Gulf States Gumbo

It's been a wild few weeks in global trade. 

President Donald Trump put 10% tariffs on all imports, and some countries started getting hit with much higher amounts. Stock markets have been swinging and economists say the odds of a recession this year are going up. 

While these are international issues, how do they actually play out in our region? To learn more, we talked to our economic mobility reporter, Stephan Bisaha, who has been interviewing workers — including shrimpers — across the Gulf South. 

This week’s Gulf States Gem: the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival. 

This episode is hosted by our public health reporter Drew Hawkins. The podcast was produced by Stephan Bisaha, Danny McArthur, Orlando Flores Jr., Kat Stromquist and Tyler Taboada Pratt. Joseph King is the social producer. Nellie Beckett is our audience engagement producer. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme.

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

And support our local station partners by donating to WWNO, MPB, or WBHM.  

How are HBCU students working to respond to a changing climate? Environment and communities reporter Danny McArthur spoke to a few of them at a conference in New Orleans to find out. 

On this week's episode, Danny joins host Joseph King to dig a little deeper on the historical connection between those universities and environmental justice. 

This week’s Gulf States Gem: Danny's picks for Indian food around the South.  

This episode is hosted by sports and culture reporter Joseph King. The podcast was produced by Stephan Bisaha, Kat Stromquist, Danny McArthur, Orlando Flores Jr. and Tyler Taboada Pratt. Joseph King is the social producer. Nellie Beckett is our audience engagement producer. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme.

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

Pandemic disruptions put a lot of kids behind. But in the South, some schools seized the moment, making unexpected gains in different subjects. Alabama is the only state to see improvements in math. The same goes for Louisiana in reading. 

NPR reporters Jonaki Mehta and Cory Turner join the GSN team to talk about their reporting about the improvements. 

This week’s Gulf States Gem: Picks from Mehta and Turner for road trips to Alabama and Louisiana.

This episode is hosted by public health reporter Drew Hawkins. The podcast was produced by Stephan Bisaha, Danny McArthur, Kat Stromquist, Orlando Flores Jr. and Tyler Taboada Pratt. Joseph King is the social producer. Nellie Beckett is our audience engagement producer. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme.

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

Tech companies have pledged hundreds of billions of dollars to build new data centers. These centers are the backbone behind AI and are being built across the country – including two record-setting $10 billion dollar projects in Mississippi. But while billions being invested in communities might sound great, our economic mobility reporter Stephan Bisaha reports they create few permanent jobs. 

A new collection of essays, art and poetry by men incarcerated at the Mississippi State Penitentiary — best known as Parchman Farm — is shedding light on one of the country's most notorious prison units. It's the culmination of a more than three year effort that began shortly after the most violent period in Parchman's history. Mississippi Public Broadcasting’s Michael McEwen has that story. 

And Louisiana has carried out its first-ever nitrogen gas execution — the second state to use that method to put someone to death, after Alabama. Our criminal justice reporter Kat Stromquist reports the execution of Jessie Hoffman Jr. is the state's first in 15 years. 

This week’s Gulf States Gem: the meatloaf at Ajax Diner in Oxford, Mississippi. 

This episode is hosted and written by Stephan Bisaha. The podcast was produced by Danny McArthur, Kat Stromquist, Orlando Flores Jr. and Tyler Taboada Pratt. Joseph King is the social producer. Nellie Beckett is our audience engagement producer. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme. 

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

In this episode, environment and communities reporter Danny McArthur, economic mobility reporter Stephan Bisaha and WBHM managing editor Andrew Yeager discuss what's at stake for Gulf South scientists as the Trump administration makes cuts to big agencies — like the National Institutes of Health.

Also, sports and culture reporter Joseph King meets with a Black Masking Indian queen in New Orleans. As she retires from parading, she reflects on cultural appropriation. This week’s Gulf States Gem: Maria's Mercado in Morton, Mississippi.

This episode is hosted by environment and communities reporter Danny McArthur. The podcast was produced by Stephan Bisaha, Kat Stromquist, Orlando Flores Jr. and Tyler Taboada Pratt. Joseph King is the social producer. Nellie Beckett is our audience engagement producer. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme.

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

This week, we’re on the water.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management made some new rules to help clean up old oil wells in the Gulf. WWNO's Eva Tesfaye talks with environment and communities reporter Danny McArthur about why some states aren't happy — and suing to prevent it.

Also, Danny takes a river trip down the Mississippi River with teens taking in the great outdoors.

This week's gem: Alabama's lakes, rivers and bays. 

This episode is hosted by sports and culture reporter Joseph King. The podcast was produced by Stephan Bisaha, Kat Stromquist, Danny McArthur, Orlando Flores Jr. and Tyler Taboada Pratt. Nellie Beckett is our audience engagement producer. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme.

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

Who pays for security at the Mardi Gras parades everyone loves? 

Public health reporter Drew Hawkins reports that, oftentimes, smaller independent krewes foot their own bill. And it's getting more expensive after the New Year's Day attack in New Orleans. 

Also, economic mobility reporter Stephan Bisaha visits the French Quarter to talk to businesses in the wake of that attack.

This week’s Gulf States Gem: Picks from a Carnival historian. 

This episode is hosted and written by criminal justice reporter Kat Stromquist. The podcast was produced by Stephan Bisaha, Danny McArthur, Orlando Flores Jr. and Tyler Taboada Pratt. Joseph King is the social producer. Nellie Beckett is our audience engagement producer. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme. 

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

Out. Of. Network. Dreaded words for anyone who needs life-saving medical care. But sometimes doctors in an insurance company’s network can’t perform that care. Our public health reporter Drew Hawkins tells us about one Mississippi family who went above and beyond to get a critically needed surgery— but were still denied.

And we hear about what the Trump Administration’s plans to cut health research would mean for Alabama. 

For this week’s Gulf States Gem we brag on our favorite libraries. 

This episode is hosted by economic mobility reporter Stephan Bisaha and edited by Tyler Pratt. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme. 

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

Two men with military ties made headlines after two deadly incidents in New Orleans and Las Vegas. Some veterans have been trying to make sense of the tragic events. 

And our criminal justice reporter Kat Stromquist is joined by Texas Newsroom reporter Lauren McGaughy to tell us more about these deadly events and the reporting they’ve been doing around them. This week’s Gulf States Gem: Lauren  shares why she loves Mardi Gras, which includes decorating boots and having French Quarter brunches.

This episode is hosted by environment and communities reporter Danny McArthur and edited by Tyler Pratt. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme. 

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

How the big game is impacting the Big Easy.

We’ll hear about some of the steps being taken to help keep people visiting New Orleans for the Super Bowl safe in light of the New Year’s Day attack on Bourbon Street. And we’ll also hear more about how the Super Bowl impacts the culture and the people who live and work in New Orleans — and about some of the players connected to the Gulf South you might see out on the field. 

This episode is hosted by health equity reporter, Drew Hawkins, and produced by Stephan Bisaha. Our theme music is by DJ Supreme. 

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