Louisiana Considered

The 1940s are the heyday for Black baseball in Alabama, the peak of the Negro Leagues – starring a high schooler named Willie Mays. But when the Major Leagues integrate, Black teams everywhere start to fold. On this episode, host Roy Wood Jr. speaks with surviving players from the Birmingham Black Barons about the soaring highs and painful lows of Negro League baseball in Alabama. Roy also explore...

At least two charter schools in New Orleans held their final graduations this past spring. One of them - the Living School in New Orleans East - was known for its unique approach to education. Instead of focusing on test scores, it promoted equity, community and project-based learning. But state assessments recently gave the school an “F” ranking on standardized tests.  Still, leaders and parents...

The Tunica-Biloxi Tribe of Marksville is gearing up for their third annual Louisiana Rural and Economic Development Summit in Marksville, Louisiana. At this summer’s LaRuE summit, industry leaders, business professionals, and experts in agriculture and technology will gather to discuss the challenges facing rural communities – with the goal of building more partnerships between agencies and Native...

Today on Louisiana Considered, we hear the second part of the latest episode of Sea Change: Redfish Blues. We learn the story of the red drum, better known as the classic redfish, and whether the decline of this fish is a warning of a bigger collapse. This episode was produced in collaboration with the Food & Environment Reporting Network , an independent, nonprofit news organization. This epi...

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time to catch up on the week in politics with Stephanie Grace, editorial director and columnist of the Times Picayune/The Advocate. We’ll get the latest on the effort to hold a constitutional convention this summer, as well as the status of a few other pieces of legislation.  Louisiana is getting very close to becoming the latest Republican-led state to approve educ...

On May 29, Major League Baseball announced it’s officially changing some long-held records to include Negro League statistics. Josh Gibson, who played most notably for the Homestead Grays in a career that lasted from 1930-46, is now credited as having the highest career batting average. And Satchel Paige, former pitcher for the Birmingham Black Barons, takes the record for third lowest earned run...

Louisiana’s Northshore is home to roughly 264,570 people, but it’s never had a Pride parade — until now. This year, organizers are hosting the area’s first-ever parade to celebrate LGBTQ pride along Lakeshore Drive in Mandeville.  Event organizers Mel Manuel and Jeremy JF Thompson tell us about the more than 200 floats and krewes set to walk, and what it means to celebrate pride during a time when...

Gov. Jeff Landry signed a first-of-its-kind law Friday that designates common pregnancy medications as “controlled dangerous substances” in Louisiana. The law easily passed the legislature last week and takes effect October 1.  Reproductive health reporter Rosemary Westwood tells us why hundreds of local physicians have argued that the law could endanger women’s health.  The Louisiana Supreme Cour...

The red drum, more commonly known as the classic redfish, is a popular fish in the region. But now, the population is starting to decline. What does it say about a bigger collapse of similar species?  Boyce Upholt , a reporter for the Food & Environment Reporting Network based in New Orleans, tells us about the rise and fall of this famous fish on the first part of the latest episode of Sea Ch...

Don Marshall, executive director of Jazz Fest, is officially retiring after 20 years. Throughout his time, he’s weathered Hurricane Katrina and COVID while also bringing the festival to financial solvency.  He joins us today to reflect on 20 years of Jazz Fest memories, and how the festival created opportunities to promote New Orleans’ unique musical culture and traditions.  Gov. Jeff Landry is fa...

This year’s legislative session has been an active one when it comes to criminal justice and public safety. Gov. Jeff Landry called a special session on crime earlier this year, where legislators undid many of the state’s 2017 criminal justice reforms. Alaina Bloodworth, executive director of the Black Public Defender Association, says public defenders are often excluded from the debate about how...

It can be easy to miss your neighborhood bus stop in New Orleans. That’s because a lot of stops don’t have a sign. More than a year and a half after the city overhauled its bus routes to be more rider-friendly, virtually none of the 2,000 or so stops in the city have new, permanent signage. That’s causing headaches for some riders. Bobbi-Jeanne Misick, reporter for Verite News, recently looked int...

More than half of American children spend time in at least one weekly non-parental care arrangement, according to the National Center for Education Statistics . More than 60% of those kids attend a daycare center, preschool or prekindergarten program.  New research shows that in Louisiana, nearly one-third of early care and education workers are, at any given time, considering quitting their jobs....

College graduations across the country have been disrupted this month as students continue to protest Israel’s war in Gaza.  Xavier University of Louisiana canceled its commencement speaker, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, after nearly 1,800 people signed a petition asking she be removed.  Tulane University, the site of a recent pro-Palestinian encampment, has upped...

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for our look at the week in politics.  Stephanie Grace, the Times Picayune/The Advocate’s editorial director and columnist, breaks down the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Louisiana’s new congressional map. The decision means the state’s second majority-Black congressional district will stand for this year’s election. This June, Major League Baseball will ho...

May is National Bike Month, and we’re dedicating Wednesday’s show to the topic of bike infrastructure in Southern Louisiana.  Baton Rouge and New Orleans have been rated as some of the most dangerous places for cyclists in the country. An analysis of data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ranks East Baton Rouge Parish the fourth-most dangerous place to cycle in the United Sta...

Hundreds of doctors across Louisiana are asking lawmakers not to pass a bill that would make abortion medications controlled substances in Louisiana. They've signed an opposition letter to Republican state Senator Thomas Pressly, the bill's main sponsor.  Reporter Rosemary Westwood joins the show to update us on the proposal and opposition to it.  Nearly half the natural gas pulled out of the grou...

Gov. Jeff Landry signed a package of bills last week that will deregulate Louisiana’s insurance market. They’re part of Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple’s plan to address the state’s ongoing insurance crisis, he says by making Louisiana a more attractive place for insurers to do business. Critics say the policies weaken consumer protections and will increase rates. Sam Karlin, reporter with the T...

We’re dedicating today’s show to a special conversation about the expansion of liquefied natural gas.  Sea Change hosts Halle Parker and Carlyle Calhoun sit down with grassroots leaders from across the world to discuss the industry’s local and worldwide impacts.  Andy Gheorghiu, an independent campaigner from Germany; Hiroki Osada a development finance and environment campaigner for Friends of Ear...

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for our look at the week in politics. Joining us is Stephanie Grace, the Times Picayune/The Advocate’s editorial director and columnist. This week, we’re discussing the latest news in the legal saga around Louisiana’s new congressional district map . We’ll also get an update on Gov. Jeff Landry’s efforts to hold a constitutional convention this summer.  Lesbian...

Louisiana’s death penalty law got a big rewrite earlier this year as part of the state’s special session. Gov. Jeff Landry signed a bill that adds electrocution and nitrogen hypoxia to the list of state-approved methods for carrying out capital punishment. Now, the latter method is getting some pushback late in the legislative session. Some Democratic and Republican lawmakers are hoping to remove...

Extremely active. Those are the words used by scientists to describe forecasts for the 2024 hurricane season. Researchers at Colorado State University estimate that this year’s Atlantic season could see 23 named storms, the highest on record. Other forecasts also predict high numbers of storms.  To help us better understand why forecasts are so high, we’re joined by Jay Grymes, Louisiana’s interim...

A federal court has thrown out Louisiana’s new congressional district map. Judges ruled last week in favor of a complaint that stated the 6th District was drawn with the racial makeup of voters as the main motivator. The district was set to become the state’s second majority-Black district.  To help us understand the ruling and what happens next, we’re joined by Piper Hutchinson, a reporter with t...

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time to catch up on the week in politics with Stephanie Grace, editorial director and columnist with the Times Picayune/The Advocate. This week, we’ll be discussing the status of a potential constitutional convention in Baton Rouge this summer.  Protests against Israel’s war in Gaza continued this week on many college campuses, including some in South Louisiana.  Tu...

A multi-year fight to form a new city out of an unincorporated suburban portion of southeastern East Baton Rouge Parish culminated last week with a Louisiana Supreme Court decision. Justices ruled in favor of the organizers working to incorporate the city of St. George.  The court ruled against objections by East Baton Rouge officials, which had claimed the incorporation was “unreasonable,” that S...