646. Thomas Smith

646. We talk to Dr. Thomas Smith about his series of Red String novels, set in 19^th century Mississippi River and Central Louisiana. His first novel in the series is Just a Piece of Red String: Antebellum Voodoo and Vengeance. In antebellum Natchez, Mississippi, and the bustling city of New Orleans, cousins Sawyer Dundee and Solomon Witcher come into manhood, each charting a dramatically different course. While Sawyer remains in Natchez to run the family business, the charismatic Solomon seeks his fortune, chasing legendary buried treasure and trying his luck at cards in New Orleans.

645 David Ballantyne, Part 2.

645. Part 2 of our interview with David Ballantyne about post Civil-War Reconstruction of the Red River Valley. He has given the history on the area in his book, Fractured Freedoms: Reconstruction in Central Louisiana. “Fractured Freedoms is a riveting history of central Louisiana from the 1860s to the 1890s, focusing on majority-Black Rapides Parish during Reconstruction.

644. David T. Ballantyne, Part 1

644. Part 1 of our interview with David T. Ballantyne about his book, Fractured Freedoms: Reconstruction in Central Louisiana. "Fractured Freedoms is a riveting history of central Louisiana from the 1860s to the 1890s, focusing on majority-Black Rapides Parish during Reconstruction. Using the region as a case study, Ballantyne reveals what is, in part, a rural Reconstruction success story, emphasizing the resilience of Black politics and the persistence of significant divisions among white residents that allowed the Republican Party to gain and maintain power there. It was only with the collapse of state-level Republican power in 1877 that Democratic forces in the parish were able to dismantle local Republican political control and gradually constrict Black freedoms."

643. Roxanne Harde, Part 2.

643. Part 2 of our conversation with Roxanne Harde about the Tremé series. Roxanne Harde on the Tremé series. "Set in post-Katrina New Orleans, this hour-long drama series, from executive producers David Simon and Eric Overmyer, follows the lives of ordinary residents as they struggle with the after-effects of the 2005 hurricane.

642. Roxanne Harde, Part 1.

642. Part 1 of our conversation with Roxanne Harde about the Tremé television series. "Set in post-Katrina New Orleans, this hourlong drama series, from executive producers David Simon and Eric Overmyer, follows the lives of ordinary residents as they struggle with the aftereffects of the 2005 hurricane.

641. Josh Neufeld, Part 2

Part 2 of our conversation with Josh Neufeld about his non-fiction graphic novel, A. D. After the Deluge. “A stunning graphic novel that makes plain the undeniable horrors and humanity triggered by Hurricane Katrina in the true stories of six New Orleanians who survived the storm. A.D. follows each of the six from the hours before Katrina struck to its horrific aftermath.

640. Josh Neufeld, Part 1

640. Bruce's son Kerr joins us for part 1 of our conversation with Josh Neufeld about his non-fiction graphic novel, A. D. After the Deluge. “A stunning graphic novel that makes plain the undeniable horrors and humanity triggered by Hurricane Katrina in the true stories of six New Orleanians who survived the storm. A.D. follows each of the six from the hours before Katrina struck to its horrific aftermath. Here is Denise, a sixth-generation New Orleanian who will experience the chaos of the Superdome; the Doctor, whose unscathed French Quarter home becomes a refuge for those not so lucky; Abbas and his friend Mansell, who face the storm from the roof of Abbas’s family-run market; Kwame, a pastor’s son whose young life will remain wildly unsettled well into the future; and Leo, a comic-book fan, and his girlfriend, Michelle, who will lose everything but each other.”