Gulf States Gumbo

Alabama’s Black Belt has been dealing with sanitation issues for a long time, and now residents are creating ways to solve their problem. Our Environmental justice reporter Danny McArthur has been investigating these issues for years and tells us more. We also find out what Louisiana is doing with empty homeless encampments with the Super Bowl a week away. This week’s Gulf States Gem: The McWane Science Center in Birmingham, Alabama. 

This episode is hosted by sports and culture reporter Joseph King and edited by Stephan Bisaha. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme.

To get in touch with the team, email [email protected].

Missing water bills can cause headaches for utility customers. Economic mobility reporter Stephan Bisaha tells one Alabama family's story and looks into how smart water meters can be a solution. Also, reporter Matt Bloom from partner station WWNO reports on a push to close parts of the French Quarter to car traffic in the wake of a truck attack.

This episode is hosted by criminal justice reporter Kat Stromquist and edited by Tyler Pratt. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme.

To get in touch with the team, email [email protected].

There’s a shortage of specialized nurses who play a critical role in providing care to sexual assault survivors. Particularly in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. They are called sexual assault nurse examiners — or SANEs. Our health equity reporter Drew Hawkins explains that one potential solution is to use telemedicine — but it’s currently not available in the Gulf South.

Also, Louisiana has a long history with the French language. And while most Louisianans no longer speak it, a growing number want their kids to learn. The question is: what kind of French? WWNO’s Aubri Juhasz takes us to a school down the bayou that’s taking a novel approach — by teaching students to talk like their grandparents. 

And we check in on the Cookie Inflation Index. 

This week’s gem – Mt Fuji in Tupelo, Mississippi. 

To get in touch with the team, email [email protected].

Carnival in New Orleans started Monday, less than a week after a man drove his truck into crowds on Bourbon Street, killing 14 people and injuring dozens more. 

While the city is in mourning, WWNO’s Aubri Juhasz reports that New Orleans still plans to party on schedule.

And our health equity reporter, Drew Hawkins, lives in New Orleans and was one of the first to start reporting on what happened – talking to eyewitnesses, official sources, and reporting the latest information as we learned it. He spoke with our sports and culture reporter Joseph King about the day and how people in New Orleans are supporting each other. 

This episode is hosted by Joseph King and edited by Stephan Bisaha. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme.

To get in touch with the team, email [email protected].

We’ve come to the end of another year and are looking back on 2024. It’s time for a Gulf States Newsroom tradition where the team reflects on moments that stick with them … whether or not they made it into the story. 

This week’s Gulf States Gem: Festivals to look forward to when the flowers start to bloom. 

This episode is hosted and produced by Managing Editor Tyler Pratt. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme.

To get in touch with the team, email [email protected].

A new book argues that the roots of mass incarceration in Louisiana goes back to before The Civil War. Criminal justice reporter Kat Stromquist sat down with Louisiana State University Professor John Bardes to talk about his research. 

Also, sports and culture reporter Joseph King takes a look at Birmingham’s legendary Coach O who has inspired athletes from the WNBA to the NFL, on and off the field. 

This week’s Gulf States Gem: Pearl’s Diner in Laurel, Mississippi.

This episode is hosted by community engagement reporter Maya Miller and edited by Stephan Bisaha. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme.

To get in touch with the team, email [email protected].

It’s been a big year for unions in the South.

If you’ve been following the labor movement in the region for more than a hot sec, then you know there just aren’t many union wins. Membership across the country was at a record low in 2023 and the numbers are even lower in the South. 

Yet 2024 saw a historic union victory in Tennessee that could reshape the future of labor across the region. We go on a roadtrip lookback at 2024’s union wins and losses before peaking ahead to what’s coming up in the new year. 

This episode is hosted and edited by managing editor Priska Neely, with help from Stephan Bisaha. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme.

To get in touch with the team, email [email protected].

Traditionally, union strikes have lasted until their demands were met. But in the last decade, unions have taken a new approach to strikes — making them shorter. Economic mobility reporter Stephan Bisaha looks at a nurse’s union who went on strike for just one day.
Also on this week' episode, sports and culture reporter Joseph King talks to transgender students who worry about their safety on college campuses and justice, incarceration and gun violence reporter Kat Stromquist looks into a new report that found Alabama leads the country in “pregnancy criminalization” cases.

This week’s Gulf States Gem: Saltine Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi.

This episode is hosted by community engagement reporter Maya Miller and edited by Priska Neely, with help from Stephan Bisaha. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme.

To get in touch with the team, email [email protected].

Reporter Drew Hawkins takes over this week’s episode to share an excerpt of his new podcast. Bitter Jaguar: The Shooting of Denver Smith and Leonard Brown is a five-part series about the shooting of two Southern students during a peaceful protest on campus in 1972. Special thanks to the LSU Cold Case Project.

Our theme music is by DJ Supreme.

To get in touch with the Gulf States Newsroom team, email [email protected].

This week, we're on the road in Alabama. Environmental justice reporter Danny McArthur looks at wastewater issues in the Black Belt, reporting that sanitation is a struggle for people who live in manufactured homes. And senior criminal justice reporter Kat Stromquist visits Birmingham and speaks to Black men's groups, who are responding to a year of deadly gun violence. 

Community engagement producer Nellie Beckett also highlights a few of our Gulf States Gems.

This episode is hosted by Kat Stromquist and edited by Tyler Pratt. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme.

To get in touch with the team, email [email protected].