Pat Duggins
News DirectorPat Duggins is APR’s news director. As a kid, he watched the Apollo manned moon launches along Florida’s space coast. Pat later spent 14 years covering NASA for NPR. After re-organizing the APR newsroom, he and the team were honored with over 150 awards for excellence in journalism. That includes APR being the first radio newsroom to receive RFK Human Rights’ “Seigenthaler Prize for Courage in Journalism.” Pat holds a master’s degree from the University of Alabama and has published two books on NASA. When he’s not at APR, he enjoys cooking with Lucia, and tending his beloved fig tree.
-
Alabama’s national championships in 2010 and 2015 are turning into the proving grounds for the coaches who will play for this month’s national championship. Indiana pasted Oregon last night in the Peach Bowl 56 to 22. That sets up a showdown in Miami between the Hoosiers and the Hurricanes between former assistants of retired Alabama coach Nick Saban. -
If I were to say the words “Do’h!” or “excellent,” or “okely, dokely, neighborino!” You know what I'm talking about, right? Of course, it's “The Simpsons,” good for you. Now, longtime viewers of that show know this, but for that one person out there who doesn't…“The Simpsons” is a spin-off. Back when Fox was just getting going, one of the programs they offered was “The Tracy Ullman Show.” And “The Tracy Ullman Show” had these little animated vignettes featuring Bart, Lisa, Homer. and Marge, and the rest is history. Emmy award-winning actor Carrie Preston knows a little bit about spin-offs. -
Scores of communities around the United States have aging and decrepit wastewater systems that can put residents' health and homes at risk. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and former President Joe Biden's administration promised hundreds of millions of dollars to address the problem, but much of that has been undone in President Donald Trump's return to office. Alabama communities are reportedly included. -
Miami coach Mario Cristobal gathered his offensive linemen together during a pressure-packed, fourth-quarter drive in the Fiesta Bowl and delivered a message to the big, beefy guys he knows so well. You five are about to lead the way for the winning touchdown.Before last night’s college football semi final against Ole Miss, Cristobal thought back on his days at Alabama and the impact working for Saban had on his career -
My guest tonight on APR notebook is Emmy award winning actor Carrie Preston. She's currently starring in the CBS crime drama Elsbeth, but back in 1994 Preston played Ophelia in a production of Hamlet with the Alabama Shakespeare Festival. -
In a remarkable rebuke of Republican leadership, the House passed legislation Thursday, 230-196, that would extend expired health care subsidies for those who get coverage through the Affordable Care Act as renegade GOP lawmakers joined essentially all Democrats in voting for the measure. This could be good news for up to a half million Alabamians who use the Affordable Care Act for their health coverage. -
It’s just the next legislative step, but a bipartisan coalition of U.S. House members voted to advance a bill to extend subsidies connected to the Affordable Care Act. Nine Republican joined the Democrats to support a discharge bill to push the legislation forward. The Kaiser Family Foundation says around a half million Alabamians use this program, known as Obamacare, to get health coverage. KFF goes onto say those policyholders are facing cost increases as high as twenty five percent. -
Multiple published reports state that Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson intends to declare for the 2026 NFL draft. The University of Alabama junior just ended a problematic season with the Crimson Tide being shellacked in the Rose Bowl by number one ranked Indiana. The Hoosiers will play in the Peach Bowl Friday to see if the team can advance to the college football championship. -
If I were to say the words “Do’h!” or “excellent,” or “okely, dokely, neighborino!” You know what I'm talking about, right? Of course, it's “The Simpsons,” good for you. Now, longtime viewers of that show know this, but for that one person out there who doesn't…“The Simpsons” is a spin-off. Back when Fox was just getting going, one of the programs they offered was “The Tracy Ullman Show.” And “The Tracy Ullman Show” had these little animated vignettes featuring Bart, Lisa, Homer. and Marge, and the rest is history. Emmy award-winning actor Carrie Preston knows a little bit about spin-offs. She played Ophelia in the Alabama Shakespeare Festival's production of “Hamlet” back in 1994. But, she's come a long way since then. Arguably, you could say her big break was playing Elsbeth Tascioni in the CBS series “The Good Wife” and "The Good Fight." That's where she got her Emmy for Best Guest Performer. But now, she's the star of the spin-off series, "Elsbeth." We'll talk to her about her days in Alabama and more coming up on APR notebook.
-
The U.S. House is scheduled to go back into session on Tuesday. Policy advocates in Alabama say this could be the first chance to address rising costs associated with the Affordable Care Act. Subsidies expired last week causing the price of coverage to jump as much as twenty five percent.
