Talk Louisiana

Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon comments on his failed bid to reduce insurance rates through legislation and the start of hurricane season. Sports Illustrated swimsuit model Brooks Claire Nader talks of going from Episcopal High grad to top New York model in four years. Retired Judge Tony Graphia discusses his move from jurist to novelist.

Chris D’Elia, dean of the LSU College of the Coast and Environment,  opines about Louisiana’s alarming rate of lost land due to coast erosion. Music critic John Wirt remembers the late, great New Orleans musician Dr. John, who died yesterday at 77. Investigative Reporter Katherine Eban reflects on the pharmaceutical industry detailed in her book “Bottle of Lies.”

State Representative Ted James, Democrat from Baton Rouge, assesses the final hours of the Legislative Session and announces his endorsement for president in the 2020 election. Mark Ballard, Capital Bureau Chief for The Advocate, names the winners and losers in the 2020 session. George Morris of The Advocate relates his passion for stories of veterans and the significance of the 75 th  anniversary...

On the eve of the 75 th  anniversary of D-Day, Christina Melton of Louisiana Public Broadcasting previews an LPB documentary shedding light on a pivotal battle in WWII. Celebrated sportswriter Mark Kram talks about his definitive biography of the late, great heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, who once fought a championship bout in New Orleans. Actress Lee Purcell surveys her long and varied career...

Smiley Anders, famed Advocate columnist, celebrates 40 years writting his collumn for the state’s flagship paper.  Race and Social Change: A Quest, A Study, A Call to Action  author Max Klau discusses our current racial challenges. LSU Prof. Marybeth Lima on birdwatching in the Bayou State.

Committee of 100 CEO Michael Olivier discusses the lack of progress on crucial issues such as infrastructure in this year’s legislative session. HOPE CEO Janet Simmons discusses her organization’s work in north Baton Rouge helping those in need of food and work.

Mike Martin, former LSU Chancellor and current President of Florida Gulf Coast University, comments on the state of higher education and the politics of the Ole War Skule. Kevin Balfe, organizer of the Third Annual CrimeCon in New Orleans discusses what is billed as the world’s biggest true crime event. Katherine Diaz of Louisiana Parents for Vaccine Rights talks about her group’s aversion to vacc...

Mary Durusau of the Old State Capitol and Southern University Historian Frank Ransberg, a retired professor, remember one of Louisiana’s near miss politicians, Jimmy Fitzmorris. At 97, Fitzmorris makes an appearance this weekend in Baton Rouge. Mark Ballard of the Advocate comments on state lawmakers passing one of the nation’s most stringent anti-abortion measures. Rock group Szlachetka rolls in...

Adam Sharp, President of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, comments on his background as an aide to former Louisiana Senator Mary Landrieu, working for Twitter in its infancy and the popularity of the Daytime Emmys. Boyd Robert recaps his odyssey from Louisiana cattleman to regenerative medicine and stem cell therapy. On the 102 nd  anniversary of the birth of John Kennedy, the...

Larry Carter, President of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, comments on teacher pay raise initiatives in the Legislature. David Folkenflik, NPR Media Correspondent, discusses media in the Age of Trump and his trip to the WWII Museum in New Orleans. Stephanie Riegel of the Business Report reviews the blight on Florida Boulevard, the cover story in the latest issue.

Conservative Advocate columnist Dan Fagan discusses recent abortion related legislation in Louisiana and across the country. National Chair of the National Congress of Black Women Faye Williams on the effects of state level abortion legislation. University of Virginia Professor of Business Administration Ed Hess on modernizing capitalism. Patricia Foreman discusses the tiny house phenomenon. 

Former Secretary of State and Insurance Commissioner Jim Brown and former Louisiana Democratic Party Communications Director Susan East Nelson assess the Louisiana Legislature and legal maneuverings by Congress and the White House as President Trump and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi question each other’s sanity.

Lafayette Advertiser Editor Brett Blackledge, Pulitzer Prize winner from LSU, comments on the newspaper war in Acadiana and the Advocate takeover of the Times-Picayune. Advocate Capitol Bureau Chief Mark Ballard suveys the final days of the 2019 Legislative Session and Gov. John Bel Edwards revealing that President Trump tried to coax the Louisiana Chief Exeuctive into switching parties. Singer An...

Paul Starr, Princeton Professor and founder of The American Prospect  magazine, discusses wealth disparity in the United States and elsewhere. His book is “Entrenchment, Wealth, Power, and the Constitution of Democratic Societies.” Former LSU Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope addresses the uncertainty at LSU where President King Alexander is the subject of various rumors about his departure. Eri...

EBR Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome on the prospect of the Village of St. George, crime and other issues in her third year in office. Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser on Bayou Country Superfest, tourism numbers and his personal travel. Cindy Hardy, Mother of Laine Hardy, the Livingston Parish singer who is this year’s American Idol winner.

Advocate columnist Ed Pratt opines about life in Baton Rouge north of Florida Blvd. Councilman Matt Watson comments on the prospect of the Village of St. George. Washington Post investigative political reporter Michael Kranish discusses his book about the little known story of cyclist Major Taylor.

Benjamin Clapper, Executive Director of Louisiana Right to Life, and onetime lawmaker Melissa Flournoy, also former head of Planned Parenthood in Louisiana, exchange views on the 2019 Louisiana Legislative session with issues of abortion, the death penalty and the Equal Rights Amendment have taken center stage. Sports Illustrated former editor Kevin Cook unveils his new book, “Ten Innings at Wrigl...

Conservative Commentator Michael Medved, who is renowned as a radio host, author, columnist and film critic, comments on America in the Age of Trump. Mark Ballard, Capital Bureau Chief for The Advocate, recaps legislative action this week on hot button issues of abortion and the death penalty.

Alex Martin, Global Writing Chief of the Wall Street Journal and New Orleans native, recalls his years at the Times-Picayune and reflects on the acquisition of the newspaper by the Advocate. Father Don Kirchner and coordinator of the Spanish Apostalate in Baton Rouge, Julia Scarnato, discuss the rising number of Hispanics in the community. John Steinman, host of Deconstructing Dinner, the internat...

LSU Political Science Professor Wayne Parent joins us on his last day at the Ole War Skule after 37 years as a professor and former chair of the department. Parent is considered one of the most prominent observers and analysts of Louisiana politics and is the author of “Inside the Carnival". Former NASA historian Roger Launius remembers the first Astronauts to land on the Moon with the anniversary...

Congressman Mike Johnson, Republican from Shreveport and member of the House Judiciary Committee, says his Democratic colleagues are off base in seeking to question witnesses detailed in the Mueller Report. Barry Weinstein, Rabbi Emeritus in Baton Rouge, recaps his dramatic recovery from an aortic aneurysm three years ago and examines lack of religious tolerance in the current age. Author and form...

Rev. Jacqueline King of Haughton, formerly pastor of First United Methodist Denham Springs, comments on Millennial love for Harry Potter. Loyola University Law Professor Bill Quigley on the failed effort to stop the death penalty in Louisiana. Deborah Sternberg updates the Young Entrepreneur’s Academy.

Daniel Okrent, one of America’s most celebrated journalists with top positions at the New York Times and Time Magazine in his varied career, reviews America’s history of immigration in “The Guarded Gate.” Okrent says Adolph Hitler was inspired by junk science in the U.S. during the 1920s which produced a harsh national anti-immigration law and caused some to espouse a flawed theory of eugenics. Ok...

Louisiana Democratic Party Executive Director Stephen Handwerk on the election of 2019 with Gov. John Bel Edwards seeking re-election but other statewide races seeing few Democrats challenging GOP incumbents.

National Federation of Business State Director Dawn Starns reviews measures to raise minimum wage and provide equal pay under debate at the Louisiana Legislature. Former Louisiana Senator and Representative Ben Bagert, a New Orleans lawyer, defends Attorney General William Barr’s handling of the Mueller Report. Actor David A.R. White on his appearance in Baton Rouge for the Salvation Army.