Zach Rushing, comedian, on his Redneck Logic Tour and show at the Raleigh Improv

Drew Bent, education lead at Anthropic, on Claude for Teachers and free AI tools for K-12 educators

Drew Bent, education lead at Anthropic, joins Lisa to discuss the launch of Claude for Teachers, a free version of Claude Pro for K-12 teachers nationwide that is built on evidence-based curriculum, mapped to state teaching standards and includes the Cowork feature so teachers can set tasks overnight and wake up to completed results. The program is designed to give educators more time with their students by handling time-consuming tasks like lesson planning, study guides and differentiated instruction.

Ardis Watkins, executive director of the State Employees Association of North Carolina, on rising healthcare costs and the Wake Med and UNC Health price gap

Ardis Watkins, executive director of the State Employees Association of North Carolina, joins Lisa to discuss the significant difference in what patients pay at WakeMed versus UNC Health and what it means for state employees who have established care relationships at WakeMed, as well as concerns about the potential impact of the WakeMed and Atrium Health merger on healthcare costs.

Dr. Chris Cooper, North Carolina advisory council member for Keep Our Republic, on election integrity and behind-the-scenes action at elections

Dr. Chris Cooper, North Carolina advisory council member for Keep Our Republic, joins Lisa to discuss what the nonpartisan advocacy group is uncovering about election administration and the processes voters rarely see

Dr. Robert Shpiner, clinical professor of medicine at UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, on a Cyclospora outbreak and why it is being missed

Dr. Robert Shpiner, clinical professor of medicine at the UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine, joins Lisa to discuss the growing number of Cyclospora cases across the country and why the intestinal parasite is increasingly difficult for doctors to diagnose, particularly after the federal government downgraded active surveillance for the pathogen last year. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/16/diarrhea-outbreak-cyclospora-parasite-cdc [https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/jul/16/diarrhea-outbreak-cyclospora-parasite-cdc]

Marian Salzman, senior vice president of corporate development at PMI U.S., on why Americans say the country is innovating in the wrong areas

Marian Salzman, senior vice president of corporate development and senior advisor to the U.S. CEO at PMI U.S., joins Lisa to discuss a new Harris Poll survey finding that nearly 8 in 10 Americans believe the country is innovating in the wrong areas, with consumers more concerned about housing, grocery prices, healthcare and local jobs than headline-grabbing investments in AI and space exploration. Salzman explains what the findings reveal about the growing gap between corporate innovation rhetoric and real-world community needs.