Talk Louisiana

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 discovery at the facility and the implications of detecting tiny ripples in the fabric of space-time caused by the merger of two massive black holes over a billion years ago.

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 from Nov. 13, 2009.

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 three constitutional amendments to be decided.

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 in the late 1980s.

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 first of the interviews with the candidates. Elizabeth Crisp, Capitol Reporter for the Advocate, will discuss the race for treasurer the looming fiscal cliff that is now less than nine months away.

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 about bicycling the Oregon Trail from the Missouri River to Oregon City over five summers. Barbara Radnofsky on “A Citizen’s Guide to Impeachment.” Her book details 19 cases of impeachment proceedings in U.S. history.

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 opposing racism but not getting involved. Kivel offers his views in his book “Uprooting Racism, How White People Can Work For Racial Justice.” Vocalist and lyricist Kim Nazarian on the River City Jazz Masters Series: New York Voices.

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 Louisiana Public Broadcasting.

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 in the nation. Bevan will compare the LSU teams he starred on with those of today as the Tigers currently field a unit with 18 players above 300 pounds.

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 also talk about the death of an LSU pledge and how the alleged hazing of Maxwell Gruver will impact the Greek system on campus.

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 Greek System that dominates its campus and the latest on the arrest of a suspect in the deaths of two African-American pedestrians who were gunned down this month in Baton Rouge.Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel attacks U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy saying the senator lied about healthcare legislation. We hear from the Senator and Jimmy Kimmel.

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 Athletic Hall of Fame on Friday.

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 18th year as the maestro this week. Muffitt will detail the season for 2017-18 and reflect on his tenure as the longest serving conductor in the history of the symphony.

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 Cynthia and Sanford Levinson argue that the Constitution is flawed and that the Electoral College should be abolished.

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 remains taboo to recognize one race as more gifted athletically to another. Dr. Geoffrey Mount Varner, Director of Emergency Medicine at Howard University, discusses his book “Home Alive, 11 Must Rules for Surviving Encounters with the Police.” Music Critic John Wirt on the return of 70s music to Baton Rouge.

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 Reveille at LSU and as a reporter for the Times-Picayune.

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 Future Won’t Be Long,” which follows characters through New York City’s East Village in the late 1980s.

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 his appearance in Baton Rouge Friday night.

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 in North Carolina. After six decades of work, Madden continues to publish new material. He will discuss the process of writing and what keeps him going at 84.

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 Turner Department of Construction Management Associate Professor, talks about information vital for homeowners living in flood prone areas.

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.

Keith Plessy, descendant of the man who tested Louisiana law requiring separate railroad cars, discusses how he came together with Pheobe Ferguson, the great-great granddaughter of the judge who upheld the law.Also on today's program: Barry Keim on Tropical Storm Harvey, here.

State Climatologist Barry Keim updates us on the tropical storm that was Hurricane Harvey when it landed in Texas, and the impact of that storm in Texas and Louisiana.-

Monica Johnson and Linda Meredith of the organization HEROES (Helping Everyone Receive Ongoing Effective Support) address the HIV-AIDS crisis in Louisiana.Johnson and Meredity comment on a study examining New Orleans and Baton Rouge and the rural region in northeast Louisiana..

(NASA/NOAA GOES Project)Florida Public Radio Emergency Network meteorologist Jeff Huffman talks about today's expectations on the path of damage from Hurricane Harvey..

(LRN)Jim Engster takes a few moments to talk with Jeff Palermo about what is now Tropical Storm Harvey, converse about LSU sports and the displaced football game coming up this weekend that was supposed to take place in now-flooded Houston, and even touch on boxing and the notable televised fight that took place over the weekend..

Susan Colton is a retired high school principal from Florida. She says many critical areas of thought are ignored in the public school system.-

Stephen Handwerk, Executive Director of the Louisiana Democratic Party, talks about his party's struggle to stay relevant in a red state. Gov. John Bel Edwards is the only Democrat elected to a statewide office in Louisiana.-

Gary Lewis, the celebrated singer of the 1960s and son of entertainer Jerry Lewis, remembers his father in an interview taped in April of this year. Jerry Lewis died Sunday in Las Vegas at 91 after a 70-year career in show business.-

Poet Donney Rose of Baton Rouge, the subject of criticism from U.S. Senator John Kennedy, talks about the BRAVE funding that allocated $7,500 for him to teach the joys of poetry to kids in the inner city.-

Former LSU football star Mike Leonard was recently featured in a David Brooks column in the New York Times. Leonard discusses his conversion from successful Shreveport dentist to coordinator for Community Renewal, one of the nation's most impressive community building groups.-

NPR music critic Ann Powers talks about her book, "Good Booty." She explores how popular music became America's primary erotic art form, starting in 19th Century New Orleans.-

State Rep. C. Denise Marcelle of Baton Rouge talks about divisions in the city, the state, and in the nation. Marcelle is asking President Donald Trump to tone down his rhetoric as hostilities heighten in the aftermath of last week’s tragedy in Charlottesville.-

Maria Ahn of the Ahn Trio, an internationally known classical music trio, talks about the enduring career of the sisters and their appearances in Louisiana.-

Richard Fontanesi of Baton Rouge is trailing today's solar eclipse in Paducah, Kentucky.-