Louisiana Considered

TV Weather Gets Heated. In a world where weather is getting more extreme, the role of meteorologists is becoming more important—and controversial—than ever. Meteorologists have been fired over reporting on climate change, and others have left stations because of death threats.

But that hasn’t stopped Jeff Berardelli, Chief Meteorologist for Tampa Bay’s WFLA News. He’s leaning in. In this episode, Jeff Berardelli tells Carlyle what it’s like to be a weatherman in the time of climate change. And answers questions like: why do certain spots get hit by more hurricanes? And what do changing weather patterns fueled by climate change mean for our favorite olive oil?

This episode was hosted and reported by Carlyle Calhoun Despeaux and cohosted by Halle Parker. Johanna Zorn edited this episode. Our sound designer is Emily Jankowski and our theme music is by Jon Batiste. Our managing producer is Carlyle Calhoun Despeaux.

Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We are part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. To help others find our podcast, hit subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

Sea Change is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. WWNO’s Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux Foundation, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

It’s Thursday and that means it’s time to catch up on this week in politics. The Times Picayune/The Advocate’s editorial director and columnist Stephanie Grace discusses the Republican party’s ongoing anti-immigrant rhetoric, and tells us about the former Republican congressman who recently endorsed Vice President Harris. 

Over 5,000 tradeswomen – along with labor, government, and industry leaders from across North America – are descending on New Orleans for the 14th Annual Tradeswomen Build Nations Conference.

The three-day conference brings tradeswomen together to share ideas about leadership, mentorship and activism and discuss how to combat ongoing issues of bias and harassment. Melissa Wells, the lead organizer for the Tradeswomen Build Nations conference joins us for more.

Judges, prosecutors and faith leaders are calling for a second look at the case of Toforest – a  Black man who's been on Alabama's death row for decades for a crime many say he didn't do.

Journalist Beth Shelburne investigated the case in her acclaimed podcast "Earwitness." The Gulf States Newsroom’s Kat Stromquist got an update from Shelburne one year after her podcast was released. 

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Bob Pavlovich. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We get production and technical support  from Garrett Pittman, Adam Vos and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 pm. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play, and wherever you get your podcasts. 

Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.

Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

During the pandemic, the drug Remdesivir, was thrust into the popular lexicon when it became a part of the toolkit to treat people infected with COVID-19. But a recent study found that the drug works in a different way than originally thought.

Giulia Monticone, a researcher at the LSU Health Sciences Center in New Orleans tells us what a recent study revealed about the drug and its potential for further development. 

Imagine you’re a crawfish in New Orleans. It’s a big scary world out there, especially with the extreme effects on climate change. Now, those thoughts and fears of a crawfish have come to life in a new musical. 

The Coastal Desk’s Eva Tesfaye speaks with playwright Rel Farrar about “Out of the Boil: A Climate-Change Musical,”  her new play set to debut at the New Marigny Theatre on Thursday Sept. 26.  

Experts say prisons in the Gulf South are "graying," with more people getting old behind bars. Some reform advocates say this puts a strain on the system.

The Gulf States Newsroom’s Kat Stromquist reports on a push to release five women in Mississippi, who have spent more than a combined 150 years in prison.

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Adam Vos. Our managing producer is Alana Schrieber. We get production support from Garrett Pittman and our assistant producer Aubry Procell.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. 

Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.

Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

Alabama’s Black Belt has long grappled with food insecurity, and this issue is top of mind ahead of November’s elections. The Gulf States Newsroom’s Maya Miller visits a food bank in Montgomery to see what  resources there are to help keep families fed.

Many filmmakers across the country flock to New York or LA with the goal of creating blockbuster hits in big markets. But 24-year-old filmmaker Justin Carmoucheheaded back to his hometown in Louisiana for his first feature film.

Justin, who is also known as “Mouche,” has been making films since he was a teenager. He joins us for more on his filmmaking journey and his new movie, “Alexandria,”

The New Orleans Opera Association is gearing up for their latest season with a production of Puccini’s Tosca – a story of courageous women. And at the helm is Lila Palmer, the company’s new general and artistic director. She joins us to talk about  how her career as a librettist, producer and arts administrator led her to be the second woman to hold this position in opera’s 81-year history. 

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Diane Mack. Our managing producer is Alana Schrieber. We get production help from Adam Vos and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. 

Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.

Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

The November elections are less than two months away, and Verite News in New Orleans recently launched “Civics 504,” a guide on voter registration, ballot propositions and news coverage. The guide was launched in partnership with Verite’s sister newsroom, Mississippi Today.

Verite’s Managing Editor Charles Maldonado joins us now for more on this guide and the information it offers.

The LSU Museum of Art is currently working on an oral history project on Clementine Hunter. Born in 1887, Hunter was a self-taught Black folk artist, who lived and worked on Melrose Plantation and depicted early 20th century plantation life in her work. Before her death in 1988 at the age of 101, Hunter became the first artist to have a solo show at the New Orleans Museum of Art. 

LSU Museum of Art educator and public programs manager Callie Smith, and LSU graduate student and interviewer Sarah Nansubuga, tell us how they used conversations with Hunter’s family to capture her story. 

New Orleans has long been famous for its culinary traditions that combine traditional southern cuisine with broader cultural influence. Now, a new podcast is celebrating the global reach of New Orleans food. 

Zella Palmer, local food historian and director and chair of the Dillard University Ray Charles Program in African American Material Culture speaks with chefs, farmers, activists and culture bearers as host of “Culture & Flavor.” She joins us for more on her conversations and how you can listen. 

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schrieber. Matt Bloom and Aubry Procell are assistant producers. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. 

Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.

Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

Our oceans are heating up—what does that mean for all the life that lives in the sea...and us?

Today we’re going on a trip to Florida…we’re hanging out in the Keys, and we're going fishing, and scuba diving all to find out what’s going on beneath the surface. Just how bad is hotter water for sea life in South Florida, and for the people that depend on it? And how are scientists leading the charge to save this ocean ecosystem?

This episode was reported and hosted by Jenny Staletovich and co-hosted by Carlyle Calhoun Despeaux. Editing by Johanna Zorn and Carlyle Calhoun Despeaux with additional help from Halle Parker, Eva Tesfaye, and Ryan Vasquez. Carlyle Calhoun Despeaux is the managing producer. Our sound designer is Emily Jankowski and our theme music is by Jon Batiste.

Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We're a part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. SeaChange is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. WWNO's Coastal Desk is supported by the Walton Family Foundation, the Meraux and the Greater New Orleans Foundation.

You can reach the Sea Change team at [email protected].

It’s Thursday, and that means it’s time to break down the week in politics with Stephanie Grace, editorial director and columnist for The Times Picayune/The Advocate. Today, we discuss a possible special session in the state legislature this November on tax reform and the state's fiscal cliff.

It was the late 40s. Despite having worked production lines and front lines in hospitals for World War II, women could still not get a drink in a bar in downtown New Orleans unless it was Mardi Gras day.

Cam Rinard, the director of Sales and Marketing at The Roosevelt New Orleans, tells us about the day women fought for their right to drink – in an event we now call “Stormin’ the Sazerac.”

The New Orleans Film Festival is hitting the screens this fall with a lineup of live action films and documentaries that highlight stories of the Gulf South. 

One of the films, “A King Like Me,” takes an intimate look at the Zulu Social Aid and Pleasure Club, the oldest Black Krewe in New Orleans. But while the film celebrates the club’s history, it also examines some of the difficult things members have had to grapple with, like the pandemic, Hurricane Ida and gun violence.

The film’s director, Matthew Henderson, and one of the stars of the film, Terrance Rice, tells us more about this deep dive into Zulu’s history and legacy.

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by [host]. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber; our contributing producers are Matt Bloom and Adam Vos; we receive production and technical support from Garrett Pittman and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play, and wherever you get your podcasts. 

Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.

Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

In the race to find cleaner energy, Louisiana could soon host much of the country’s production of ammonia. The gas is mostly used to produce the fertilizer used in gardens and on crops. Now, more companies want to turn it into a fuel.

In St. Charles Parish, one such proposal for a so-called “blue ammonia” plant has faced mixed reactions from the community. Halle Parker joined us to explain where this project stands.

When women in Louisiana die while pregnant, or after giving birth, the leading doctor who reviews their cases is maternal health expert, Dr. Veronica Gillispie-Bell. The New Orleans-based OB-GYN is one of 300 Louisiana doctors who oppose a new law that will reclassify two common pregnancy medications as controlled dangerous substances

In her first interview with media about the law, Gillispie-Bell spoke with WWNO/WRKF’s Rosemary Westwood about her concerns and the state of women’s health in Louisiana.

According to a new national study, undocumented immigrants in America contribute significantly to the nation’s tax base. In Louisiana, they pay roughly $118 million in sales taxes, or 2.7% of the overall sales taxes collected in the state.

Carl Davis, a research director at the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, tells us more about this data and why it’s important. 

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Adam Vos. Our managing producer is Alana Schrieber. We get production support from Garrett Pittman and our assistant producer Aubry Procell.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. 

Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.

Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

When a storm blows in, it doesn’t just impact people — it can also throw birds off course or drive them farther inland. Hurricane Francine presented an opportunity to see rare species in unexpected places. WWNO’s Aubri Juhasz takes us birding in the days after the storm. 

In June 2021, the NCAA implemented an interim policy to allow college athletes to make money off their name, image and likeness. But not every student athlete has the resources, connections and social media fluency to take advantage of those opportunities.

Recently, Dr. Bryan Maggard, vice president for intercollegiate athletics at the University of Louisiana Lafayette launched a new collective to help students navigate NIL opportunities. He spoke with Managing Producer Alana Schreiber about his new organization, “Krewe Allons.”

Chamber music masterpieces that have been missed or forgotten will be back in the spotlight during the Musaica Chamber Ensemble’s 19th season.. Musaica president and violist Bruce Owen gives us a sneak peek of their latest season, “Hidden Treasures.”

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Diane Mack. Our managing producer is Alana Schrieber. We get production help from Garrett Pittman and our assistant producer Aubry Procell.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. 

Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.

Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

While power has been restored to most of Louisiana since Hurricane Francine, there are still plenty of lineman working to get the last lights turned on. WRKF’s Capital Access reporter Brooke Thorington spoke with a lineman about why he crossed state lines to help out.

While many are glued  to “Chimp Crazy,” the new HBO docuseries about the world’s largest chimpanzee sanctuary, Chimp Haven – located outside of Shreveport – is sounding the alarm. The organization is now pushing for legislation against the private possession of chimpanzees and other nonhuman primates. 

Amy Fultz, Welfare Scientist and co-founder of Chimp Haven, joins us for more on chimp health and safety.

Large cranes dropped bulbous gray blobs of concrete into Barataria Bay, north of Grand Isle this month in hopes they’ll become the new home for fish and smaller organisms displaced by the removal of a decommissioned oil rig last year. The new artificial coral reef, dubbed “Cajun cora”' is made using technology similar to 3D printing.  

Rad Trascher, the executive vice president of the Coastal Conservation Association of Louisiana,, tells us more about what scientists hope the reef can provide for the ecosystem. 

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schrieber. Matt Bloom and Aubry Procell are assistant producers. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. 

Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.

Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!