What happens when a city with deep inequities dares to reimagine its future?

In this season of Proving Grounds, host Kristina Francis takes listeners to Birmingham, Alabama, a city shaped by history, defined by tension, and fueled by bold experimentation. From education and workforce innovation to housing, entrepreneurship, and employee ownership, Birmingham is testing new ideas that could redefine economic opportunity for working families.

Through data, lived experience, and conversations with local leaders, this season explores how the Magic City is transforming work, wealth, and community, and why what happens in Birmingham may signal what’s next for cities across America.

If the 20th century was built on steel, the 21st century is being built on innovation, ownership, and possibility.

This is Proving Grounds.