700. Highlights of Our Podcast

700. Welcome to our 700^th episode. Stephen and I discuss the podcast and significant episodes you might want to listen to.

• Episode 88: Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
  • Guest & Topic: We interviewed renowned historian, author, and activist Dr. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. We brought her on to discuss her lifelong dedication to human rights, indigenous sovereignty, and her critical historical insights regarding social justice and Native American histories.
• Episode 111: Rain Prud'homme-Cranford Goméz (Part 1)
  • Guest & Topic: We spoke with scholar, poet, and activist Rain Prud'homme-Cranford Goméz. We sat down with her to discuss her research focusing on issues concerning Louisiana Indian tribes, including the Choctaw, Houma, and Tunica, exploring indigenous literary traditions and cultural preservation.
• Episode 219: Joseph Dunn (Part 1)
  • Guest & Topic: We interviewed French scholar and activist Joseph Dunn. We talked with him about his vital work keeping French alive in Louisiana, where he advocates for French, Spanish, Creole, and Native American languages as living heritage languages integral to regional culture.
• Episode 40: Mona Lisa Saloy (Part 1)
  • Guest & Topic: We featured award-winning author, folklorist, educator, and scholar Mona Lisa Saloy. We brought her on to discuss contemporary Creole culture, her poetic work documenting African-American traditions in New Orleans, and the preservation of urban folklore.
• Episode 57: Fran Holman
  • Guest & Topic: We sat down with biographer Fran Holman. We talked with her about her book chronicling the life of Caroline Dorman, one of Louisiana's most important naturalists and environmentalists, and discussed the reissuing of Dorman's timeless writings on regional ecology.
• Episode 48: Marsha Recknagel (Part 2)
  • Guest & Topic: We interviewed professor, literary scholar, and memoirist Marsha Recknagel. We brought her on to discuss her critically acclaimed family memoir If Nights Could Talk, exploring personal narrative, creative writing pedagogy, and extended family dynamics against the backdrop of regional history.
• Episode 387: Mary Barile (Part 2)
  • Guest & Topic: We spoke with writer, historian, and theatre history scholar Mary Barile. We discussed her book The Irish Rogue and her extensive academic work in playwriting and historical preservation, bringing the past to life on stage and in literature.
• Episode 321: Linda Duff Niemeir (Part 1)
  • Guest & Topic: We interviewed Linda Duff Niemeir, co-author of Sharecropping in North Louisiana: A Family's Struggle Through the Great Depression. We brought her on to discuss family oral history, the preservation of personal narratives, and the harsh realities of rural economic struggle during the 1930s.
• Episode 301: Christine Koch Harris (Part 1)
  • Guest & Topic: We sat down with regional historian Christine Koch Harris. We talked with her to uncover overlooked chapters of local North Louisiana history, examining archival records and regional development.
• Episode 285: Dr. Michael Martin
  • Guest & Topic: We interviewed historian Dr. Michael Martin. We brought him on to discuss his research into Louisiana's agricultural history, focusing on the economic and cultural impact of the sugar and cotton industries in the nineteenth century.
• Episode 260: Dr. Annette Tuitasi
  • Guest & Topic: We spoke with cultural anthropologist Dr. Annette Tuitasi. We talked with her about immigrant communities in the Gulf Coast region, examining how diverse cultural groups integrate while maintaining distinct heritage practices.
• Episode 240: Dr. Lawrence Powell
  • Guest & Topic: We welcomed renowned historian Dr. Lawrence Powell to discuss his extensive work on the political history of Louisiana, focusing on the Reconstruction era, populist movements, and the evolution of the state's unique political landscape.
• Episode 225: Dr. Susan Tucker
  • Guest & Topic: We interviewed author and archivist Dr. Susan Tucker. We brought her on to discuss women's history in the American South, women's autobiographical writings, and the importance of preserving women's papers in institutional archives.
• Episode 205: Dr. Carl Brasseaux
  • Guest & Topic: We sat down with premier Cajun historian Dr. Carl Brasseaux. We talked with him about his landmark research on Acadian migration, settlement patterns in south Louisiana, and the historical forces that shaped Cajun identity.
• Episode 190: Dr. Alecia Long
  • Guest & Topic: We interviewed historian Dr. Alecia Long. We brought her on to discuss her work on the social and cultural history of New Orleans, particularly focusing on marginalized communities, tourism, and the hidden histories of the French Quarter.
• Episode 175: Dr. Thomas Ruys Smith
  • Guest & Topic: We spoke with cultural historian Dr. Thomas Ruys Smith. We discussed his research on nineteenth-century literature of the American South, examining how popular writers mythologized the Mississippi River and the delta landscape.
• Episode 160: Dr. Mark Cave
  • Guest & Topic: We interviewed oral historian Dr. Mark Cave. We talked with him about methodologies of oral history collection in post-disaster communities, focusing on firsthand narratives gathered after major Gulf Coast hurricanes.
• Episode 145: Dr. Clint Bruce
  • Guest & Topic: We welcomed scholar Dr. Clint Bruce to discuss francophone literature in nineteenth-century Louisiana, exploring transnational connections between New Orleans, the Caribbean, and France among exiled writers.
• Episode 130: Dr. Patricia Brady
  • Guest & Topic: We interviewed historian and biographer Dr. Patricia Brady. We brought her on to discuss her definitive work on historical figures like Caroline Dormon and early New Orleans society, unpacking the realities of life in the antebellum port city.
• Episode 115: Dr. Theodore Schwartze
  • Guest & Topic: We sat down with researcher Dr. Theodore Schwartze to discuss regional architecture and historic preservation laws, examining how local municipalities fight to protect landmark structures from urban decay and modern overdevelopment.
• Episode 670: Sophie White
  • Guest & Topic: We spoke with historian Sophie White about her groundbreaking book, Voices of the Enslaved: Love, Labor, and Longing in French Louisiana, exploring Atlantic World history, the archives of French colonial law, and her companion digital humanities project.

1. Now available: Liberty in Louisiana: A Comedy. The oldest play about Louisiana, author James Workman wrote it as a celebration of the Louisiana Purchase. Now it is back in print for the first time in 222 years. Order your copy today!
2. This week in the Louisiana Anthology.
   William Bonny Glover, History of the Caddo Indians.
      In 1805 Dr. John Sibley, Indian agent at Natchitoches, in a report to Thomas Jefferson relative to the Indian tribes in his territory said:
      There is now remaining of the Natchitoches but twelve men and nineteen women, who live in a village about twenty five miles by land above the town which bears their name near the lake, called by the French Lac de Muire. Their original language is the same as the Yattassee, but speak Caddo, and most of them French.
      The French inhabitants have great respect for this nation, and a number of very decent families have a mixture of their blood in them. They claim but a small tract of land, on which they live, and I am informed, have the same rights to it from Government, that other inhabitants in their neighborhood have. They are gradually wasting away; the small pox has been their great destroyer. They still preserve their Indian dress and habits; raise corn and those vegetables common in their neighborhood.
   
3. This week in Louisiana history. October 16, 1779. 18 American settlers along Lake Pontchartrain, in the presence of Capt. William Pickles of the U.S. Navy, signed oaths of allegiance to and declared themselves to be subjects of the 'United Independent States of North America.' 
4. This week in New Orleans history. October 16, 1923: The first radio broadcast from a New Orleans station (WSMB) aired, bringing live music and news into local homes for the first time.
5. This week in Louisiana.
   Rougarou Fest
   October 23, 2026 — 5:00–10:00 p.m.
   86 Valhi Blvd.
   Houma, LA 70360
   Website: rougaroufest.org
   Phone: Not listed in search results
   Email: Not listed in search results
   The Rougarou Fest brings Cajun folklore to life with a Halloween celebration unlike anything else in Louisiana. Centered on the mythical Rougarou, a werewolf‑like creature said to roam the bayous, the festival blends spooky fun with authentic cultural traditions. It’s free, family‑friendly, and packed with music, food, crafts, and costumed characters.
• Authentic Cajun Folklore: The festival celebrates the Rougarou legend, a creature deeply rooted in bayou storytelling.
• Nationally Recognized: Ranked among the Top 10 Costume Parties in the U.S. by USA Today and a Top 20 October Event by the Southeast Tourism Society.
• Live Music & Performances: Local bands and performers bring a lively soundtrack to the evening.
• Food & Crafts: Cajun cuisine, handmade crafts, and cultural demonstrations fill the festival grounds.
• Family‑Friendly: Despite the spooky theme, the event is designed for all ages and emphasizes community fun.
• Award‑Winning: Named Festival of the Year multiple times by the Louisiana Travel Association and the Louisiana Association of Fairs and Festivals.
6. Postcards from Louisiana. James Andrews at the French Quarter Fest 

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