Arts and Culture
When Your Child Isn’t the Child You Expected
Sometimes children turn out differently than parents had hoped or expected. Writer and psychologist Andrew Solomon, author of Far From the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity, looked at how parents manage to find profound meaning in raising exceptional children.
Birmingham Columnist Takes Journalism’s Top Prize
For the first time in eleven years, Birmingham has a Pulitzer Prize winner. Alabama Media Group columnist John Archibald won the Pulitzer for commentary Monday.
Barons Pick Up the Pace This Season
The Birmingham Barons have their first home game of the season Wednesday against Montgomery. And like many minor league baseball teams, they're implementing some changes to make games faster and more fun to watch.
Apple CEO Commemorates King’s Legacy in Birmingham
Apple CEO and Alabama native Tim Cook returned to his home state today to commemorate the life of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Cook spoke to a diverse group of high school and college students at a Southern Christian Leadership Conference forum at Sixth Avenue Baptist Church.
Cocktails, Costumes, and a James Beard Nomination
The Atomic Lounge serves up costumes and cocktails. The new Birmingham bar is a semifinalist for a James Beard Award.
The Challenges and Triumphs of Foot Soldier Jeff Drew
Jeff Drew was one of the first black students to attend what was then Ensley High School. It was all white, and for students like Drew, it wasn’t easy.
The “Designated University Kid” on the Alabama Community that Raised him
Eric Motley's memoir is something of an ode to Madison Park, Alabama -- a small, African-American community on the outskirts of Montgomery.
Back to Basics with One of Birmingham’s Oldest Food Trucks
The number of food trucks in Birmingham has exploded over the last couple of years. But the Travis Chicago Style no-frills white truck with a red stripe gets high marks from Birmingham residents, particularly African Americans who grew up seeing his truck.
Gwen Webb: From the Children’s March to the Police Force
Gwen Cook Webb was a feisty, freshman cheerleader at Western High School when she was arrested for protesting downtown near Birmingham’s Kelly Ingram Park in the 1963 Children’s Marches. That same spirit propelled Webb to become the second female African American Birmingham police officer.
Number of Hate Groups Increased in 2017
The Southern Poverty Law Center says the number of hate groups in its annual survey rose 4 percent in 2017, spurred in part by an increase of black nationalist groups. At the same time the number of Ku Klux Klan groups dropped significantly.
How a Small Alabama Town Pioneered the First 9-1-1 Call
In January 1968, the FCC and AT&T announced a plan for an emergency telephone number. But the Alabama Telephone Company decided to get out ahead of the feds and set up its own system.
Birmingham’s Noodle Mania
There's been a recent surge in new Birmingham restaurants serving up gourmet noodle bowls like Japanese ramen and Vietnamese pho.
Labor Department Investigation Finds Taziki’s Violated Overtime Rules
The U.S. Department of Labor today announced Taziki’s Mediterranean Café will pay $135,844 to employees after an investigation found the company violated overtime rules.
Violinist Mayumi Masri Not Silenced by Tragic Accident
After an accident that almost severed her arm, an Alabama Symphony Orchestra violinist is working to play as she once did.
Robert Siegel: Looking Back at a 41-Year Career
Friday is the last day for Robert Siegel at NPR. The longtime host of All Things Considered will retire after more than 41 years with the network.
New Initiative Seeks to Preserve Alabama LGBTQ Histories
Invisible Histories Project Alabama is aimed at finding, recording and preserving what the group calls the “always vanishing” stories of LGBTQ Alabamians.
Kids, Dogs and the Culture of Breweries
For WBHM’s food series, “Sound Bites” we look at why breweries have become such popular places for families to spend quality time.
How to Solve Birmingham’s Food Service Worker Shortage
There are too many restaurants in Birmingham and not enough people to staff them.
Miles Hoffman: ‘Random sounds are rarely soothing.’
Miles Hoffman says when it comes to classical music, there’s no substitute for a live performance. Hoffman is Morning Edition’s music commentator, and he’s the founder and artistic director of The American Chamber Players.
New Documentary Highlights Lesbian Struggle for Equality in Alabama
The film follows three lesbian couples, a group that directors say has historically been invisible in Alabama.
California Dreamin’ With a Heart of Dixie: Writer Charlie Wyatt
The Birmingham native has lived in San Diego, California, since the 1960s, but his soul stayed in the South. Wyatt began writing short stories a few years ago, releasing a little bit of that Southern soul in the process.
Musical Healing: ASO’s Izcaray Begins Second Season
A new season of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra kicks off this weekend. The symphony’s music director Carlos Izcaray dealt with quite a bit of personal adversity last season. But he says he was fortunate to have been able to keep working throughout the ordeal. Friday and Saturday’s Masterworks concert includes works by Haydn and Beethoven. We begin […]
Graham Boettcher’s Mission: Breaking Down the Ivory Tower
Graham Boettcher came to Birmingham just over a decade ago and says he's seen vast changes in the city's art scene and culture.
A New Chapter for S-Town Fans
A resident of Woodstock, Alabama developed a project that allows fans of the S-Town podcast to connect the place its set while raising awareness for suicide prevent.
The Voice Behind the Crimson Tide? That’s Eli Gold
Meet the man who is the voice behind the Alabama Crimson Tide. Eli Gold has announced games for the Tide on the radio for almost three decades.
Blazer Fans Eager for the Return of UAB Football
UAB Football fans are eager for the season to start, the first since the program was revived two years ago.
Twists, Fades and Frohawks? Blazer Barbers Have it Covered
UAB Blazers football players don't need to go farther than the locker room for a hair cut. The team has its own barbershop.
All Together Now! Alabamians Try for World’s Largest Rock Band
The Auburn group tried last year to break this record. A total of 850 people participated in that effort. Unbeknownst to them, a group in China outdid them with a 953-member rock band.
UAB Opens New Football Offices and Practice Facility
UAB Blazer fans celebrated Friday as university and community leaders cut the ribbon on the football team’s new operations center and Legacy Pavilion. The $22.5 million facility is a major milestone for a program that university officials cut in December 2014, only to revive it six months later after an outcry from alumni and the Birmingham […]
Arc Stories: July 2017 Edition
Four stories, each recorded at different Arc Stories events throughout Birmingham. What oneman discovers about his wife when she has to endure a major medical procedure; a young woman who moves to Africa to become a teacher though she has no training in how to do that; what happens to a guy when he inadvertently […]
Birmingham Weekly Newspaper Halts Publishing
Weld general manager, Heather Milam Nikolich, tells WBHM's Esther Ciammachilli the move is temporary.
New Elyton Hotel Blends Old Birmingham With New
The old Colonial Bank Building at the corner of 1st Avenue North and 20th Street downtown stood vacant for years. It now opens as an upscale hotel with a polished face and a plush interior, reminiscent of the city’s history as a center for industry and commerce.
