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Ringing In 2020 With Producer Amanda Magnus’ Highlights From 2019

Producer Amanda Magnus, number 10, playing roller derby in Madison, Wis. in 2016. She chose a segment about the sport as one of her favorites on The State of Things in 2019.
Producer Amanda Magnus, number 10, playing roller derby in Madison, Wis. in 2016. She chose a segment about the sport as one of her favorites on The State of Things in 2019.

2019 was a big year for the state of North Carolina: lawmakers held the second-longest legislative session in the state’s history, the city of Durham celebrated the 150th anniversary of its founding, and a major hurricane hit the coast in September. State of Things producers were busy covering these stories and many more. Host Frank Stasio and producer Amanda Magnus review her favorite The State of Things stories of 2019.

Show producer Amanda Magnus shares her favorite segments from the past year with host Frank Stasio. Her highlights include conversations about wildlife in the state, like a segment about black bears with North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission biologists Colleen Olfenbuttel and Justin McVey. She also reflects on a conversation about infertility from our series “Embodied” all about sex, relationships and health. And she shares why she loved producing a segment about how roller derby is pushing the boundaries of inclusion in sport — it is partly because Magnus AKA A Magnitude 10 used to play roller derby herself when she was living in Madison, Wisconsin.

Listen to all of Amanda Magnus’ favorite conversations from 2019:

Copyright 2020 North Carolina Public Radio

Longtime NPR correspondent Frank Stasio was named permanent host of The State of Things in June 2006. A native of Buffalo, Frank has been in radio since the age of 19. He began his public radio career at WOI in Ames, Iowa, where he was a magazine show anchor and the station's News Director.
Amanda Magnus grew up in Maryland and went to high school in Baltimore. She became interested in radio after an elective course in the NYU journalism department. She got her start at Sirius XM Satellite Radio, but she knew public radio was for her when she interned at WNYC. She later moved to Madison, where she worked at Wisconsin Public Radio for six years. In her time there, she helped create an afternoon drive news magazine show, called Central Time. She also produced several series, including one on Native American life in Wisconsin. She spends her free time running, hiking, and roller skating. She also loves scary movies.