Gulf States Gumbo

On this week's episode, Shamira Muhammad of Mississippi Public Broadcasting joins us to recap her reporting on the burning of Beth Israel Congregation in Jackson this month. Police say the fire was deliberately set, and the event has shaken some Mississippi communities.  We also hear an update from community engagement reporter Elise Catrion Gregg about the state of food banks in the Gulf South . ...

On this week’s episode, we look at how expiring subsidies under the Affordable Care Act will impact people in the Gulf South.  Public health reporter Drew Hawkins was on the road talking to folks in the region while Congress debated extending the subsidies in December. He gives us a sense of what he’s hearing.  This episode is hosted by Elise Catrion Gregg. The podcast is produced by Drew Hawkins,...

On this week’s episode, we look back at 2025 and the stories we’ve told.  As part of a Gulf States Newsroom tradition, the team reflects on the moments that stuck with them and how they will help shape their coverage in 2026.  This episode is hosted by Orlando Flores Jr. The podcast is produced by Elise Catrion Gregg, Drew Hawkins, Kat Stromquist and Ryan Vasquez. Nellie Beckett is our community e...

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, families found themselves trying to recover and put their lives back together during the holiday season.  In Mississippi, one museum is documenting what that looked like for folks on the coast 20 years ago.  In this week’s episode, community engagement reporter Elise Gregg reports from Waveland, talking to the people there in 2005, and the people keeping those mem...

Introducing Who Owns the Flavor: New Orleans.  On this week’s episode, we explore what makes New Orleans cuisine unique, and which restaurants are working to preserve the city’s famous flavors.  For their capstone project, a student reporting team at the University of Missouri travelled to New Orleans to interview famous families in the restaurant scene about the cultural ownership of food. Today’...

On this week’s episode, we check in with reporters covering an immigration sweep in the Gulf South.  Bobbi-Jeanne Misick from Verite News gives the lay of the land for the enforcement and shares the reaction from South Louisiana's immigrant communities. Public health reporter Drew Hawkins and education reporter Aubri Juhasz from partner station WWNO also chime in with what they're hearing about co...

On this week’s episode, we remember challenges at the Orleans Parish Prison after Hurricane Katrina, when thousands of people were left behind for the storm.  Senior reporter Kat Stromquist spoke with a survivor of that experience, and also talked to people running jails and prisons in the Gulf South about their hurricane plans, which look a little different today.  This episode is hosted by Orlan...

On this week’s episode, we’re taking a look at data centers. Tech company Meta says it’s building the largest data center in the world — in Richland Parish, Louisiana.  Since construction started, residents have been dealing with an onslaught of traffic — dump trucks and 18-wheelers heading to the site using two-lane country highways. An investigation from the Gulf States Newsroom’s Drew Hawkins f...

On this week’s episode, we take a look at how drug checking services save lives in the Netherlands — and why there aren’t any in the Gulf South.  The Dutch support these services with national and local funding. In the Gulf South, many of these programs aren’t legal, and federal funding cuts threaten the harm reduction services that do exist.  This episode is hosted by Elise Gregg. The podcast is...

On this week’s episode, we look at how the Gulf States are responding to the halting of funds for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) during the federal government shutdown. All three states have stepped up in various ways to help fill the gap: from city and state governments directing funds to food banks , to Louisiana and Alabama starting temporary programs to send aid directly...

Happy Halloween!  On this week’s episode, we’re grabbing our mics and gathering around the campfire to find out which of our three states has the scariest stories. Three states, three reporters and three spooky tales.  This episode is hosted by Ryan Vasquez. The podcast is produced by Elise Gregg, Kat Stromquist, Stephan Bisaha and Orlando Flores Jr. Nellie Beckett is our community engagement prod...

On this week’s episode, we’re talking tariffs and their impact on cars and religion.  They raised the cost of preparations for Diwali . And at a speed dating event at the Southern Automotive Conference, they caused some foreign manufacturers to look more closely at American suppliers.  This episode is hosted by Drew Hawkins. The podcast is produced by Elise Gregg, Kat Stromquist, Stephan Bisaha, O...

On this week’s episode, Louisiana’s lieutenant governor wants to find out why Canadians haven't visited the state . Also, sports and culture reporter Joseph King sat down with Hibbett Sports' vice president of marketing to learn more about a week of college basketball in a historic auditorium in Birmingham. This episode is hosted by Joseph King, who is also our social producer. The podcast is prod...

On this week’s episode, we’re talking about jobs on their way to the Gulf South.  Space Command is coming to Alabama and Hyundai is setting up in Louisiana. What’s not so clear, though, is who is going to get those jobs.  We talk with economic mobility reporter Stephan Bisaha about why Americans are less likely to move for work these days, and what the Georgia battery plant immigration raid means...

On this week’s episode, we’re taking a look at who can get a COVID-19 vaccine in the Gulf South .  Public health reporter Drew Hawkins sorts through the confusion around conflicting guidance that is causing some pharmacies to make their own rules about who can get the shot — and how they can get it. This episode is hosted by Kat Stromquist. The podcast is produced by Drew Hawkins, Stephan Bisaha,...

On this week’s episode, we visit the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans. Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina, the neighborhood still carries the scars of the storm — from empty lots to relentless heat.  Public health reporter Drew Hawkins examines how rising temperatures are reshaping daily life for seniors in New Orleans — from sleepless nights to skyrocketing energy bills.  WWNO and WRKF’s Coastal D...

On this week's episode, we head down to coastal Mississippi. While Hurricane Katrina is largely associated with widespread flooding and displacement in New Orleans, it also devastated the Magnolia State, destroying thousands of homes and businesses.  Gulfport, in the heart of Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, is home to a group of historic Black communities that found themselves at the center of it all. W...

On this week's episode, we speak with WRKF reporter and Report for America corps member Alex Cox about a new immigration detention center at the notorious Louisiana State Penitentiary — better known as Angola — and how it fits into national trends.  Public health reporter Drew Hawkins also speaks with Bobbi-Jeanne Misick of Verite News and criminal justice reporter Kat Stromquist about their recen...

On this week's episode, we dip into our well of stories marking the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the federal levee failures.  Public health reporter Drew Hawkins explains how small, local publications helped salvage New Orleans' culture from the floodwaters, while sports and culture reporter Joseph King takes us to a musical hub formed after the storm .   Plus, community engagement pr...

It’s been 20 years since a train service along the Mississippi Coast from Mobile to New Orleans was possible. Hurricane Katrina put a stop to that service. But in August, the train finally came back.  In this week's episode, economic mobility reporter Stephan Bisaha takes the ride and stops at two locations along the Mississippi Coast to learn about the damage Katrina brought to the state and how...

On this week's episode, we stir the pot from the Saturn music venue in Birmingham. Recorded on August 9th, 2025, Joseph King interviews senior reporter Stephan Bisaha about nightmare utility bills .  This episode is hosted by Joseph King, who is also our social producer. The podcast was produced by Stephan Bisaha, Kat Stromquist, Drew Hawkins, Orlando Flores Jr. and Ryan Vasquez. Nellie Beckett is...

We know what the heat in New Orleans feels like, and we know what the data can look like with charts and graphs. But what does it sound like?  On this week’s episode, we “sonify” the heat data, using music to illustrate how hot New Orleans has gotten over the last few decades — and how quickly temperatures are increasing.  Public health reporter Drew Hawkins takes us through the process of analyzi...

On this week's episode, we venture onto the Pearl River, which flows through Jackson, Mississippi, down into southeastern Louisiana. For more than 100 years, that river has flooded in northeast Jackson.  The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been trying to stop the flooding, but each plan has caused backlash and concern from Jackson down to Slidell, Louisiana. We talk with WWNO’s Michael McEwen and...

Steep cuts are coming to to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, better known as food stamps. And that’s bad news for independent grocery stores that see the bulk of their sales from SNAP dollars. In this week's episode, economic mobility reporter Stephan Bisaha visits an Alabama grocer bracing for the cuts . Also, the Gulf South continues to be left out of the tech industry...

Federal grants helped bring down opioid overdose deaths by supporting peer services, expanding treatment access and increasing the availability of overdose-reversal drugs — like Narcan. But the Trump administration has stalled that funding.  In this week’s episode, we go to the streets of Birmingham, Alabama, to find out how losing the funding for overdose-reversal drugs could reverse progress mad...