Broadway’s surprise hit production “Avenue Q” has reached Charlotte. Not many critics could have predicted that an adult puppet musical with “full puppet nudity” would have been as successful as it has been in New York or across the country, but it won several Tony awards, including the award for Best Musical. The show runs in Charlotte July 22 - 27, and we’ll be joined by cast members and perhaps a puppet of two as we hear how this unusual production came to be.

A continuation of our discussion from last month about antibiotics, anti-bacterial resistant bugs and more on this edition of Charlotte Talks. Dr. Michael Hudson from UNC Charlotte’s Biology department is back to continue the discussion about bacteria and about the efforts of the research division in the UNCC Biology department to develop technologies to get rid of the stronger, drug-resistant bacteria.
Guest
Dr. Michael Hudson - Chair of the Biology Department, UNC Charlotte

There are renewed calls to open possible oil and gas fields deep under water off the coast of North and South Carolina.  We’ll learn about what might be out there, where it is and what it would take to extract it.  We’ll also discuss the possible environmental impact.
Guests
Bob Tippee - Editor, Oil and Gas Journal
Franklin Yoho - Senior Vice President - Commercial Operations, Piedmont Natural Gas
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We’ll look at the current state of banking in America and our region. Wachovia recently named a new C.E.O., but their stock continues to struggle, a major bank in California has failed and the nation’s two largest mortgage lenders are in trouble. Today, we examine those topics.
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In the face of recent press about executive salaries at United Way, we’ll look at how large scale charities work.  How much of your charitable dollars actually go to charity and how much goes to running the organization to which you’ve donated?  We’re joined by a man who watches faith based organizations to provide donors with information on how the money is used and by a consultant who works with non-profit groups.
Guests
Rusty Leonard - Director, The Wall Watchers
John Hewett - President, Hewett Consulting
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It’s the July installment of our Average Joes Panel. We’re joined by two men and two women; two are independents, one a Republican and the other a Democrat who doesn’t like the “liberal” label; they’re an assistant superintendent, a history teacher, an IT student and the manager of a Christian publication. Join these four Charlotte Talks listeners to discuss the topics they care about, like education, the election, the environment, living in Charlotte and more!
Guests
Melanie Cogdill
Maggie Coleman
Rob DePaola
Ron Wright
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With the outsourcing of call centers, downsizing, and taking ‘real people’ out of the world of customer service with new technology, the customer service industry has had to navigate a lot of bumps in the road and major change. We’ll talk about some of the ways customer service professionals are trying to give good service to their customers and how people in different areas of expertise deliver customer service.
Guests
Ed Gagnon - President, Customer Service Solutions in Charlotte, and columnist for the Charlotte Business Journal
Brian Cox - eGovernment / Customer Service Director for Mecklenburg County
Dwayne Campbell - Customer Relationship Manager for Mecklenburg County IT Services (internal customer service)
Kimberly Laney - Interim Director of CharMeck 311 Call Center
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We hear from two teenagers from Iraq who are visiting the U.S. for the first time. They’ll share their experiences of growing up under the Saddam Hussein regime and of coming of age in a time of war. We’ll also be joined by a member of The World Leader Program, which aims to provide cross-cultural experiences for teenagers around the world.
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The daily newspaper, once a staple of the family breakfast table and coffee shop denizens, is under attack from the proliferation of electronic media and rising fuel and printing costs. The McClatchy Company, owners of the Charlotte Observer and other daily newspapers, recently laid off over a thousand employees. We’ll talk about challenges facing the daily newspaper in general and the Observer specifically.
Guest
Howard Weaver- Vice President, The McClatchy Company
Min Jiang - Asst. Professor, Communication, UNC Charlotte
Rick Thames - Editor, The Charlotte Observer
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A conversation about organic gardening, creative watering and local food. We’ll be joined by Don Boekelheide of the Urban Ministry Center. The center has received a grant to install a cistern to help water the organic vegetable garden there. We’ll talk about how that will aid in producing more local food and the many ways this garden helps the homeless, who also work the garden. Other experts join the panel to discuss general organic gardening tips.
Guests
David Goforth - Agriculture Extension Agent, NC State University
Don Boekelheide - Director, Urban Ministry Center Garden
Pam Ruch - Editor, Organic Gardening Magazine
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