Will the stimulus package address inequities in the South?
It’s possible that this could be the latest economic downturn to deepen historic inequities, not address them.
2020 has permanently changed college football
This week on the Reckon Interview, we are discussing the politics of football. The historic movements led by athletes, and the slow change of major institutions like the SEC and NCAA.
Southerners from eight states demand Medicaid expansion
Activists from eight Southern states have formed a new coalition to urge Medicaid expansion. Of the 12 states that have not expanded Medicaid since the passage of the 2010 Affordable Care Act, eight are in the South. Nine out of 10 people who fall in the so-called “coverage gap” — people who do not qualify for Medicaid but do not make enough money to pay for private health insurance —live in the South. At least 7 million Southerners fall into the coverage gap. Southerners for Medicaid Expansion is planning a series of events to raise awareness, culminating in an October 1 candlelight vigil to remember “the people who have died and those who continue to suffer from the denial of affordable healthcare.” On the Reckon Interview Live, we spoke with Robyn Hyden, executive director of Alabama Arise, a nonprofit focused on poverty-related issues, about the case for expanding Medicaid in the South. Hyden stressed that Medicaid expansion has bipartisan support from voters, even if politicians have delayed action. Medicaid expansion would be an economic boon for states like Alabama and could lead to fewer rural hospitals closing their doors. Watch the full conversation here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4yvcZxnBEhs On this week's episode [...]
The South’s rural hospitals need a lifeline
The South is a region where few states have expanded Medicaid, a decision driven in part by the politics of expanding a program tied to the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.
Broken by design: The long history of the South’s fragmented health care system
The Covid-19 pandemic laid bare the problems with the South’s fragmented, patchwork health care system. Nine out of 10 people in the United States who fall into the “coverage gap” live in the South. The region leads the country in high rates of chronic disease and each year we see more and more hospitals shuttering across the rural South.
What’s the best case scenario for a coronavirus vaccine?
UAB's Dr. Jeanne Marrazzo discusses potential vaccines, hospital capacity, school safety and more.
Tell us why you mask up
We want to hear your reasons.
Why do you wear a mask?
We're sharing your reasons why you mask up.
More than 103,000 dead in the U.S. because of COVID-19
Something to think about next time you are debating whether to take precautions to protect yourself and others.
As Alabama reopens, will people wear masks?
Crowds gathered Tuesday afternoon in parking lots surrounding Huntsville Hospital. Parents and kids, grandparents and teens sat on tailgates and waited for a promised military flyover honoring hospital workers. Few were wearing masks, but none were crowded together, keeping mostly to their cars.
How are extroverts finding purpose without people?
The unmistakable riff from the early ’90s grunge hit, “Smells Like Teen Spirit," by Nirvana has been keeping Anna Mahan busy in quarantine. Mahan, a recent graduate of the University of North Alabama, has been trying to fill every moment of self-isolation with engaging activities, like learning chords on her new guitar, streaming shows, and reading books. In a non-pandemic world, the self-described extrovert would be working closely with others at her now-canceled internship in Honduras.
Frank Stitt on the challenges facing restaurants during the coronavirus pandemic
Frank Stitt, co-owner and operator of Highlands Bar & Grill, James Beard Award winner for Best American Restaurant (2018), Bottega, and Chez Fonfon in Birmingham
Here’s how Alabama parents teach during the pandemic
Alabama families are dealing with a host of compounding issues as they adjust to remote learning, including working from home while homeschooling children and protecting the family – and their finances – from the coronavirus pandemic.
Many believed college admissions would never change. Then COVID-19 hit.
High school juniors and seniors would usually be preparing for final standardized tests, polishing their college applications and rounding out their adolescence with senior photoshoots and promposals.
John Paul White on John Prine, Alabama and how COVID-19 has changed the music business
John Paul White speaks with Reckon about how COVID-19 is affecting the music business, Muscle Shoals and what John Prine means to him.