662. Matthew & Melissa Teutsch, part 1.

662. Part 1 of our conversation with Matthew and Melissa, hosts of the the "This Ain't It" podcast, covering their response to MAGA religion. Hosted by Matthew Teutsch, a scholar of African American literature and Director of the Lillian E. Smith Center, and his wife Melissa Teutsch, the show explores the intersection of culture, politics, and history. Together, they engage in deep conversations about civil rights, the power of rhetoric, and the ongoing struggle for social justice in the American South and beyond. By examining the "interminable" nature of systemic oppression, the Teutsches challenge listeners to embrace the responsibility of resistance through education and empathy.

661. Rachel L. Doherty

661. Today we talk to Rachel L. Doherty about Louisiana folklore and folklife. Rachel is the Assistant Director for Programming and Special Projects at the Center for Louisiana Studies. Dr. Rachel Doherty is a scholar of contemporary Francophone art, literature, and creolized identities in Louisiana and Canada. She is an alumna of UL Lafayette's Francophone Studies program, a former lecturer at UL and Université Sainte-Anne, and a former French immersion teacher. Dr. Doherty specializes in occult and magical lore in minority Francophone literatures and arts, and analyzes folklore's place in today's language and identity movements.

660. Brian Fairbanks

660. Today we’re joined by writer and cultural historian Brian Fairbanks, author of “Wizards: David Duke, America’s Wildest Election, and the Rise of the Far Right.” In this book, Fairbanks delivers a vivid account of David Duke’s 1991 run for governor of Louisiana — a campaign that shocked the country and revealed how extremist politics could slip into the mainstream. Through sharp reporting and a storyteller’s eye, he reconstructs the chaos, the media frenzy, and the deeper social tensions that made that election a turning point in modern American politics.

659. John Rodrigue.

659. John C. Rodrigue joins us to discuss his research on the Civil War and Reconstruction. John is a prominent historian specializing in the U.S. Civil War and Reconstruction, known for his deep focus on slavery, emancipation, and the Lower Mississippi Valley, with key books like Reconstruction in the Cane Fields and Freedom's Crescent, exploring how the war transformed Southern society and Lincoln's evolving views on Reconstruction. He's recognized for meticulous research and contributions to understanding the complex transition from slavery to free labor, earning awards like the 2024 John Nau Book Prize for his 2023 work.

658. Scott Tilton, Part 2

658. Part 2 of our conversation with Scott Tilton. Scott is the Co-Founder and Director of the Nous Foundation, a platform for exchange between Louisiana and the French-speaking world. He lived the past several years in Paris where he worked as a consultant at Ernst & Young France on projects for the European Union, the UN, and the French Government. While in Paris, Scott launched and spearheaded an initiative that saw Louisiana become the first U.S. state to join the International Organization of the Francophonie (La Francophonie).

657. Scott Tilton, Part 1.

657. Part 1 of our conversation with Scott Tilton. Scott is the Co-Founder and Director of the Nous Foundation, a platform for exchange between Louisiana and the French-speaking world. He lived the past several years in Paris where he worked as a consultant at Ernst & Young France on projects for the European Union, the UN, and the French Government. While in Paris, Scott launched and spearheaded an initiative that saw Louisiana become the first U.S. state to join the International Organization of the Francophonie (La Francophonie).

656. Joseph Makkos, part 2.

656. Part 2 of our conversation with Joseph Makkos. Joseph is an archivist who manages a rare collection of some 30,000 historic New Orleans Times Picayune newspapers dating from 1880s-1929. Joseph has worked as a printmaker and preservationist, having salvaged and restored historic printing equipment from over a dozen print shops to date. Using these resources he actively runs a design studio in New Orleans that focuses on artful print production and independent book publishing.

655. Joseph Makkos, part 1

655. Joseph Makkos returns to the porch to talk about his work and an archivist and researcher. He manages a rare collection of some 30,000 historic New Orleans Times Picayune newspapers dating from 1880s-1929. 

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.

647. Brad Dison. "The Trap."

647. We talk to Brad Dison about his book, The Trap, about the death of Bonnie and Clyde. "For far too long, Sheriff Henderson Jordan's role in ending the crime spree of Bonnie and Clyde has been overlooked or ignored. On the rare occasion that he is portrayed in films or documentaries, he is depicted as an insignificant character. Since 1934, we have accepted the notion that Frank Hamer located the outlaws and led the ambush against them. Henderson Jordan was the sheriff in Bienville Parish, Louisiana, when he learned that Bonnie and Clyde were hiding somewhere within the jurisdiction that he had sworn to protect. It was he who tracked the gang to their hideouts, who set the trap to capture them, and who led the ambush posse that ended their crime spree in a hail of gunfire.

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.