Photographer Parker Pfister has a long history with vivid and, at times, harrowing stories. Hear him talk about his life and work before his first-ever solo exhibition, opening Nov. 1 at Mars Landing Galleries, in Mars Hill.

Buncombe County Commissioner Amanda Edwards, running to chair the commission, talks about affordable housing policy, education, the environment and improving emergency services. She also makes a point to talk about transparency and ethics as an elected official. 

Asheville artist Nina Kawar lost her ceramics studio and much of her life’s work through the flooding brought by Hurricane Helene. Hear her story of loss and resilience.

Sage Turner is one of two incumbents on the ballot for Asheville City Council, and she speaks with a depth of insight that can only come from working in the trenches.

City Council person—and candidate to keep her seat—Kim Roney talks about the complexities of policy decisions, transparency in government, tourism, climate justice, infrastructure maintenance, reparations, and water rate parity.

Tod Leaven talks about his path from the active duty military to a career in law to his current campaign for Asheville City Council.

Today, in our continuing series looking at every candidate for city council, Asheville native CJ Domingo shares his views on a range of city issues from a particular vantage point—as a former city employee.

In our continuing series of conversations with Asheville City Council candidates, Kevan Frazier frames his approach to all the hot-button issues atop Asheville’s list of challenges—affordable housing and development, transit, public safety, and racial equity.

Bo Hess talks about his varied background and how he believes all of that can serve Asheville well should he win a seat on City Council.

Asheville attorney Martin Moore Moore tells us about his upbringing, what drew him to public service and the values he hopes to bring to the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

Caleb Rudow is attempting to do something no Democrat has done in more than a decade—represent North Carolina’s 11th District in the US House of Representatives.

In the second half of a two-part conversation, State Senator Julie Mayfield, retired physician Bruce Kelly and Missy Harris, who recently left Mission Hospital after five years there as a chaplain, talk about their new coalition, Reclaim Healthcare WNC and their quest to return Mission Hospital to its community-focused heyday.

State Senator Julie Mayfield, retired physician Bruce Kelly and Missy Harris, who recently left Mission Hospital after five years there as a chaplain, talk about their new coalition, Reclaim Healthcare WNC and their quest to return Mission Hospital to its community-focused heyday. This is the first half of a two-part conversation.

We check in with Mayor Esther Manheimer around a variety of issues—homelessness, affordable housing, enforcing the city’s policy on short-term rentals and property tax increases, along with her own political future.

My guests are Anne Craig, Rebecca Croog and Said Abdallah from the local chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace. Among many topics, we get into how they frame Judaism through their` lens of Palestinian advocacy.

Jefferson Ellison talks about his roles on the Asheville Downtown Association, Downtown Commission and The Block Collaborative, along his own upbringing of self-described privilege.

Carolina Quiroga talks about straddling the line between her father’s expectations and her own desires in advance of her three-performance storytelling residency at Story Parlor.

New Asheville Fire Chief Michael Cayse talks about the evolution of fire departments and the demands and skillsets that go well beyond traditional firefighting.

A trio of young sisters make up the Asheville band Detective Blind, which takes the spotlight during our most recent “Hear Here” evening.

In the second of a two-part episode, Hedy Fischer, Gail McCarthy and Stephanie Monson Dahl talk about strategies for keeping the arts in Asheville’s River Arts District, along with how the Southside neighborhood could come into play.