654. Liberty in Louisiana Presentation

654. Today we post our presentation on Liberty in Louisiana at the 2025 Louisiana Studies Conference. Liberty in Louisiana by James Workman is the oldest known extant play about Louisiana. Workman wrote the play in 1803 with the goal of supporting the impending Louisiana Purchase.

653. Kathleen DuVal, part 2.

653. Part 2 of our conversation with Kathleen DuVal about her book, Native Nations: A Millennium in North America. “Pulitzer Prize Winner - National Bestseller - A magisterial overview of a thousand years of Native American history” (The New York Review of Books), from the rise of ancient cities more than a thousand years ago to fights for sovereignty that continue today. Winner of the Bancroft Prize, the Cundill History Prize, and the Mark Lynton History Prize. Long before the colonization of North America, Indigenous Americans built diverse civilizations and adapted to a changing world in ways that reverberated globally.

652. Kathleen DuVal, part 1

652. Part 1 of Kathleen DuVal's return to the podcast to talk about her book, Native Nations: A Millennium in North America. “Pulitzer Prize Winner - National Bestseller - A magisterial overview of a thousand years of Native American history (The New York Review of Books), from the rise of ancient cities more than a thousand years ago to fights for sovereignty that continue today. Winner of the Bancroft Prize, the Cundill History Prize, and the Mark Lynton History Prize. Long before the colonization of North America, Indigenous Americans built diverse civilizations and adapted to a changing world in ways that reverberated globally. And, as award-winning historian Kathleen DuVal vividly recounts, when Europeans did arrive, no civilization came to a halt because of a few wandering explorers, even when the strangers came well armed.”

651. Skye Jackson

651. This week we talk to Skye Jackson about her poetry. Skye was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She writes about love, femininity and the challenges of navigating our modern world as a young Black woman. Her work has appeared in Palette Poetry, The Southern Review, RHINO, RATTLE and elsewhere. She is the author of the chapbook A Faster Grave (2019) and her debut collection of poetry, Libre, which was recently published by Regalo Press and distributed nationally by Simon & Schuster.

650. Nathalie Dessens.

650. Nathalie Dessens is returning to her work on Gentilly and Creole New Orleans through the recent publication of Gentilly: A New Orleans Plantation in the French Atlantic World, 1818-1851 (a book she co-edited and translated with Virginia Meacham Gould. It features letters from the manager of the Gentilly plantation, providing insight into 19th-century plantation life and its connection to the city. Dessens is a historian who has previously written on the topic in her book Creole City: A Chronicle of Early American New Orleans. Nathalie Dessens is professor of history at the University of Toulouse.

649. Leah Payne

649. This week we chat with Leah Payne about her book, God Gave Rock and Roll To You: A History of Contemporary Christian Music. We focus especially on the role of the family of Jimmy Swaggart, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Mickey Gilley in the history of Rock and Roll. Her book chronicles the confluence of evangelical, Pentecostal, and charismatic networks through the lens of Contemporary Christian Music, or CCM.

648. Mike and Mark Mangham. Twin Blends.

648. This week, we talk with Mike and Mark Mangum about their creative venture, Twin Blends. They research local Shreveport and Bossier history The brothers join us to discuss the project’s origins, how they combine their individual styles into a unified final piece, and what it takes to manage a shared brand. Learn more about the Mangums’ work and the inspiration behind Twin Blends.