The CATalyst Council was formed to improve the lives and care of domestic cats. Thank you to my friend who introduced me to this group - I like their mission!

From film sets to dye gardens: Birmingham artist April Bonasera of Dress Dye Magic gives us a look into her world of bespoke fashion and giving new life into vintage textiles. In this episode of Quick-Fire Quips, she shares her journey as a fourth-generation seamstress, building custom pieces for stars like Catherine O'Hara, crafting dyes from home-grown plants, and why Alabama’s art scene needs to embrace fresh perspectives.

This week, Don reviews Hermits Die on Thursday: Stories of Appalachia and the Dark Ages by Gregory Ariail.

Roselle, a trained guide dog, was afraid of thunder, but on 9/11 she led her blind human down a staircase of more than 1,400 steps in the North Tower and out to safety. In the process she encouraged many humans to keep going until they also were out of the building. She was declared a hero - and rightly so!!

On this week's Keepin' It Real, Cam sat in a church fundraising meeting and pitched drawing the termites as the devil himself. It did not go over the way he'd hoped.

Quilt-lovers, assemble! The 5th Annual Airing of the Quilts Festival is coming back to Gee's Bend on Saturday, October 3rd. In this episode of Quick-Fire Quips, Keya Nkonoki from the Freedom Quilting Bee Legacy talks about the signature celebration. Hear how the generations-old art form is inspiring younger generations to pick up a needle and thread. Plus, the secret backroad routes to visit Alberta year-round, local museum exhibits, and how Gee's Bend quilts went global!

This week, Don reviews "Whistler: A Novel" by Ann Patchett.

Football is a challenge for pet lovers. We want to spend time with our furry friends but we can't miss the game!

Auburn football season is here, and War Eagle Flights are back at Jordan-Hare! But behind the game-day magic, the Auburn University Raptor Center is on a vital mission to rehabilitate injured birds of prey. In this episode of Quick-Fire Quips, Director Dr. Robyn Miller takes us behind the scenes with eagles Aurea and Independence. Plus, she shares how a childhood book sparked her falconry journey, a bizarre encounter involving a red-tailed hawk and a 90s Furby and why you should pay a visit to Nemophily Natives.

Here on APR Notebook, I've invited you to listen into my chats with actors and authors. Those talks are pretty light. Then there was my conversation with Alex Drueke, who spent 105 days as a POW in the hands of Russian forces after he volunteered to fight for Ukraine. That one was tough to listen to, and fair warning, here's another one. But hear me out. Genocide has been going on in part of the African nation of Sudan for years. The region I'm talking about is roughly the size of Spain. It's called Darfur. An estimated 2 million people have been killed there, but for some of the survivors, there has been justice, and an attorney who hails from Mobile made it possible. Kathryn Lee Boyd argued the case against the French bank BNP Paribas. It was accused of funding the mass killings in Darfur. Boyd won, and she's my guest next on APR Notebook.