Louisiana Considered

The Katrina 20 Local Planning Committee is commemorating Hurricane Katrina with performances, art and more, throughout the city, stretching to Mississippi and Alabama. The Coastal Desk’s Eva Tesfaye spoke with Asali deVan Ecclesiastes , executive director of the Ashé Cultural Arts Center, to learn more about the events and how you can get involved.  For months, the Trump administration has been cu...

MakeGood is a New Orleans-based nonprofit that creates custom-designed, 3D-printed prosthetics for people with disabilities and limb differences. We speak with Noam Platt , the organization’s founder, and James Robert III , director of advanced fabrication, about how the group works directly with people to design devices tailored to their needs. Next week, more than 75 young New Orleans actors wil...

It’s been nearly 20 years since Hurricane Katrina made landfall, destroying countless communities in its wake. One neighborhood that suffered the wrath of the storm and never fully recovered is the Desire Area in the Upper Ninth Ward.  Back in 2018, NPR’s Laine Kaplan Levinson reported on the history of this neighborhood and misconceptions about an area known for its public housing. Today, we give...

It’s Thursday and that means it’s time to catch up on politics with The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate’s editorial director and columnist, Stephanie Grace. Today we hear about the latest polls, dropouts and endorsements in New Orleans’ mayor’s race. At the end of July, Jefferson Parish lost its bond rating. It wasn’t downgraded or reduced – it was lost completely, pulled by Moody’s and S&...

Steep cuts are coming to SNAP benefits, better known as food stamps. And that’s bad news for grocery stores that see the bulk of their sales from SNAP dollars.  The Gulf States Newsroom’s Stephan Bisaha reports from one independent grocery store in Alabama bracing for the cuts. An unprecedented natural disaster is a dramatic way to learn hard lessons about how we plan and construct our cities. Yet...

The Friends of the New Orleans Public Library organization is holding its first-ever all-children’s book sale. And it comes as a new school year begins.  The organization’s director, Shannan Cvitanovic tells us more about the event and who is invited.  The NOLA Project: Theatre for the BOLD, recently announced its 2025-26 season, and this year’s works revolve around iconic texts.  Artistic Directo...

August signals the end of summer break, and students across Louisiana are heading back into the classroom. Monday  is the first day of  school for public school students in Orleans, Jefferson and Lafayette parishes. Students in Baton Rouge returned to class last week – and were met with a host of changes. Charles Lussier covers education for The Baton Rouge Advocate. He joins us to break down thos...

It’s Thursday, and that means it’s time to catch up on politics with Stephanie Grace, editorial director and columnist for The Times Picayune/New Orleans Advocate. We hear about the latest candidate to challenge Sen. Cassidy’s (R-La.) seat in Congress, and whether or not President Trump will weigh in on the election.  Earlier this month, the Trump administration issued a two-year exemption to an E...

A new police accountability law, passed by lawmakers this past legislative session, aims to keep law enforcement officers from using excessive force. This comes after a sheriff’s deputy was caught on video dragging a woman by her hair and slamming her into the ground.  Richard Webster has been covering this for Verite News and Pro Publica. He joins us for more.  The Louisiana Children’s Museum in...

The 25th annual Satchmo Summerfest , an event celebrating the life and legacy of New Orleans jazz visionary Louis Armstrong, kicks off this weekend. Emily Madero , CEO of French Quarter Festivals, Inc., tells us what festivalgoers can expect during the two-day celebration. Researchers from Pennington Biomedical and Tulane University are collaborating to find a cure for amyotrophic lateral sclerosi...

As the qualifying period for the Oct. 11 election closed earlier this month, multiple seats were left without qualifiers. A majority of these vacant seats are in rural parts of northern Louisiana. Report for America Corps Member Alex Cox tells us more.  A yearlong federal investigation resulted in the arrests of four local lawmen accused of participating in a paid scheme in order to bypass immigra...

El Bosque, Mexico, a tiny fishing village on Mexico’s Gulf Coast, is quickly vanishing into the sea. In this episode, we journey to El Bosque to meet the town’s most unlikely hero—one person determined to fight for a future as her neighbors flee the encroaching waves. --- This episode was reported by Alvaro Céspedes. It was hosted by Carlyle Calhoun and Alvaro. Editing by Johanna Zorn, Carlyle Cal...

Last Friday, Congress approved the Trump administration’s request to rescind federal funding for National Public Radio and PBS. While this move will impact all NPR stations, the smaller, rural ones are most vulnerable. Today, we are dedicating an entire episode to discuss the impacts of these cuts, hearing community reactions, and discussing potential solutions with a panel of guests from NPR stat...

Louisiana is one of 30 states with laws that criminalize exposing or transmitting HIV. This past legislative session, time narrowly ran out on a bill that would’ve expanded Louisiana’s law to other/additional sexually transmitted infections. Louisiana has some of the highest rates of STIs in the nation, including HIV, but a growing body of evidence shows criminal penalties hurt efforts to solve th...

The state recently announced it will cancel the Mid-Barataria sediment diversion plan, the biggest-ever coastal restoration project in Louisiana history. The project was nixed because costs got too high,, and will be replaced with a scaled-down  version.  The Coastal Desk’s Eva Tesfaye has been reporting on the Mid-Barataria project. She joins us today with an update.  July is Disability Pride Mon...

Under a new law, law enforcement officers who don’t comply with immigration authorities like ICE could face criminal charges. This could bring big changes for local jailers, including the Orleans Parish Sheriff, along with everyday Louisiana residents.  Bobbi-Jeanne Misick has been reporting this story for Verite News and joins for more. An observatory hidden in the woods in Louisiana recently det...

Every summer, Baton Rouge General Burn Center and Foundation offers pediatric burn survivors the opportunity to attend a summer camp. Since 2019, Camp Catahoula has offered these young burn survivors a chance to meet others who have faced the same obstacles with a week full of horseback riding, art and crafts, fishing and other summer camp activities.  Sadie Stockwell, co-director and physical the...

The field for New Orleans’ fall elections is now set, and there were a few last-minute surprises before the candidate filing deadline. The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate’s editorial director and columnist Stephanie Grace joins us to break down the crowded field of candidates.  Last week, the National Federation of the Blind National Convention came to New Orleans. The convention is the larges...

Pedestrian fatalities tend to rise nationwide over the summer months, and Louisiana consistently ranks among the top 10 states with the highest numbers. Capitol access reporter Brooke Thorington spoke with Greg Fischer, spokesperson of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission , about how pedestrians and drivers can better follow safety protocols. The shortage of healthcare professionals — in partic...

Day 2 of the MLB draft wrapped up Monday, and now several Louisiana college ballplayers know where they’ll be continuing their careers. Nine  LSU prospects were selected along with three from Tulane, and a handful more from Southern, Southeastern and Louisiana Tech – but some of the picks took baseball experts by surprise.  Koki Riley covers LSU baseball for The Baton Rouge Advocate. He joined us...

The last remaining piece of a damaged American ship from World War II has been found. A team of scientists and explorers discovered the bow of the USS New Orleans off the coast of the Solomon Islands more than 70 years after the battle. Mark Ballard has been reporting this story for The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate and joins us to talk about  the discovery. In June, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Land...

Climate change is bad news for almost everyone. Emphasis on almost, because believe it or not, one marine species is absolutely thriving as the Gulf warms: Bull sharks! Get ready for some shark science as we learn why bull sharks are increasing in numbers across the Gulf and getting hungrier. — This episode was hosted by Carlyle Calhoun and Katelyn Harrop. Katelyn conducted the interview. Our them...

It’s Thursday, and that means it’s time for our week in politics with Stephanie Grace , the editorial director and columnist for the Times-Picayune/The Advocate. Today she breaks down a reignited feud between Mayor Cantrell and the city council, and discusses the latest entrant in the New Orleans mayoral race. If you’ve spent time in the Algiers neighborhood of New Orleans, then you’re probably fa...

Thanks to a new law, Louisiana homeowners can now get a $10,000 tax credit if they install a fortified roof on their home. That’s in addition to the $10,000 Fortified Grant Program.  Capitol Access reporter Brooke Thorington spoke with state Sen. Kirk Talbot (R-River Ridge), who authored the legislation, about the program and some of its limitations. A rare election for the  Crescent Soil and Wate...

Yesterday on Louisiana Considered, the Gulf States Newsroom’s Drew Hawkins brought us to the Netherlands to learn how the country was navigating the opioid epidemic . Today we hear how a different European country is handling this crisis – and what Louisiana could learn from it. Delaney Nolan recently reported on how harm reduction practices in Ukraine are providing a possible model for Louisiana...