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Alabama’s constitution still allows forced labor, 157 years after the thirteenth amendment abolished the practice. That’s not the only lasting impact of the slave trade in Alabama. APR spoke with the descendants of some of estimated four hundred thousand people enslaved here around the Civil War. Many say they can’t find the burial sites of their ancestors, due to unmarked graves or bad records kept by their white captors. Alabama Public Radio news spent nine months looking into efforts to find and preserve slave cemeteries in the state. Here's part one of our series we call “No Stone Unturned.”

The thirteenth amendment did away with slavery in the United States 157 years ago. Alabama voters may take similar action next month. The state’s Constitution still allows involuntary servitude. An estimated 400,000 slaves were held in Alabama before they were finally freed in 1865. APR spoke with the descendants of some of these people. They talked about trying to find the burial sites of their ancestors, and facing roadblocks not shared by their white neighbors.

Alabama voters head to the polls for the November midterm election next month. One issue on the ballot would do away with slavery. It’s still allowed in the state constitution. Alabama Public Radio news spent nine months looking into one lingering aspect of the slave trade. APR’s focus is on finding and preserving slave cemeteries in the state. By the time of the Civil War, an estimated four hundred thousand people were held as slaves in Alabama. Some accounts put the number throughout the South at closer to four million. That would appear to make the issue of slave cemetery preservation a southern issue. But, that doesn't appear to be the case. Here’s part four of our series we call “No Stone Unturned."

Sports Minded host Brittany Young sits down with Olive Branch, Mississippi native Madison Young. Madison is a senior and the starting pitcher for St. Benedict at Auburndale High School's softball team. She's also the starting pitcher for the Mississippi Bombers 18u National Knight and a University of Texas San Antonio signee. The Youngs, who are related, discuss the history of softball in their family and Madison's journey on the diamond to get to where she is now. Madison also talks about some goals she has for her final high school softball season.

In today's episode, Lacey sits down with Dr. Thomas Weida, associate dean for clinical affairs for the College of Community Health Sciences at Alabama, and chief medical officer for the University Medical Center. Dr. Weida gives listeners a 101-class on Insurance; how it works, why it can get complicated, and what patients can do when they need a little help.

In our second episode, Lacey sits down with Dr. Michael Innis-Jiménez, an American Studies professor at The University of Alabama. His research is predominantly on how Latino communities function within the United States, making him the perfect guest to discuss the island of Puerto Rico and it's (legal and emotional) relationship to the US!

Episode 3 of Simplified is all about microplastics! Host Lacey Alexander is joined by Dr. Jason Bara, a professor at Alabama and the co-director of the Polymers and Soft Materials Research Center. Dr. Bara’s research group is focused on development of advanced polymer materials, processes for clean energy production, and more.

The Alabama Public Radio news team is known for its major journalism investigations. We've been doing them for over a decade. Our most recent national award winning effort was an eight month investigation into Alabama's new U.S. House seat in the rural Black Belt region of the state. The new voting map was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court so Alabama would be more fair to black residents. Now, anybody who follows the news might reasonably be thinking— okay? The same high court that overturned Roe versus Wade and ended affirmative action in the nation's universities told Alabama that they needed to treat black voters better. Even the plaintiffs in the legal case of Allen versus Milligan told APR news they were gobsmacked they won. The goal after that legal victory was to make sure the new minority congressional district works. The point there was to keep conservative opponents from having the excuse to try to flip the voting map back to the GOP. And that's a moving target that could change at any moment, even as we speak. The job of managing all of these issues now falls to Congressman Shomari Figures.

Everybody, it seems, has a favorite story about barbecue. Here's mine. Mrs. Duggins and I took a road trip to Memphis. We were going to see Bonnie Raitt in concert. Now, when it comes to barbecue, Memphis has Elwood’s Shack, Corky’s, Fat Larry's and they all have their fans. But with apologies to all, this story is about Charlie Vergos Rendezvous. And, Robert Moss has me beat. He's author of the book "Barbecue, The History of an American institution." It's in a new and expanded edition from University of Alabama press. He joins me next on APR notebook.