LOCALS
any QUESTIONS? Frank Stasio reflects on his tenure as The State of Things comes to an end by FINN COHEN photography by BOB KARP
F
or the last 14 years, Frank Stasio’s inviting timbre and inquisitive manner made WUNC’s The State of Things appointment listening. At noon nearly every weekday, Stasio has interviewed everyone from politicians and educators to artists, chefs, activists and
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scientists with the same genuine curiosity and warmth. But this September, Stasio shocked listeners and colleagues alike when he announced that he’d be retiring. “Hosting The State of Things has been an illuminating and thrilling part of my journey,” he wrote in a note to the station’s staff. “The
sudden rupture created by the pandemic makes this the perfect moment to follow the adventure in new directions.” A few weeks later, WUNC announced they would stop broadcasting the show. Stasio has been a consistent examiner of North Carolina’s politics and culture. But as he put it recently, the tumultuous
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