Talk Louisiana

Samuel Freedman, former columnist for the New York Times and author of “Breaking the Line,” about black college football and civil rights comments on politics and football as President Trump blasts NFL players for taking a knee during the National Anthem.   Beth Courtney, President of LPB, on Ken Burns series about Vietnam, the state of funding for public broadcasting and a major event for Louisia...

  LSU Law Professor Bob Lancaster, President of the Center for Justice Innovation Keith Nordyke and Executive Director Andrew Hundley on challenges in Louisiana in changing the juvenile life without parole laws.   WAFB Crime Reporter Kiran Chawla on a rash of homicides in Baton Rouge in 2017.          

  Felicia Harry of the LSU A.P. Tureau Chapter of the Alumni Association on the contributions of black students and graduates of the Ole War Skule.   J.R. Ball, Executive Editor of the Baton Rouge Business Report, on the future of the Greek System at LSU and protests from NFL players in Sunday’s games as a response to tweeting from President Trump.          

Bob Marshall, veteran Louisiana outdoors reporter, will discuss issues of climate change, coastal erosion and hurricane protection as Louisiana dodged the power of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, but remains vulnerable to environmental challenges.       George Bevan, former LSU All-American linebacker on a 9-1 team of 1969, recalls the day when a 5-11, 190-pound defender could be considered the best i...

LSU Manship School Professor Bob Mann will discuss his recent column which took aim at Louisiana’s continuing problems with its economy, education and environment. Mann, who served as aide to three U.S. Senators as well as Governor Kathleen Blanco, will reflect on why Louisiana has increased less than ten percent in population in the past 45 years while the nation has gained 60 percent. Mann will...

Former Governor Buddy Roemer unveils his first book Scopena . Roemer reflects on his formative years on his family plantation in Northwest Louisiana, the segregation of the 1950s and his departure for Harvard when he was 16. This is Governor Roemer’s first major broadcast interview since he suffered a stroke three years ago. Advocate Reporter Rebekah Allen discusses LSU’s troubled history with the...

 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.   Joyce Walker, former LSU basketball standout, on her varied career which includes a stint with the Harlem Globetrotters. Walker will be inducted in the LSU A...

  EBR District Attorney Hillar Moore comments on the investigations of two tragedies last Thursday, the death of 18-year-old Max Gruver, a pledge for Phi Delta Theta, and the murder of 49-year-old Donald Smart, a 20-year employee of Louie’s Café, who was gunned down a block from the LSU campus.   Baton Rouge Symphony conductor Tim Muffitt starts his 18 th  year as the maestro this week. Muffitt wi...

  Pro Football Hall of Famer Jimmy Taylor of LSU recalls the first Saints regular season game of Sept. 17, 1967. Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of the NFL coming to New Orleans.   Pulitzer Prize winner Mike McIntire of the New York Times on “Champions Way, Football, Florida, and the Lost Soul of College Sports.” McIntire believes the business of college sports has gone awry.   Legal scholars Cy...

  University of California-Davis Professor Jon Entine tried to detail ethic differences in athletic skills 17 years ago with his book, “Taboo.” The work remains controversial nearly two decades after it was published. LSU will field a football squad for its SEC opener Saturday that is 84-percent African-American with a student body with about one in ten black students. Entine will discuss why it r...

  Guest host Stephanie Riegel talks with EBR Councilwoman Barbara Reich Freiberg about tax issues the council is scheduled to review this year.   Mike Olivier, the former Louisiana Economic Development Secretary, comments on prospects for business in the state and discusses his role as chairman of the Committee of 100.                      

    New York Times Editor Dean Bacquet on the Times friction with President Trump, and Bacquet’s appearance next week as the keynote speaker for the WRKF event.   Wall Street Journal News Editor Alex Martin, also a New Orleans native, on his induction in the LSU Manship School Hall of Fame and how his path to the Pulitzer Prize has Louisiana roots with his background as editor of the Daily Reveill...

Peter Kalmus, Atmospheric Scientist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, speaks about the impact of climate change. Marie Constantin, veteran photographer, on her induction in the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication Hall of Fame.   Kurt Andersen, host of Public Radio’s Studio 360, comments about his book “FANTASYLAND, How America Went Haywire: A 500-Year History.”  

Kevin Cope, LSU Faculty Senate President, and LSU-Shreveport Political Science Professor Jeff Sadow square off on funding cuts to higher education and the impact of the cuts to colleges and universities over the past decade. Jarrett Kobek, whose novel “I Hate the Internet” was one of the most surprising literary successes of 2016, comments on the genesis of that work and his latest book, “The Futu...

J.R. Ball, Executive Editor of the Baton Rouge Business Report, responds to his column calling for varying tuition rates at LSU based on degree.   Loudon Wainright III, legendary folk singer, on his varied career and life lessons along the way. His book is “Liner Notes: On Parents and Children, Exes and Excess, Death and Decay, and a Few of My Other Favorite Things.”   Musician Leo Nocentelli on h...

GOP political consultant Scott Wilfong and Democratic blogger Lamar White share views on President Trump, DACA, North Korea and the 2019 Louisiana governor’s race. Julian Guthrie discusses her book “How to Make a Spaceship.” Guthrie reports on a band of renegades, an epic race and the birth of private spaceflight as she details the odyssey of Peter Diamandis.      

Christina Melton of Louisiana Public Broadcasting on the upcoming documentary from Ken Burns about the Vietnam War.     Peace activist and former Louisiana Congressional candidate, Faye Williams, on last month’s death of entertainer Dick Gregory and the threat of war with North Korea.     Music critic John Wirt on the death of Walter Becker of Steely Dan.  

Former LSU running back Justin Vincent, star of the 2003 national championship team, on the Tigers season opener vs. Brigham Young. Vincent now works for the Tiger Athletic Foundation and will discuss the frenetic week which LSU move its season opener from Houston to New Orleans due to Hurricane Harvey.     Longtime LSU Writer in Residence David Madden reflects on his lengthy career from his home...

Robert Travis Scott, President of the Public Affairs Research Council, on the fiscal cliff that awaits Gov. Edwards and the Legislature as Louisiana faces a projected $1.5 billion deficit on July 2018.   Doug Schoen, who was the primary pollster for President Clinton, will discuss the friction in American politics from the perspective of a conservative Democrat.   Carol Friedland, the LSU Bert Tur...

Veteran journalist Leonard Teel on his work training foreign journalists in the American storytelling tradition.    Stephen Aguillard, Director of Clinic Services for Capital Area Human Services, on psychological challenges from another devastating storm.     Political consultant Ray Strother on the damage to his hometown of Port Arthur, and the first 32 weeks of President Trump.    

Reshma Suajani, founer of Girls Who Code and the creator of a national movement to close the gender gap in technology, talks about her book "Learn to Code and Change the World." Also on today's program : Arlie Hochschild on moving from Berkeley to the bayou, here .

Sociologist Arlie Hochschild discusses her book "Strangers in Their Own Land." Hochschild goes from her hometown of Berkeley, a liberal oasis, to Louisiana bayou country, a stronghold of the conservative right. Also on today's program : Greg Hilburn lets us know about his coverage of the Cajun Navy, here .

(LRN) USA Today network contributor Greg Hilburn, who is also with the News-Star in the northern part of the state, joins us to talk about his reporting on the Cajun Navy. .

(LRN) Florida Public Radio Emergency Network meteorologist Jeff Huffman updates us on Tropical Storm Harvey, which made landfall in Texas as Hurricane Harvey and still poses a threat to portions of Louisiana. Also on today's program : Barry Keim on Tropical Storm Harvey, here .

Dr. Scott Kahan, Director of the National Center for Weight and Wellness, on the perils of fat shaming. Also on today's program : Barry Keim on Tropical Storm Harvey, here .