Talk Louisiana

Longtime WAFB-TV meteorologist and Baton Rouge Police Officer Mike Graham is retiring after 49 years with BRPD and moving to Arizona. Graham will be joined by his former WAFB colleague George Sells. Advocate Capitol Bureau Chief Mark Ballard analyzes friction between Attorney General Jeff Landry and New Orleans Mayor Latoya Cantrell.

Reporters Lea Skene and Andrea Gallo of The Advocate detail the history of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity at LSU. The DKE chapter has been kicked off campus after nine arrests of members who allegedly engaged in extreme hazing of pledges. Allegations of burning new members and urinating on them are among the charges against the DKE Nine. The latest scandal comes after the death in 2017 of pled...

Greater Baton Rouge Business Report Editor Stephanie Riegel reports on the high cost of mosquito abatement in Baton Rouge. LSU Student Journalist Kennedi Walker comments on the reaction from campus regarding stunning allegations of criminal misconduct by members of the DKE fraternity. Former LSU Student and National Book Award winner Kimberly Willis Holt of Forest Hill talks about her latest book...

Residents in Spanish Town, a famous and historic Baton Rouge neighborhood, have launched a crusade to stop vacant homes from being converted into short-term rental units. Celebrated photographer Marie Constantin is leading residents from the neighborhood near the State Capitol in an effort to convince the Metro Council to require owners to live on site of a residential property being rented throug...

Daniel Erspamer, CEO of the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, discusses his organization, which is described as a non-partisan research and educational organization. The think tank was on the front lines of criminal justice reform and is a voice for free markets in Louisiana. Democrat Dayne Sherman, Southeastern Louisiana University Professor, and Republican Scott Wilfong square off on major is...

Baton Rouge Attorney Phil Preis surveys the fallout of the collapse of the Stanford Financial Group. It was ten years ago that investors lost billions of dollars in retirement funds in a Ponzi scheme led by Allen Stanford. Many retirees of ExxonMobil in Baton Rouge were hardest hit by the failure of the Houston-based firm. Preis is representing hundreds of plaintiffs in legal action against the St...

Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell on relaxed federal regulations on payday loans and prison phones and his contention that ExxonMobil will never leave Baton Rouge. Advocate Capitol Bureau Chief Mark Ballard on reasons why the Legislature has shifted dramatically away from Campbell’s proposed processing tax on oil and gas. Meghan Cox Gurdon of the Wall Street Journal speaks about her book...

Former State Senator Elbert Guillory, Director of Outreach for the Louisiana GOP, and Lamar White, Publisher of the Bayou Brief exchange views on Blackface in Louisiana, the border wall, President Trump and Gov. John Bel Edwards. Architects Chris and Trula Remson of Baton Rouge talk about some of their projects, including the BR High School renovation and addition, the Knock Knock Children’s Museu...

Former Louisiana Insurance Commissioner and Secretary of State Jim Brown on the arrest of Roger Stone and the statewide elections eight months from today. Texas Tech Professor Brian Ott on the president’s tweets. His book is “the Twitter Presidency: Donald J. Trump and the Politics of White Rage. Historian and Author Tom Clavin on the fascinating life of Wild Bill Hickok. 

Greg Bowser, President of the Louisiana Chemical Association, comments on the controversial ITEP program and LCA’s support for ExxonMobil. Michael Learned, matriarch of “The Waltons, reflects on the legacy of the number one television program from the 70s and its enduring impact 45 years later. 

Baton Rouge Animal Control and Rescue Center Director Hilton Cole on nearly 40 years of tending to animals on the streets. The motto of the organization is “We Protect the Public and Their Animals.” Cole will discuss sheltering, adoptions, rescue and euthanasia services. Sarah Kracke and Dave Hinson detail the activities of the Baton Rouge Adult Music Club. Peggy Sweeney McDonald of Preserve Louis...

Advocate Reporter Andrea Gallo discusses her series on revelations of widespread sexual misconduct by priests in Baton Rouge. Mark Ballard, Advocate Capitol Bureau Chief, on how political friction in the Beltway has filtered down to the Bayou State Analyst Kali McFadden tells why Baton Rouge and New Orleans are two of the Top Ten states in America in delinquent student loans

Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne celebrates his 65 th birthday with us and talks about ITEP, the state budget and Revenue Estimating Conference and his hope for LSU Basketball to return to the Parker Coliseum for some games. Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon opines about auto insurance rates in Louisiana. Karen Egedy and John Engelsman on the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at LSU.

Len Apcar, professor at the Manship  School and fellow at the Reilly Center for Media and Public Affairs, comments on the threat of fake news to democracy. Maxine Crump, president of Dialogue on Race, talks about the controversy enveloping the governor of Virginia and continuing issues of race in America and Louisiana.

University of Oklahoma Journalism Professor Jensen Moore on Super Bowl 53 and the commercials that ran in the Patriots 13-3 win over the Rams. Doctor Joseph Abraham of Church Point discusses the appeal of authoritarian rule and demagogues detailed in his book ‘”Kings, Conquerors, Psychopaths.” Wetland Ecologist Scott Nesbit comments on soil and groundwater contamination in the St. Gabriel Oil Fiel...

Former U.S. Surgeon General Joycelyn Elders assesses Louisiana’s abortion law requiring hospital admitting privileges for doctors who perform abortions. The U.S. Supreme Court is poised to rule on the validity of the Louisiana law. Sportswriters Glenn Guilbeau of Gannett News and James Moran of Tiger Rag (I will note that I am the proprietor) comment on Super Bowl 53 between the Rams and Patriots....

Matt Saurage, President of Community Coffee, comments on the 100 th anniversary of the family business he has headed since 2012. Saurage will assess the international coffee industry which offers a plethora of competitors. Mark Ballard, Capitol Bureau Chief for the Advocate, looks at the politics of the Super Bowl and of the ITEP program that was revamped and is now under fire after removal of tax...

General Russel Honore,’ head of the Green Army, responds to the decision by the EBR School Board to remove tax exemptions from ExxonMobil.

State Representative Steve Carter on the controversy about the EBR School Board denying a $290,000 per year tax incentive for Exxon Mobil. LSU Manship School Dean Martin Johnson on the contemporary media environment with charges of fake news and media bias and more options for listeners, readers and viewers. Filmmaker Ann de Mare on “The Homestretch,” her production showing at LSU. Radio owner and...

Bob Crowley, former Executive Director of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers, comments on the prospect of teacher walkout. Film Critic Richard Roeper on this year’s Oscar derby.

Celebrated author James Lee Burke talks about his rich Louisiana laden career with his Dave Robicheaux character back for another turn in “New Iberia Blues. Burt Ward, the original Robin on Batman, recalls the highly popular series and its 120 episodes from 1966-68 and his conversion at 72 from caped crusader to canine crusader. John Kaufman, marketing director for the Manship Theatre from its beg...

Baton Rouge Symphony Conductor Timothy Muffitt discusses his decision to retire as BRSO leader after two decades. Muffitt, the longest serving conductor and music director in the history of the BRSO,  will leave his post in 2020. Capitol Bureau Chief Mark Ballard of the Advocate on a week in which Exxon-Mobil made a startling announcement and Gov. John Bel Edwards made his long awaited official an...

Pollster Bernie Pinsonat on Governor John Bel Edwards’ official announcement as a gubernatorial candidate and the election of October 19. Pinsonat will also assess the politics in Louisiana of the border wall demanded by President Trump. Veteran Actor Demond Wilson on his days as Lamont Sanford on Sanford and Son and his current work nearly a half-century later.

Governor John Bel Edwards joins us for a campaign announcement. Edwards announced his candidacy for governor on this program six years ago and is making his official announcement for re-election today. The election is October 12. Secretary of Health Rebecca Gee reflects on her three years heading the state’s largest agency with a budget of more than $14 billion annually. Ernest Gaines 2019 Literar...

Steven Pinker, best selling author and professor of psychology at Harvard, on his latest work: “Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism and Progress.” Former Louisiana GOP Chairman Roger Villere and conservative commentator Quin Hillyer on differences regarding President Trump in GOP circles.