Louisiana Considered

Early last evening, the AP called the Mississippi Senate race for Democrat Scott Colom. This comes after more than a week of vote counting in the state.The Gulf States Newsroom’s Community Engagement reporter Elise Catrion Gregg joins us from Jackson for more on what Colom’s victory means to Mississippians. This month, New Orleans will celebrate Black Education History Week for the first time. More than a dozen schools are expected to participate with classroom lessons or field trips.The week is the work of Be Nola, a nonprofit that advocates for Black teachers and students.Reporter Aubri Juhasz spoke with the group’s executive director, Adrinda Kelly, for more on what the week has in store.Yesterday was Veterans Day, and here on Louisiana Considered, we’re taking the time to honor service members from our state.A new book, “Operation Sparrow: The Incredible True Story of the Spies Who Tricked Hitler and Won the War,” tells the true story of a recently declassified World War II mission and the harrowing details from the men who conducted this secret operation.The book's author, Jason Bell, joins us for more on the book and how the operation was made successful largely thanks to one Louisiana native.—Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Bob Pavlovich. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We receive production and technical support from Garrett Pittman, Adam Vos and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell. Our intern is Ryann Goldberg. You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, the NPR App and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

The new movie “The Mosquito Bowl” tells the true story of college football stars who set aside promising professional careers to enlist in the Marines after Pearl Harbor. Battling not only Japanese fighters but also the horrendous conditions and interpersonal conflicts, the Marines decide to play a historic football game on Christmas Eve 1944 — just before the Battle of Okinawa, forever known as the Mosquito Bowl. The movie was released in theaters on October 30 and will be released on Netflix on November 25.The film stars Nicholas Galitzine, Bill Skarsgård, Ray Nicholson and Tom Francis. It’s based on a book by Buzz Bissinger and is directed and co-written by Peter Berg, known for “Friday Night Lights” and “Lone Survivor.” In honor of Veterans Day, we spoke with Berg about the new film, how he finds moments of levity during otherwise dark stories and why he’s drawn to Southern storytelling. The 20th Baton Rouge’s River City Jazz Masters concert series continues its season, with its second concert tonight (Nov. 11). Wendell Brunious and the New Orleans legends will take the stage at the Manship Theater in downtown Baton Rouge.Jonathan Grimes, President and CEO of the Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, spoke with WRKF’s Adam Vos for more about the importance of bringing jazz music to the capital city.___Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Alana Schreiber. Our managing producer is Alana Schrieber. We get production and technical support from Garrett Pittman, Adam Vos and Aubry Procell. Our intern is Ryann Goldberg. You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

Louisiana landowners are suing the state’s utility regulators, claiming the Public Service Commission improperly changed its rules to speed up Meta data center projects. Gulf States Newsroom’s Drew Hawkins takes us inside the lawsuit.Last year, Planned Parenthood closed its two Louisiana locations after nearly 40 years of operating in the state. Just a few weeks ago, they reopened their doors in New Orleans. Emily Wales, President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, joins us with more.Two New Orleans doctors recently published a study linking infant heart defects to mothers who lived in Louisiana’s industrial corridor. It is the first-ever peer-reviewed study to prove a clear link between toxic industrial air pollution and cardiac deformities in babies. Dr. Kimberly Terrell, one of the doctors behind this study, spoke with WRKF’s Adam Vos about their findings. __Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Sara Henegan. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We get production and technical support from Garrett Pittman, Adam Vos and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell. Our intern is Ryann Goldberg. You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, the NPR App, and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

Votes in the Mississippi Senate race are still being counted. Currently, Democrat Scott Colom is roughly 2,500 votes ahead of the Republican incumbent, Cindy Hyde-Smith.Elise Catrion Gregg, community engagement reporter for the Gulf States Newsroom, explains why it’s taking so long to count the votes, and when we might have a winner declared.While we wait for the final tallies from Mississippi, we wanted to zoom in on the state’s first Black senator, Hiram Revels. In 1870, the Mississippi legislature elected him to fill one of the state’s two Senate seats left vacant after the Civil War, making him the first Black senator in the United States. Revels also served as a minister, Union Army chaplain and organizer, and college president. Another Black Senator, Blanche K. Bruce, followed in his footsteps and was elected in 1875. More than 150 years later, his great-great-great-grandson Bruce Revels III has written a historical fiction novel about Hiram Revels. The 18-year-old college freshman at the University at Buffalo joins us now for more on his retelling, and what it means to him and his family to watch Mississippi on the verge of electing another Black Senator all these years later. —Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We receive production and technical support from Garrett Pittman, Adam Vos and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell. Our intern is Ryann Goldberg.You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, the NPR App and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

For thousands of years, Indigenous communities along the Mississippi River and its tributaries built earthen mounds. Some complex constructions rose 8 stories high. These mounds were built for spiritual and religious reasons and also used as a refuge from floods.Thousands of miles away, on a string of tiny islands off Germany’s North Sea coast, people still live on raised earthen mounds, watching the sea wash over the land around them as the frequent floodwaters rise. Reporter Tamsin Walker takes us to the Hallig Islands, where flooding is part of the rhythm of life, and where residents are finding ways to adapt as sea levels rise. But as the water climbs, so do the costs of staying.This episode was produced in collaboration with the DW podcast, Living Planet, an award-winning podcast based in Germany that brings you environmental stories from around the world.To read more about Indigenous earthen mounds in the Mississippi River Valley, check out this essay by Sea Change friend and contributor, Boyce Upholt.This episode was hosted by Executive Producer Carlyle Calhoun. Reporting by Tamsin Walker, a journalist with the DW podcast, Living Planet. Editing help from Johanna Zorn. Sound design by Laine Kaplan-Levenson, and our theme music is by Jon Batiste.SeaChange is a WWNO and WRKF production. We're a part of the NPR Podcast Network and distributed by PRX. SeaChange is made possible with major support from the Gulf Research Program of the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

A lawsuit filed last week says two Vermilion Parish government bodies broke Louisiana’s Open Meetings Law while approving key pieces of SpaceX’s $100 billion spaceport.Gulf States Newsroom’s Drew Hawkins takes us inside the two meetings at the center of the case and what it could mean if the suit succeeds.East Baton Rouge Parish was recently awarded a grant from the Department of Justice. The “Model Cities Initiative” directs hundreds of millions in federal funding to reduce violent crime and restore law and order. Alex Cox, our Baton Rouge metro reporter and WRKF Report for America corps member, tells us more about the over $63 million grant and why immigrant advocates are worried about what strings are attached with the federal funds.___Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Alana Schreiber. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber, and our assistant producer is Aubry Procell. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman. Our intern is Ryann Goldberg. You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, the NPR App, and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

It’s the day after the Midterm elections, and as predicted, Democrats swept congressional and gubernatorial races across the country. Some of the biggest surprises of the night were in the South, where Democrats won in states like South Carolina, North Carolina, Texas and Georgia. And while the blue wave didn’t wash over Louisiana, Democratic Senate candidate Jamie Davis lost by a much closer margin than expected. Stephanie Grace, editorial director and columnist for the Times-Picayune/TheAdvocate, joins us to break down the results, and what the numbers suggest for the Democrats in Louisiana. Votes are still being counted in Mississippi’s U.S. Senate race, where Democrat Scott Colom has a shocking and narrow lead over Republican incumbent Cindy Hyde-Smith. Colom was previously nominated for a federal judge position by former President Joe Biden, but Hyde-Smith blocked his nomination. Now, the race is a nail-biter in a state with no official recount protocol.Elise Catrion Gregg is covering this for the The Gulf States Newsroom and joins us from Jackson.Two Louisiana U.S. House races are headed for runoffs. With nine candidates running in the 5th congressional district, and ten candidates in the 6th district, no candidate received the majority of votes. Now each district will see a Republican and a Democrat face off.Capitol Access reporter Brooke Thorington is in Monroe covering the these congressional races. She joins us to outline the candidates’ platforms and what their prospects look like in the runoff.___Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Adam Vos. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We get production support from Garrett Pittman and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell. Our intern is Ryann Goldberg. You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, the NPR App and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you!Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

Today is election day! Voters across the country are headed to the polls, so we wanted to discuss all the issues they’ll be considering when they cast their ballots. We spoke with political science professors to discuss their takes on the Midterms, why early voting numbers have surged and what it would take for a democrat to win a statewide office. We’re joined by Robert Collins, Urban Studies and Public Policy professor at Dillard University, who is also a political analyst on WVUE FOX 8 TV and a columnist at Verite News. J. Celeste Lay, political science professor at Tulane University, specializing in political socialization, voting behavior and education policy. Jonathan Earle, the Dean of LSU’s Ogden Honors College and a historian of American politics and culture, focusing on the early republic and antebellum periods. __Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Sara Henegan. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We get production and technical support from Garrett Pittman, Adam Vos and our assistant producer is Aubry Procell. Our intern is Ryann Goldberg. You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, the NPR App, and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

Election day is tomorrow! And on Louisiana Considered, anytime elections are coming up, we like to talk to political consultant, author and pundit James Carville. The longtime Democratic strategist and Louisiana native joins us to discuss the races he’s looking at and what he believes voters will prioritize when they head to the polls.Nine candidates are on the ballot for the state’s 5th Congressional District. Six Republicans and three Democrats are running for the House seat currently held by Julia Letlow, who’s running for the Senate. Capitol Access reporter Brooke Thorington joins us now with a look at that race, and how a crowded field of Republicans could pave the way for a Democratic upset. Across the country, polls predict a massive Blue wave, suggesting Democrats are poised to take control of the House and Senate. But what goes into making these polls? Who is surveyed, how is data collected and what information is still missing?John Couvillon, a Louisiana pollster and founder of JMC Analytics and Polling, tells us more about how he surveys voters and constructs his polls.—Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We receive production and technical support from Garrett Pittman, Adam Vos and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell. You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, the NPR App and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

The midterm elections are less than a week away, and polls are suggesting major wins for Democrats. Democratic Senate candidate Jamie Davis is gaining ground against Trump-endorsed candidate Julia Letlow, whose campaign recently put out an attack ad against Davis. Editorial director and columnist for the Times Picayune/The Advocate, Stephanie Grace, joins us for more. A new study found that marine life in the Gulf dropped 60% after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. And it hasn’t come close to recovering.Tracey Sutton, the study's lead author and a marine ecosystems professor at Nova Southeastern University, says he hopes the study also raises awareness of how little we know about aquatic environments deep in the Gulf.Morning Edition Producer and New Orleans reporter Mel Bridges spoke with Professor Sutton about what we know about what’s down there — and what we don’t. There was a time in Western Culture when death was as much a part of life as birth. But the 19th and 20th centuries pushed death from a public event to something often hidden and private. With it came a shift from “acceptance of the inevitability” to fear.Change is afoot as the New Orleans group Wake is helping people cope with dying and death. Their event, The Hereafter, will focus on memento mori, the experience of remembering death to live life more fully.Liz Dunnebacke, Wake’s executive director, tells us more about providing sustainable deathcare.—Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Bob Pavlovich. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We get production and technical support from Garrett Pittman, Adam Vos and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell. Our intern is Ryann Goldberg. You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!