The Atlantic

Floodlines

History EN ↓ 11 episodes

Some call it Hurricane Katrina. Some call it the Federal Flood. Others call it the day the levees broke. On August 29, 2005, the city of New Orleans was submerged. That story of hubris, incompetence, and nature's wrath is now etched into the national consciousness. But the people who lived through the flood and its aftermath have a different story to tell. A story of rumors, betrayal, and one of the most misunderstood events in American history. Hosted by Vann R. Newkirk II. Floodlines has been named an Apple Podcasts Series Essential.

Author

The Atlantic

Episodes

Rebirth 01.08.2025 39:56

Part IX: After Hurricane Katrina and the breach of the levees in 2005, Floodlines examined what went wrong in New Orleans and what those errors meant for the people left behind. Now, 20 years later, the host, Vann R. Newkirk II, revisits New Orleans to meet up with Le-Ann Williams again and learn more about how time has shaped the role she holds in her family and her city. You can support this wor...

Introducing Holy Week 28.02.2023 5:49

Holy Week: The story of a revolution undone. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, is often recounted as a conclusion to a powerful era of civil rights in America, but how did this hero’s murder come to be the stitching used to tie together a narrative of victory? The week that followed his killing was one of the most fiery, disruptive, and revolutionary, and is nearly...

The Wake 12.03.2020 55:17

Part VIII: Water, like history, repeats itself. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Destiny 12.03.2020 30:16

Part VII: People try to come home. But does home want them anymore? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Reckoning 12.03.2020 36:58

Part VI: How could the levees have failed? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Exodus 12.03.2020 31:26

Part V: A hero arrives. But not the one everyone expected. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bridge 12.03.2020 25:47

Part IV: Rumor becomes tragedy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Through the Looking Glass 12.03.2020 29:27

Part III: A universe of rumor and misinformation plays out on television. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Come Sunday 12.03.2020 24:32

Part II: In New Orleans, the disaster wasn’t the hurricane. The disaster was what happened after. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Antediluvian 12.03.2020 32:49

Part I: It all started long before a hurricane named Katrina. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Richard 03.03.2020 5:08

A preview of the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices