Talk Louisiana

Quin Hillyer, conservative columnist and commentator and former top aide to Louisiana Congressman Bob Livingston, comments on impeach proceedings launched against President Trump. Dr. James Gordon, director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine and Toni Bankston, executive director of the Baton Rouge Children’s Advocacy Center, preview the Community Day of Healing on Baton Rouge on September 27th.

Pennington Biomedical Center Professor and President of the Obesity Society Steven Heymsfield discusses the epidemic of overweight Americans and reflects on his childhood friendship with President Trump, who grew up on the same block in Queens in the 1950s and early 1960s. Author William Schaberg comments on his work, “Writing the Big Book,” The Creation of A.A.”

Sean Reilly, Chief Executive Officer of Lamar Advertising, talks about the largest business based in Baton Rouge and his time in the Louisiana House as a state representative from 1988-96.

LSU Manship Professor and Louisiana Political Hall of Famer Bob Mann assesses Thursday’s gubernatorial debate and the state of the Trump presidency. Holly Howat, Executive Director of Beacon Community Connections in Lafayette, discusses health care accessibility and the 2019 South Louisiana Culture of Health Summit. Bridget Gordon, registered nurse and coordinator of the Community Injury Preventio...

State Librarian Rebecca Hamilton remembers the late journalist Cokie Roberts, who died this week at 75.   Harrison Golden of WVLA previews tonight’s gubernatorial debate at the LSU Union Theater.   Mark Ballard of the Advocate assesses the governor’s election 23 days before the Oct. 12 primary.

LSU Manship School Dean Martin Johnson and friends on the state of campus newspapers and collaboration with LSU athletics. A salute to the late journalist Cokie Roberts from an encore interview in 2015. The New Orleans native died yesterday at age 75. Serena Pandos and Leslie Charleville from the Louisiana Art and Science Museum comment on Friday’s gala “Chroma, Color Your Senses.”

LSU Alumnus and Academy Award winning composer Bill Conti previews his performance tonight at the Union Theater with the LSU Symphony and looks back on his days as a student who lived in Tiger Stadium. Former Baton Rouge Coroner Hypolite Landry talks about his varied life as he celebrates his 93 rd  birthday with listeners of Talk Louisiana.

EBR Councilwoman Donna Collins Lewis on her bid to unseat veteran Doug Welborn as Baton Rouge Clerk of Court…and the prospect of the Village of St. George. New York Times reporter Megan Twohey comments on her role in breaking the story of sexual harassment by Harvey Weinstein, detailed in the book “She Said.”

  Former Louisiana GOP Chairman Mike Francis, current member of the Louisiana PSC, discusses solar energy and politics four weeks before the gubernatorial primary. Pulitzer Prize winning reporter Tyler Bridges of the Advocate contrasts this year’s governor’s race with the 2015 campaign that prompted Tyler’s book with Jeremy Alford, “Longshot.”

  Ken Perret, President of Louisiana Good Roads and Transportation Association reviews the deplorable condition of state roads and predicts 2020 will provide another push for a gasoline tax in Louisiana. Mark Ballard, Capitol Bureau Chief for the Advocate, looks at Bernie Pinsonat’s gubernatorial poll one month before the Oct. 12 election. Lee Hartley Carter on the art of persuasion in an era wher...

General Russel Honore’, hero of Katrina and head of the Green Army, joins activist Hays Town to discuss the vulnerability of the Baton Rouge water system, and Honore’ looks back 18 years to the 9-11 attack on America. Dr. James Gordon,  Chairman of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine, discusses his book “The Transformation.”

 Style writer Dana Thomas discusses her book “Fashionopolis” which examines the clothing industry with is a 2.4 trillion dollar annual business with one of six workers on the Earth connected to it. Baton Rouge tailor Manuel Martinez reflects on 35 years as one of America’s most celebrated clothiers and how the industry is evolving. Glenn Guilbeau of the USA Today Network and James Moran of Tiger R...

Mara Liasson, NPR national correspondent, comments on the politics of appointing Supreme Court justices and surveys the landscape for the election of 2020. Celebrated author Brad Meltzer showcases his two new biographical subjects, Walt Disney and Marie Curie. Torrie Fields, Program Manager for Blue Shield of California, discusses her role as moderator for a forum  this Thursday about end of life...

Austin sportswriter Asher Price on his book about UT Heisman winner Earl Campbell, LSU’s game vs Texas on Saturday and a revelation about former LSU President Troy Middleton. Former LSU Quarterback Jimmy Field comments on being the last quarterback to beat Texas. LSU defeated the Longhorns 13-0 in the 1963 Cotton Bowl as Field ran for the only touchdown in the clash in Dallas. We will also review...

  Zach Williams tells the back story of his book about former LSU football coach Bo Rein. Williams’ book is “Forty Minutes to Baton Rouge.” It details the rapid rise to stardom for Rein, who was named LSU coach at age 34 and died in a plane crash 42 days later. Rein’s legacy is immense almost four decades after his death. Advocate Bureau Chief Mark Ballard on the governor’s election in five weeks...

Pollster Bernie Pinsonat and Political Consultant Mary Patricia Wray look at the Louisiana gubernatorial primary slated five weeks from Saturday. Former MVP and two-time Cy Young winner Denny McLain reviews the world of pitching in the Major League with hurlers no longer completing games and two former Tigers dominating the mound for other teams, Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer.

Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell looks back on more than 40 years of office holding, starting with his election to the Louisiana Senate in 1975. Campbell also previews a debate coming this month before the PSC on solar energy. Darlene Adams Rowland comments on the enduring popularity of the Farmer’s Market in Baton Rouge.

Lamar White, publisher of The Bayou Brief, previews Louisiana’s gubernatorial primary just 40 days away. Former LSU standout and onetime head football coach of McNeese State John McCann assesses Saturday’s showdown at Austin between LSU and Texas.

Dan Borne, former president of the Louisiana Chemical Association, starts his 34 th  year as the Voice of the Valley. Borne looks at his tenure as the voice on Saturday night in Tiger Stadium as LSU opens its season Saturday against Georgia Southern. Former LSU student body president Ted Schirmer reflects on campus life in the 1970s and how some things remain the same while others have vastly chan...

WAFB anchorman Greg Meriwether looks back on 18 years in Baton Rouge, the 14 th  anniversary of Katrina and the state of broadcast news. Advocate Capitol Bureau Chief Mark Ballard on a new poll in the governor’s election, controversy over Medicaid providers and the state changing its education formula.

Louisiana Blue Cross Blue Shield Economist Mike Bertaut surveys the future of the Affordable Care Act and reflects on court action against Johnson and Johnson and controversy over the state’s choices for providing Medicaid. National Economist Chris Macke predicts whether the nation is falling into a recession. Author Carla Rachel Sameth talks about her book “One Day on the Gold Line,” her story th...

LSU Professor and Researcher Brooks Elwood on the significance of LSU’s Indian Mounds, which are the oldest structures in the Western Hemisphere at an estimated 9,000 years. Former Louisiana Lawmakers Troy Hebert and Melissa Flournoy remember their mutual friend Kathleen Blanco and differ on the performance of President Trump. Dr. Benjamin Runkle, who was awarded a Bronze Star in Operation Iraqi F...

Hall of Fame political consultant Ray Strother, the Louisiana legend who worked for Bill Clinton, Albert Gore and Gary Hart, assesses the political commercials in the Louisiana governor’s election and the legacy of former Alabama Governor George Wallace, whose 100 th  birthday was yesterday. Strother also opines about the reelection quest of President Trump.

Advocate Reporter Andrea Gallo reflects on her series about abuse in the LSU Greek System and former LSU Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope provides the view on fraternities from the campus. Author E.R. Ramzipoor previews her book “The Ventriloquists,” which provides new context to fake news based on what happened in Nazi Germany.

Michael Pasquier, Associate Professor of Religious Studies and History at LSU, comments on his coastal voices podcast. Former local synagogue president Victor Sachse, also a former political scientist at the University of Louisiana Lafayette, responds to President Trump saying Jews are disloyal if they vote for Democrats. Advocate Bureau Chief Mark Ballard on the passing and tribute to former Gove...