Removing the scars of human & sex trafficking. It took many years for Scott Vaughan to find his true purpose in life: helping survivors of human and sex trafficking get rid of tattoos, brandings and other physical signs from their former lives. His current work through the nonprofit he co-founded, Unbranded, is markedly different from his previous career as a football official in the NCAA’s Southeastern Conference. In this episode, we follow Vaughan’s journey and the journey of one woman who endured horrific abuse. 

The heat in Louisiana is becoming more intense and more deadly. If you’ve found yourself thinking that this summer has just felt hotter than others, there’s data to back that up. Researchers tracking heat related illnesses and heat related deaths for the Louisiana Dept. of Health say more people have died or have become sick because of the heat this year. It’s a situation that will likely worsen. In this episode, two physicians discuss how the heat is forcing changes to the way we live, work and play.

A small-town newspaper in Louisiana keeps surviving as others have collapsed. The current owners of the Plaquemines Gazette are managing to cover news in Plaquemines Parish and produce a physical newspaper at a time when “digital content” is king. Profitable years are rare, as are high paying salaries. So, how does the Plaquemines Gazette continue to operate? I visited the paper’s offices in Belle Chasse to find out. 

Can’t get enough of hot sauce? An ongoing shortage of the most popular brand of Sriracha hot sauce has left many restaurants in Louisiana and across the U.S. without enough of the wildly popular Asian style hot sauce. Social media has been full of funny and extreme anecdotes from fans of Huy Fong’s Sriracha as they’ve searched for the iconic green capped bottles. In this episode, I sit down with Peter Nguyen, the founder/owner of Banh Mi Boys in Metairie. We discuss how Sriracha has evolved from a condiment that was mostly known in Asian circles to something that has caught the attention of hot sauce giants like Tabasco. 

A crisis in Louisiana’s shrimp industry is threatening to wipe it out and there’s real concern it may never come back. Commercial fishermen or “shrimpers” in Louisiana say the prevalence of cheap, imported shrimp has caused prices for wild caught Louisiana shrimp to sink so low that they can’t make a living. The high cost of fuel mixed with lowered shrimp prices is causing many shrimpers to look elsewhere to earn money. As that happens, a long-time shrimper says the industry is heading to a point of no return and the days of having Louisiana shrimp on our plates may be numbered as well. 

What’s behind skyrocketing home insurance premiums in Louisiana? If you think it’s all about insurance companies trying to rake in profits, you may want to reconsider. In the wake of several hurricanes going back to 2020, more than a dozen insurance providers doing business in Louisiana became financially insolvent. Others pulled out of the state due to the number of claims and payouts. To help attract and retain insurance providers, state lawmakers approved a $45-million incentive package. In this episode we speak with the president and founder of an insurance company who wants to stay committed to Louisiana but says conditions in the state make that very difficult.

So, you think the driving is bad in your city? People in New Orleans have been known to march to the beat of a different drum and that could apply to many drivers in this city. The shortage of police officers in New Orleans has contributed to a driving environment which could be described as lawless. Hop in the car with me as I ride along with a driving instructor to discuss how reckless some drivers have become in New Orleans. 

Digging yourself out of debt. According to one consumer credit agency, Louisiana is third in the U.S. when it comes to the average amount of credit card debt. To pay off a balance of roughly $5,400 would take about 21 months says data from Transunion. Those numbers are optimistic according to Melika Honoré. Through her business, she’s been helping people in Louisiana get a handle on their credit debt for more than a decade. But as I found out when I sat down with Honoré, her personal approach to credit is something she would never encourage any client to take.

Gulf Shrimp is about taste and delivery according to Mr. Shrimp. In the span of just a few years, Larry Thompson Junior has made a name for himself in the world famous and locally competitive food scene in New Orleans. He’s known as Mr. Shrimp. Raised in the city’s 7th Ward, Mr. Shrimp’s approach to delivering and cooking shrimp has earned him praise and partnerships with restaurants like the legendary Commander’s Palace. The transformation of Larry Thompson into Mr. Shrimp began on a Super Bowl Sunday with a pot full of boiling shrimp and a smartphone. This is his story.      

Carla Pesono is a social media influencer who despises that term, but she doesn’t hate the results of marketing herself on platforms like Instagram, Facebook and Tik Tok. In the few months since she went all in with being a social media influencer, she’s doubled her number of followers. But has that paid off monetarily? How do you make money as an influencer? And does a person Buffalo know about New Orleans food? Pesono talks about her transition from TV news to the ever-changing social media space.