Talk Louisiana

Martine Turner and Kellie Bertrand of the Louisiana Spirit Crisis Counseling Center talk about mental health issues stemming from the historic flood of 2016.Also on today's program: Russel Honore talks Trump, Charlottesville, and the environment, here.

(Restore Louisiana Now)Russel Honore addresses the 12th anniversary of Katrina this month, danger in North Korea, unrest in Charlottesville, and environmental issues in Louisiana. An update on the Green Army is in store from Gen. Honore.-

Office of Community Development Executive Director Pat Forbes talks about work remaining in the aftermath of the 2016 flood.-

(LRN)Louisiana political consultant Gus Weill talks about President Donald Trump's challenges.-

(LRN)Dick Morris, veteran pollster and writer, talks on why he believes President Donald Trump is the victim of a witch hunt.-

Dietmar Rietschier is executive director of the Amite River Basin District. He talks about the historic flood of 2016.-

Professor Mak Lilla of Columbia University talks about his book, "The Once and Future Liberal." Lilla's op-ed piece in the New York Times last year, "The End of Identity Liberalism," was the most read op-ed essay of 2016, with 1.6 million views.-

(LRN)Henry Gass and Noelle Swan of the Christian Science Monitor talk about Louisiana's dwindling coast.-

Nicole Sweazy of the Louisiana Housing Authority talks about the shelter program utilitzed after the historic flood of 2016.Also on today's program: Maxine Crump on slave ancestors and Georgetown University, here.

Music Producer Jeff Roedel talks about the art spawned by the flood of 2016, including his song "Fight the Flood."Also on today's program: Maxine Crump on slave ancestors and Georgetown University, here.

Journalist Maxine Crump talks about her experience this past year after learning her ancestors were sold as slaves by Georgetown University in 1838.-

(LRN)Mayor Gerard Landry of Denham Springs updates on his city's recovery from the historic flooding of 2016 one year late.Mayor Landry says 77 percent of the structures in Denham Springs received severe flood damage. We check in with landry for the latest on the recovery in Denham Springs.Also on today's program, Alyssa Carson, the aspiring astronaut, here.

(LRN)Daniel Mintz talks with us about the new food studies program at Loyola University. The university has established a new bachelor's degree program in food studies beginning this fall.Also on today's program, Alyssa Carson, the aspiring astronaut, here.

16-year-old Baton Rouge resident Alyssa Carson is an aspiring astronaut who aims to become the youngest person in space. Carson is involved in a NASA program and wants to be involved in colonizing Marse in 2033.Also on today's program: Michael Rubin on "Cashed Out," here.

Today we speak with award-winning author and attorney Michael Rubin of Baton Rouge about his latest book, "Cashed Out."-

(LRN)Mary Lee Orr of the Louisiana Environmental Action Network talks about the state of the environment in Louisiana and the conflict over the Bayou Bridge pipeline.-

Raegan Carter of Smoke Free Baton Rouge talks with us about the passage of the smoking ban at bars and casions in the parish by the East Baton Rouge Metro Council.-

Music and film critic John Wirt remembers Glen Campbell. Campbell died Tuesday as a result of Alzheimer's disease. Campbell was known for his series of music hits a few decades ago and his television variety program that aired for three years through 1972.Also on today's program: Ben Bagert and Lamar White on President Donald Trump and North Korea, here.

(LRN)Former state lawmaker Ben Bagert, a Republican, and Democrat Lamar White, publisher of Bayou Brief, discuss President Donald Trump and North Korea.-

(LRN)New Orleans author Ladee Hubbard talks about her debut novel "The Talented Ribkins." Hubbard has received positive reviews, including this endorsement from writer Toni Morrison: "For sheer reading pleasure Ladee Hubbard's original and wildly inventive novel is in a class by itself."Also on today's program: Matt Watson on upcoming smoke ban vote and BRAVE, here.

East Baton Rouge Councilman Matt Watson talks about the expected Metro Council vote tonight on a smoking ban for bars and casinos. Wilson also addresses funding for the BRAVE program, now under review by the legislative auditor.-

Editorial page editor Danny Heitman from the Baton Rouge Advocate talks about the conditions at LSU's Middleton Library.Also on today's program: New York Times editor Dean Baquet on the changing media landscape, here.

New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet joins us to discuss the journalistic landscape in the age of President Donald Trump.Baquet will be the featured speaker at the annual Founder’s Day Luncheon for WRKF next month. He is a native of New Orleans and a Pulitzer Prize winner.-

(LRN)Psychology professor William McCown of the University of Louisiana-Monroe on findings at the annual Proscrastination Conference.Also on today's program: Casey Phillips on the Walls Project, here.

Casey Phillips, who was the catalyst for the Baton Rouge Walls Project in 2012, looks at the artistic evolution of The Walls in Baton Rouge.-

(LRN)Professor Nancy Rabalais of LSU's Energy, Coast and Environment Department talks about the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico and its impact on the environment.-

(LRN)Former Gov. Edwin Edwards reflects on his upcoming 90th birthday. Edwards is Louisiana's only four-term governor. He went to trial as a defendant four times, was convicted once, and served eight years in prison.He discusses his complex legacy and offers insights on state and national politics. He assesses the performance of Gov. John Bel Edwards and of President Donald Trump.-

(LRN)Actor Carl Palmer is an LSU graduate. He talks about the impact Sam Shepard had on his life and career. Shepard, the actor and Pulitzer Prize winning writer, died this week at age 73.Also on today's program: Paul Marx, former Mike the Tiger caretaker, here.

Former Mike the Tiger caretaker Paul Marx, a well-known lawyer in Baton Rouge, remembers caring for Mike II and even bringing him to his family home one night. LSU is apparently close to unveiling Mike VII, but the mascot will not be present at LSU games this fall.Also on today's program: Edwin Edwards reflects on a complex legacy, here.

LSU Law professor Chris Tyson talks about preparations by President Donald Trump's Justice Department to examine affirmative action policies on college campuses.Tyson also talks with us about the BRAVE program and where funding is going locally for violence prevention.Also on today's program: Bob Mann on Senate votes cast against the Affordable Care Act, here.

LSU mass communications professor Bob Mann talks about Louisiana U.S. Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy's decisions to cast votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act.Senator Cassidy, a medical doctor, had said any repeal of Obamacare would have to pass the Jimmy Kimmel test. Mann is a former aide to U.S. Sens. John Breaux, Russell Long, and Bennett Johnston. Mann is also a columnist for the Times-Picayune.

Maj. Gen. Ron Richard discusses his former colleague Gen. John Kelly and Kelly's new role as chief of staff for President Donald Trump. Richard served in in the Marines for more than 30 years before becoming head of the Tiger Athletic Association.Richard is an LSU graduate and resident of Baton Rouge.

(LRN)WAFB-TV anchor Donna Britt talks about her diagnosis with ALS last week. Britt continues to anchor the 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. newscasts on channel 9 with Greg Meriwether.-

Writer Don Brown tells the story of Captain Jerry Yellin, now 93 years old, in his book, "The Last Fighter Pilot." Yellin flew a mission over Japan after World War II was over, but it was too late to inform Yellin that Japan had surrendered.-

(LRN)Pollster and former politician Ron Faucheux talks about President Trump's remaining popularity in the South despite Monday's Rasmussen poll finding the President's popularity falling below 40%.-

William O'Connor, senior writer for the Daily Beast, talks about the enduring legacy of Huey Long on the landscape of Baton Rouge. O'Connor's feature about the Old Governor's Mansion and its remarkable past is "Strippers, Insane Asylums, Assassination and Termites: Inside the Insane History of the World's Greatest White House Replica."-

(LRN)Dr. Renee Levine of the Mary Bird Perkins Cancer Center at Our Lady of the Lake Hospital comments on the challenges facing U.S. Senator John McCain. The Arizona lawmaker, who cast the deciding vote on the bill that would have repealed the Affordable Care Act, is facing a grim forecast after being diagnosed with an aggressive brain tumor, Glioblastoma.Also on today's program: George Sells on Donna Britt and ALS, here.

Veteran anchorman George Sells talks about his former co-anchor Donna Britt and her battle with ALS. Sells and Britt were an on-air team at WAFB from 1988 to 2012.-

(LRN)Marjorie Esman with the Louisiana ACLU talks about President Trump's decision to keep transgender soldiers out of the nation's armed forces.-

(LRN)Broderick Bagert of Together Baton Rouge talks about the Senate vote on a measure to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

(LRN)Chelsea Parsons says a gun is stolen from a private owner every 67 minutes in Louisiana. Parsons is Vice President with American Progress, a guns and crime policy organization.-

John Kaufman, Director of Marketing and Programming for the Manship Theatre, comments on events at the arena, which has become a centerpiece for entertainment in downtown Baton Rouge.-

Louisiana Superintendent of Education John White responds to a lawsuit which sought to remove him.A member of the BESE board is calling for a vote on whether to retain White as superintendent, and Governor John Bel Edwards says he would like to see a change at the top.White points to numbers indicating improvement in public schools under his watch.White also reflects on his six years at his post.

(LRN)Laura Shapiro, author of "What She Ate," discusses food stories from remarkable women in history. Shapiro opines that eating habits reveal aspects of character.Also on today's program: Baton Rouge Magnet principal Nanette McCann on public education, here.

Baton Rouge Magnet High School principal Nanette McCann talks about the state of public education in Louisiana. McCann has been leader of one of the nation's leading schools for the past 15 years. She has also been serving as principal of the reopened Lee High School.-

Lynda Schuster, former foreign correspondent for the Wall Street Journal, reflects on experiences including covering war zones and marrying an ambassador. Her book is "Dirty Wars, Polished Silver."Also on today's program: Elbert Guillory and Melissa Flournoy on politics and health care reform, here.

(elbertguillory.com)Former state lawmakers Elbert Guillory, (R)-Opelousas, and Melissa Flournoy, (D)-Shreveport, weigh in on national and state politics as another vote on health care reform looms in the U.S. Senate.-

Richard Painter, Chief White House Ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, analyzes the ethical minefields traversed by the nation's first billionaire chief executive.-

(LRN)Chuck Collins, with the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, discusses economic inequality in the United States. Collins is a philanthropist who gained public attention in 1985 when he gave his inheritance to several foundations at the age of 26.Also on today's program: Hillar Moore on the increase in murders in Baton Rouge, here.

(LRN)East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar Moore comments on the increase in murders in the Capital region, the pending loss of funds for the BRAVE program to combat crime, and the fate of a notorious criminal Todd Wessinger, who had his death penalty reinstated by a court last week.-