The new State of the States report has good and bad news for Louisiana. The bad? We’re dead last. The good? We improved in a number of categories since last year.

Douglas Harris, professor and chair of Tulane's Department of Economics and the Director of the State of the States project, joins us.

Small business optimism fell while uncertainty rose last month. What’s behind the news? What are the biggest issues giving small business owners headaches?

Leah Long, Director of the Louisiana chapter of the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB), joins us.

How is the real estate market in our area been? What are the hottest areas? And what can we expect from mortgage rates with the new Fed chairman?

Local real estate analyst Arthur Sterbcow joins us.

We dive into arguments for and against data centers in major cities across the U.S. Plus, did companies that culled the workforce believe too much in AI? Here's why hiring has returned.

* What are the best ways to discipline your kids? How did your parents do it?

* St. Tammany Animal Services is in urgent need of adoptions and fosters for dogs at an overcrowded shelter. We’ll find out how you can help

* New Orleans has been working to clear a big backlog in cases in a slow-moving section of criminal court. How successful has the effort been? We’ll break it down with Jesse Manley, the interim director of Court Watch NOLA.

* The Strategic Petroleum Reserve could drop to levels not seen since the 1980s. What actually IS the Strategic Petroleum Reserve? Where is it located?

* Why did Governor Landry crack down on the New Orleans court system? Tyler Bridges, the chief political reporter for The Advocate, has the inside story; and we’ll get the details.

* West Nile was recently discovered in mosquitoes in New Orleans. We’ll talk about what the disease is and how it spreads

* As we celebrate the 250th birthday of America…fewer Americans think the US is special compared to other nations or think that democracy is central to our identity. We’ll dive into the new report with political scientist David Schultz.

* Breaking down a new LSU commitment

What are the best ways to discipline your kids? How did your parents do it?

We spend some time with our friend Dr. Judy Ho, a licensed clinical therapist, talking parenting and punishments.