Charlotte Newsmakers

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. 

As the new year begins for Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools, there are thousands of students who have nowhere to go when the last bell rings. In this must-listen episode, Meredith Dolhare from RunningWorks joins Sarah Blake Morgan in-studio - along with four special guests - to talk about being in school and being homeless.

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.

Sarah Blake Morgan sits down with former Green Beret interpreter Booyah Ghafoori, who left his home in Afghanistan after working as an interpreter with the US Armed Forces.

Betsy Ragone joins Sarah Blake Morgan in-studio to discuss her fight against heroin, and her non-profit "Michael's Voice," formed when her 30 year-old son died of an accidental overdose in 2016.

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.

QCPN's new Charlotte Newsmakers host, journalist Sarah Blake Morgan, talks in-studio with writer Michael Graff.  His recent story for Charlotte Agenda about a Charlotte activist and a troubled teenager gave a face to a startling statistic about upward mobility in The Queen City.

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.

Charlotte's Visart Video has reimagined itself as a non-profit and it's working to re-establish its position as the place to go for cinephiles in the Queen City.  Hosts Sharon Smith is joined in-studio by Visart owner Micket Aberman and board director Jay Marong to talk about how a store like Visart can be relevant in the age of streaming video.

Charlotte's non-profits can always use a helping hand, enter Seed20 - the Charlotte organization that targets innovative non-profits and gives them an infusion of cash to help them take that next step. Joining Sharon Smith in the studio are Melissa Hovey from Seed20, Becky Santoro from Foster Village, and Shannon Houlihan from Para Guide.

Mothers of Murdered Offspring's Judy Williams has been emotionally supporting Charlotte families torn apart by violence for more than two decades. Now, with Charlotte's murder rate spiking, Judy joins host Sharon Smith in-studio to talk about the toll on those in the wake of violence, and her own battle with lung cancer.

Firefighters face an increased cancer risk. It's part of the danger in being a first responder. This week, three Charlotte Firefighters - one fighting a cancer battle of his own - join host Sharon Smith to talk about how CFD is changing the way they operate with an eye on decreasing the risk.

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 city employee Melissa Baker's daughter Alexandra- just 20 years old - is homeless, living in Seattle, and battling a heroin addiction. In this heartbreaking conversation, she tells Sharon Smith about her fear every time the phone rings, and what she and her family have done to try to help her daughter. If you or someone you know is battling addiction, call the National Addiction Hotline at 800-662-HELP.  

Mecklenburg County Solid Waste Director Jeff Smithberger joins host Sharon Smith in-studio to discuss the state of recycling in Charlotte, what you can do to make recycling easier, to finally put to rest the debate over what is and isn't recyclable, and he reveals how companies like Amazon are actually making recycling harder.

Media literacy expert Jimmeka Anderson (IAmNotTheMedia.org) and Queen City Nerve Editor-In-Chief Ryan Pitkin join host Sharon Smith in-studio to discuss the state of local news in Charlotte, how people are consuming local news, and the responsibility of the consumer to know where their news is coming from.

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.