Amy Stiftel-Sedlis

Assistant Producer



Recycling realities…

UAB recycling coordinator Jon Paolone…

“First thing I did, was bought me a horse.”

Pediatric nurse and horse lover Sandra Bryant of Pinson…

Before the historic Lyric theatre…

Outreach coordinator Glenny Brock, of Birmingham…

Commentary: When it Comes to Opioids, Doctors Need to Focus on People, Not Pills

Opioids include pills like hydrocodone and morphine are often prescribed for pain. They also include drugs of abuse such as heroin. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that more than 18,000 people died from opioid overdoses in 2014. Public initiatives from the CDC and the White House have focused on how doctors prescribe opioid pills for pain. Last week the CDC released a guideline urging doctors to show greater care and caution when prescribing opioids.

An unusual goodbye…

Karen Weinrib from Homewood…

Fencing: An act of denial and wistfulness

Stefan Kertesz from Homewood, talks about fencing…

The Compassion Experience: A Virtual Exhibit on Global Poverty

Global poverty can seem pretty abstract to the average American. The Compassion Experience aims to change that. This traveling exhibit immerses people in the lives and cultures of children living in poverty around the world. It's on tour across the South and returns to Alabama next week. WBHM's Amy Sedlis saw the exhibit on its last Birmingham stop, and has this preview:

“My conservative father just giggled…”

Kathi Rushing of Birmingham…  

The art of reading a person’s body…

Tailor Chuck Robertson of Birmingham…

“They learn, I learn… “

ESL teacher Michael Rosato from Birmingham…

Birmingham-Southern Professor Michael Flowers Named 2015 Professor of the Year

For more than three decades, Michael Flowers has been teaching acting at Birmingham-Southern College. Flowers was recently named 2015 Alabama Professor of the Year by the Carnegie Foundation.

StoryCorps: “There’s a little piece of you that’s still shining through.”

Amanda: So how does your queerness impact you on a day-to-day basis? Steven: My queerness operates in very different ways when I’m in a professional setting. I’m expected to be in slacks and things that are not form-fitting. Three months into the job, I was told if I wanted to fit in, I needed to […]

StoryCorps: “I’m not complicated…”

Lacey: I identify as bisexual so that means that I am attracted to people of multiple genders. I used to feel like, in queer spaces, that I wasn’t queer enough to be there. I was constantly having this fear that other people were sort of assessing my queerness. It constantly felt like it was insufficient […]

StoryCorps: “You’re a person of value…”

Kristye:  I feel like I loved you before our first date, but I didn’t think that was possible. And when I pulled up to meet you, I got out of my car and you got out of your car, and I’ll never forget the look on your face because you … your eyes were real wide, […]

The Great Thanksgiving Listen

WBHM is proud to partner with StoryCorps for the Great Thanksgiving Listen. This Thanksgiving weekend, StoryCorps will work with teachers and high school students across the country to preserve the voices and stories of an entire generation of Americans over a single holiday weekend. Open to everyone, The Great Thanksgiving Listen is a national assignment […]

StoryCorps: “I got in the most trouble I think I ever had in my entire life.”

Derrick: When I was younger, I remember I was on the playground and I kissed a boy. It wasn’t like anything sexualized or anything like that, but I got in the most trouble I think I ever had in my entire life. I had no perception of what bisexuality was, but I guess that was when I would […]

StoryCorps: “The difference is in everybody’s heads.”

Jonathan Hankins and partner Maura Barnett are expecting their first child and discuss raising him with their gender nonconforming values. They had a conversation at Storycorp's mobile booth in Birmingham, AL

StoryCorps: “I need to get my last name legally changed, please.”

Gregory and Joshua Laning share their experiences getting their names changed and talk about being one of the first legally gay married couples in Alabama. They had a conversation at Storycorp’s mobile booth in Birmingham, AL

StoryCorps: “Because I love him.”

Neil Rafferty talks to his partner Mike Rudulph about their emotions before Mikes deployment to Iraq. They had a conversation at Storycorp's mobile booth in Birmingham, AL

StoryCorps: “We’re just people too.”

Jennifer Sumner and her 12-year-old son Rae talk about the challenges of being transgender. They had a conversation at Storycorp's mobile booth in Birmingham, AL

Alabama’s Film Tax Credits Face Some Skepticism and Critique

Most states offer tax incentives meant to attract film production-create jobs and stimulate the economy. As budgets tighten, some are scaling back or eliminating them. But even after recent heated budget battles, cash-strapped Alabama is keeping those tax credits, prompting some to question their effect on the fiscal bottom line.

Carly’s Law Study: Patients On Marijuana Derivative Oil Report Progress

Last year, Alabama was the second state to legalize limited use of marijuana derivate, commonly known as CBD oil. Alabama’s Carly’s Law, is allowing doctors at the University of Alabama at Birmingham to study and prescribe CBD oil to select patients. CBD oil has only traces or no THC --the active ingredient in marijuana known to produce a high-and is changing the debate surrounding the use of use of marijuana as medicine. UAB’s study officially started this spring.

Anti-bullying license plate may come to Alabama

The Alabama department of Revenue’s legislative oversight committee gave approval to accept pre-orders for the state’s first ever anti-bullying plate.

A Civil Rights Resolution Rediscovered

Some of the most enduring images of the Civil Rights Movement are of fire hoses blasting children who were marching in Birmingham in 1963. Those pictures shocked many around the country and helped spur President John F. Kennedy to call for the Civil Rights Act. But the fire hoses also prompted a response from some New York City firefighters. As WBHM’s Amy Sedlis reports, that action remained unknown to Birmingham residents for more than five decades.

Developers Receive Approval For New Downtown Publix Designs, Permits

The Birmingham Design Review Board on Wednesday approved developers design plans and permits for a Publix grocery store downtown at 3rd Avenue South and 20th Street. The 35,000 square foot grocery and pharmacy will anchor a $20 million dollar development that will include three apartment buildings, retail stores, restaurants, and office space.

Interview: Alabama’s Growing Trade Relationship With China

The Chinese ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, is visiting Birmingham this week as part of the Birmingham International Center’s 2015 spotlight on China. The Birmingham International Center highlights a different country each year. The goal this year is to improve ties between Alabama and China. Senior executives, business leaders, government officials and community […]