Lobbyist Mike Carpenter is a fixture at the General Assembly in his role as General Counsel at the NC Home Builders Association. However, many don't realize that it was Mike who started the government relations program at NCHBA in 1989 after a career prosecuting drug dealers in the NC Attorney General's Office.

Mike takes listeners all the way to 1971, when he was a college intern in the Lt. Governor's Office (one of the most powerful legislative offices in state government at the time), his stint a few years later working for U.S. Sen. Sam Irvin on the Watergate Committee, and surviving a plane crash in western NC in 1984.

This week's #TOTW also sets Skye and Brian up to discuss the bombshell news still rocking #NCPOL.

The Do Politics Better podcast is sponsored by New Frame, the NC Travel Industry Association, the NC Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association, the NC Pork Council, and the NC Healthcare Association.

Note from DPB: This podcast was recorded the day before CNN broke the news about Lt. Governor Mark Robinson's alleged online pornography posts. Skye and Brian record a brief intro before the podcast starts to give listeners a heads up to this fact and to comment about the gravity of the news. The podcast will talk more about the controversy next week.

Sen. Bob Brinson (R-Lenoir/Craven/Beaufort) is the newest member of the NC Senate, and after his first day of casting votes in the September legislative session, he sat down with Skye and Brian to talk about his life, military career, and public service, including the dramatic hours leading up to him filing for his Senate seat.

Then Sen. Benton Sawrey co-hosts the podcast with Brian as Skye enjoys a vacation trip. The Johnston County Republican helps Brian understand the latest Carolina Journal Poll from the John Locke Foundation, with a focus on the four swing Senate races.

They also discuss AI campaigning, nominee taking the seat of the late Rep. Kelly Alexander, a storm hits the coast, the Christian Action League is dissolving, #TOTW, NC State football, and more.

The Do Politics Better podcast is sponsored by New Frame, the NC Travel Industry Association, the NC Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association, the NC Pork Council, and the NC Healthcare Association.

If you're a Republican embroiled in a media dust-up, Jonathan Felts is the guy to call. Whether reporters are inquiring about a Kentucky Bourbon Trail or an election complaint has been filed, Felts is the guy who likes to take problems head on.

Felts talks to Skye and Brian about growing up in Davie County, his conservative upbringing, life in Washington, DC, his work on high profile campaigns, and what brought him back to North Carolina.

Plus, a veteran lawmaker dies, lots of action in the General Assembly, new polling, #TOTW, and a wild youth baseball game in Raleigh.

The Do Politics Better podcast is sponsored by New Frame, the NC Travel Industry Association, the NC Beer & Wine Wholesalers Association, the NC Pork Council, and the NC Healthcare Association.