Whether you were born and raised in the yellowhammer state or just moved to Pell City from Siberia, you are more than aware of Alabama's fascination with college football. Sure some die hard alums may watch high school football on Fridays, and some of us may tune in on Sundays to watch an NFL team or two. But it's not even worth debating that the collegiate version of the sport reigns supreme among the gridiron-enjoyers in our 67 counties. But what about this culture- the analysts, the sideline reporting, the athletes and coaches-- is almost addicting for us to engage with? What subtle tactics are the producers of The College Gameday show using to get your blood pumping on Saturday mornings, and what tricks does ESPN have up it's sleeve to keep us tuned in each and every weekend?

What happens when a NASA engineer trades rocket hardware for the dark, raw reality of 1990s grunge? On this episode of Quick-Fire Quips, author Zach Taylor talks about his gritty debut novel, Rockstar: Echoes (the sequel Rockstar: Mirrors is officially in production!) Hear why he wanted to strip away the showbiz glamour to expose the financial tolls and gender disparities faced by rock icons. Plus, the strict bass fishing superstition he swears by on the water and the change he thinks Alabama needs to make for its future.

Alabama’s attorney general subpoenaed OpenAI following an alleged hacking incident involving the servers of a competitor back in July. AG Steve Marshall wants to know if OpenAI, and its owner Sam Altman, are in violation of Alabama consumer protection laws, posing a possible threat to state citizens.

Sources are telling multiple news outlets that Alabama sophomore Keelon Russell will be the starting quarterback when the Crimson Tide takes on the East Carolina Pirates at Bryant Denny Stadium on September fifth. Senior (redshirt junior) Austin Mack was the other possible choice as Alabama gears up for the season. Overall, the Tide’s path toward a possible CFP Championship could hinge on what happens on October tenth on Nick Saban Field.

August is International Cat Month, a time to celebrate cats, to raise awareness about their welfare, and to encourage responsible cat ownership!

This weekend Cam Marston watched 130 girls squeal with joy on Auburn's quad. Here's why his mind went straight to the ones who didn't get the call.

Blame Alabama and Georgia. Point fingers at Auburn, Florida, LSU, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas, too. The Southeastern Conference, once the most dominant league in the land, lost its stranglehold on college football over the last three years.

Former University of Alabama basketball player Kai Spears won his defamation lawsuit against the New York Times. Multiple published reports, including the Times, says a jury awarded the walk on athlete of over $9 million dollars following a trial in the aftermath of the murder of a Birmingham woman.

Alabama isn’t considered a good place to be if you’re a dog or cat. A 2024 report by the Animal Legal Defense Fund ranks our state 48th nationally for laws to protect pets.The group notes that social workers in Alabama don’t have to report signs of animal abuse despite evidence linking mistreatment of pets and domestic violence. One other trend was found regarding dogs and cats around the University of Alabama campus.

The Crimson Tide look to make back-to-back appearances in the College Football Playoff under third-year coach Kalen DeBoer and potentially end the Southeastern Conference’s three-year national championship drought. The powerhouse league hasn’t even made the title game since Georgia won consecutive championships in 2022-23.

Earlier this year, after broadcasting our episode with Dr. Jason Bara about microplastics, we got an email from a listener named Hank asking if we would consider doing an episode on forever chemicals. Turns out, these two things are often brought up together in conversation—they’re both pollutants, both a bit of a headache to get rid of, and both are indicative of the advancements of technology. As Dr. Bara said in our microplastics episode, there may never be a world where we completely stop the use of plastics. As it turns out, that may also be true for these forever chemicals, or PFAS. Non-stick cookware, water-repellent clothes, cosmetics, the carpet industry, even foam used by firefighters all have these pesky chemicals roaming about.

Back-to-school season looks a little different for Gannon McNees this year. Instead of heading back to class at the University of North Alabama, he's jamming out on the world stage! The tuba player is the first UNA student to win a spot in the U.S. Navy Fleet Bands. In this episode of Quick-Fire Quips, Gannon talks about how his sister influenced his big brass dreams, the beauty of tuning out the world with cave crawls and why bringing out-of-state ideas can help Alabama’s rhythm move forward.