Children as young as 12 years old still work in tobacco fields during summer harvest

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Due South

Children as young as 12 years old still work in tobacco fields during summer harvest

By Jeff Tiberii,

Published August 22, 2024 at 10:20 AM EDT

Due South is exploring the impact of tobacco in North Carolina 鈥� past, present and future 鈥� as part of an occasional series we鈥檙e calling Golden Leaf.

As part of our series "Golden Leaf," Due South co-host Jeff Tiberii talks with Yesenia Cuello. Yesenia is the executive director of NC FIELD, and advocates for better conditions for farmworkers.

She talks about her experiences working in tobacco fields as a child, and how child labor in the tobacco farming is still a big concern.

Guest

Yesenia Cuello, executive director, NC FIELD

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Jeff Tiberii

Jeff Tiberii is the co-host of 瓜神app's "Due South." Jeff joined 瓜神app in 2011. During his 20 years in public radio, he was Morning Edition Host at WFDD and 瓜神app鈥檚 Greensboro Bureau Chief and later, the Capitol Bureau Chief. Jeff has covered state and federal politics, produced the radio documentary 鈥淩ight Turn,鈥� launched a podcast, and was named North Carolina Radio Reporter of the Year four times.

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Rachel McCarthy

Rachel McCarthy is a producer for "Due South." She previously worked at 瓜神app as a producer for "The Story with Dick Gordon." More recently, Rachel was podcast managing editor at Capitol Broadcasting Company where she developed narrative series and edited a daily podcast. She also worked at "The Double Shift" podcast as supervising producer. Rachel learned about audio storytelling at the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies. Prior to working in audio journalism, she was a research assistant at the Aspen Institute in Washington, DC.

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