Bill Moyers examines NC's 'State of Conflict'

2013 proved to be a tumultuous year in North Carolina politics, and a leading journalist's TV show will examine the battles underway in a documentary that will begin airing this week -- and that draws on research by the Institute for Southern Studies, publisher of Facing South.

BillMoyers.com will begin streaming "State of Conflict: North Carolina" beginning on Jan. 3. The Moyers & Company report will also be broadcast on public television at various times over the weekend. For air times on your local station, click here.

"First it was Wisconsin. Now it's North Carolina that is redefining the term 'battleground state,'" the show's website says. "On one side: a right-wing government enacting laws that are changing the face of the state. On the other: citizen protesters who are fighting back against what they fear is a radical takeover."

The show's producers visited North Carolina over the summer, when people were gathering for weekly Moral Monday protests against the agenda of the Republican supermajority-controlled legislature. In all, more than 900 people were arrested for engaging in civil disobedience outside lawmakers' chambers.

The producers interviewed political activists and observers, including Institute Editorial Director Sue Sturgis. They also drew on the Institute's research on money in North Carolina politics, including the unprecedented spending by leading conservative donor Art Pope, now state budget director under Gov. Pat McCrory.

"'State of Conflict' is more than a local story," states BillMoyers.com. "It offers a case study of what may be the direction of American politics for years, perhaps decades, to come."

Watch the full episode here: