and that 3-million children live in those households. Edin talked to families living at this level across the country, including in Johnson City, Tennessee. She shared her findings with BPR's Matt Bush, as well as potential solutions to this problem in areas like Asheville which have seen sustained economic growth, but also rising inequality. Edin will be the speaker at the Thursday evening's Pisgah Legal Services 8th Annual Poverty Forum . It starts at 7 p.m. at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium. Tickets can

Buncombe County's rape crisis and prevention center says it has seen a surge in calls before, during, and after last Thursday's hearing featuring Dr. Christine Ford. She testified to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee allegations that supreme court nominee Brett Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her when they were teenagers. Angelica Wind is the executive director of Our Voice , which provides services and support to survivors of sexual violence in Buncombe County. She explains to BPR's Matt Bush why Dr. Ford's testimony is so triggering for survivors - leading to a surge of calls for help, not just locally but nationally. Our VOICE operates a 24-hour crisis hotline. The number is 828-255-7576 Excerpts from interview with Angelica Wind - On why Dr. Ford's testimony and appearance last Thursday before the Senate Judiciary Committee has been so triggering for survivors of sexual violence - "In the past we have been accustomed to having discussions about rape. But this is a conversation about

Monday is the first day of classes for the fall semester at UNC-Asheville. It also marks the beginning of Dr. Nancy Cable's tenure as the 8th chancellor at the school. She takes over for Dr. Mary Grant, who left the school at the end of 2017. Dr. Joe Urgo served as interim chancellor until Cable's arrival. Cable comes to Asheville from the world of philanthropy, having served as the president of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations since 2012. Cable's first few days on the job were hectic - a complaint from the North Carolina Department of Insurance forced the university to close its five new residence halls to students last week after 59 of them had already moved in. Late Friday night, The Woods complex was re-opened, but the concerns of the DOI remain. Firefighters will live in the complex until the lingering issues regarding standpipes and sprinklers in the buildings are resolved. Cable discussed that and a number of other topics with BPR's Matt Bush. What has the university done to

Asheville native Jackie Grant is now president of the North Carolina Bar Association . She was inaugurated at the NCBA's annual meeting last month. The A.C. Reynolds High School and Western Carolina University graduate is the first woman attorney from Asheville to serve as president of the NCBA, and only the second African-American woman to hold the position. Grant is a partner and litigator for Roberts & Stevens. She sat down with BPR's Matt Bush to talk about the role the Bar Association plays, and what lawyers can bring to discussions about criminal justice reform and educating the public about the court system. INTERVIEW EXCERPTS - On the role of the North Carolina Bar Association - "The Bar Association is the voluntary bar of lawyers. The North Carolina State Bar is the mandatory bar that handles licensing and disciplinary actions with lawyers. The North Carolina Bar Association has over 20-thousand members. We look at proposed legislation, anything that affects the legal

Western Carolina University is unveiling NCDataDashboard.org, an online resource that shows key economic indicators and trends for all 100 counties in North Carolina. The site includes 12,000 unique data series according to the school, including information on employment, workforce, land, infrastructure and industry GDP. That data is broken down county by county. Two of those instrumental in creating the resource, WCU economics professors Angela Dills and Edward Lopez, joined BPR's Matt Bush for a Facebook Live chat. You can listen to the full discussion above or watch it here. Among the key takeaways from the data for Western North Carolina according to Lopez and Dills is that region has rebounded well from the Great Recession of 2008. Manufacturing numbers have risen, and the tourism industry has boomed. But wages have lagged and housing prices have risen, and Lopez noted the issuing of building permits - which the dashboard tracks - is at a seven-year low, something he says is not a good sign in fixing the lack of affordable housing throughout the region.

Commencement ceremonies take place this Saturday on the campus of UNC-Asheville. The school's interim chancellor Joe Urgo says this year's graduating class is the largest in recent memory, while the incoming class of freshman this fall is the largest in school history. Urgo sat down with BPR's Matt Bush to discuss news at the school, including the search for a full-time chancellor (expect something by the end of May). Urgo also discussed something he spoke about at a recent appearance in Western North Carolina by Margaret Spellings, the president of the University of North Carolina System - his desire to see higher education build the "thoughtforce" as much as it does the workforce. Urgo says there are a lot of intractable problems in the world right now - specifically noting climate change and racial inequity - and that the thinking that created those problems will not fix them. As the UNC-System's liberal arts university, Urgo believes UNC-Asheville is in a unique spot to do this. Urgo also discussed several initiatives and programs the university is undertaking to build a more diverse student body.

Reverend Billy Graham passed away Wednesday morning at the age of 99 at his home in Montreat. The most prominent American Christian preacher of his era was ordained in Southern Baptist church, but it was his ability to blur the denominational lines of Protestant Christianity that built his large following says Reverend Dr. Marcia Mount Shoop, the pastor at Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church in Asheville. She joined BPR's Matt Bush in studio to discuss how Graham was able to do that - plus his complex history with gender, racial, and LGBTQ doctrines in the U.S., and where Protestant Christianity stands and where it may be going at the time of his death. Reverend Mount Shoop is also the co-host of BPR's Going Deep: Sports in the 21st Century podcast. Episodes can be found here or through iTunes or Google Play Music, and can be heard Saturday afternoons at 3:30 on BPR News. Excerpts of interview - On blurring the denominational lines of Protestant Christianity - "Billy Graham is an interesting figure because he was a trailblazer - probably unconsciously so - in creating a space in which those lines started to blur and not be so important. He had a broad appeal...(he) began to loosen the hold that the denominational lines had, especially in mainline Protestantism, on frankly everything from the government to the economy, to the conventional culture of this country." On how Graham was able to blur the denominational lines - "There became something very predictable and stale about being Methodist, or Presbyterian, and the Baptists do this...he kind of breathed life into if you're Christian, you do this." On current evangelical Christianity and how it formed during Graham's heyday - "In some ways, evangelical is now equated with conservative politics or the religious right. Technically that term evangelical means that you are called to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. So every Christian should be evangelical." On his crusades and filling sports stadiums with followers - "He created an experience for people. It was a visceral experience. It was a revival. There was energy, there was feeling, there was movement. Lives were changed. They left those experiences different." On whether denominational identity still matters to Christians now - "What I'm seeing is a soft resurgence in denominationalism now. I think it's because of our political climate. And people are looking for frameworks of meaning and how to be engaged in what's happening in the world...I think it's because of how much is up for grabs in our country politically and spiritually." On the Billy Graham rule, where he would not be in the same room alone with a woman who was not his wife - "If Billy Graham does anything for us today as Americans...let it be that he holds a mirror up to us. His rule (was born) in a time when it was not uncommon for men in power to abuse their power. And to use that to have sexual relationships with women they had more power than. We're seeing with the MeToo movement that has persisted. On the one hand the feminist in me says, 'Hey I'm you're equal. We should be able to sit down and have a meeting just the two of us. And engage in a conversation about theology and church politics.' But there is another part of me that has lived in the church long enough and knows how much of a patriarchal institution it is to know...there are very few examples I can give you in which there wasn't some complexity to the men I was engaging with and how they used their power."

UNC-Asheville's winter graduation ceremony will be held Friday on campus. It will be the last event for chancellor Dr. Mary Grant, who earlier this year announced she would be leaving the school to become the president of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the U.S. Senate in Boston. Grant had been chancellor of UNC-Asheville since August of 2014. She sat down with BPR's Matt Bush for a lengthy interview which touched on many topics - such as the school's efforts to further integrate itself with the city of Asheville, the perception that the liberal arts field in higher education excludes non-white students and those who hold conservative political viewpoints, and the future of higher education at a time when negative partisan attitudes toward universities and colleges is growing.