Lacey Alexander

While Alabama head coach Kalen DeBoer is hoping to send a message during the Crimson Tide's season opener against FSU next month, Texas is the preseason favorite to take home all the marbles and win the Southeastern Conference championship. The Longhorns, with quarterback Arch Manning leading the team, garnered the most votes from the media during this week's SEC media days. Texas received ninety six of the two hundred and four votes to claim the title on December 6 in Atlanta.

Do you know anyone that says "yeah, I actually get perfect sleep every single night"? Me neither. That's why it felt appropriate to interview today's guest, Dr, Adam Knowlden, who has been studying sleep habits and sleep hygiene for years. He is an associate professor of health science and director of the SLUMBRx Lab at the University of Alabama, and is a certified award-winning sleep-knower. There was so much good information in our discussion that we'll be turning our interview with him into two parts! Tune in next week for part two.

Part two of our conversation with sleep expert Dr. Adam Knowlden is here! Do you know anyone that says "yeah, I actually get perfect sleep every single night"? Me neither. That's why it felt appropriate to interview today's guest, Dr, Adam Knowlden, who has been studying sleep habits and sleep hygiene for years. He is an associate professor of health science and director of the SLUMBRx Lab at the University of Alabama, and is a certified award-winning sleep-knower. There was so much good information in our discussion that we'll be turning our interview with him into two parts!

Primary elections for multiple state offices are less than three weeks away. Local elections such as these don't see the turnout that presidential elections do in our state, and that needs to change, because Dr. Regina Wagner says so! She's a political science professor at the University of Alabama and gave us tons of information on the processes and importance of state-level elections. Whether you're a republican, democrat, or somewhere in-between, your voice matters and needs to be counted.

Some of the biggest changes we've seen the current administration make is on legislation and regulations regarding environmental issues. A lot of protections have changed or gone away completely, and projects that could negatively impact the earth are getting approved easier. Alabama is no exception- the state legislature just this year passed a bill that says the state cannot impose stricter environmental regulations than the feds. But what is environmental law? Why does it matter? Why do so many people care, why should I care? William Andreen has answers to all of that and more. The Professor Emeritus of Law at Alabama, Professor Andreen has been studying environmental law for decades. He's here to help us better understand what these laws are, and what we stand to lose if we get rid of them.

Hurricane season has technically already started on Pacific Ocean side of the country, but the Atlantic side (that's our side btw) will be heating up very soon. Scientists say 97% percent of hurricanes occur from June to November, as Alabamians and their southeastern neighbors know all too well. Our guest today has been interviewed by national news entities on this topic, and if he's good enough for NPR, he's certainly good enough for us- Dr. Jason Senkbeil is a professor in the department of geography at The University of Alabama. His research has focused on atmospheric hazards and applied climatology with weather events such as hurricanes, tornadoes and climate change trends. He joins Lacey to break down the how, when, and where of every step of these dangerous storms.

May is mental health awareness month, and organizations across the United States use this time to educate Americans on how to both understand mental health issues and offer support to people who are struggling. We're joining those voices with our last Simplified episode of the month: an informative chat with Dr. Abby Horton, an Assistant Professor at The University of Alabama's Capstone College of Nursing. Dr. Horton has over a decade of researching wellness and mental health on her resume, making her the perfect guest to answer questions from Lacey (and the listening audience!) about what goes on in our heads and how to best take care of them.