Talk Louisiana

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.-

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.