It’s been a chaotic year in state politics. To recap 2025 and look ahead at 2026, we spoke with The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate’s editorial director and columnist, Stephanie Grace.

Walt Handelsman, Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial cartoonist for The Advocate | The Times-Picayune, is set to retire after four decades in the business. He joins us on today’s show to discuss his career and what he’s doing next.

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Bob Pavlovich. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. 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, the NPR App 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.

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Student attendance dropped in New Orleans-area schools last week as immigration sweeps ramped up across the region. Many parents are keeping their students home in fear of raids from border patrol.

Aubri Juhasz speaks with some of the families about how they’re handling the situation.

Over the weekend, Australia’s Jewish community faced the country’s largest mass shooting in 30 years, when two gunmen attacked a Hanukkah celebration in Bondi Beach in Sydney. The gunmen — a father and son — opened fire as attendants lit candles, ate donuts, painted faces and marked the start of the festival of lights. So far, at least 15 have been reported dead and at least 27 injured.

For more on this tragedy, we are joined by Rabbi Mendel Rivkin, of Chabad of Louisiana. He discusses how Jews can feel safe amid the global rise in antisemitism, and his personal ties to the Sydney Jewish community, where he served as a rabbinical intern. 

The Center for Literacy & Learning is a Louisiana-based nonprofit that helps educators address students with learning differences. CEO Dr. John Wyble tells us more about the center and how their new expansion will help the organization reach more families.

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Adam Vos. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. 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, the NPR App 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 early December, federal agents arrived in New Orleans prepared to arrest thousands of undocumented individuals in an operation dubbed “Catahoula Crunch.” In some cases, agents are arresting parents and taking them from their children. Now, eldest children are often left looking after their younger siblings.

Jack Brook, from the Associated Press, has been reporting this story. He joins us today with the latest.

Louisiana is an energy state. And a lot has changed for the energy industry under President Donald Trump. While the Biden administration made some big investments in renewable energy, President Trump promised to “Drill, Baby, Drill” and “unleash American energy.” 

Today, we look back at the past year to see how Louisiana’s energy industry has changed under this new administration. The Coastal Desk’s Eva Tesfaye and Michael McEwen join us for more.

Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet, “The Nutcracker,” has long been a staple of the Christmas season. Yesterday on Louisiana Considered, we discussed an upcoming production in Baton Rouge that adds some bayou flavor. Today, we discuss the ballet more broadly and hear about the multiple groups set to perform the work on New Orleans stages. 

Lisa Keller MacCurdy, executive director of New Orleans Ballet Theatre, tells us more about what has made the show last.

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Diane Mack. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber and our assistant producer is 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, the NPR App, 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!

All this year, we’ve been checking in with Christiaan Mader, founder of the Current in Lafayette, Louisiana, for updates on the Acadiana region. He joins us now to reflect on some of the biggest stories from the past year and look to what’s ahead. 

On December 20th, Tulane will face off against Ole Miss in the College Football Playoff. If Tulane wins, they’ll go to the Sugar Bowl for the first time since 1939. And while the Green Wave suffered a pretty brutal defeat from Ole Miss back in September, the university’s recent coaching drama may create more opportunities for the New Orleans team to succeed.

At the helm of Tulane is quarterback Jake Retzlaff, who's been generating a following for his performance and demeanor both on and off the field. He formerly played at Brigham Young University, where he dove further into his Jewish faith at the predominantly Mormon school.

Retzlaff faced a civil lawsuit that accused him of sexually assaulting a Salt Lake County woman in November 2023. The lawsuit was dismissed on June 30 after "the two sides agreed to dismiss the case with prejudice." Retzlaff transferred to Tulane instead of likely facing a seven-game suspension for violating BYU’s honor code, which requires students abstain from premarital sex. 

Retzlaff joins us for more on his journey to Tulane, how he’s raising the profile of Jewish athletes and his approach to the playoffs. 

The Louisiana holiday staple “The Nutcracker – A Tale from the Bayou” returns to the Baton Rouge stage next week, featuring professional ballet dancer Emilia Perkins. This is a homecoming for Perkins, who first danced in the production when she was just four.  

She joins us now to talk about the impact it’s had on her life and career, and what it is like to take the stage in her hometown as the Sugar Plum Fairy. 

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We receive 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 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, the NPR App 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 East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council passed the city-parish’s 2026 budget Tuesday. This budget season was marked by an attempt to make up for a budget deficit. Ultimately, Mayor-President Sid Edwards proposed a budget that features near-across-the-board 11% cuts and a 33% reduction in staff. 

Baton Rouge metro reporter and Report for America corps member Alex Cox joins us to break down the budget. 

Earlier this fall, an exhibit opened at the Whitney Plantation to pay tribute to enslaved women whose hands were stained blue with dye. Titled “Indigeaux: Yes, Spirit. I’ll Go…” the exhibit features hand-dyed textiles and original artwork that draws attention to the role of indigo in plantation history.

Leia Lewis is the artist and educator behind the exhibition. She joins us for more. 

This year, fans are anxiously awaiting the start of the college football playoffs, when Tulane will face off against Ole Miss. But back in 1970, it was an Ole Miss quarterback who had his would-be home of New Orleans rooting for him, when a young Archie Manning stepped on the field at Tulane for the Sugar Bowl. By the end of the game, Manning earned the title of MVP.

In this edition of The Historic New Orleans Collection’s first-person narrative series, NOLA Life Stories, Manning reflects on that formative game and the many that followed.

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Bob Pavlovich. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. 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, the NPR App 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!

Plastics are everywhere. In the clothes we wear, the food we eat, and even running through our brains. While environmental concerns like pollution, toxic spills and trash islands make the problem feel insurmountable, a new book aims to break down the major issue into solvable problems. 

“The Problem with Plastic: How We Can Save Ourselves and Our Planet Before It’s Too Late" was written by Judith Anck, founder and president of Beyond Plastic, and Adam Mahoney, climate and environmental reporter for Capital B News. Adam joins us for more on the book.

The National Institutes of Health recently awarded a research grant to LSU Health to support its research into patients living with HIV-AIDS. Specifically, researchers will study how alcohol use and other issues affect patients with the virus.

Dr. Patricia Molina, senior associate dean for research at the LSU School of Medicine, and director of the Comprehensive Alcohol-HIV/AIDS Research Center, and Dr. David Welsh, LSU professor of medicine in pulmonary and critical care medicine, join us to discuss their research. 

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Adam Vos. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. 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, the NPR App 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!

It's official: Tulane is headed to the college football playoff. The Green Wave punched their ticket in a Saturday 34 to 21 win against North Texas. Now, they’ll face Ole Miss, along with their new coach, Pete Golding, on December 20 in Oxford.

Jeff Duncan, reporter for the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate, spoke with WWNO’s Alana Schreiber for more on Tulane’s journey to the playoffs.

The Black Film Festival of New Orleans, now in its 8th year, opened over the weekend and continues through the weekend in venues across the Crescent City. The festival aims to promote Black filmmakers and actors, featuring stories about Black communities and experiences. 

Executive director Gian Smith joins us to share details on how viewers can attend screening events or watch at home.

Running for office this year, Calvin Duncan wasn't your typical candidate. He first spent decades in prison for a crime he was wrongfully convicted of.

He won his race and is set to take office as the Orleans Parish clerk of criminal court. The Gulf States Newsroom's Kat Stromquist recently sat down with Duncan at his home to discuss his plans for the clerk's office.

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Diane Mack. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber, and our assistant producer is 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, the NPR App, 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!

U.S. Customs and Border Protection ramped up enforcement in the New Orleans area last week. Officials say the operation, known as “Catahoula Crunch,” aims to arrest 5,000 criminals who are in the country illegally.

Reporter for The Times-Picayune/The Advocate, Lara Nicholson, joins us with an update. 

The United Way of Southeast Louisiana is expanding its footprint of one-stop financial capability centers, called Prosperity Centers. They open in areas where more than half of parish households are facing financial hardship. The latest center opened this month in St. Bernard Parish and will offer an assortment of free, year-round financial services.

United Way CEO Michael Williamson joins us to discuss how the organization is addressing financial needs for low-income families.

An audit released this month finds that Louisiana ranks near the bottom among states and U.S. territories for the collection of child support payments. The Louisiana Legislative Auditor’s review of the Child Support Enforcement Program run through the Department of Children and Family Services found the agency collected just over half of court-obligated payments last year. 

Editor for the Louisiana Illuminator, Greg LaRose, joins us with more on the results of the audit.

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We receive 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 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, the NPR App 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!

This is part 1 of a 2-part series exploring the future of farming seafood in the Gulf. Americans eat a lot of farmed seafood — but the vast majority of it comes from overseas. We just don’t farm fish on a big scale in U.S. waters. Now that might start to change. There are proposals to build massive fish farms in U.S. federal waters. And guess which coast is likely to be the first home for these new farms? You guessed it, the Gulf.

So is this a miracle cure or a looming ecological disaster?

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This series is produced in partnership with the Food and Environment Reporting Network. This episode was hosted by Carlyle Calhoun and Boyce Upholt. Boyce also reported this episode. Editing by Jack Rodolico. Carlyle Calhoun is the executive producer. The episode was fact-checked by Garrett Hazelwood. Our theme music is by Jon Batiste, and our sound designer is Emily Jankowski.

Voices featured at the top of the episode in order of appearance: Melvin Jackman in Newfoundland, Fay Orfanidou in Greece, Nick Underdown in Scotland, and Leticia Caro and Claudio Carocca in Chile.

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

Conditions at an ICE processing center in Pine Prairie, Louisiana, are reported to have deteriorated over the past year. There are multiple reports of overcrowding, and a lack of beds, hygiene products and medical care at the Evangeline Parish facility.

Verite News’ Bobbie-Jeanne Misick joins us for more on these findings. 

Often, the conversation around childcare revolves around the high costs of enrollment, low wages for workers and barriers to access. But a new study by the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children offers insights into at-home childcare options that can support working or struggling families. The Louisiana Policy Institute for Children highlights the way that families and home-based care fill in the gaps in that system, and the struggles the people providing that care at home face.

Research and policy director at LPIC Mattilyn Karst Batson tells us more about the childcare alternatives.

Historic preservation and revitalization are two of the central values of the Louisiana Main Street organization. The program seeks to help communities develop sustainable strategies to preserve historic assets and stimulate economies.

The organization’s director, Ray Scriber, tells us more about the organization’s successes and its recent pivot to the Lafayette metro area.

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Adam Vos. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. 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, the NPR App 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!