Talk Louisiana

Longtime Louisiana politico Jim Brown on his memoir “My Louisiana Odyssey” and the governor’s race 16 days before the election between John Bel Edwards and Eddie Lee Rispone. Mark Ballard of the Advocate on being a panelist in the lone debate between Gov. Edwards and Eddie Lee Rispone. Author Marta McDowell on the gardening life of the famed poet Emily Dickinson. 

Rep. Franklin Foil assesses his Senate quest against Beverly Brooks Thompson. Rep. Julie Stokes comments on her fight against breast cancer. 

EBR District Attorney Hillar Moore opines on crime in the  state’s largest parish. Brian Shaw of the LSU Music School joins acclaimed musician Ben Folds to preview their appearance later this week. Elaine LaLanne, widow of famed muscle man Jack LaLanne, reflects on her husband’s legacy to fitness. 

State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton previews the Louisiana Book Festival. Baseball great Denny McLain assesses the World Series. Hollywood icon Ruta Lee on Alex Trebek and Nikita Khrushchev.

Professor Jeff Sadow of LSU Shreveport and former state lawmaker Melissa Flournoy debate the fate of the governor’s race and the state of the presidency. Saints Coach Sean Payton in an interview with Graham Bensinger comments on President Trump and gun control. Dr. Gail Gross discusses her book “How to Build Your Baby’s Brain.” 

Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain on the status of hemp in Louisiana and the governor’s election. Strain was re-elected to a fourth term on Oct. 12. Advocate Capitol Bureau Chief Mark Ballard on Republican responses to Ukraine scandal testimonies, the Governor's race, and the future of St. George. Singer Susan Cowsill on her upcoming performance at the Dyson House November 7th. 

Colonel Rob Manesss, head of GatorPac and erstwhile U.S. Senate candidate, says he’s leaving the Republican Party because of actions by prominent GOP Louisiana donor Lane Grigsby. Tobin Smith, 14-year Fox News contributor and guest anchor, describes his association with the network in “Foxocracy.” 

Baton Rouge Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Eric Marshall on the season ahead. LSU Manship School Dean Martin Johnson comments on the departure of Sheppard Smith at Fox News and upheaval at NBC two years after Today Show host Matt Lauer was ousted. National Book Award winner Tim O’Brien, the acclaimed novelist, reflects on the challenges of fatherhood late in life. 

Kimberly Neustrom, Executive Director of the Baton Rouge Blues Foundation, showcases a major gala. Author Lydia Pine on her book "Genunine Fakes: How Phony Things Teach us about Real Stuff". Susan Mailer, eldest daughter of Norman Mailer comments on his remarkable and controversial life. 

Candidate Belinda Davis on LA House District 70 runoff election against Barbara Freiberg. Noel Hammatt details tomorrow’s Baton Rouge Kiwanis Club's 70th Annual Pancake Breakfast which begins at 6 AM in the Carl Maddox Field House. Charles Bush on his film, Music Dreams An American Story, featuring Henry Turner Jr. and Turner’s influence on Baton Rouge Blues. 

LSU Journalism School Graduate Sydnie Kohara talks about anchoring network coverage for ABC when the San Francisco Earthquake hit the Bay Area 30 years ago tonight. Mark Ballard of the Advocate on the bid by businessman Lane Grigsby to buy Franklin Foil out of a contested race for Senate District 16. Pulitzer Prize winner James Stewart discusses his book “Deep State, Trump, the FBI and the Rule of...

Republican Political Consultant Roy Fletcher comments on the gubernatorial runoff between Democratic incumbent John Bel Edwards and Republican Eddie Rispone and the prospective three way runoff for the Louisiana Senate with Democrat Beverly Brooks Thompson facing Republicans Steve Carter and Franklin Foil who tied for second place. Foil is Fletcher’s client. LSU Professor Vincent LiCata previews t...

Former Democratic Congressman Charles Melancon of Napoleonville on the death of moderates in American politics and the forecast for the Nov. 16 runoff for governor between John Bel Edwards and Eddie Rispone. Lizy Dastin, art history professor at UCLA, discusses the popularity of public art in our country and in Baton Rouge.

Republican Dan Claitor and Democrat Jim Nickel comment on the gubernatorial primary with Governor Edwards being forced into a runoff with challenger Eddie Rispone and Claitor’s vacated Senate now a tie between Franklin Foil and Steve Carter for second place behind Beverly Brooks Thompson. 

Public Service Commissioner and ranking Democrat Foster Campbell exchanges views with Republican activist Darrell Glasper, invited guest of the White House to tonight’s Trump rally in Lake Charles on the eve of Louisiana’s gubernatorial primary. Linda Gail Lewis, rock veteran and sister of Jerry Lee Lewis, talks about her show tonight at the Dyson House, hosted at Zeeland Street Market in Baton Ro...

Conservative columnist and commentator Michelle Malkin comments on immigration in the age of President Trump, who visits Lake Charles tomorrow night. EBR Clerk of Court Doug Welborn on his quest for an eighth term against a vigorous challenge from recent guest Donna Collins Lewis. Advocate Capitol Bureau Chief Mark Ballard looks at the governor’s election two days from the Oct. 12 primary. Gov. Jo...

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., son of the slain senator and attorney general and nephew of President John Kennedy, comments on his environmental mission. Kennedy appears in Baton Rouge Thursday as the keynote speaker for the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper. RFK Jr. is joined by Monica Fisher, the outreach coordinator for the Atchafalaya Basinkeeper. Darryl Gissel and Mark Armstrong, Chief Adminstrative and Commun...

Democrat Mary Patricia Wray and Republican Scott Wilfong square off on the governor’s election four days away from the Oct. 12 primary. Famed Sports Sociologist Harry Edwards chimes in on the wisdom of paying college athletes after the signing of bill allowing this by California Gov. Gavin Newsom. 

New York Times reporters Robin Pogrebin comment on the legacy of the explosive confirmation hearing of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. Melanie Couvillion, director of the Manship Theatre, on the year ahead in the arts downtown.

Former Louisiana Congressman and high ranking member in the administration of George H. W. Bush Henson Moore celebrates his 80th birthday and reflects on what he sees as changes for the worse in American politics. Former LSU quarterback Matt Flynn, who won two NCAA titles as a Tiger and a Super Bowl ring with Green Bay talks about life after football and LSU’s Heisman Trophy candidate Joe Burrow. 

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon assesses his reelection quest against the challenge of Tim Temple. Donelon has served 13 years in his current post. Advocate Capitol Bureau Chief Mark Ballard comments on the election landscape nine days before the Oct. 12 primary. Ann Vail, Executive Director of Louisiana Clean Fuels discusses the Clean Fuels Summit. Dr. Trey Dunbar, President of Our Lady of the...

Candidate for Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple on his challenge of fellow Republican, incumbent Jim Donelon, in the Oct. 12 primary. Loyola University President Tania Tetlow, lawyer, law professor and first woman and first layperson to hold the top position at the New Orleans campus. 

LSU Marching Band Director Kelvin Jones and Assistant Director Cliff Croomes discuss the rich history of the Golden Band from Tigerland. National Book Award winner Robert Jay Lifton assesses themes in his book “Losing Reality, On cults, Cultism, Mindset of Political and Religious Zealotry.”

Danny Heitman, editorial writer for The Advocate, comments on state and local politics and his award winning column “At Random.” Dan Moldea, well known investigative reporter, surveys the landscape in the Beltway where House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has opened an impeachment inquiry against President Trump. 

Dr. Allison Stanger, author of “Whistleblowers: Honesty in America from Washington to Trump,” comments on the impeachment inquiry of President Trump related to a whistleblower complaint.  Mark Ballard, Capitol Bureau Chief of the Advocate, previews tonight’s gubernatorial debate 16 days before the Oct. 12 primary.