Gulf States Gumbo

In 2023, a set of tornadoes wreaked havoc on the South, with the worst damage done in the small Mississippi town of Rolling Fork.  Researchers from the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium spoke with residents shortly after that. This year, they published a paper on how communities can change responses to weather crises. On this week's episode, community engagement reporter Elise Catrion Gregg...

On this week’s episode, we say hello to a new team member and discuss the school choice movement in the Gulf South. WWNO’s and WRKF’s Aubri Juhasz is joining the team as our new Youth and Families Reporter. She jumps into the host chair this week to talk with community engagement reporter Elise Catrion Gregg about a story they co-reported on education savings accounts. They’re similar to school vo...

On this week’s episode, we’re talking climate change and a recent Tulane University study that made waves online. WWNO’s and WRKF’s Aubri Juhasz and Eva Tesfaye join us to talk about The Guardian’s article on the study, titled: ‘‘Point of no return’: New Orleans relocation must start now due to sea level rise, study finds. The two discuss what they found reading through the study it’s based on, th...

On this week’s episode, community engagement producer Nellie Beckett talks with Burgin Mathews, director of the Southern Research Music Center, about the culture and history of music in the Gulf South. The Southern Music Research Center is a public online archive of rescued recordings, rare photos and flyers, oral history interviews, and other artifacts from a deep diversity of musical genres and...

On this week’s episode, community engagement reporter Elise Catrion Gregg talks with Greg LaRose, editor of the Louisiana Illuminator, about the local effects of redrawing electoral maps. Redistricting is playing out across the Gulf South following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Louisiana v. Callais. Most of the redrawing is occurring at the state level, but local representation is just as v...

On this week’s episode, we take a look at how the parish with the most opioid overdoses in Louisiana is spending its opioid settlement money.  Jefferson Parish is receiving the largest share of money from legal settlements with opioid manufacturers, marketers and distributors. But an investigation from senior reporter Drew Hawkins and Verite News senior reporter Katie Jane Fernelius shows, so far,...

On this week’s episode, community engagement producer Nellie Beckett talks with Micah Loewinger about his recent podcast " American Emergency: The Movement to Kill FEMA " — On the Media ’s four-part series on the Federal Emergency Management Administration, the beleaguered federal agency that handles natural disasters, including hurricanes. Loewinger discusses FEMA’s response to Hurricane Katrina,...

On this week’s episode, we learn about an organization that uses hip-hop and a social-emotional learning curriculum to better connect with students. Jamila Sams created We Do It 4 The Culture five years ago. The organization went to New Orleans Charter Science and Mathematics High School for its first-ever School Cypher Summit, and partnered with rising rap star La Reezy — who’s from New Orleans a...

On this week’s episode, we hear from veteran journalist Jarvis DeBerry on the latest news coming out of the Gulf South. DeBerry discusses the case of Calvin Duncan, and what it says about how Louisiana treats the people it has wronged, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, and what it could mean for voting rights across the region, and whether the Gulf South is once again leading a n...

On this week’s episode, we celebrate both National Poetry Month (April) and Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month with Aimee Nezhukumatathil. Nezhukumatathil, a professor at the University of Mississippi, is a poet, essayist and firefly guide for Mississippi State Parks. She talks with the Gulf States Newsroom’s Elise Catrion Gregg about her latest collection of poems, “Night Owl.” Th...

On this week’s episode, we take a look at how the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran is affecting the Gulf South.  The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has caused the price of fuel and fertilizer to skyrocket . Senior reporter Drew Hawkins took a trip through the Mississippi Delta to talk to farmers about how rising costs are pushing many to the brink.  This episode is hosted by Elise Catrion Gregg. The po...

On this week’s episode, we take a look at how Alabama stands as a possible model of voting restoration for Mississippi — and some of the challenges that Alabama residents say make it an imperfect system.  Community engagement reporter Elise Gregg discusses how even in states where voting restoration isn’t as complicated, practical considerations still bar people from civic life. She also breaks do...

On this week’s episode, we’ll dig into Mississippi’s decisions on who gets opioid settlement funding — and who doesn’t. The state’s legislature has finally appropriated millions of dollars received as a result of lawsuits with opioid manufacturers, marketers and distributors. Senior Reporter Drew Hawkins and Community Engagement Producer Nellie Beckett talked to hundreds of Mississippians with liv...

This week’s episode is all about sports in the region — from a minor league team moving across state lines, to Name, Image and Likeness deals.  The Birmingham Squadron recently played its last home game in the Magic City ahead of a move to Kenner, Louisiana — just outside of New Orleans — later this year. Sports and culture reporter Joseph King went to the team’s final home game in Birmingham to t...

On this week’s episode, we look at the legal agreements elected officials in Louisiana are signing to conceal large developments — like data centers.  Senior reporter Drew Hawkins takes us through his investigation, what he found and what it means for communities where large developments involving public money are planned without public knowledge.  This episode is hosted by Elise Catrion Gregg. Th...

On this week’s episode, we look into voting restoration efforts in Mississippi.  Community engagement reporter Elise Gregg walks us through how disenfranchisement affects Mississippians with a felony conviction, how lawmakers are pushing for automatic restoration and how Mississippi compares to the rest of the Gulf South.  This episode is hosted by Nellie Beckett, who is also our community engagem...

On this week’s episode, we take a look at some of the challenges farmers are facing in the Mississippi Delta. Public health reporter Drew Hawkins sat down with Kevin Draper, a New York Times reporter, about what he learned talking to rice farmers in the region . This episode is hosted by Ryan Vasquez. The podcast is produced by Matt Bloom, Elise Catrion Gregg, Drew Hawkins, Orlando Flores Jr. and...

On this week’s episode, we take a look at liquified natural gas exports in the Gulf South.  Public health reporter Drew Hawkins went to Cameron, Louisiana, to talk with fishermen about how the multibillion-dollar industry has reshaped the landscape, the economy and the daily lives of the people who have lived here for generations.  And Paul Blest from More Perfect Union joins us to talk about a ne...

On this week’s episode, we take a look at the state of opioid settlement funds in Mississippi, as state lawmakers debate how to spend them.  Public health reporter Drew Hawkins breaks down the data of the opioid crisis.  Nellie Beckett also joins us to talk about the importance of community engagement in this reporting project. This episode is hosted by Elise Catrion Gregg. The podcast is produced...

On this week’s episode, we sit down with Grammy award-winning singer, actor and author Dr. Francois Clemmons.  Our sports and culture reporter Joseph King interviewed Dr. Clemmons for a special broadcast of WBHM’s Memories & Milestones program to celebrate Black History Month. Dr. Clemmons is best known for his role as Officer Clemmons on "Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood."  This episode is hosted...

On this week’s episode, we take a look at what storm clean-up looks like in northern Mississippi. Community engagement reporter Elise Catrion Gregg takes us to Lafayette County, where many residents are slowly recovering — and others are still without power. We’ll also see how community organizations are taking the wheel on relief efforts. This episode is hosted by Ryan Vasquez. The podcast is pro...

On this week’s episode, we’re heading to the Mardi Gras parade route in New Orleans. We hear from WWNO’s education reporter, Aubri Juhasz, about what it takes to make a King Cake. And public health reporter Drew Hawkins brings us a story about one Mardi Gras Queen pushing for a more sustainable Carnival. This episode is hosted by Elise Gregg. The podcast is produced by Drew Hawkins, Orlando Flores...

On this week’s episode, we take a look at how one of the worst winter storms in years slammed into the Gulf States – and what the fallout has been.  Thousands across the South were left without power, in the freezing cold, for days. Mississippi, in particular, was hit hard. Over a week later, counties in the north still had tens of thousands of people without power.  We talk with community engagem...

On this week’s episode, we talk with Gulf South author and journalist, Delaney Nolan, about her first novel, “Happy Bad.” As an investigative journalist covering heat deaths, pharmaceutical exploitation and coastal land loss, Nolan has spent years reporting on the systems of neglect and bureaucratic cruelty that drive her fiction. Public health reporter Drew Hawkins sat down with Nolan to discuss...

On this week's episode, WWNO education reporter Aubri Juhasz talks with us about the legal battle behind Louisiana’s attempt to display the Ten Commandments in public schools.  We also hear from senior reporter Kat Stromquist on the impact recent immigration enforcement in New Orleans could have on Mardi Gras tourism.  This episode is hosted by Drew Hawkins. The podcast is produced by Elise Catrio...