Louisiana Considered

Shortly after LSU head football coach Brian Kelly was fired, athletic director Scott Woodward resigned under pressure. Last week, LSU announced the appointment of a new athletic director, Verge Ausberry. Ausberry most recently served as the deputy athletic director and has been with the department for 24 years. The Baton Rouge Advocate’s baseball and football reporter Koki Riley tells us more abou...

What does it take to stay rooted on the Gulf Coast, even as the land and weather change around us? We meet individuals, from a poet to a minister to a computer programmer, each finding their own creative ways to adapt and fight for the future of their communities. From amphibious homes to inland retreats to processing our changing environment through poetry, we hear how people's ingenuity is helpi...

As Xavier University of Louisiana was in final preparations for its homecoming and 100th anniversary celebration, the university announced the layoff of 46 full-time workers, citing the need to ensure its long-term health. President of Xavier University, Reynold Verret , joins us for more on the 100th anniversary and the current moment the school finds itself in. On November 15, voters in Orleans...

Head Start is a federal program that provides child care and early learning for low-income families. But the ongoing government shutdown has caused some programs to close, while others are taking out loans.  WWNO’s education reporter Aubri Juhasz tells us what this looks like in Louisiana. Three property taxes will be on the ballot in Baton Rouge next week. They’re all renewals, but they’ve been m...

East Baton Rouge is facing a major budget shortfall. Parish officials need to find an extra $21 million, and one way they hope to save money is by getting more public service retirees to switch to government-funded health care.  Report for America corps member Alex Cox has the story. Last weekend, the Governor’s Mansion in Baton Rouge hosted a screening of “Ancestral Artistry: The Influence of Afr...

When there's an outbreak of an infectious disease, state health officials usually rush to alert doctors and the public about what's going on. But this year, during Louisiana's worst outbreak of whooping cough in decades, health officials did not appear to follow that playbook.  WWNO’s health reporter Rosemary Westwood tells us more. This Veterans Day, Laura Plantation in Vacherie, Louisiana will h...

It’s Thursday, and that means it’s time to catch up on politics with the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate editorial director and columnist, Stephanie Grace. We discuss what’s on the ballot in the November elections, including city council runoffs and ballot proposals.  The St. Tammany Parish Economic Development Corporation appointed a new President and CEO in late August. A northshore native,...

Let’s say you’re in the car-making business and wanting to avoid tariffs. You can buy American, but how do you meet those American suppliers? One option: speed dating.  The Gulf States Newsroom’s Stephan Bisaha reports from a carmaker matchmaking day. A partnership between LSU and the global agricultural technology corporation Syngenta is aimed at advancing a tool that’s used in industry. They’re...

The once-vibrant Louisiana film and television industry has dramatically slowed down. There are five independent feature films in pre- or full production in the state, a stark contrast from previous years. CEO of The Ranch Film Studios in Chalmette and president of Film Louisiana, Jason Wagespack, breaks down the situation and the efforts of lobbyists to revive the industry. A spooky, creepy, uniq...

On Sunday night, LSU fired head football coach Brian Kelly following a 49-25 loss to Texas A&M. What began as a discussion on staffing changes ended with Kelly’s firing, according to multiple news outlets. Koki Riley covers LSU baseball and football for The Advocate and joins us for more.  2025 marks 100 years since the founding of Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. To this day, it...

The New Orleans government may not be able to make payroll this year as the city faces a $160 million deficit and severe cash flow problems. This means that city employees may not receive another paycheck before the end of the year. The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate’s Ben Myers joins us for more. Louisiana has one of the highest populations of deaf and blind people in the nation. To support...

During Hurricane Katrina, thousands of people were locked in the Orleans Parish jail complex as the storm made landfall. In the third of a series remembering that crisis, The Gulf States Newsroom’s Kat Stromquist visits with a mom whose son survived the storm in the jail — and speaks with experts, who say disaster planning could improve in jails and prisons. New research out of Tulane University’s...

The U.S. Supreme Court is hearing Callais v. Louisiana, a seminal redistricting case that focuses on the constitutionality of the state’s congressional map. The court will consider whether Louisiana’s creation of a second majority-Black district in 2024 — which was required by the Voting Rights Act — is a violation of the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th and 15th Amendments.  John Cusick serves...

US prosecutors have accused a Louisiana man of participating in the October 7 attack by Hamas on Israel. Mahmoud al-Muhtadi allegedly joined a paramilitary group that fought alongside Hamas in 2023, before traveling to the U.S.  Christiaan Mader, founder and editor of the Current, tells us more.  All this week, the New Orleans film festival is hosting screenings, panel discussions, and workshops,...

A resident of the Carrollton neighborhood in New Orleans was gardening in her backyard when she came across an unusual engraved stone. After reaching out to anthropology departments at the University of New Orleans and Tulane, they discovered the relic was a 2,000-year-old headstone for a Roman sailor. The headstone went missing from a museum in Italy during World War II.  Ryan Gray, professor of...

Louisiana’s GUMBO broadband program has been expanding internet access in rural areas for three years now. But because the state program relies on federal funding, recent changes to federal spending are impacting the initiative. Camden Doherty has been covering the GUMBO broadband program for The Current. He joins us for more. One of Louisiana’s largest hospital systems has been studying how to pr...

On Saturday, New Orleans’ city council president, Helena Moreno, won the election to become the city’s next mayor. She did so without forcing a runoff, having secured more than 50% of the primary vote. The Times-Picayune/The Advocate's editorial director and columnist, Stephanie Grace, joins us to break down this race and the other elections on the ballot. Last April, former LSU wide receiver and...

It’s been a long road to election day here in New Orleans, but we’re in the home stretch. On October 11, anyone who didn’t vote early will cast their ballots in several races, including for the city’s next mayor.  Verite News reporter Katie Jane Fernelius, WWNO education reporter Aubri Juhasz and the coastal desk’s Eva Tesfaye join us to share what the candidates are saying about key issues.   Sou...

For the last two weeks, on Louisiana Considered, we've brought you interviews with the top candidates to be mayor of New Orleans. Today, we bring you the final conversation.  The Times-Picayune/Editorial director and columnist Stephanie Grace spoke with City Council President Helena Moreno. The two discussed restoring collaboration between the council and the mayor’s office, the city’s budget prob...

President Trump has been sending the National Guard throughout the US, with the latest deployment being to Portland, Oregon, before it was blocked by a judge.  But in Louisiana, Gov. Jeff Landry is welcoming the idea of federal troops. Roughly one week ago, he announced that he'd asked President Trump to send the National Guard to New Orleans, Shreveport and Baton Rouge.  Capital Access reporter B...

Festivals Acadiens et Créoles is celebrating its 50th anniversary this weekend. The three-day Cajun and Zydeco music festival in Lafayette’s Girard Park is an authentic celebration of Acadiana’s vibrant traditions, complete with food, art and performances by local musicians.  Festival founder and Acadiana folklorist Barry Ancelet and Cajun singer-songwriter Zachary Richard tell us more about the f...

The primary election in the New Orleans mayor’s race is just over a week away , and here on Louisiana Considered, we’re bringing you conversations with the top 3 candidates.  Today, we’ll hear from state Senator Royce Duplessis (D-LA). He spoke to the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate’s editorial director and columnist Stephanie Grace about the tactics behind his campaign, his plans if elected a...

If you’ve had trouble getting a COVID shot lately, you’re not alone. People in Louisiana are running into a new obstacle when it comes to getting themselves or their kids vaccinated: confusion about who can get the shot and whether they need a prescription. As the Gulf States Newsroom’s Drew Hawkins reports, pharmacies are creating their own rules — and they aren’t consistent. The Port of New Orle...

Early voting is underway in the New Orleans mayor's race primary. For the next two weeks on Louisiana Considered, we'll be bringing you interviews with the top three candidates.  Up first, The Times-Picayune/Editorial director and columnist Stephanie Grace spoke with city councilmember Oliver Thomas. He discussed his long political career, successes and failures of previous administrations and wha...

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, and researchers at Pennington Biomedical say they’re focused on finding solutions for improved metabolic health. Louisiana is ranked third in the nation for childhood obesity, so this new initiative is connecting with parents, teachers, coaches and students to get to the heart of the issue. Melissa Martin, executive director of Greaux Health...