598. Liz Ellis, Part 2.

598. Part 2 of our conversation with Liz Ellis about The Great Power of Small Nations. Ellis (Peoria) tells the stories of the many smaller Native American nations that shaped the development of the Gulf South. Based on extensive archival research and oral histories, Ellis’s narrative chronicles how diverse Indigenous peoples—including Biloxis, Choctaws, Chitimachas, Chickasaws, Houmas, Mobilians, and Tunicas—influenced and often challenged the growth of colonial Louisiana.

597. Liz Ellis, part 1.

597. Part 1 of Liz Ellis joining us to discuss her excellent book,  The Great Power of Small Nations. Part 1.Large Power of Small Nations. Part 1. In The Great Power of Small Nations, Elizabeth N. Ellis (Peoria) tells the stories of the many smaller Native American nations that shaped the development of the Gulf South. Based on extensive archival research and oral histories, Ellis’s narrative chronicles how diverse Indigenous peoples—including Biloxis, Choctaws, Chitimachas, Chickasaws, Houmas, Mobilians, and Tunicas—influenced and often challenged the growth of colonial Louisiana.

596. Myra Lavigne. Rise St. James

596. Today we talk to Myra Lavigne, a volunteer with Rise St. James. Rise St. James is a faith-based grassroots organization that is fighting for environmental justice as it works to defeat the proliferation of petrochemical industries in St. James Parish, Louisiana. Nicknamed “Cancer Alley” for the above-average rates of cancer there, the area is home to a high concentration of polluting industries.

595. Derby Gisclair on Hadacol

595. Our old friend Derby Gisclair returns to talk about his research into Louisiana politician and snake oil salesman (to the degree they're different!) Dudley J. LeBlanc. "Coozan Dud" was a moderately successful Louisiana politician and a wildly successful salesman of Hadacol, the patent medicine. He hosted a traveling variety show to sell the elixir he created in his bathtub with vitamins, other ingredients, hydrochloric acid, and 12% alcohol. Join us to learn more about this drink that's good for what ails you.

594. Nick Douglas. Jazz, Part 2.

594. Part 2 of our interview with Nick Douglas about  New Orleans jazz and civil rights. “I am working with my filmmaking partner Doug Harris on a documentary called the Reconnect: The Untold History of Jazz. It is a true story about the actual formation of jazz in the only place it could have formed: New Orleans. But it is more it identifies for the first time New Orleans as the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement.

593. Nick Douglas, Part 1.

593. Part 1 of our conversation with Nick Douglas about the documentary he is working on about the relationship between jazz and civil rights, “I am working with my filmmaking partner Doug Harris on a documentary called The Reconnect: The Untold History of Jazz. It is a true story about the actual formation of jazz in the only place it could have formed: New Orleans. But it is more it identifies for the first time New Orleans as the cradle of the Civil Rights Movement. It shows how jazz and jazz musicians used jazz and musical performances to fund and support the civil rights movement long before most people realize the movement started.

592. Carolyn Long on Marie Laveau and Madame LaLaurie

592. Today we talk to author Carolyn Morrow Long about two of her books, one on Marie Laveau and the other on Madame LaLaurie. A New Orleans Voudou Priestess: The Legend and Reality of Marie Laveau. "Legendary for an unusual combination of spiritual power, beauty, charisma, showmanship, intimidation, and shrewd business sense, Marie Leveau also was known for her kindness and charity, nursing yellow fever victims and ministering to condemned prisoners, and her devotion to the Roman Catholic Church. In separating verifiable fact from semi-truths and complete fabrication, Carolyn Morrow Long explores the unique social, political, and legal setting in which the lives of Laveau’s African and European ancestors became intertwined in nineteenth-century New Orleans."