Louisiana Considered

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, and researchers at Pennington Biomedical say they’re focused on finding solutions for improved metabolic health. Louisiana is ranked third in the nation for childhood obesity, so this new initiative is connecting with parents, teachers, coaches and students to get to the heart of the issue.

Melissa Martin, executive director of Greaux Healthy, and Dr. Kara Denstel, lead researcher on the Pennington Generation health study, join us for more.

In 2022, New Orleans Public Library launched Crescent City Sounds, a music streaming platform made up entirely of local musicians. 
Now, they are expanding their collection and looking for new submissions through October 7. 

Joshua Smith is an adult programming associate with the New Orleans Public Library and facilitator of Crescent City Sounds. He tells us how new artists can submit their music.

In New Orleans, a popular classical music festival is marking a milestone. The Crescent City Chamber Music Festival is celebrating 10 years of live music performances in venues across the city. 

Founder, artistic director and violist Luke Fleming joins us with the details. 

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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!

For the last two weeks on Louisiana Considered, we’ve been bringing you Wetlands Radio, a series on coastal restoration from producer Eve Abrams. Today: the final episodes.  

First we explore glass recycling, and how one innovative idea can make a huge impact. Then we take the longview, and learn why our understanding of the coastline is perhaps Louisiana’s greatest weapon against climate change. 

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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!

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 tells us about the likelihood that President Trump will still send the national guard to New Orleans — and why that puts Gov. Jeff Landry in a precarious position. 

Every two years, the state of Louisiana selects its Poet Laureate through its Endowment for the Humanities. The poet then travels the state encouraging fellow Louisianans to explore and engage with poetry.

The latest Poet Laureate, Gina Ferrara, tells us more about her journey as a poet and educator, and how she’s encouraging young people to pick up the pen. 

This week, Louisiana Considered continues to bring you Wetlands Radio, a series about coastal restoration from producer Eve Abrams. Today, we discuss backfilling canals. What is it? And why is this process — though effective and inexpensive — still a rare way to build back land?

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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!

Driving down St. Claude Avenue in New Orleans’ Bywater neighborhood, the St. Roch Market is hard to miss. The historic public food hall first opened in 1875 and is where many popular restaurants and chains — like the Daily Beet and CR Coffee — got their start. 

Now, the St. Roch Market is celebrating 150 years with a birthday party on Saturday 27 at 2pm.

Kevin Pedeaux, operator at the St. Roch Market, tells us about the food hall’s history, significance and upcoming celebration.

This week on Louisiana Considered, we continue bringing you Wetlands Radio, a series

about coastal restoration from producer Eve Abrams. Today, we learn how the oysters we eat in restaurants across the Gulf South just might be a part of coastal restoration.

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!

Last week, pro football hall of famer Emmitt Smith and reality star-turned recovery advocate Zac Clark stopped at Louisiana State University to discuss the opioid epidemic and how to combat it. LSU was the latest stop on their college tour with the Ready to Rescue Initiative, an organization that aims to fight the stigma of opioid addiction and teach people how to save lives with naloxone nasal spray.

The Gulf States Newsroom’s Drew Hawkins was in the room, and joins us now for more. 

This week on Louisiana Considered, we continue bringing you Wetlands Radio, a series about coastal restoration, from producer Eve Abrams. Today, we hear about the crucial role native plants play in restoring our coast.

The New Orleans-based Musaica Chamber Ensemble is celebrating a milestone as it gears up for its 20th Anniversary. At the helm is founder and violist Bruce Owen. 

Owen joins us with more on the organization’s history and how they’re marking twenty years of classical music. 

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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!

The last few years have seen an influx of Northern college students flocking to big Southern Universities. Whether they’re attracted to college football season, a robust Greek life, cheaper tuition prices or HBCUs, the impact remains the same: an increased “southernization” of American culture.

Jonquilyn Hill, host of the Explain It to Me podcast at Vox, has been exploring the newfound appeal of the American South. She joins us for more. 

Our airing of  Wetlands Radio, a series about coastal restoration from producer Eve Abrams, continues this week. Last week, we explored ways to build more land to restore our coast. Today, we hear how to foster that land and make it a home for native plants and animals. 

While it’s important to make our land a healthy home for all plants and animals, some species require specific care. In honor of the start of hummingbird season this fall, we zero in on how to curate a bird feeder specifically to attract this musical creature. 

Erik Johnson, ornithologist and assistant professor at the LSU School of Renewable Natural Resources, tells us how to attract the bird and protect them from cold weather. 

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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 week on Louisiana Considered, we’re bringing you Wetlands Radio, a series about coastal restoration from producer Eve Abrams. Today, diversions: how the river builds land and why many people want to mimic it. Then, we dive into dredging, the process of underwater excavation that allows humans to build land from what the river brought us. 

It’s been two years since the Louisiana Department of Education launched the Steve Carter Tutoring Program, which provides $1500 in vouchers for private after-school tutoring for students with reading or math scores below grade level. And after a slow start, the program now has a waitlist.

Safura Syed has been reporting on this for Verite News. She joins us for more.

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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!

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, we break down the latest in the New Orleans mayor’s race, including fundraising, poll numbers and what it means to be a “New Orleanian.” 

Louisiana schools have made some big strides in recent years. Math and reading scores are as high – or higher – than they were before the pandemic. According to one analysis, Louisiana is the only state that has made a full recovery in both subjects and has continued to improve. 

But there’s another data point that’s been harder to move: Attendance. 

Misty Davis, executive director of attendance strategies at the Louisiana Department of Education, tells us more about targeting truancy.

This week on Louisiana Considered, we're bringing you Wetlands Radio, a series about coastal restoration from producer Eve Abrams. 

Between natural disasters, offshore drilling and the petrochemical industry, Louisiana might seem like an unlikely place to lead coastal restoration movements. 

Today, we learn how Louisiana became a world leader in restoration despite -- or perhaps because -- of the ongoing environmental concerns.

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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!

The Louisiana Economic Development (LED) agency is charged with bringing new industry to the state and helping expand existing businesses. Recently, the organization has launched four new initiatives to give businesses the tools, visibility and support to thrive. 

Capitol Access reporter Brooke Thorington joins us for an overview of the new programs.

Congress will cut funding to the educational component of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) at the end of this month. The program, known as SNAP-Ed, is primarily a community outreach effort to deliver nutrition education and food purchasing assistance to low-income people.

Denise Holston, an associate professor and nutrition extension specialist at LSU AgCenter, which has been administering the program in the state, tells us what happens next. 

This week on Louisiana Considered, we’re bringing you Wetlands Radio, a series about

coastal restoration from producer Eve Abrams. Today, we hear how the oil industry boom and bust gave rise to coastal restoration in Louisiana.

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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!

The deaths of two bicyclists on a busy New Orleans roadway have energized a long-running conversation about making the city's streets safer.

The Gulf States Newsroom’s Kat Stromquist takes a ride down St. Claude Avenue to report on the push for change.

Musical siblings Marlon and Rachel Jordan’s southern tour is making a stop in Baton Rouge. The Jordans are the children of legendary New Orleans jazz saxophonist, Edward “Kidd” Jordan. 

Rachel, the classical violinist in the group, joins us for more on the tour and her family’s musical influences.

This week on Louisiana Considered, we are bringing you Wetlands Radio, a series about coastal restoration from producer Eve Abrams. Today, we learn how 260 million years of geologic history sets the stage for the coast we live on today.

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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!