Louisiana Considered WWNO/WRKF Newsroom

This year’s legislative session has been an active one when it comes to criminal justice and public safety. Gov. Jeff Landry called a special session on crime earlier this year, where legislators undid many of the state’s 2017 criminal justice reforms.Alaina Bloodworth, executive director of the Black Public Defender Association, says public defenders are often excluded from the debate about how to lower crime rates. The Bayou Culture Gathering is hosting a conversation about building resilience in coastal communities in Louisiana this Friday. It’s in conjunction with the Center for Planning Excellence (CPEX), an organization that addresses community planning efforts for Louisiana communities. Jeannette Dubinin, director of resilience & adaptation for CPEX, discusses ways to help the people living along the coast adapt to higher flood risks, population shifts, a changing economy and more. What does it mean to be “home?” Growing up, Leona Tate was made to feel like she didn’t belong. In 1960, she was one of three Black children who desegregated New Orleans schools. Her legacy continues today. As part of WWNO/WRKF’s collaboration with NPR’s Next Gen Radio, Tate shares her thoughts on the meaning of home.Her story was produced by Samantha Jackson, a rising senior at Xavier University of Louisiana.___________________Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Adam Vos. 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!

It can be easy to miss your neighborhood bus stop in New Orleans. That’s because a lot of stops don’t have a sign. More than a year and a half after the city overhauled its bus routes to be more rider-friendly, virtually none of the 2,000 or so stops in the city have new, permanent signage. That’s causing headaches for some riders.Bobbi-Jeanne Misick, reporter for Verite News, recently looked into the issue.In the rural South it can be difficult for families to get updates on loved ones who are in prison or jail. That's true when someone is hurt — or even dies — while in custody. As the Gulf States Newsroom's Kat Stromquist reports, an effort is underway to help give families more information about what happens behind bars.Musical theater is alive and well in uptown New Orleans as the Summer Lyric Theatre at Tulane University gears up for its 57th season. Leonard Raybon, artistic director, joins Louisiana Considered with all the details.More information on Summer Lyric Theatre’s 57th season is available here._____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!

More than half of American children spend time in at least one weekly non-parental care arrangement, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. More than 60% of those kids attend a daycare center, preschool or prekindergarten program. New research shows that in Louisiana, nearly one-third of early care and education workers are, at any given time, considering quitting their jobs. The finding comes from a survey by the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children (LPIC). Dr. Candace Weber, LPIC partnership director, joins the show to discuss the implications of low-pay and burnout. You might have heard of PFAS, or “forever chemicals,” compounds that are in our water, soil and even our food. They’re linked to many health issues including cancer.The federal government is finally “cracking down” on PFAS The Coastal Desk’s Eva Tesfaye explains what that means for Louisiana’s water and what residents should know. Today is Veterans Day at the Louisiana State Capitol. It’s a chance for service members to interact with state officials and legislators. An honor medal ceremony is also planned. It’s all ahead of a women veterans symposium which will take place at the end of this month.To talk more about veterans’ accomplishments, specifically female vets, we’re joined by retired Air Force Colonel Charlton Meginley, the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Veterans Affairs.___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!

College graduations across the country have been disrupted this month as students continue to protest Israel’s war in Gaza. Xavier University of Louisiana canceled its commencement speaker, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, after nearly 1,800 people signed a petition asking she be removed. Tulane University, the site of a recent pro-Palestinian encampment, has upped security measures for its graduation this Saturday. To get a sense of how students are feeling, Aubri Juhasz, WWNO and WRKF’s education reporter, spoke with a senior at Tulane about her experience as a student and reporter for the school’s newspaper, The Hullabaloo.  Your local public library is likely getting a new card system for younger readers this summer. A new law requires public libraries across Louisiana to get parents’ consent for minors to access “sexually explicit materials.” That means many libraries are rolling out more limits on what kids can and can’t access.To help us understand the coming changes, we’re joined by Lynette Mejia, director of Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship. It’s a grassroots group that has worked to keep information open and accessible in Louisiana’s public libraries. Southern coastal communities are seeing some of the world’s fastest rates of sea level rise. That’s affecting all aspects of life for those who live there. The Washington Post has spent months investigating the impacts. Eva Tesfaye, reporter on WWNO/WRKF’s Coastal Desk, recently spoke with Chris Mooney and Brady Dennis, two reporters behind the paper’s new series, The Drowning South, about their findings. You can hear more from Eva’s conversation on Sea Change. It’s available wherever you get your podcasts. ___Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Matt Bloom. 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!

It’s Thursday, which means it’s time for our look at the week in politics. Stephanie Grace, the Times Picayune/The Advocate’s editorial director and columnist, breaks down the Supreme Court’s decision to uphold Louisiana’s new congressional map. The decision means the state’s second majority-Black congressional district will stand for this year’s election.This June, Major League Baseball will host a regular season game at Rickwood Field in Birmingham, Alabama as a tribute to Negro League Baseball History. Rickwood Field also happens to more than 100 years old. It’s served not only as a venue for America’s pastime, but also for the civil rights movement.For the past few months, Alana Schreiber, Louisiana Considered’s managing producer, has been in and out of Birmingham, working on an exciting upcoming podcast about the history and legacy of this ballfield. She joins the show to share more about the Road to Rickwood.The Mississippi River is a defining part of the landscape of Louisiana, and the entire country. Its watershed drains more than a million square miles of the continental United States each year. But how much do you know about its history? Our next guest has spent years researching the river and the U.S. government’s continued quest to control its flow. Boyce Upholt is a journalist and author of the new book, “The Great River, The Making and Unmaking of the Mississippi.” He joins us to share more about the river’s history. _____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!

May is National Bike Month, and we’re dedicating Wednesday’s show to the topic of bike infrastructure in Southern Louisiana. 
Baton Rouge and New Orleans have been rated as some of the most dangerous places for cyclists in the country. An analysis of data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration ranks East Baton Rouge Parish the fourth-most dangerous place to cycle in the United States. New Orleans is the sixth-most. 
We’ll talk with two people advocating for bicycle riding and bicyclists in Baton Rouge and in New Orleans. We’ll talk with a former city planner in Lafayette. And we’ll also hear about how the decisions surrounding how we build our cities affect how easy it is to walk and bike.
We’re joined by Mark Martin, chair of the Complete Streets advisory committee of the City-Parish of East Baton Rouge; Allene La Spina, executive director of Bike Easy in New Orleans; and Carlee Alm-LaBar, chief of staff based in Lafayette for Strong Towns, a national organization that addresses urban development and city planning practices.
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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Adam Vos. 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!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.