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Preparing for the ‘experience of a lifetime’: Birmingham students to sing at Carnegie Hall

The choir at Ramsay High School is heading to Carnegie Hall this May. It’s an opportunity to boost school pride, but also to give some students the experience of a lifetime.

2023 PMJA Awards: Series Entry

Three-part series about the mental health treatment surround a new mental health crisis center opening in Birmingham, Alabama. The series aired Oct. 7, 8 and 9, 2022. Part one examines the difficulties of treating mental health crises in hospital emergency rooms, which is common in Birmingham. Part two looks at the pressures put on the […]

2023 PMJA Awards: Interview Entry

Interview with U.S. Senate candidate Mo Brooks aired on June 10, 2022

Alabama prison chief says lack of staffing remains top issue

Commissioner John Hamm said the department is looking to a combination of outsourcing, pay raises and benefit changes to increase the number of workers.

‘Injustice, Inc.’ uncovers how some in the legal system use poor families to get rich

Daniel L. Hatcher discusses his book, which looks at how state agencies exploit impoverished families to make money through the U.S. juvenile justice system.

Commission considering funding to keep Magic City Classic in Birmingham

The Jefferson County Commission is deciding on a resolution about the level of support the county will provide to the annual football game.

Garrett McQueen: The Sound of 13

Garrett McQueen wants to diversify the perception of classical music. He argues that all cultures and people have music that should be considered classical.

Alabama health officer reflects on lessons learned from COVID-19

Dr. Scott Harris describes the challenges of navigating three years of the COVID-19 pandemic, marked by political divisions and mistrust.

Alabama ‘close’ to finishing nitrogen execution protocol

Alabama has authorized the use of nitrogen hypoxia, but it has never been used to carry out a death sentence.

How to avoid tax fraud: Staying vigilant this tax season

Learn about common types of tax fraud and things to be aware of this tax season.

While rebuilding homes, Amish volunteers bond with South Louisiana over faith and food

Amish groups have stepped in to help Louisiana storm victims rebuild when other forms of aid have ended. It’s also led to cultural exchanges and connections.

A local hip-hop education group teaches kids life skills

Here in Birmingham, the education collective Knowledge Rhythm and Understanding, known as K.R.U., is using the music genre to teach life skills.

Alabama prison staff shortage worsens despite court order

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson said Friday the state can not continue with what he called horrendous staff levels.

Advocates criticize state environmental commission about response to Moody landfill fire

Speakers at the meeting argued the Alabama Department of Environmental Management took too long to act on the fire and that steps must be taken to regulate these types of landfills.

The real winner of Super Bowl 57? The Gulf South and its wide range of football talent

The big game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles will feature nearly 30 players from Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi combined.

‘Ruffed’ up by school? These dogs help Birmingham students with stress

Comforting kids is a family affair for Foxie and Merlin. The facility dogs are being used as a new tool to help students manage stress and mental health while at school.

Jefferson County approves $5 million toward construction of amphitheater

The appropriation is a key step in making the $50 million amphitheater development on the campus of the former Carraway Hospital a reality.

In New Orleans, doctors and churches are teaming up to help Black parishioners get needed care

The effort, part of a five-year study, aims to meet Black patients in a space they feel comfortable to treat hypertension and reduce heart disease risks.

‘White Lies’ sheds light on a prison takeover in Talladega that led to today’s immigration system

Many don’t realize a notable moment that shaped our current immigration system happened in Talladega, Alabama, when Cuban detainees took over a federal prison there.

‘Unreformed’ podcast tells the largely untold story of an abusive Alabama reform school

A conversation with journalist and podcast host Josie Duffy Rice details the troubled history of the Alabama Industrial School for Negro Children, or Mt. Meigs.

Who would put out a landfill fire near Moody? That question consumed officials for weeks

A private landfill near Moody smoldered for almost two months, inundating residents miles around with noxious smoke, before the EPA stepped in.

2023 Murrow Awards — Overall Excellence

Entry rundown: 00:00 “Some teachers and LGBTQ families feel censored by Alabama’s ‘Don’t Say Gay law” Story aired May 20, 2022 05:08 “Scottsboro is home to the largest gray bat summer cave. They’re leaving for the winter” Story aired Sept. 26, 2022 10:00 “Brooks leans into the ‘Big Lie’ in Republican Senate runoff” Interview with […]

2023 Murrow Awards — Podcast

Selections from WBHM’s 7-part podcast Deliberate Indifference. The podcast traces how Alabama’s prisons became among the most dangerous correctional systems in the nation, where incarcerated men face a near constant threat of violence in overcrowded, critically understaffed facilities. Excerpt from episode 1, “An Alabama Problem,” which introduces listeners to the Alabama prison crisis that’s been brewing […]

2023 Murrow Awards — News Series

Three-part series about the mental health treatment surround a new mental health crisis center opening in Birmingham, Alabama. The series aired Oct. 7, 8 and 9, 2022. Part one examines the difficulties of treating mental health crises in hospital emergency rooms, which is common in Birmingham. Part two looks at the pressures put on the […]

Sigma Delta Chi, Award for Narrative Podcast Excellence — Deliberate Indifference

Selections from WBHM’s 7-part podcast Deliberate Indifference. The podcast traces how Alabama’s prisons became among the most dangerous correctional systems in the nation, where incarcerated men face a near constant threat of violence in overcrowded, critically understaffed facilities. Excerpt from episode 1, “An Alabama Problem,” which introduces listeners to the Alabama prison crisis that’s been […]

2023 Dart Awards — Deliberate Indifference

Selections from WBHM’s 7-part podcast Deliberate Indifference. The podcast traces how Alabama’s prisons became among the most dangerous correctional systems in the nation, where incarcerated men face a near constant threat of violence in overcrowded, critically understaffed facilities. Episode 1, “An Alabama Problem,” which introduces listeners to the Alabama prison crisis that’s been brewing for […]

Some kids in Birmingham dodge trains and cars walking to school. More buses could help

Alabama only has to provide bus access for families that live within two miles of their school, which leaves some families having to walk in dangerous conditions. Birmingham City Schools is trying to add new routes to address these concerns.

Hoover City Schools canceled Derrick Barnes’ visit. He says it’s political

Hoover school officials say they canceled the Black children's book author's visit due to a controversial social media post. Officials never saw the post after an anonymous parent reported it.

In post-Roe Mississippi, pregnancy resource centers are becoming the last hope for maternal care

PRCs, like Life Choices in Columbus, can help expecting mothers in several ways, but experts say they're not a substitute for actual health care.

This swampy paradise is Alabama’s winter haven for sandhill cranes

As many as 25,000 sandhill cranes migrate to Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge every winter, along with a handful of highly endangered whooping cranes. 

400 Alabama inmates to be released early under 2021 law

The sentencing law sends prisoners to supervised release several months before their sentences are set to end.