Louisiana Considered

On Thursday July 11, Steve Gleason was honored at the ESPY awards with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. The former Saints player first rose to fame when he blocked a punt against the Atlanta Falcons in the team’s first game back in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina.  But in the years since, Gleason’s been living with ALS, a disease that attacks nerve cells and renders patients unable to move...

There are nearly 100,000 people in Louisiana living with Alzheimer’s disease, many of whom rely on family to care for them. But what about the young children who are encountering a beloved grandparent or older adult with the disease. How do they deal with the big emotions that come with their encounters? There’s a new children’s book, due to be published in September, entitled NANA, NANA, a story...

The Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola is famous for its ruthless working conditions for inmates on the farm line. In fact, many even refer to the prison simply as “The Farm.” But now, a judge ordered Angola officials to consider the health and safety needs of incarcerated people and take immediate measures to “correct the glaring deficiencies in their heat-related policies.” Katy Reckdahl has...

Governor Jeff Landry’s administration wants to overhaul how the state manages its natural resources. Part of the push could mean big changes for the agency responsible for restoring Louisiana’s coastline. As the Coastal Desk’s Halle Parker reports, coastal advocates fear any changes could undermine coastal restoration. A dozen top emerging pianists from around the globe are coming to the Crescent...

As gun violence persists in the Gulf South, community members in Shreveport, Louisiana are reckoning with last year's mass shootings and murders. And locals are pointing to the area's history of mass incarceration as a contributing factor. In part two of our series on gun violence in the region, the Gulf States Newsroom's Kat Stromquist traveled to Northern Louisiana and met residents who say deca...

Most of the world's biggest cities are on the coast. As sea levels rise and storms worsen, how can we reimagine our coastal cities so that they can survive and thrive in the face of climate change? Today we talk with leaders across from Nigeria, Portugal, California and Alabama about how they’re fighting for the future of their cities.   Sea Change is a WWNO and WRKF production. We're a part of th...

Louisiana’s unpopular “constitutional carry” law goes into effect on Independence Day. It allows anyone over 18 to carry a concealed firearm without a permit or specialized training.  Stephanie Grace , editorial director and columnist for The Advocate | The Times-Picayune, discusses how residents and police are preparing for the new rules. More than 25% of Louisiana’s rural hospitals are “vulnerab...

Last week, Governor Landry vetoed $1 million in funding allocated to Catholic Charities of Acadiana. The veto is a major blow to the organization that works to address homelessness and provide emergency shelter in the Lafayette area.  Christiaan Mader is the founder of the Current and has been covering this story. He tells us more about who will be impacted by this loss in funding.  “One More Game...

An overwhelming number of  Louisianans support expanding offshore oil and gas drilling in the state and the expansion of renewable energy resources, according to a new survey by LSU researchers. The 2024 Louisiana Survey is the latest in an annual series of statewide surveys from the Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication....

For the last few weeks, we’ve been airing our original podcast, Road to Rickwood. Hosted by Roy Wood Jr., the four part series documents the history of Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama – America’s oldest ballpark – and the role it played in the civil rights movement. The podcast was released in anticipation of a Major League Baseball game at Rickwood Field, meant to honor the Negro Leagues an...

Louisiana’s 85-mile industrial corridor along the Mississippi River is one of the country’s largest hotspots for a cancer-causing chemical called ethylene oxide. The Environmental Protection Agency has found that much of the region is exposed to unsafe levels of the carcinogen, but a new study out of Johns Hopkins University found that in some areas, the exposure was even worse than estimated.  Th...

The Union of Concerned Scientists recently released a report highlighting the risks that flooding poses to infrastructure in the US. And Louisiana is no stranger to flooding-related disasters.  The Coastal Desk’s Eva Tesfaye spoke with UCS’s policy director Rachel Cleetus to learn what this report tells us about heightened flooding risks to disadvantaged communities. The Historic New Orleans Colle...

In New Orleans, an estimated 23% of all undergraduate students are parents. They face more obstacles than your average student, having to consider things like childcare and economic stability while taking classes. The organization Generation Hope helps these parents make their way through school. And just this month, they celebrated the one-year anniversary of their New Orleans scholars program. J...

Today marks two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade — triggering a Louisiana law that bans nearly all abortions. That’s had major implications for women’s health in the state.  WWNO/WRKF public health reporter Rosemary Westwood has covered the fallout of the ban. She takes stock of where we’re at two years after the end of federally protected abortion rights.  Director, filmm...

The Vietnamese word for water is nước. But nước also means “homeland.” In the first part of the latest episode of Sea Change, we learn how South Louisiana’s Vietnamese community is reimagining its complicated relationship with water in a place where everything about water is changing. The world of baseball saw two historic events this week: The passing of legendary player Willie Mays, and the firs...

Last week, Republican Rep. Garrett Graves of Baton Rouge announced his decision to not run for reelection this fall. Stephanie Grace , editorial director and columnist for The Advocate, joins us to discuss the implications of that decision for Louisiana and the nation. Road rage is a problem in every state, but Louisiana drivers tend to express their frustrations with guns more often than the nati...

Birmingham is about to host its first-ever regular season Major League game at Rickwood Field. The San Francisco Giants will play the St. Louis Cardinals at Rickwood Field as a tribute to the Negro Leagues. But that doesn’t come without its challenges. On this episode, host Roy Wood Jr. goes back to his hometown of Birmingham to explore some of the obstacles that prevent more Black youth from taki...

A new state police force has been patrolling New Orleans streets this summer. It’s called Troop NOLA. Members conduct traffic stops in crime hot spots around the city, and have so far made over 20 arrests.  Gov. Jeff Landry created the unit earlier this year in an effort to crack down on crime in the Crescent City. To learn more about the new force’s activity, we’re joined by John Simerman, invest...

New York’s Tribeca FIlm Festival saw the debut of The Solace of Sisterhood this past weekend. It’s a new documentary about an all-female motorcycle crew from New Orleans. The film shines a spotlight on the riders, known as the Caramel Curves, as they defy societal expectations, chase adventure and embrace personal freedom.  For more on this film and the story behind this organization of riders, we...

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time to recap the week in politics with Stephanie Grace , editorial director and columnist for the Times Picayune/The Advocate. She joins us to discuss a new poll showing that New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell continues to have low approval ratings. Since the Louisiana legislature changed voting laws to appease so-called “election deniers” back in 2021, the state ha...

In 1964, the Birmingham Barons become Alabama’s first integrated sports team. This is 17 years after Jackie Robinson integrated the Major Leagues. What took so long? Today, we hear how baseball helps desegregate America’s most segregated city. Roy Wood Jr. takes us back to 1960s Birmingham, when nonviolent protests for racial equality are met with bombings by the Ku Klux Klan. We learn about the b...

Former State health director, past CEO of health services at LSU, and OB-GYN Dr. Rebekah Gee is now working to bridge the gap in healthcare for Louisiana’s underserved families. Her new start-up, Nest Health, focuses on bringing comprehensive healthcare directly to families with at-home and virtual visits. She joins us for more on this program and how she hopes to see it expand across the state. T...

It’s an election year, and lawmakers in Baton Rouge spent a lot of time this spring discussing ways to change Louisiana’s voting system. One driving force behind a lot of the discussion was Secretary of State Nancy Landry.  Landry, a Republican, has said that Louisiana elections are secure and well-run. Still she supported over 11 bills this session as part of her ‘election integrity package’, tha...

It’s pride month, and this weekend, New Orleans has no shortage of events, including “gay ghost tours,” Black queer fests and a parade. In Baton Rouge, Pride Fest is coming on June 29, featuring a slew of performances at the Raising Cane’s River Center.  But this month also a time of remembrance for darker chapters in Louisiana’s queer history. In June of 1973, a fire at the UpStairs Lounge – a ga...

It’s Thursday, and it’s time for The Week in Politics. Joining us is Stephanie Grace, editorial director and columnist for the Times Picayune/The Advocate. This week, we recap the biggest pieces of legislation passed during the latest legislative session. Lawmakers limited access to abortion medications, gave the governor’s office more power and rewrote rules regulating the insurance industry, amo...