Charlotte Newsmakers

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 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.

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 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. 

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.

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.

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.

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 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."  

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.