Bill Moyers knows about political battles in the South. The native Texan and former Baptist preacher was in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations during the civil rights movement and wound up as LBJ's White House Press Secretary during the Voting Rights Act battle. Since then, Moyers has had about a thousand jobs: investigative journalist, newspaper publisher, talk show host, film producer, essayist, best-selling author. In short, the guy's been in the middle of America's political muddle for decades. Lately, the populist progressive has been most known as a scathing critic of the U.S. mainstream media - including his role as president of the Schumann Center for Media and Democracy - and host of Moyers & Company, which airs news and opinions that are underrepresented in commercial media.

Moyers starts 2014 with a new documentary, State of Conflict: North Carolina, a look at one of the biggest political stories of the past year - North Carolina government's unbridled swerve to the far right and the public pushback against Tea Party ascendency. Here's how Moyers' website describes the show

"First it was Wisconsin. Now it's North Carolina that is redefining the term 'battleground state.' 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. This crucible of conflict reflects how the battle for control of American politics is likely to be fought for the foreseeable future: not in Washington, D.C., but state by state. At the heart of this conservative onslaught sits a businessman who is so wealthy and powerful that he is frequently described as the state's own 'Koch brother.'"

The hourlong documentary airs tonight, Jan. 4, at 6 p.m. on UNC-MX (Charlotte cable 172). The show will also be streamed on BillMoyers.com. Here is a preview: