Louisiana Insider

There is so much talent in Louisiana that selecting finalists for Louisiana Life’s annual Louisianian of the Year issue is one of the magazine’s toughest challenges. But, It was accomplished! And, there are many promising prospects left for the future. Louisiana Life Editor Melanie Spencer joins Errol Laborde, the magazine’s Executive Editor, along with podcast producer Kelly Massicot to boas...

Imagine three great cooking styles served in one place, or written about with recipes in one book. The place is Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse in LaPlace (St. John the Baptist Parish); the book is "Southern and Smoked: Cajun Cooking through the Seasons." Jarred Zeringue, the chef and owner of the smokehouse and the author of the book, joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde, along with podca...

There are all sorts of anniversaries in life, however seldom is a milestone celebrated for a candy. But then there are few confections as worthy of special recognition as Heavenly Hash. This year is the centennial of Elmer Chocolate creating the Heavenly Hash Easter Egg. In 1923, the recipe was purchased from a New Orleans confectionary store. Prior to that purchase, the candy was generally sold i...

There are two principal ways of Carnival group ritual in Louisiana. One is the New Orleans style float parade with bands, marching groups and maskers flinging throws from floats. And the other is the Cajun style Courir de Mardi Gras in which mounted riders and runners go different places begging ingredient for a gumbo. Both have their own indigenous music and traditions. Dixie Poche joins Errol La...

A century ago, a New Orleans based company, founded by Lucius H. Hayward Jr., was in the business of purveying dried beans, most notably the red kidney shaped variety. The company would eventually trademark the name Camellia Brand Red Beans. The business flowered from there. At first the beans were scooped from a barrel at grocery stores, but then Gordon Hayward, the son of the company’s founder,...

It's funny... Lafayette doesn’t look a day over 150, yet the town is celebrating its 200th anniversary. The commemoration is based on the state issuing a charter, in 1823, to what was then known as Vermilionville. (In 1884, the name was changed to Lafayette to honor the French marquis who fought in the American revolution.) Sami Parbhoo, the Bicentennial Coordinator for the town’s celebration, joi...

Louisiana is the only state where beads are known to dangle from oak trees. That phenomenon is especially common in New Orleans where the trees along certain avenues are nurtured by Carnival floats passing beneath their limbs late each winter. Doug MacCash, a staff writer for the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate , has written a book titled “Mardi Gras Beads” (LSU PRESS). He joins Louisiana Life...

There are four meaningful seasons in Louisiana: football, hurricane, Carnival and elections. All are important; two are fun. Robert Mann, holder of the Manship Chair in Journalism at LSU and a former staffer with Governor Kathleen Blanco and Senators John Breaux and Bennett Johnston, as well as once a newspaper reporter joins Errol Laborde, executive editor of Louisiana Life , along with podcast p...

We have heard of Shriners Hospital but, but we bet you didn’t know that the organization’s children’s healthcare movement began in Shreveport in 1922. Steve Caskey, chairman of the Board of Governors for Shriners Children’s Shreveport, tells Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde, along with podcast producer Kelly Massicot the story of the emerge of the system that originally placed a high...

With one of the world’s great rivers flowing through it, Louisiana has always deserved a seat at the table when the topic is world trade. Now the subject had become enhanced as the local chapter of the World Trade Center has linked with Greater New Orleans Inc., which promotes trade not only in New Orleans but Southeast Louisiana and, by implication, all of the state. Michael Hecht, president and...

Warren Perrin could deserve the title of Mr. French (Monsieur Français.) The Lafayette lawyer was a founder of Codofil (the organization to preserve the French language in Louisiana) and founded the Acadian Museum of Louisiana in Erath. Perrin joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde, along with podcast producer Kelly Massicot to talk about several topics including his conversation with...

There are many acres of crawfish ponds in China, but did you ever hear the story about where the stock for those ponds originate? Hint: It is a state in America. Errol Laborde, Executive Editor of Louisiana Life, along with podcast producer Kelly Massicot talk to author Sam Irwin whose book “Louisiana Crawfish: A Succulent History of the Cajun Crustacean” gives the lowdown on the mudbug, including...

Here is a question we should all consider: “Why Louisiana Ain’t Mississippi or Anywhere Else?”  Philosophers have long pondered the question but now there is good news, a TV documentary series takes a closer look. Jay Dardenne, a two time Lt. Governor and Secretary of State and now the governor’s Commissioner of Administration, and Linda Midgett, a producer for Louisiana Public Broadcast (LPB...

Though we hope to never see anything like them again, great urban tragedies should never be forgotten – if for no other reason than to to remind us to be vigilant at doing the things to prevent more disasters. Errol Laborde, Executive Editor of Louisiana Life, along with podcast producer Kelly Massicot talk with Royd Anderson, a documentary maker who specializes in documenting harrowing experience...

When you need a way to promote your state that will draw lots of attention and is fun to look at, a spin-off of a Mardi Gras float might work, especially if your state is Louisiana. State tourism promotion is officially under the direction of the Lieutenant Governor’s office. "Louisiana Insider" producer Kelly Massicot went to the source to talk to Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser about the effort during...

They were raised among French speaking families. Their ancestry traced through Nova Scotia and the maritime provinces. They were teased by Anglo troops when they went to war. They became of enormous value in France as translators.  Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde, along with podcast producer Kelly Massicot, talk with Jason Theriot, a Lafayette-based historian whose upcoming book...

I guess you might call them faith healers, but they are more than that description because they often rely on certain herbs and plants, as well as handed-down prayer and sometimes even a gentle touch to heal certain maladies. They have long been a part of Cajun culture especially in rural areas away from standard medical treatment. Mary Perrin and Bev Fusel, two traiteuses (the female equivalent o...

There are some people who claim to do Voodoo but are just doing it for fun. Then, there are others who are the real thing. Sallie Ann Glassman is a Voodoo priestess; ordained in the Haitian ritual. Glassman, who operates Island of Salvation Botanica, stages ceremonies on Voodoo spiritual days such as St. John’s Eve. She joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde, along with podcast produc...

Just watching a brown pelican in action reveals how fascinating they are as they hover over a water body and then suddenly take a crash dive, to surface with fish in their bills. It is one of nature’s more dramatic acts. Author Rien Fertel joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde, along with podcast producer Kelly Massicot to tell tales from his new book, “Brown Pelican” (LSU Press). We...

While filming a documentary about ghosts in an old plantation home producer Barbara Sillery once noticed a woman standing outside a window looking in. Later when the camera operator and the sound technician were asked about the woman they responded, “what woman?” Sillery joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde, along with podcast producer Kelly Massicot, to tell stories from her books...

You’ve heard the expression “love that chicken!” Well, you might like this colorful  interview as well. Al Copeland Jr , the CEO and chairman of the Copeland foundation, joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde and podcast producer Kelly Massicot to tell stories from the new book, “ S ecrets of A Tastemaker: Al Copeland. The Cookbook. Recipes and Spicy Delicious Memories." His late...

Allison Plyer is an expert on numbers – not the boring kind that we may have experienced in school, but the fascinating statistics that reveal information about our lives and futures, as well as trends in the state. Plyer, the chief demographer for The Data Center,  joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde, along with podcast producer Kelly Massicot for riveting revelations about p...

In 2005, during the days of confusion after Hurricane Katrina broke New Orleans’s levees, the military needed someone to take charge. That happened once Russel Honoré, a Louisiana-born General with lots of swagger, stepped off the helicopter. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin would describe him as "that John Wayne type character." Honoré would be called again to defend a different city in 2021, after th...

Angela Gregory was one of Louisiana’s greatest artists and among the least known. She is distinguished for having chiseled a reputation in a field long dominated by men – sculpturing. From the streets of turn-of-the-century New Orleans, where she grew up, to the Parisian studio where she honed her craft, Angela Gregory’s story is that of a woman before her time. Beginning with her interest in art...

What exactly is the purpose of roux in a gumbo or stew? And how about those prepared roux mixes? Louisiana Life ’s longtime food columnist and genius in the kitchen as well Stanley Dry ponders these question and others with Errol Laborde, Executive Editor of Louisiana Life , along with podcast producer Kelly Massicot. They also talk top Louisiana seafood and meats. Oh yes, we will also hear Dry re...