Louisiana Considered

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!

The Nov. 3 midterm elections are heating up, and here in Louisiana, a Senate race that initially seemed like a shoo-in for the Republican candidate is now closer than predicted. Jamie Davis, a farmer from Tensas Parish, is running for Senate against the Donald Trump-endorsed candidate Julia Letlow. While Louisiana has never elected a Black Democratic senator, the latest polls show Jamie Davis is closing the gap. On Tuesday (Oct. 27), he hosted a campaign rally in New Orleans featuring former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.Davis joins us to discuss economic development, why he’ll never sign an NDA with a tech company and what farming has taught him about politics. The Louisiana Book Festival in downtown Baton Rouge falls on Halloween this year. The event celebrates the 50th anniversary of "Interview with the Vampire" by Louisiana native Anne Rice. WRKF’s Karen Henderson spoke with state librarian Meg Placke to discuss the 200 authors and 70 panels coming to this weekend’s celebration of literature.—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!

We’re in the final stretch before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, and polls suggest a potential massive Blue wave, with Democrats expected to take back the House and Senate.  One strategist with full faith in this pendulum swing is Tim Miller, a former Republican-turned-Independent commentator and strategist. Miller spent more than a decade as a Republican political operative, including serving as communications director for Jeb Bush’s 2016 presidential campaign. Today, he is a writer-at-large and the host of The Bulwark Daily, the flagship podcast of the pro-democracy media company, The Bulwark. He has lived in New Orleans since 2023.Miller joins us now to discuss the upcoming midterm elections and how he expects them to play out both on a national level and here in Louisiana. __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!

The East Baton Rouge district attorney is one of many races on the ballot this November. And for the first time in 18 years, Baton Rouge voters have a choice between candidates. District Attorney Hillar Moore has run unopposed in the last two election cycles for a position that serves a 6-year term. His challenger, Ryan Thompson, seeks to end that streak and bring fresh eyes to the district attorney’s office.Baton Rouge metro reporter and WRKF Report for America corps member Alex Cox tells us more about the raceLast week marked 50 years since the George Prince Ferry Disaster, when a ferry commuting between Destrehan and Luling was struck by a Norwegian tanker on the Mississippi River. The collision resulted in the death of 77 passengers and crew members of the 96 who were on board. It was the deadliest ferry disaster in United States history.In 2006, historian Royd Anderson wrote and directed the documentary The Luling Ferry Disaster. Today he joins to discuss the importance of remembering this story and how the tragedy changed maritime law. The midterm elections are heating up, and in Mississippi, Democrat Scott Colom is looking to unseat incumbent Republican Cindy Hyde-Smith in the U.S. Senate race.The Gulf States Newsroom's Maya Miller recently sat down with Colom at his campaign headquarters to ask about his priorities and campaign strategies to reach voters. —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!

It’s Thursday, and that means it’s time to catch up on politics with Stephanie Grace, The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate’s editorial director and columnist. Today we hear how Democratic Senate candidate Jamie Davis is starting to gain some traction against the Trump-endorsed candidate, Rep. Julia Letlow. There have been multiple reports of state officials signing NDAs with tech giants in recent months, but Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser says he’s largely been left in the dark. Nungesser, the state’s second-in-command, signed an NDA for the LIV Golf tournament, which was ultimately canceled after the company filed for bankruptcy.In a conversation with Gulf States Newsroom’s Drew Hawkins at his Metairie office, Nungesser discusses the NDA he signed, how the Landry administration pushed the practice and why he thinks the public deserves to know what the state gives up to land these deals. The Lion King is coming to New Orleans. The Disney musical with original songs by Elton John and Tim Rice debuted last night at the Saenger Theatre and will run through November 8th. And two of the cast members are New Orleans natives.One of them, Vernon Brooks III, joins us to discuss his New Orleans childhood, how he joined the company and what it means to bring the show to his hometown. –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!