Talk Louisiana

(Sue Lincoln)Michael Henderson, Director of the LSU Public Policy Research Lab, talks about his survey showing a great divide in Baton Rouge and statewide about perceptions and opinions of policing and racial equality. He also speaks with us about last summer's protests in Baton Rouge.-

Aaron Blackledge of the Crisis Intervention Center in Baton Rouge talks about reports of increased stress in our community amid economic and personal pressures created by the Historic Flood of 2016.-

(Kelly Tate)WRKF's Sue Lincoln on the week that was at the State Capitol as lawmakers and the governor remain apart on a budget consensus.

Charles Glass, veteran international correspondent for ABC news, gives his take from Beirut about the ongoing tragedy in Syria, the U.S. conflict with Iran, and how Middle East turbulence could affect Louisiana.-

We talk with Baton Rouge based political consultant Michael Beychok. He and his partner Trey Ourso were recognized nationally for their work with Gumbo PAC in 2015. Beychok will assess the political landscape in Louisiana two years from the next statewide election cycle when Gov. John Bel Edwards will be seeking re-election.-

Heather Sewell Day, event director for the Louisiana International Film Festival, and John Dardenne, master of ceremonies for the festival, talk with us about the opening of the film festival tonight.-

(U.S. Coast Guard)The Deepwater Horizon tragedy took place seven years ago today. Keith Jones is the father of Gordon Jones, one of the victims of the incident. Keith talks with us about the aftermath of the loss of his son and what has happened as a result of Deepwater Horizon.-

U.S. Representative Garret Graves, reprsenting the 6th Congressional District of Louisiana, phones in to chat about disaster response and Gov. John Bel Edwards' response regarding Congress and blame for the slow flow of federal disaster funds.-

(American University)American University Historian Allan Lichtman is one of the only public figures who accurately predicted that President Donald Trump would win the Electoral College and Hillary Clinton would take the popular vote in 2016. Lichtman will comment on Trump's first 13 weeks in the White House.Professor Lichtman predicts doom for the 45th U.S. president.

Violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg on her career and her visit to Louisiana.Also on today's program: Raymond Strother talks about politics, here.

(LRN)Louisiana-bred political consultant Raymond Strother touches on the changing landscape of political campaigns, the rise of President Donald Trump, Louisiana's shift from blue state to red state, and the outcome of Tuesday's special election to fill a seat in Congress from Georgia.Also on today's program: Annabelle Gurwitch on southern jewish roots, here.

(wikimedia.org CC A-SA 2.0)Annabelle Gurwitch is an actress, author, and NPR commentator. She talks about her Southern Jewish roots and her observations about families in modern society.Also on this program: , here.

(LRN)D-D Breaux, LSU Gymnastics Coach for 40 years, comments on her team finishing second in the nation two years in a row.Also on today's program: Former LSU gymnast Susan Jackson on LSU's recent second-place finish, here.

(LRN)Former LSU gymnast Susan Jackson phones us to talk about LSU's recent second-place finish.Also on today's program: Susan Bordo on "The Destruction of Hillary Clinton," here.

(LRN)The Reducetarian Foundation's Brian Kateman discusses how he believes diet choices can create a healthy and sustainable world. Kateman specifically looks at meat consumption and what it takes to grow the meat we consume.Also on today's program: Susan Bordo on "The Destruction of Hillary Clinton," here.

(LRN)Professor Susan Bordo, with the University of Kentucky, talks about her book, "The Destruction of Hillary Clinton." Bordo contends FBI Director James Comey may have enabled Donald Trump to win the 2016 election.Also on this program: D-D Breaux on LSU gymnastics, here.

(LSU)Economist Loren Scott talks with us about his report showing a low return on investment for the state from the film industry tax incentives. He also talks about his assessment of Governor John Bel Edwards' push for increasing the state minimum wage to $8.50.Also on today's program: Renee Edward and Bethany Ewald Bultman on the film "One Note at a Time" playing at the Louisiana International Film Festival, here.

(LIFF)Director Renee Edwards and Bethany Ewald Bultman, Chair of the New Orleans Musicians Assistance Foundation, speak with us about the film, "One Note at a Time." The film is showing this week at the Louisiana International Film Festival in Baton Rouge.Also on today's program: Pennington Biomedical Research Center's Dr. Neil Johannsen on exercise, here.

(LSU)Dr. Neil Johannsen of Pennington Biomedical Research Center speaks with us about the impact of exercise on chronic disease and the influence of Louisiana heat on summer workouts.Also on today's program: Renee Edward and Bethany Ewald Bultman on the film "One Note at a Time" playing at the Louisiana International Film Festival, here.

Bruce Feiler writes the "This Life" column for the New York Times and wrote "The First Love Story: Adam Eve and Us." He joines to talk about the misconceptions about Adam and Eve on Good Friday.Also on today's program: WRKF's Sue Lincoln reviews the legislative week, here.

(Kelly Tate)WRKF's Sue Lincoln, from Capitol Access, joins us to review the first week of this year's regular legislative session.Also on today's program: Author DeePak Singh on his immigrant's journey from MBA to minimum wage to public radio, here.

DeePak Singh, author of "How May I Help You? An Immigrant's Journey from MBA to Minimum Wage," speaks with us one writing his memoir, as an immigrant from India, about the perils of immigration to the U.S. for people of all lands and cultures.Also on today's program: WRKF's Sue Lincoln reviews the legislative week, here.

Jeff Guinn, author of "The Road to Jonestown: Jim Jones and the Peoples Temple," talks about the legacy of Jim Jones 38 years after the massacre at Jonestown.Also on today's program: WRKF's Sue Lincoln reviews the legislative week, here.

Dr. Richard Friedman, a psychiatrist from the Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York, responds to a proposal from a California Congressman to have a psychiatrist on staff at the White House.Also on today's program: Richard Marsbury and Malcolm Suber on Confederate monument removal in New Orleans, here.

Retired Tulane University dean Richard Marsbury opposes removal of four Confederate era monuments in New Orleans.Mayor Mitch Landrieu is ready to have the statues removed and has the support of the City Council as well as from Malcolm Suber of the group Take Em Down Nola. Suber also joins us. He is recommending the removal of the statue of Andrew Jackson in the French Quarter, as well.Also on today's program: Dr. Richard Friedman on his reaction to a proposal to have a White House psychiatrist, here.

Patrick Mulhearn, Executive Director of Celtic Studios, talks with us about the state of the film industry in Louisiana amid a host of budget cuts.Also on today's program: Director Paul Catalanotto on his film, "When the Rivers Rise," here.

(Sue Lincoln)Director Paul Catalanotto of Hammond is a graduate of the University of New Orleans. He discusses his film, "When the Rivers Rise." The film takes a look at 2016's historic flooding in our state. Catalanotto's film will show next week at the Louisiana International Film Festival in Baton Rouge.Also on today's program: Patrick Mulhearn on Louisiana's film industry, here.

(elbertguillory.com)Former State Senator Elbert Guillory (R-Opelousas) and Faye Williams (D-Alexandria), President of National Congress of Black Women, discuss efforts by the Louisiana GOP to attract more Republicans. There are 22,000 black Republicans out of three million registered total voters in the state.Also on today's program: Patrick Mulhearn on Louisiana's film industry, here.

Dr. Paul Offitt, author of “Pandora’s Lab,” argues that science is a process of learning from one’s failures. He notes seven historical examples of significant missteps by science.Also on today's program: Elbert Guillory and Faye Williams on the GOP's need to attract the black vote, here.

Dr. Rebekah Gee, Louisiana's Secretary of Health, talks with us about the uncertain future of the Affordable Care Act, the state’s reliance on the federal Medicaid provision, the dangers of additional budget cuts to the state's largest agency.Also on today's program, IEM's Madhu Beriwal on disaster management and equal pay, here.

Mary Durusau is the Director of Museums at the Old State Capitol. She gives us an update on the latest at Huey Long's old haunt, including a new exhibit, "The Power of Children."This exhibit, which opened last week, shares the stories of Anne Frank, Ruby Bridges, and Ryan White. These three children's lives teach us about overcoming obstacles to make a positive difference in the world."The Power of Children" is on display now through May 25.Also on today's program, IEM's Madhu Beriwal on disaster management and equal pay, here.

Madhu Beriwal is the CEO of IEM, a global consulting firm focused on emergency management and homeland security. Beriwal is one of Louisiana’s pioneer female CEO's. She is here to talk about equal pay and her role in the disaster management industry for the past three decades.Also on today's program: Louisiana's Secretary of Health Dr. Rebekah Gee on the Medicaid expansion and budget cuts, here.

(LRN)Jonathan Ferrara has produced over 170 exhibitions in New Orleans, across the United States, and Europe on his book "Guns in the Hands of Artists."Ferrara, who lives in New Orleans, created a provocative exhibition 20 years ago that merged guns with artists.Louisiana is the most homicidal state in America per capita in a country where every day, there are 35 gun homicides, 60 gun suicides, and 200 people who survive getting shot.

(EJ Ourso Business School, Louisiana State University / EJ Ourso Business School, Louisiana State University)LSU Economist Jim Richardson heads the State Revenue Estimating Conference. Jan Moller is president of the Louisiana Budget Project. We speak with Richardson and Moller about the opening of Louisiana's 2017 Legislative Session. They will also address the feud simmering between Gov. John Bel Edwards and Garret Graves on flood recovery money coming to Louisiana.

(United States Marine Corps)Maj. Gen. Ronald G. Richard calls in to talk about President Trump's ordering of air strikes on Syria this week and what it may do to relations with Russia.Also on today's program, East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome on her first months in office, here.

(Kelly Tate)WRKF's Sue Lincoln joins us for our Friday look at politics. This week, we examine what appears to be the loss of civility in civil discourse as illustrated by Gov. John Bel Edwards' appearance before a U.S. House Oversight Committee hearing this week. We also preview the state legislative session, which opens Monday.Also on today's program, East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome on her first months in office, here.

East Baton Rouge Mayor-President Sharon Weston Broome talks to us about her first three months in office and her vision for the state's largest parish. She says flood recovery is still the first thing on the minds of many of the people she encounters at community meetings.

(mikejohnson.house.gov)U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson of Shreveport joins us for a minute to talk with us briefly about Louisiana's flood recovery efforts, the reaction to Gov. John Bel Edwards' appearance in front of a congressional committee on Wednesday, and his role with Freedom Caucus on Health Care.Also on today's program, LSU's Len Apcar talks with us about fake news, here.

(wikimedia.org User:Infrogmation CC BY-SA 2.0)Ben Jaffe is the owner and creative director at Preservation Hall, and head bass player with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. He grew up two blocks from Preservation Hall and his dad was previously the band's manager. Jaffe talks with us about the significance of this New Orleans institution.Also on today's program, LSU's Len Apcar talks with us about fake news, here.

(LRN)Len Apcar, Chair of Media Literacy at LSU Manship School of Mass Communication, on the label "fake news" and its impact on the 2016 election.Apcar says some politicians may appropriate the term "fake news" as a label to criticize stories they don't like or media outlets they don't agree with. He maintains the original concept of "fake news" refers to completely fabricated fictional stories masquerading as news stories on what he calls phony websites that get picked up and spread by social media.

(Texas A&M)Texas A&M historian Elizabeth Cobbs talks about her contention that American women consistently lag behind other countries in victories for equal rights. Cobbs is in New Orleans, and her discussion coincides with Gov. John Bel Edwards, who declares he will renew his push for equal pay legislation.Also on today's program: State Sen. Dan Claitor is proposing to end the death penalty. He speaks with us about that here.

(Sue Lincoln)State Senator Dan Claitor of Baton Rouge is co-authoring a bill proposing to abolish the death penalty in Louisiana. The prohibition on the death penalty would take effect after July 30th.

(Twitter @alialmossawi)Ali Almossawi is author of "Bad Choices: How algorithms can help you think smarter and live happier." Almossawi works on the data science team at Mozilla. He's an alumnus of MIT and Carnegie Mellon and has worked at the MIT Media Lab.Also on today's program: State Sen. Dan Claitor is proposing to end the death penalty. He speaks with us about that here.

(kimberlywillisholt.com)National Book Award winning author Kimberly Willis Holt grew up in Louisiana and attended LSU. She talks about her latest book, "Blooming at the Texas Sunrise Motel."Also on today's program: LSU Faculty Senate President Kevin Kope on what budget cuts are doing to the university, here.

(lsu.edu)Louisiana State University Faculty Senate President Kevin Cope discusses the impact of budget cuts on the university and on faculty morale. He addresses the effect on students with the reduction in TOPS benefits.Cope says LSU's faculty has shrunk in the past two years from 1,425 to roughly 1,200 full-time people today.

(gov.louisiana.gov)Julie Baxter Payer, Deputy Chief of Staff for Gov. John Bel Edwards, gets us up to speed on the latest regarding the Restore Louisiana homeowners assistance program. It's been 7 months since the historic flooding of 2016 and people are still getting back on their feet.Over the weekend, The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approved the state's action plan for the $1.6 billion in federal flood aid that Congress approved.On Monday, April 10, Restore Louisiana is asking every flooded homeowner seeking assistance from the program to fill out an initial survey at the Restore Louisiana program's website. Payer says the 15-minute survey is an important first step for determining eligibility.You'll find more information about Restore Louisiana, including the survey available next week, at restore.la.gov.

(Sue Lincoln)Michael Henderson, Director of the LSU Public Policy Lab, discusses his research finding Louisiana voters in some cases are receptive to tax increases.This is information that the governor and lawmakers may weigh as they prepare for the start of a legislative session in which the state budget is front and center.

(YouTube)Thomas Groome, Professor of Religion and Theology, says Democrats are losing ground in key rust belt states, with Catholic voters moving to the GOP. He notes that President Trump won the White Catholic vote by 23 percentage points over Hillary Clinton, a group that President Bill Clinton won in each of his presidential elections of 1992 and 1996.Professor Groome, in a recent editorial to the New York Times, urges Democrats to change the debate on abortion or risk losing more ground with Catholic voters.

(Sue Lincoln)WRKF Capitol Access reporter Sue Lincoln joins us to compare the "cookie" and the "cleaning the room" elements of the governor's comprehensive tax reform package. We also hear tape as Michael Henderson from the LSU Public Policy Research Lab reviews part of the Louisiana Survey and what it says about public perception and expectations regarding taxes.Also on today's program: Dan Collins talks about battling environmental violations he uncovered while working for the state Department of Natural Resources, here.

(preserve-louisiana.org)Fairleigh Cook Jackson talks about efforts by her group, Preserve Louisiana, to save state landmarks.Also on today's program: Dan Collins talks about battling environmental violations he uncovered while working for the state Department of Natural Resources, here.