Talk Louisiana

Jan Kasofsky and Jan Laughinghouse of Capital Area Human Services talk with us about the drug abuse epidemic in Baton Rouge.-

(NOAA/National Hurricane Center)We check in with meteorologist Jeff Huffman with the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network on Tropical Storm Cindy and its effects on southeast Louisiana.-

Admiral James Stavridis discusses the importance of safe travel on the oceans for the United States. Stavridis also addresses the tragic collision on the sea last week near Japan of a U.S. battleship and another ship.Stavridis is former Supreme Allied Commander for Global Operations for NATO. He's also author of "Sea Power."

Jerry Ceppos, dean at the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication, talks about the history of leakers influencing American journalism and government.Ceppos also comments on NBC's controversial interview with Alex Jones, the new branding for Fox News, and whether President Donald Trump's battle with the media will continue.Ceppos is the former vice president of Knight-Ridder’s newspaper chain.

(LRN)East Baton Rouge councilwoman Barbara Reich Freiberg discusses the smoking ban for bars and casinos that the EBR Metro Council will consider. Freiberg will also reflect on the continuing controversy regarding the Council on Aging in Baton Rouge.Also on today's program: Andy Slavitt on the health care bill, here.

Andy Slavitt analyzes the health care bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act recently passed by the U.S. House. Slavitt is former acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under President Obama.Also on today's program: Barbara Reich Freiberg on the potential smoking ban, here.

(LRN)Raegan Carter of Smoke Free EBR talks to us about a coalition effort to ban smoking in bars and casinos in Baton Rouge. Last year, the Metro Council deadlocked 6-6 on a vote to follow the lead of New Orleans and prohibit smoking inside bars and casinos in the state’s largest parish.-

(LRN)Corey Dolgon talks about his book, "Kill It to Save It: An Autopsy of Capitalism's Triumph over Democracy."Also on today's program: Cyril Vetter on a divided America, here.

(Kelly Tate)Sue Lincoln talks about the governor's command for a special session and the failure of several tax initiatives, including a ten-cent gasoline tax.Also on today's program: Cyril Vetter on a divided America, here.

Cyril Vetter discusses his latest posting about a divided America. Vetter says our divisions run along the fault lines of race, class and religion.Also on today's program: Sue Lincoln on the likely special session, here.

(LRN)Jane Leavy joins us to discuss the death of Frank Deford. Deford delivered more than 1,600 commentaries on sports for NPR and was the author of "Everybody’s All American," which later became a movie filmed in Baton Rouge starring Billy Cannon as the "Grey Ghost."Defored died this week at the age of 78.Leavy was the biographer for Sandy Koufax and Mickey Mantle.Also on today's program: Ken Perret on the push for increasing the gas tax in Louisiana, here.

(LRN)April Ryan is the ranking member of the White House Press Corps. She joins us to talk about covering President Donald Trump. Ryan shares about her writing on discussion of racial issues in America. Named "Journalist of the Year" recently by the National Association of Black Journalists, Ryan is the author of "At Mama’s Knee: Mothers and Race in Black and White."Also on today's program: Ken Perret on the push for increasing the gas tax in Louisiana, here.

(LRN)Ken Perret is president of the organization Louisiana Good Roads. He addresses the last-minute push for approval of a gas tax hike in the state legislature.Also on today's program: Jane Leavy addresses the recent death of NPR sports commentator Frank Deford, here.

(LRN)Capitol reporter Julia O'Donoghue for the Times-Picayune assesses the final eight days of the state legislative session. She also critiques national coverage of freeman U.S. Senator John Kennedy.Also on today's program: Melissa Flournoy and Quin Hillyer on the division in politics, here.

(LRN)Former lawmaker Melissa Flournoy and conservative commentator Quin Hillyer exchange views on state and national politics as legislators in Baton Rouge and in the beltway weigh their support for initiatives from Gov. John Bel Edwards and President Donald Trump.Also on today's program: The Times Picayune's Julia O'Donoghue on the final eight days of the legislative session, here.

(LRN)Joey Strickland.Also on today's program: Rinaldi Jacob on economic development in north Baton Rouge, here.

(LRN)John Wirt, veteran entertainment writer, on summer entertainment opportunities in southern Louisiana as well as the 50th anniversary of the Beatles' famous album "Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band."Also on today's program: Rinaldi Jacob on economic development in north Baton Rouge, here.

Rinaldi Jacobs, Interim Execution Director of the Baton Rouge North Economic Development District, discusses efforts to revitalize the area north of Florida Boulevard. Jacobs says North Baton Rouge would be the sixth largest city in the state if were a stand-alone incorporated city.-

(LRN)Paula Poundstone, the popular personality on Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, joins us to talk about her latest work, "The Totally Unscientific Study of the Search for Human Happiness."Also on today's program: State Rep. Pat Smith on challenges between the legislature and the governor, here.

(LRN)State Represntative Pat Smith (D-Baton Rouge) talks with us about the governor’s challenges with the GOP dominated House and Senate.-

(Kelly Tate)WRKF's Sue Lincoln, with Capitol Access, updates us on what's getting accomplished and what isn't getting accomplished as we approach the home stretch of the 2017 legislative session.Also on today's program: State Rep. Pat Smith on challenges between the legislature and the governor, here.

(LRN)Lee Berger is a paleoanthropologist and is associated with the discovery of an ancestor to the modern human.Also on today's program: Secretary of State Tom Schedler on Saturday's special election to fill a vacant state Senate seat, here.

(LRN)Memorial Day weekend is approaching and it's a heavy travel holiday. Katara Williams is highway safety director for the state. She's here to speak with us about holiday weekend travel challenges.Also on today's program: Secretary of State Tom Schedler on Saturday's special election to fill a vacant state Senate seat, here.

(LRN)Secretary of State Tom Schedler speaks with us about the upcoming special election on Saturday for the Louisiana Senate seat vacated by Troy Brown. Schedler also visits the Supreme Court decision on gerrymandering of Congressional districts and President Trump's voter fraud commission.Also on today's program, Katara Williams on holiday weekend travel challenges, here.

Advocate editor Peter Kovacs speaks with us about the future of the largest newspaper in Louisiana.Also on today's program: Journalist Bill Moyers on the imprisonment and the criminal justice system, here.

(LRN)Bill Moyers speaks with us about his newest PBS documentary about New York City's infamous Rikers Jail and the issues surrounding imprisonment in America.Also on today's program: Advocate editor Peter Kovacs on the newspaper business, here.

(LRN)Steve Clifford talks to us about "The CEO Paying Machine." He says CEO pay is why others may not get the same kind of income.Also on today's program: Beth Kobliner on the millennial approach to personal finance, here.

(LRN)Beth Kobliner outlines for us how millennials handle money differently from their elder generations. Kobliner wrote the book "Get a Financial Life: Personal Finance in Your Twenties and Thirties."Also on today's program: David McCullough and the American political landscape and how it relates to our history, here.

Historian David McCullough assesses the American political landscape and its relationship to our ancestors in his latest book, "The American Spirit, Who We Are and What We Stand For."-

(LRN)Singer B.J. Barham appears tonight at the Dyson House.Also on today's program: Bodi White on flood assistance, here.

(LRN)State Senator Bodi White of Central discusses his effort to get more of his constituents to sign up for flood assistance.Also on today's program: David Madden on Confederate monuments, here.

(LRN)David Madden addresses the removal of New Orleans monuments as state lawmakers take action to prevent future removals of statues of military icons. Madden is a former head of the U.S. Civil War Center at LSU.Also on today's program: Bodi White on flood assistance, here.

(LRN)Jerome Loving talks about the wild nexus between writer Norman Mailer and fellow author Jack Henry Abbott, a convicted killer who was captured in Morgan City after writing the well-received "In the Belly of the Beast." Loving is a professor at Texas A&M.Also on today's program: McKinley High School principal Herman Brister on this weekend's shooting death of a student of his, here.

(LRN)Ron Faucheux talks about the changing electorate in Louisiana and its impact on the state’s voting patterns. Faucheux is a former state lawmaker, pollster, and columnist.Also on today's program: McKinley High School principal Herman Brister on this weekend's shooting death of a student of his, here.

McKinley High School principal Herman Brister responds to the shooting death this weekend of quarterback and honor student Bryant Lee.-

Professor Godon Lafer on his book "The One Percent Solution." Lafer believes the 2010 Citizens United decision at the U.S. Supreme Court revolutionized American politics and business. He says it sparked the nation's domination by a small segment of the economic elite.Also on today's program: Danny Heitman remembers Curt Eysink, here.

Editorial writer and columnist Danny Heitman of The Advocate talks the loss of his close friend, Curt Eysink. Eysink, who died suddenly at the age of 53 last month, is the former secretary of Workforce Development and was a reporter for The Advocate.Also on today's program, Michael Tisserand on race in New Orleans beyond the monuments, here.

New Orleans writer Michael Tisserand talks on issues of race in New Orleans that go beyond today's tension over the removal of monument of Confederate era icons.Also on today's program: Danny Heitman remembers Curt Eysink, here.

(Kelly Tate)Sue Lincoln with Capitol Access reviews a lively week at the State Captiol, where they have addressed everything from budget issues to hair braiding.Also on today's program: Carl Hiaasen and his novel about Cajun rooster farmers, here.

Journalist, columnist and novelist Carl Hiaasen wrote "Razor Girl," in which one of the main characters, Buck Nance, is the star of a reality show about a family of Cajun rooster farmers. Since 1985, Hiassen has written a regular column. He comments on the state of journalism in America.Also on today's program: Seth Stephens-Davidowitz uses internet data to conclude that everybody lies, here.

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz has used data from the internet to get insights into the human psyche.Davidowitz has used Google searches to measure racism and sexual trends as well as humor and depression. He is a contributing op-ed editor with the New York Times and will soon be teaching at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.His data contradicts many claims by Americans and his book is "Everybody Lies."Also on today's program: Carl Hiaasen and his novel about Cajun rooster farmers, here.

Juliette Brophy, LSU paleoanthropologist, explains to us her research that helped identify a newly-discovered human ancestor, the Homo Naledi. This new species was found in a 130-mile long narrow cave system in South Africa.Also on today's program, David Poole on Baton Rouge's high HIV and AIDS rates, here.

David Poole, Director of the Southern Bureau of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, addresses Baton Rouge ranking in the top five cities in HIV and AIDS rates.Also on today's program: Barry Weinstein, J.B. Hunt, and Dr. Azeem Kahn talk aortic aneurysms, here.

Aortic aneurysms are the third leading cause of sudden death among U.S. men. Rabbi Barry Weinstein talks with us about his one-year recovery from an aortic aneurysm.J.B. Hunt of Aneurysm Outreach shares with us the importance of being examined for a possible aortic aneurys.We also hear from Dr. Azeem Kahn, the surgeon who saved Rabbi Weinstein's life.Also on today's program, David Poole on Baton Rouge's high HIV and AIDS rates, here.

(whitehouse.gov)Author Morgan Moltrop of New Orleans, a biographer of Andrew Jackson, compares America's 7th President to the current inhabitant of the White House. President Trump often praises President Jackson and accepts comparisons with the populist hero of the Battle of New Orleans. Some historians say the differences between the two men are profound.Also on today's program: Jeff Sadow on why the death penalty saves more lives than it takes, here.

(LSU Shreveport)Political Scientist Jeff Sadow, professor at LSU-Shreveport and columnist for the Advocate, discusses his contention that Louisiana needs to preserve the death penalty.Senator Dan Claitor is sponsoring legislation to abolish capital punishment in our state. Earlier on this program, Claitor said the death penalty is too expensive and is not an efficient means of thwarting crime in society.Professor Sadow argued in his column last Sunday in the Advocate that the death penalty saves more lives than those taken.

We catch up with music legend Jimmy Clanton, a product of Baton Rouge High School, who had a flurry of Top Ten hits in the 50's and 60's. Clanton is returning to his alma mater for a concert on May 20.Also on today's program, Lamont Cole, Dujan Johnson, and Jim Madden on the Community School for Apprenticeship Learning, here.

One of Baton Rouge's inner city schools is showing remarkable test scores from its students. The Community School for Apprenticeship Learning is headed by principal Lamont Cole, the Metro Councilman, along with CEO Dujan Johnson and Jim Madden, professor of mathematics at LSU.-

Bryn Stole of The Advocate discusses with us the latest revelations involving Alton Sterling case.Also on today's program: Jim Wharton on the possible TOPS restoration, here.

LSU Chancellor Emeritus Jim Wharton talks about the possible restoration of TOPS and an attempt to name the LSU Parade Grounds in honor of William Tecumseh Sherman, the founder of the Ole War Skule.-