Louisiana Considered WWNO/WRKF Newsroom

In New Orleans, an estimated 23% of all undergraduate students are parents. They face more obstacles than your average student, having to consider things like childcare and economic stability while taking classes.The organization Generation Hope helps these parents make their way through school. And just this month, they celebrated the one-year anniversary of their New Orleans scholars program.Joining us for more on this organization and the support they offer is Nicole Lynn Lewis, founder and CEO, and Lindsey Cross, director of New Orleans programming. It’s a milestone year for the ESSENCE Festival of Culture. It’s celebrating its 30th anniversary. That celebration has a special meaning for New Orleans as the festival began in the city back in 1995. Hakeem Holmes, vice president of ESSENCE Festival of Culture joins us to share more about this year’s festivities. ___Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Diane Mack. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. Matt Bloom and Aubry Procell are assistant producers. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman.You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12 and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

Today marks two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade — triggering a Louisiana law that bans nearly all abortions. That’s had major implications for women’s health in the state. WWNO/WRKF public health reporter Rosemary Westwood has covered the fallout of the ban. She takes stock of where we’re at two years after the end of federally protected abortion rights. Director, filmmaker and activist Ruth Leitman’s new documentary, "No One Asked You," tells the story of Jackson Women's Health, the former clinic at the center of Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization; and the Pink House Defenders, the group of volunteers who helped care for patients entering and exiting the clinic.The Gulf States Newsroom's Maya Miller sat down with Leitman to talk about the process of filming the documentary over seven years, her experience at The Pink House and more.Most know “40 acres and mule” as a promise of reparations — broken by the U.S. government — to formerly enslaved people after the Civil War. But that’s not the full story.In a recent investigation, reporters examined the largest collection of land titles from that program ever to be analyzed. Center for Public Integrity reporter April Simpson tells us how the team found that more than 1,200 newly freed men and women actually did receive land — only to have it  taken away. ___Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Karen Henderson. Our managing producer is Alana Schrieber. Matt Bloom and Aubry Procell are assistant producers. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman.You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12 and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

The Vietnamese word for water is nước. But nước also means “homeland.” In the first part of the latest episode of Sea Change, we learn how South Louisiana’s Vietnamese community is reimagining its complicated relationship with water in a place where everything about water is changing.The world of baseball saw two historic events this week: The passing of legendary player Willie Mays, and the first Major League game to be played at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama — the very field where Mays started his career, playing for the Birmingham Black Barons. Alana Schreiber, executive producer of WWNO/WRKF’s Road to Rickwood podcast, attended Thursday night’s matchup between the Giants and the Cardinals. She shares her experience of the event, held in celebration of the legacy of Negro League baseball.___Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Ryan Vasquez. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. Matt Bloom and Aubry Procell are assistant producers. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman.You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12 and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

Last week, Republican Rep. Garrett Graves of Baton Rouge announced his decision to not run for reelection this fall. Stephanie Grace, editorial director and columnist for The Advocate, joins us to discuss the implications of that decision for Louisiana and the nation.Road rage is a problem in every state, but Louisiana drivers tend to express their frustrations with guns more often than the national average, according to fresh statistics from the Gun Violence Archive. Carlie Kollath Wells, reporter for Axios New Orleans, joins us to break down the data.Last summer, we heard about a pilot program spearheaded by the University of New Orleans to make high school financial literacy classes more relevant to students. Now, the Dollars to Dreams program has completed its first school year.Jedidiah Collins, founder of Money Vehicle, and Chris Surprenant, professor of Ethics, Strategy and Public Policy and director of UNO’s Urban Entrepreneurship & Policy Institute, tell us what the Dollars to Dreams team has accomplished in its first year.Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Bob Pavlovich. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber; our contributing producers are Matt Bloom and Adam Vos; we receive production and technical support from Garrett Pittman and our assistant producer, Aubry Procell.You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12:00 and 7:00 pm. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play, and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!

Birmingham is about to host its first-ever regular season Major League game at Rickwood Field. The San Francisco Giants will play the St. Louis Cardinals at Rickwood Field as a tribute to the Negro Leagues. But that doesn’t come without its challenges.On this episode, host Roy Wood Jr. goes back to his hometown of Birmingham to explore some of the obstacles that prevent more Black youth from taking up America’s pastime. He talks to MLB executives, managers and a player about the importance of promoting this sport within Black communities across the country. Roy also speaks with Birmginham’s local baseball community — high school athletes, coaches, parents and even the current mayor — to learn how to reignite Black participation in baseball in the city that was once known for carrying the careers of Black baseball legends.This episode was hosted by Roy Wood Jr. and written & produced by Ben Dickstein and Cody D. Short of AL.com, our partner for this episode.Our executive producer is Alana Schreiber and our senior producer is Ben Dickstein. Our producers are Jonah Buchanan and AL.com's Cody D. Short. Mixing and sound design by Joaquin Cotler and story editing by Ryan Vasquez. Artwork by Xavier Murillo. Original music composition by Squeak E. Clean Studios. Voice tracking by Alt Mix Studio.Special thanks to Paul Maassen, The Friends of Rickwood Field, Birmingham Public Library archives, AL.com and WBHM.For more stories on Rickwood Field, check out AL.com.This podcast is produced by WWNO and WRKF. This episode is produced in partnership with AL.com. Distributed by The NPR network in association with Major League Baseball.

A new state police force has been patrolling New Orleans streets this summer. It’s called Troop NOLA. Members conduct traffic stops in crime hot spots around the city, and have so far made over 20 arrests. Gov. Jeff Landry created the unit earlier this year in an effort to crack down on crime in the Crescent City. To learn more about the new force’s activity, we’re joined by John Simerman, investigative reporter at the Times Picayune, who has been tracking the troop. The Tony Award winning musical thriller, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street opens the 57th season of shows for Summer Lyric Theatre at Tulane. It is directed by Ray Proctor, Tulane assistant professor of theatre and dance, who joins us now to preview the show. ___Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Diane Mack. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. Matt Bloom and Aubry Procell are assistant producers. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman.You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12 and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play and wherever you get your podcasts. Louisiana Considered wants to hear from you! Please fill out our pitch line to let us know what kinds of story ideas you have for our show. And while you’re at it, fill out our listener survey! We want to keep bringing you the kinds of conversations you’d like to listen to.Louisiana Considered is made possible with support from our listeners. Thank you!