Louisiana Considered

Last Friday, Congress approved the Trump administration’s request to rescind federal funding for National Public Radio and PBS. While this move will impact all NPR stations, the smaller, rural ones are most vulnerable.

Today, we are dedicating an entire episode to discuss the impacts of these cuts, hearing community reactions, and discussing potential solutions with a panel of guests from NPR stations across the country.

Philip Manning, general manager of KTNA in Talkeetna, Alaska; Jarle Kvale, program director at KEYA on the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Reservation in Belcourt, North Dakota; and Lori Gilbert, Morning Edition host and the only local radio news reporter at KNCC in Elko, Nevada, join us.

___

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!

Louisiana is one of 30 states with laws that criminalize exposing or transmitting HIV. This past legislative session, time narrowly ran out on a bill that would’ve expanded Louisiana’s law to other/additional sexually transmitted infections.

Louisiana has some of the highest rates of STIs in the nation, including HIV, but a growing body of evidence shows criminal penalties hurt efforts to solve the public health crisis. Verite New’s Halle Parker joins to talk about these laws and their consequences. 

If you’re looking for materials about Louisiana’s historical heritage, one of the places you might go is LSU Libraries’ Special Collections. And you don’t necessarily have to physically go digging for the records anymore– much of their materials are accessible online through the Louisiana Digital Library.

They recently secured a grant to help digitize more of their materials and make those documents and images more easily available to the wider world on their online interface. Gina Costello, associate dean of Technology & Special Collections, LSU Libraries joins us to discuss how the library is expanding its reach.

Last November, the StoryCorps Mobile Tour visited Baton Rouge and invited volunteers to record conversations about topics of their choosing. Two participants, “Patience” Carter and Precious McCray, discussed poetry, their friendship of 20 years and McCray’s recent opportunity to meet her biological family for the first time at age 35. 

___

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 state recently announced it will cancel the Mid-Barataria sediment diversion plan, the biggest-ever coastal restoration project in Louisiana history. The project was nixed because costs got too high,, and will be replaced with a scaled-down  version. 

The Coastal Desk’s Eva Tesfaye has been reporting on the Mid-Barataria project. She joins us today with an update. 

July is Disability Pride Month and Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser has made it his mission to improve accessibility throughout the state. Over the past few years, he’s helped the state add  more all-terrain wheelchairs and paved nature trails to its parks, He’s also added more chair lifts to pools expanded inclusive playgrounds and more.

The Lt. Gov joins us to discuss  his latest projects and why he has become a champion for accessibility.

“Carousel” is coming to the Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre. The Rogers and Hammerstein musical explores love, loss and redemption in a small New England town. 

Director/choreographer Diane Lala joins us now. 

__

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!

Under a new law, law enforcement officers who don’t comply with immigration authorities like ICE could face criminal charges. This could bring big changes for local jailers, including the Orleans Parish Sheriff, along with everyday Louisiana residents. 

Bobbi-Jeanne Misick has been reporting this story for Verite News and joins for more.

An observatory hidden in the woods in Louisiana recently detected a black hole merger. And while it took less than a tenth of a second, it was the largest collision of two black holes ever observed.
 
The discovery was made at Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory, better known as LIGO. Joseph Giaime, head of the observatory, joins us to talk about the event, and how the observatory may be impacted by federal budget cuts. 

Throughout the summer on Louisiana Considered, we are bringing you episodes of What Was Lost, a series from Verite News that explores the emotional and physical costs of Hurricane Katrina. 

Today we hear from Terry Mogilles, a nurse who lost  an important piece of furniture that once belonged to Wendell Green, an early 20th century Black businessman who was born into slavery. 

—

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!

Every summer, Baton Rouge General Burn Center and Foundation offers pediatric burn survivors the opportunity to attend a summer camp. Since 2019, Camp Catahoula has offered these young burn survivors a chance to meet others who have faced the same obstacles with a week full of horseback riding, art and crafts, fishing and other summer camp activities. 

Sadie Stockwell, co-director and physical therapist assistant at the Baton Rouge Burn Center, and Shay Shay Turner, a burn survivor and camper-turned-counselor, tell us more about Camp Catahoula.

Earlier this week, the Major League Baseball draft took even the top experts by surprise with how the picks were ordered. But this wasn’t the first time in history when player selections turned heads.

In October of 1945, Jackie Robinson signed his first minor league contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Not long after, the Dodgers also signed Johnny Wright, a pitcher from New Orleans. While Wright never made it to the majors, he helped to integrate the minor leagues alongside Robinson in Montréal and Daytona Beach.

His daughter, Carlis Wright Robinson grew up hearing whispers about her father’s career, but never knew the full story. That’s until she did some research and wrote a book on his life and legacy, “The Wright Side of History: The Life and Career of Johnny Wright, Co-Pioneer in Breaking Baseball’s Color Barrier, as Told by His Daughter.” 

She joins us now to talk about her book and her father’s legacy. 

___

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!

The field for New Orleans’ fall elections is now set, and there were a few last-minute surprises before the candidate filing deadline. The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate’s editorial director and columnist Stephanie Grace joins us to break down the crowded field of candidates. 

Last week, the National Federation of the Blind National Convention came to New Orleans. The convention is the largest gathering of blind people in the world, and it offers  training, support, networking and more to people from all over the country who are blind.

Edward Bell was one of the guests that many were excited to meet. Bell is the director of Professional Development and Research at the Institute on Blindness at Louisiana Tech University. He joins us to talk about  his life and his mission to create more employment opportunities for the blind.

According to the National Registry of Exonerations, more than 80 people in Louisiana have been exonerated after being wrongfully convicted.  Calvin Duncan is among them. While he faced his trial, and as he spent 28 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, Duncan started to learn everything he could about the law to fight for his freedom and the freedom of fellow inmates.

Duncan and co-author Sophie Cull tell his story in the new book, "The Jailhouse Lawyer." The Gulf States Newsroom's Kat Stromquist spoke to them about the memoir. 

___

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!

Pedestrian fatalities tend to rise nationwide over the summer months, and Louisiana consistently ranks among the top 10 states with the highest numbers. Capitol access reporter Brooke Thorington spoke with Greg Fischer, spokesperson of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, about how pedestrians and drivers can better follow safety protocols.

The shortage of healthcare professionals — in particular, nurses — has been a perennial problem. But one nursing program in New Orleans is combating this issue by catering to working professionals and non-traditional students.

University of Holy Cross president, Dr. Stanton McNeely, and chair of the Department of Nursing, Dr. Kristy Solis, tell us how they are aiming to make their program more available for more students. 

This summer on Louisiana Considered, we are airing stories from “What Was Lost,” a series from Verite News that examines the emotional and physical costs of Hurricane Katrina.

Longtime New Orleans journalist Mark Schleifstein had been reporting on the potential for disastrous flooding. In a bitterly ironic twist, the journalism awards he earned for this coverage were destroyed by the 2005 storm that he had predicted. 

—-

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!

Day 2 of the MLB draft wrapped up Monday, and now several Louisiana college ballplayers know where they’ll be continuing their careers. Nine  LSU prospects were selected along with three from Tulane, and a handful more from Southern, Southeastern and Louisiana Tech – but some of the picks took baseball experts by surprise. 

Koki Riley covers LSU baseball for The Baton Rouge Advocate. He joined us to break down the selections. 

The Pulitzer-Prize winning drama, “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof,” continues the  10th anniversary season at the Tennessee Williams Theatre Company. This production is complete with the seldom-produced original Broadway ending. 

Co-Artistic Directors Augustin Correro and Nick Shackleford give us the details behind this performance. 

A high-profile jailbreak in May drew nationwide attention to the lockup in Orleans Parish. But one research group says this isn't the first time the jail has had problems — and they might know why. 

The Gulf States Newsroom's Kat Stromquist spoke to Rebecca Mowbray with the Bureau of Governmental Research to learn more.

___

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Diane Mack. Our managing producer is Alana Schrieber. 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 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 last remaining piece of a damaged American ship from World War II has been found. A team of scientists and explorers discovered the bow of the USS New Orleans off the coast of the Solomon Islands more than 70 years after the battle.

Mark Ballard has been reporting this story for The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate and joins us to talk about  the discovery.

In June, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed House Bill 675, a law that restricts the ability of prisoners to try and prove their innocence once they’re behind bars. The law’s passage is part of Landry’s larger effort to overhaul the state’s criminal legal system.

Piper French, a reporter for Bolts Magazine, joins us to discuss the law’s intended impacts. 

Mississippi is set to receive more than $300 million from lawsuits against opioid manufacturers, marketers and distributors. The Gulf States Newsroom’s Drew Hawkins sat down with Christina Dent, author of Curious: A Foster Mom's Discovery of an Unexpected Solution to Drugs and Addiction, to talk about her own journey rethinking drug addiction and how Mississippi can change its approach.

—

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!

Climate change is bad news for almost everyone. Emphasis on almost, because believe it or not, one marine species is absolutely thriving as the Gulf warms: Bull sharks!

Get ready for some shark science as we learn why bull sharks are increasing in numbers across the Gulf and getting hungrier.

—

This episode was hosted by Carlyle Calhoun and Katelyn Harrop. Katelyn conducted the interview. Our theme music is by John Batiste, and our sound designer is Emily Jankowski. Carlyle Calhoun is the executive producer. Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We're 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.