Reproductive health is back in federal court. Louisiana lawyers are trying to persuade a federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction against an FDA rule that allows abortion medication to be prescribed through telemedicine and sent through the mail. This is just the latest step in the anti-abortion campaign working to make abortion pills more difficult to access. 

Mother Jones reporter Nina Martin joins us with the latest. 

An LSU professor has developed a new method to track synthetic opioids through wastewater. He developed the system alongside an undergraduate and a graduate student. 

Bikram Subedi, assistant professor of environmental sciences at LSU, tells us more about this process. 

The Bayou Teche Museum in New Iberia has opened a new exhibit celebrating the life and career of Louisiana’s first and only female governor, Kathleen Blanco. 

Blanco, a democrat, was Louisiana’s 54th governor and served from 2004 to 2008.  She led the state through the devastation caused by two hurricanes less than a month apart — Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Museum curator Misty Pride tells us more about Blanco’s career and what viewers can find inside. 

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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!

It’s the end of the week and time to catch up on politics with The Times-Picayune/The Advocate’s editorial director and columnist, Stephanie Grace. She tells us about President Donald Trump’s endorsement of Rep. Julia Letlow (R-LA) in her challenge for Bill Cassidy’s Senate seat. 

When you’re approaching your 50s, most people don’t expect to learn about a life-changing family secret. But that was the case for Texas police sergeant and bomb squad commander Brad Ewell. At 48, he discovered he was adopted. Not only that, but he learned that his biological father was locked up at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, notoriously known as Angola Prison, serving life without parole for a murder he committed in 1972.

Ewell and his “pop,” Jimmie Graves, join us to share how they connected after 50 years apart, and fought for Graves’ freedom.

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Alana Schreiber. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. 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!

Louisiana will have to pay a larger share of its Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) because of changes made in the Trump administration’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” to shift costs to states. Starting in October, Louisiana will be required to pay an additional $50 million. In October 2027, a cost increase could occur based on the state’s error rate.

WRKF’s Alex Cox spoke with Gina Plata-Nino, SNAP director for the Food Research and Action Center, for more. 

When we think of researching ancient civilizations, we imagine archeological digs, bushwhacking through jungles and dodging wild animals. Yes, researchers still do that today, but they also rely on modern technology to learn about the past.

Marcello Canuto, Tulane professor and director of the Middle American Research Institute, has spent much of his career researching Mayan civilizations, debunking many of the things we thought we knew. And a lot of research happens in a lab in New Orleans. He and his colleagues will present their findings at an upcoming Maya Cities Symposium at Tulane from March 5-7 — which is free and open to the public.

Canuto joins us for more on the role of technology in archeology.

For a long time, Louisiana has struggled with the health of new mothers and babies. Now, New Orleans is tackling that problem with the return of an old-fashioned practice: the house call. 

WWNO’s former reproductive healthcare reporter Rosemary Westwood shares more. 

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Alana Schreiber. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. 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!

Louisiana public schools must display the Ten Commandments after a federal appeals court allowed the law to take effect late last week, overturning a lower court’s decision. But critics have vowed to keep fighting it. And schools are weighing what it all means for them.

WWNO and WRKF’s education reporter Aubri Juhasz tells us more. 

Artificial intelligence data centers are growing across the country. In Louisiana, construction for a massive Meta data center is underway in Richland Parish.

But what are the energy costsof these centers? And who will pay for skyrocketing electric bills? In Louisiana, that may fall to residents.

Paul Arbaje, energy analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists, has been reporting on the costs of AI data centers for The Equation. He joins us with more. 

A new exhibit at the Louisiana Children’s Museum explores how children think, create and interact with the world around them. 

Curators say it’s not just for kids. It also presents it in a way grownups can understand and it encourages parents and educators to experience how young children process the world.

Shannon Blady, the museum’s chief learning officer, joins us for more.

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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!

Norman C. Francis, the New Orleans civil rights leader, businessman, educator and president of Xavier University for nearly half a century, died last week. He was 94. 

Francis is remembered for his commitment to making the city a better place to live, whether through integration efforts or recovery after Hurricane Katrina. In 2006, then-president George W. Bush  honored him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. 

Patrick Francis, one of Francis’ six children, joins us to discuss his father’s life and legacy and constant commitment to civil rights. We’ll also hear a recording of Norman C. Francis himself from last July, reflecting on his own role in the Freedom Riders movement.

The earliest-known full-length opera written by a Black American composer is now available as a new CD. The album of Edmond Dede’s “Morgiane” was produced by Opera Creole and features singers from across the country. 

Opera Creole founders Givonna Joseph and her daughter Aria Mason join  us to discuss the details and explain the longevity of the 1887 work. 

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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!

Louisiana has passed a number of laws since the pandemic meant to improve students’ reading scores — and they appear to be working. In 2019, Louisiana’s fourth graders ranked 50th in the country for reading. As of last year, they’d risen to 16th. 

WWNO and WRKF’s education reporter Aubri Juhasz joins us with more. 

Earlier this month, Louisiana Rep. Troy Carter and Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse paid a visit to the Bayou State. They addressed problems like climate change, failing infrastructure, and the weather-driven insurance crisis. 

Louisiana Considered’s Managing Producer Alana Schreiber caught up with them at a construction site where they discussed finding both short and long-term solutions to these issues.

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Alana Schreiber. 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, 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!

It’s Thursday, and that means it’s time to catch up on politics with The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate’s editorial director and columnist, Stephanie Grace. 

Today, she breaks down some of the satirical floats during Mardi Gras season, which krewes criticized the presidential administration, and which krewes defended it.

Last year, some Louisiana residents experienced a scheduled blackout, and many of them blamed — perhaps unfairly — the Midcontinent Independent System Operator (MISO).  

Later this year, MISO will conduct what’s called a load pocket risk assessment. It’s a look at Louisiana’s electrical grid, its capabilities and inadequacies. 

Madelyn Smith, Louisiana program manager for the Southeastern Wind Coalition, a major promoter of MISO membership, explains what this means. 

Major Louisiana industries are placing multibillion-dollar bets on blue ammonia — a product made from fossil fuels and extra technology in order to capture planet-warming gases and store them underground. But despite promising major emissions cuts, a recent investigation by Floodlight found that similar carbon capture projects can still cause pollution and environmental damage. 

Ames Alexander, investigative reporter for Floodlight News, tells us more. 

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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!

For four years, the podcast “Voices of the Culture” has been sharing stories about Black Masking Indian traditions. Today, we’ll listen to the second part of their latest episode. 

Hosts Spyboy Horace Anderson of the Creole Wild West and Big Chief Dowee Robair of the 9th Ward Black Hatchet sit down with Big Chief Dow Edwards of the Timbuktu Warriors. They discuss the pressures and responsibilities of becoming a Big Chief, how the COVID pandemic impacted their community and where you can find them on Mardi Gras Day.

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Alana Schreiber. 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!

For four years, the podcast “Voices of the Culture” has been sharing stories about Black Masking Indian traditions. Today, we’ll listen to the first part of their latest episode. 

Hosts Spyboy Horace Anderson of the Creole Wild West and Big Chief Dowee Robair of the 9th Ward Black Hatchet sit down with Big Chief Dow Edwards of the Timbuktu Warriors. They discuss putting the finishing touches on their suits, how tariffs impacted the expenses of their materials, and how they hope spectators will engage with the music and the marching on Mardi Gras Day. 

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Alana Schreiber. 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!

Last summer, the State Library of Louisiana introduced the Check Out Louisiana Museums program. It grants free admission to a selection of museums in the state for library cardholders. 

Six months later, the program has 24 participating library systems and 17 participating museums. And it’s passed a landmark — $100,000 worth in museum passes handed out to library cardholders for free.

Kevin Calbert, communications director for the State Library of Louisiana, joins us for more on the success of the program.

Last month, a video circulated on Instagram that purported to show crumbling pilings under the Atchafalaya Basin bridge– the bridge that carries Interstate 10 between Baton Rouge and Lafayette. But there was one problem — the bridge that was depicted was actually a bridge in Florida and had nothing to do with Louisiana.

As it made its social media rounds, it got plenty of interaction. Most people took the narrator at their word and bemoaned the state’s disintegrating infrastructure. Others — including Governor Jeff Landry — fact-checked it.

Faimon Roberts, columnist for The Times-Picayune/The Advocate, joins us for more on the importance of fact-checking news that spreads through social media. 

Over the weekend, dozens of lawnmowers in Abita Springs lined up for the Krewe of Push of Mow, the town’s annual lawnmower Mardi Gras parade. The parade generally includes about 55 participants pushing their decorated mowers, and has been parading for more than 20 years.

Tayler Migues, Abita Springs’ town events coordinator, tells us more.

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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!