In the new BB Explains NC, we wanted to tell the stories of NC women who don't get enough roses. So we have the first recorded women-led protest in US history, the NC woman who co-founded Mother’s Day, and a NC woman who broke a 90-year drought in Congress. 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgSv...

Grief warning ✋ For @cardinalandpine.bsky.social, I wrote about the war in Iran, specifically about the alleged US-Israel bombing of a school in Minab, and about the terrible position our troops find themselves in today, caught between one liar and the other. cardinalpine.com/2026/03/06/n...

THEY MUST HAVE WATCHED THE NEW BILLY BALL EXPLAINS NC 👀 www.wusa9.com/video/news/c...

The new Billy Ball Explains NC (🔗 below) just premiered on YouTube. Make sure to like and subscribe so we can spread good information! www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gth...

Ok, believe it or not, here's your teaser for the new Billy Ball Explains North Carolina. The 🔗 is below. Your likes and views make a big difference. www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Gth...

Over the weekend, I wrote about America's most confusing senator for MS NOW. Here's a tidbit: "The epitaph on Tillis’ political career: A smart man who for most of Trump’s rise played dumb or caved to the most corrosive president in American history." www.ms.now/opinion/thom...

NC Supreme Court Justice Anita Earls knows Republicans are out to get her. But in November, Earls did something she's never done before as a sitting Supreme Court justice. She spoke directly about something happening in the news. Keep reading the thread. 👇 www.thelivingsouth.com/anita-earls-...

New BB Explains NC: The data centers being built to run AI seem like a godsend to rural NC, and any place that's struggling. But they come with red flags—skyrocketing utility bills, massive water consumption, and an ever-harder fight against climate change. 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=taN_...

President Trump—who last week portrayed former President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes—called the show a "slap in the face." Some on the left wanted it to be that. But it was too joyous for that. My take on Bad Bunny's Super Bowl halftime show 👇 www.thelivingsouth.com/what-were-ge...

Thanks for watching, y'all. Your likes and subscribes help us grow and beat the bad information. 💪

Did you know North Carolina has received just a small percentage of the federal money it needs to recover from Hurricane Helene? And that the guy who was named NC’s “recovery czar” by President Trump…is running to represent NC in the US Senate? 👇

In Selma, Alabama, in 1965, they were met by armed troopers, who beat the nonviolent protesters bloody. The scenes stirred President Lyndon B. Johnson to action. In Minneapolis, it's possible that we could be watching the same kind of watershed moment. www.thelivingsouth.com/why-the-ice-...

Stop reporting statements from DHS that contradict everyone on the scene. They do not deserve the platform or the credibility.

Some truly outrageous things are happening in Greensboro at NC A&T University, the largest historically Black college in America. Important thread. Keep reading. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yrzt...

Whether you're liberal, conservative, or politically agnostic, if you get mad that reading an article requires signup for a free subscription, you're part of the problem. You're saying journalism and the people who make it have no value. We're looking at the result of that mentality right now.

This is a really cool story.

We don't know if Venezuela is a military "one-off" like Speaker Mike Johnson says, or if the US will be there long-term, as Marco Rubio said. So let's break down what these scenarios mean for NC. Spoiler: NC is home to two of the largest Army and Marine bases in America, so they mean A LOT. 👇

According to Forbes, since the start of his presidency, Trump's net worth has more than doubled—from $2.3B in 2024 to $6.7B by the end of 2025. Meanwhile, many of the folks who voted for him are in a worse financial predicament than ever. Tap 👇 www.thelivingsouth.com/trump-is-get...

With all the news that's buzzing around right now, this is an important 🧵: Whenever the United States military moves, the South pays attention. Of the 10 states with the most active duty military personnel, 6 are in the South—Virginia, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia.

Watch, like, and subscribe, North Carolina. 🙏

It's possible that I sang the Backstreet Boys in this one and referenced the 1990s MTV show "Daria." Thanks in advance for your views and likes. They help us bend the algorithm a little. www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmlm...

Three years ago today, I lost my little boy. Jackson was a dream and I think about him every single day. No matter our daily battles, never forget the most important thing is the way you show your love to the people who matter.

A pastor who stands up to ICE, Bakari Sellers' rise in the Civil Rights Movement, Anderson Clayton's fight for a stronger Southern progressive party, and so much more. These are the best Living South stories of 2025. www.thelivingsouth.com/the-living-s...

Thread alert 🧵 Here's why we're doing "Billy Ball Explains NC." The point of these YouTube videos—aside from bringing facts to a medium that's light on those—is to speak with an audience that's getting too much of their information from the Joe Rogans and the Ben Shapiros.

Premiering right now. Go like and subscribe, NC! 👇

Premiering right now on YouTube 👇 North Carolina Republicans went bonkers over a book about a gay Santa. Let's talk about why they're so fired up. It might not be what you think. www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3V_...

ICYMI @hcrichardson.bsky.social @juddlegum.bsky.social @maddow.bsky.social

Astonishing. At thelivingsouth.com, I wrote about President Trump replacing the special "no-fee" day at the National Park Service with, among other things, a special day scheduled for his own birthday.

I represented Cardinal & Pine on PBS North Carolina's "State Lines" today. We talked about the healthcare hurdles ahead in North Carolina and the 2026 election. 🔗 in the thread to watch it now online. You can also watch it in primetime this evening on PBS NC.

Republicans control both chambers of the NC legislature, but have failed to pass a budget 6 months after it was due. Even conservatives are losing their patience. cardinalpine.com/2025/12/09/n...

This week at The Living South, I wrote about the big problem with America's immigration police. www.thelivingsouth.com/the-blatant-...

How about some good news? Everywhere I looked, western NC's Christmas tree farmers are feeling optimistic, after Helene damaged thousands of trees in 2024. www.youtube.com/watch?v=M4p7...

🤑 7 reasons why everything’s too expensive right now, and one reason for why giving to others is more important than ever. Like actually, truly, life-savingly important. cardinalpine.com/2025/12/03/7...

I despise forced gratitude. This isn't that. But I want to talk about something I saw this month that's making me give thanks for the people of the South. (link in thread) Every Tuesday, I'm writing about the South for free at The Living South.

For 4 days from Black Friday through Cyber Monday, the “We Ain’t Buying It” movement wants Americans to avoid shopping at Amazon, Home Depot, and Target. Here's what to know. 👇

The first thing Border Patrol agents asked 18-year-old Fernando Vazquez was “Where are you from?” Read how a U.S. citizen in Cary was handcuffed and detained amid the immigration crackdown in North Carolina:

Important thread alert, NC. Keep reading. 👇 Border Patrol says they’re targeting “the worst of the worst.” But the News and Observer reports that a woman they arrested in Raleigh, Fatima Issela Velasquez-Antonio, is 23, a high school graduate, a homeowner, with two traffic violations on her record.

(Share) Every Tuesday, I'm publishing my take on something important in the South at The Living South. This week, the topic was obvious. Whatever their intentions, ICE and Border Patrol agents are acting less like cops and more like white terrorist groups. www.thelivingsouth.com/the-south-bo...

I wrote about the feds coming to Charlotte 👇 Trump has been exposed for what he is: a false populist, lifted to the White House by working-class voters he doesn’t appear to care about. The Border Patrol invasions are meant to distract voters from these truths. www.ms.now/opinion/msnb...

One of the many problems spinning out of the decimation of local media: Political coverage is dominated by national storylines. Bet you a $100 more liberals in NC know Zohran Mamdani more than they know the Democrats who won in NC.

Well, that’s a new one.

On Sunday night, seven Democrats and one independent made everyone forget for a minute that the least popular person in America is President Trump.

One more thing: The SNAP freeze isn't JUST about the shutdown. This year's Republican budget bill—the "Big, Beautiful Bill"—included a $186B cut to SNAP. It was one of many programs, including Medicaid, that got budget reductions to pay for Republican tax cuts. www.youtube.com/watch?v=k2gu...

Putting on my education reporter hat (I did that for a long time 😅): Early childhood ed is the game. You take it out and the pieces break down, not just for the children but for the parents too.

It's not who you think.

In March 1965, eight days after police beat votings rights activists senseless on Alabama's Pettus Bridge, a reluctant President Lyndon Johnson told Congress there was a new legislative priority: Protecting voting rights. Keep reading. This is important today. 👇 www.lbjlibrary.org/object/video...

👋 Every Tuesday, I'm writing about the South. I don't do paywalls, so sign-up is free. Please share. This week, I wrote about the single most important bill of the 20th century, and what we have to do to save it. www.thelivingsouth.com/saving-the-v...

Springsteen's most popular album could be a concept album about today, with the irony that the alienated, working-class men he sang to have adopted fascism as an ethos. This album was about complicated patriotism. People still don't get it. www.thelivingsouth.com/why-born-in-...

In North Carolina, because of gerrymandering, you could argue we're not even a democracy anymore, but we're not powerless to stop it. Here's the latest "Billy Ball Explains NC." Please share 👏 www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5fS...

The name on this is mine, but this stuff is a team effort. It takes a lot of work from editor Kim Lawson, graphic designer Desirée Tapia, video editor Melanie Duran, and a lot of eyes and ears to tell me what works and what doesn't. 2nd "Billy Ball Explains NC" 👇 www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5p_...