APR Reports
Alabama Public Radio takes the time to dig beneath the headlines to listen to the people of the state to learn more about what matters to them. We produce special series of stories based on what we hear so you can listen to them as well.
Selling Kids: Human Trafficking in Alabama
A note to our readers, this documentary contains content of an adult nature. Parents may want to consider whether it's appropriate for all ages.
The APR news team investigated the sources and outcomes of human trafficking in Alabama and the southeast. From children trafficked by parents to juvenile runaways to trafficking workers for meat processing plants, Alabama is a microcosm of the human trafficking problem. Alabama is a leader in tracking, discovering, and arresting the abusers as exemplified by Gary Warner, Director of the UAB Computer Forensics Research Lab.
Listen to the report. If you or someone you know needs local resources to get help with a trafficking situation, you may visit the resource page at www.apr.org/traffic.
Help Wanted: Alabama's Rural Health Care Crisis
The APR news team focused on the impact of the lack of healthcare in Alabama’s rural communities, and possible remedies. Seven rural counties in Alabama don’t have hospitals, forcing residents to drive an hour or more for basic treatment. One reason is that Alabama requires hospitals to have at least fifteen beds, even if smaller facilities would be more financially self-sustaining. Mississippi, by contrast, allows hospitals with as a few as three beds.
APR takes an in-depth look at the criminal justice system across the state of Alabama. Completed in 2016 just before the Southern Poverty Law Center class action law suit about mental health in the prison system, APR tells the story of arrest, adjudication, housing and release of prisoners.
Alabama Tornado 5th year anniversary
It is hard to believe that it has been more than 5 years since Tuscaloosa and the surrounding area began the rebuilding effort after the 2011 tornados that devastated central Alabama. The APR news team revisits some the the victims of the storms to see how far the area has come. They also talk with local leaders about the progress made and what is still left to do.
APR examines the water of Alabama from origin to use, industrial and residential use, the environmental impact of industrial use, and even just having the water Alabama needs to survive. From northeast Alabama to the Mobile Bay, Alabama has some of the most important waterways in the country.
The day that folks from a small town in central Alabama focused the nation's and world's attention on the freedom to cast a ballot is remembered in this APR special report. The team interviews the foot soliders like Bennie Lee Tucker as well as Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr. The Edmund Pettus Bridge may be the location, but the focus is on the people and message to the civil rights movement.
Battle of Mobile Bay 150th anniversary
One hundred and fifty years ago, the battle of Mobile Bay helped bring the U.S. Civil War to a close. Historians also credit the engagement with helping Abraham Lincoln win a second term as President. Over the next half hour, Alabama Public Radio will look back on the battle and Alabama’s role in the Civil War in 1864. Stan Ingold will examine the Mobile campaign from the perspective of the man who lost. Ryan Vasquez will explain how Mobile resulted in more Congressional Medals of Honor than any other U.S. Naval battle. And, Pat Duggins will look at how civil war history has become an expensive hobby that can get pretty loud.
Stewart, Gaffney, and Booker are all in their early sixties. They’re all from Birmingham. They’re all African American. And fifty years ago, they made national news. On May 2, 1963, they were among the teenagers who took part in what became known as the “children’s march.” It was a protest against segregation in Birmingham. APR listens to their memories and reflects on their impact.