Talk Louisiana

  LSU Professor Kevin Cope discusses a forum on higher education to be held Thursday at the Claiborne Building.                        

  Baton Rouge businessman Hans Sternberg, who came to the city as a youth from Nazi Germany, discusses his long tenure in business in the Capital region, including owning the largest family owned department store in America.                                     Charity Parsons and Lisa Delpit on their involvement in Black Minds Matter, a discussion of how young black men are affected by the educati...

  Baton Rouge writer Chris Russo Blackwood discusses her true crime mystery about the death of businessman Gary Kergan more than 30 years ago. The murder of Kergan has been solved and Blackwood discusses her book, “My Brother’s Keeper.” Kergan’s brother, Ted, will also join us.   Author Liza Mundy on her book, “Code Girls, The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II.      ...

  Music critic John Wirt and Fats Domino biographer Rick Coleman remember the portly piano playing prodigy who died at 89 this week in Harvey. Wirt and Domino note that Domino was one of the most influential performers in the history of rock and roll and ranks among the best of a legion of musical talents from New Orleans.   Author Cynthia Lejeune Nobles on “The Fonville Winans Cookbook.” Nobles w...

  Former Louisiana Democratic Party Chairman and veteran lobbyist Jim Nickel comments  on the state’s shifting political winds, the 2019 gubernatorial race and the impact of lobbyists at the State Capitol post-term limits.   Writer Jennie Lightweis-Goff talks about her appearance at Louisiana Book Festival this Saturday in Baton Rouge.

  We will open today’s show with Will Sutton, Director of Communication at Grambling State University. Sutton will comment on the shooting deaths of two students overnight on campus.   Dr. Laura Cassidy, wife of U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, on her school for dyslexic children in Baton Rouge, The Key Academy.   Blogger Lamar White of Bayou Brief and Dan Fagan, columnist for the Advocate and former re...

  Former Governor Edwin Edwards remembers his only defeat in five races for governor. It happened on this date 30 years ago as Edwards conceded the election to Buddy Roemer after running second in the Oct. 24, 1987 primary.   Manship School of Mass Communications Bob Mann reflects on the impact of the Edwards loss to Roemer three decades ago, and Mann has sparked a debate about President Trump wit...

  Paul Arrigo of Visit Baton Rouge will comment on efforts to lure tourists to the Capital region amid a plethora of negative stories related to the city’s crime epidemic. Arrigo will also assess the chances of passing a hotel-motel tax in an anti-tax environment. There is a measure on the Nov. 18 ballot to utilize the tax to spur tourism and entertainment in Baton Rouge.   Former NPR CEO Ken Ster...

  Louisiana Pollster Bernie Pinsonat discusses the political landscape in Louisiana 39 weeks after the inauguration of President Trump. The state’s congressional delegation continues to back the president’s agenda in a state won by Donald Trump by 20 percentage points over Hillary Clinton. How does the national political environment affect Louisiana where less than 14-percnet of the electorate cas...

  New Orleans Rep. Walt Leger, Speaker Pro Tem of the Louisiana House, on negotiations to address the fiscal cliff next year.   Louisiana Political Consultant Michael Beychok offers insights into  the abysmal turnout for Saturday’s statewide election, a preview of the 2019 governor’s election and the state’s support for President Trump.  

  Louisiana Voice Publisher Tom Aswell on Louisiana sheriffs and their reliance on payments for housing inmates. The practice has become a major story in Caddo Parish.   Yale University Psychology Professor John Bargh on his book, “Before You Know It, The Unconscious Reasons We Do What We Do.” Bargh is recognized as a leading authority on the study of the unconscious mind.   Sally Quinn, veteran j...

  Louisiana GOP Chairman Roger Villere on the appeal of the Republican Party in statewide elections and the reluctance of elected officials in Louisiana to challenge policies of President Trump.   Christina Bronsing-Lazalde and Anna Lappe’ of Real Food Media on the impact of “Big Soda” on health care in America.   Sportswriter Rich Cohen on long-suffering Chicago Cubs fans hoping for a second cons...

  Darryl Gissel, candidate for Mayor-President of East Baton Rouge Parish last year, has been named chief administrative officer by Mayor Sharon Weston-Broome. We will talk with Darryl Gissel about his decision to join the city government.                   Veteran Jazz announcer Zia Tammami and saxophonist and clarinetist Victor Goines of New Orleans on a Wednesday event that is part of the River...

  Secretary of State Tom Schedler on turnout for tomorrow’s election. The current forecast is that fewer than one in five registered voters will participate in a statewide election for treasurer with three constitutional amendments.   Former LSU football stalwart Ramsey Dardar on his return to Baton Rouge after serving more than 19 years in prison. Dardar is expected to address the LSU team prior...

  LSU and MIT Physics Professor Rainer Weiss on winning the 2017 Nobel Prize for his work with the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory in Livingston Parish. A discovery in September of 2015 confirmed a major prediction of Albert Einstein’s 1915 theory of relativity.   Professor Joseph Giaime of LSU, the director of the LIGO Observatory in Louisiana, on the major scientific discover...

  Famed Political Consultant Raymond Strother, who began his career after graduating from LSU in 1962, assesses the challenges of President Trump. Strother is a former advisor to Bill Clinton, Albert Gore and Gary Hart.   Pro Football Hall of Famer Y.A. Tittle died Sunday in California. The former LSU star was 91. He was a four-time NFL Most Valuable Player. We revisit a conversation with Tittle f...

  Baton Rouge Symphony Conductor Tim Muffitt on Bachtoberfest this week at the Capitol Park Museum.   Metro Councilwoman Tara Wicker and Melissa Silva of Mental Health Services in Baton Rouge discuss mental health issues in the Capital region.   Veteran sportswriter Jim Kleinpeter on LSU’s challenge against Auburn Saturday at Tiger Stadium and the death of LSU great Y.A. Tittle.                  ...

Damon Baldone on his campaign for the open Public Service Commissioner seat. Gov. Edwards appointed Baldone to serve in the interim position in June.    Baton Rouge Representative C. Denise Marcelle on crime in the Capital City. Marcelle discusses a crime summit that will be held on Thursday night at Baton Rouge Community College.   

  Grammy Award winning musician Chris Thomas King of Baton Rouge. King will discuss his life as the son of legendary bluesman Tabby Thomas and his new release as he approaches his 55th birthday this month.                   Robert Travis Scott, President of the Public Affairs Research Council, on the Oct. 14 election with voters statewide casting ballots in the treasurer’s race and the fate of thr...

  Senator Neil Riser of Columbia on his bid to become Louisiana’s treasurer. The primary is nine days away.   Pulitzer Prize winning novelist Jennifer Egan on her latest work, “Manhattan Beach.”   LSU Professor of Political Communication Nichole Bauer on today’s forum at LSU on women and elections.

  Former State lawmaker John Schroder on his bid to become Louisiana Treasurer.   Attorney Lewis Unglesby on calls for gun regulation in response to the massacre in Las Vegas.                          

Karen Fernbaugh Roy on her recovery from a shooting incident 30 years which left her unable to walk. Roy was shot outside Tabby’s Blues Box on September 19, 1987 when she was a college student at LSU after a football game in Tiger Stadium. Dick Lehr on his latest book,  Trell. Trell is about a young girl dedicated to proving her father's innocence after he's convicted of killing a 12-year-old girl...

  Dr. Nadia Brown, Associate Professor and African American Studies at Purdue, reflects on her book “Sisters in the Statehouse: Black Women and Legislative Decision Making.” Women and minorities remain distinct minorities in elected positions.   Angele Davis, former Commissioner of Administration and candidate for Treasurer, comments on her campaign with the primary set for Oct. 14. This is the fi...

  John Hechinger, senior editor for Bloomberg News, two-time winner of the George Polk Award for his reporting on education, on his book “True Gentlemen.” Hechinger investigates the fraternity culture with unusual access to Sigma Alpha Epsilon. Hechinger recently wrote an op-ed essay in the New York Times reflecting on the death of LSU pledge Max Gruver of Phi Delta Theta.   Don Weinell talks abou...

  Advocate Columnist Stephanie Grace on the future for U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, who turns 60 on Thursday. Cassidy’s bid to repeal and replace Obamacare with his own legislation has fallen short again on the votes for passage. What is next for the longtime liberal Democratic physician turned conservative Republican lawmaker?   Social justice activist Paul Kivel on a long tradition of white people...