Talk Louisiana

LSU Scientist Gabriela Gonzales on her finding in 2015 at the LIGO Observatory that confirmed Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. Stanford Psychology Professor Jennifer Eberhardt discusses her book, “Biased, Uncovering the Hidden Prejudice That Shapes What We See, Think and Do”. 

LSU Manship School Professor Bob Mann previews his forthcoming biography of Ronald Reagan. Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie comments on the struggles of veterans who have an all-time high rate of suicides. Mark Ballard, Capitol Bureau Chief of the Advocate, on the prospect of a parish wide vote on the fate of the Village of St. George.

Tulane University Professor Richard Marksbury details negotiations with New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell on the future of four Confederate Era monuments removed last year from the landscape of the Crescent City. Attorney Mike Wolf and LSU-Shreveport Political Scientist Jeff Sadow assess the Barr Report, the Age of Trump and the Louisiana governor’s election. Baton Rouge Magnet High School teacher...

Jan Kasofsky, Executive Director of Capital Area Human Services, details the opioid epidemic in Baton Rouge. Cecile Richards, former President of Planned Parenthood, previews her book “Make Trouble, Stand Up, Speak Out and Find the Courage to Lead.” Lamar White, Publisher of Bayou Brief, comments on the candidacy for governor of Congressman Ralph Abraham and the reaction in Louisiana to the report...

Political strategist Mary Patricia Wray and former Louisiana lawmaker Troy Hebert square off on the Mueller Report and the governor’s election six and one half months away. World renowned physician William Li comments on his latest work “Eat to Beat Disease, The New Science of How Your Body Can Heal Itself.”

LSU basketball great Rudy Macklin on the documentary about him and LSU’s prospects in the NCAA Tournament. Singer Grant Peeples on his performance at the Dyson House. John Atkinson, CEO of the Idea Village, previews New Orleans Entrepreneur Week. GOP Political Consultant Roy Fletcher comments on the feud President Trump has with the late U.S. Senator John McCain.

State Representative and former LSU Associate Athletic Director Steve Carter comments on his latest push for a road tax and LSU opening the NCAA Basketball Tournament at Jacksonville against Yale. Advocate Bureau Chief Mark Ballard analyzes the friction between former Board of Regents Chair Richard Lipsey and LSU President King Alexander. Lipsey is calling for the firing of Alexander and LSU Athle...

Former New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu looks back a year to his decision to remove four Confederate Era monuments from prominent places in the city. Vastine Stabler of Swine Palace Theatre previews the opening of “Airline." Sportswriter Glenn Guilbeau examines the Will Wade controversy as LSU preps for its Thursday NCAA Tournament game vs. Yale.

Lt. Governor Billy Nungesser talks tourism, Confederate monuments, and Feed Your Soul. LSU Manship School professor Judith Sylvester and a few of her students discuss the campus smoking ban and the rise of the e-cig. 

Pastor Brady Whitton of First United Methodist Church in Baton Rouge comments on recent votes by the Church against same sex marriage and gay clergy. Melinda Deslatte of the Associate Press previews this week’s annual Gridiron Show. The oldest show of its kind outside of Washington D.C. will be the showcase for laughs at the expense of many Louisiana newsmakers.

Former State Lawmakers Ben Bagert, a Republican from New Orleans, and Melissa Flournoy, a Democrat from Shreveport, square off about their views on state and national politics. Thursday, the U.S. Senate voted 59-41 against the emergency order from President Trump to build a wall at the Southern border. Louisiana’s Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy were among 41 Republicans taking the side of the Presi...

Advocate Capitol Bureau Chief Mark Ballard on the academic scandal at America’s top colleges, the slim prospect of Congressman Steve Scalise entering the governor’s race and the politics of the death penalty in Louisiana. Financial advisors Brian Low and Fred Dent assess market conditions in the first quarter of 2019. Is the stock market a safe haven with rising interest rates and a dramatic rise...

LSU History Professor Zevi Gutfreund on the volatile issue of immigration. Gutfreund’s book is “Speaking American” which brings debates over border security to a broader context of questions about language, citizenship and what it means to be an American. Musician Andrew Finn Magill on his performance Thursday at Highland Coffees. Magill is a fiddle player and violinist based in Asheville, North C...

Louis Reine, President of the Louisiana AFL-CIO, surveys the legislative stomach for pay raises for teachers and boosting the minimum wage. Hannah Cox, National Manager of Conservatives Concerned About the Death Penalty, talks about those positioned on the right side of the political spectrum who are calling for the abolishment of capital punishment in America. Professor Laurie Helgoe, a clinical...

Former LSU Basketball Standout Collis Temple, the first African-American to play for the Tigers on the court, analyzes the fallout over the suspension of head Basketball Coach Will Wade amid revelations of an FBI wiretap of Wade. Kayla Perkins and Jessica McDaniel of the EBR Library and author Sherry Thomas of the Lady Sherlock series on this year’s One Book One Community Selection, “The Hound of...

Federal Judge Shelly Dick, Chief Judge of the Middle District of Louisiana, comments on today’s forum for “Unlocking Opportunities for Employment.” Former Congresswoman Nan Hayworth, Republican of New York, talks about being the keynoter at the Breaux Symposium at the Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs. Hayworth discusses the challenges of women running, winning and serving. Glenn Guilbeau...

Lisa Freeman, Executive Director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, reflects on her first year anniversary on road safety in Louisiana, accenting the high number of motorcycle accidents and fatalities in the state. Mark Ballard, Capitol Bureau Chief of the Advocate looks ahead to the start of the Legislative Session in one month. Will it be a yawner or will sports betting and possibly rai...

Inspector General Stephen Street on eleven years of ferreting out corruption in Louisiana. Street has battled budget woes and criticism from those he has investigated to rise to the post of national President of Inspectors General. Raymond Strother, the fabled political consultant from Louisiana, assesses the fate of Governor John Bel Edwards, who is seven months from a re-election bid, and Presid...

Raegan Carter of Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation on the continuing challenge of curbing smoking in Louisiana. Organic Farmer Bob Quinn comments on his book “Grain by Grain,” A Quest to Revive Ancient Wheat, Rural Jobs and Healthy Food. Southern University Political Scientist Albert Samuels assesses the St. George petition. Author Clinton Johnson tells the story behind the action movie...

Political Consultant Roy Fletcher on Louisiana’s red tide in state elections and the prospect for re-election for President Trump. Greg Bowser, President of the Louisiana Chemical Association comments about a major investment announcement by ExxonMobil in Baton Rouge. Author Blake Harris discusses his book which takes readers behind the scenes for the larger than life story of Oculus, the upstart...

EBR Parish District Attorney Hillar Moore reflects on crime in the Capital City, the fight against opioid deaths and a wrinkle in the case involving the death of LSU fraternity pledge Maxwell Gruver. Drake University Professor Jennifer Harvey comments on her book, “Raising White Kids, Bringing up Children in a Racially Unjust America.

Investigative Reporter Dan Moldea assesses testimony before the U.S. House Oversight Committee from former Trump attorney Michael Cohen. Mark Ballard, Capitol Bureau Chief for The Advocate on the prospect for the City of St. George and Louisiana Congressional members votes on background checks for guns. Celebrated Author Greg Isles of Natchez on his latest work “Cemetery Road” about a journalist i...

Author Steve Luxenberg comments on Plessy v. Ferguson, the infamous Supreme Court decision involving a Louisiana man who sought equality in America three decades after the Civil War. Luxenberg’s book is “Separate, the Story of Plessy v. Ferguson and America’s Journey from Slavery to Segregation. Environmental activist Doug Daigle recalls his colleague Len Bahr, who died last week at 78. Renee Chat...

LSU Professor Kevin Cope talks hazing and other LSU issues. Sophie Hannah discusses holding grudges. Julie Bogart on her Brave Writer program.

Guest host Julie Baxter-Payer. LA National Guard spokesperson Colonel Ed Bush discusses military service. Society for the Preservation of Lagniappe board member Doug Cossman. BR Blues Festival Producer Eric Carnegie on this spring’s slate of festival fun. James Carl Nelson, author of “The Polar Bear Expedition” on America’s 20 th century short war in northern Russia.