215. Katherine Bentley Jeffrey

215. We interview Katherine Bentley Jeffrey, editor of Two Civil Wars: The Curious Shared Journal of a Baton Rouge School Girl and a Sailor on the USS Essex. Two Civil Wars is both an edition of an unusual Civil War era double journal and a narrative about the two writers who composed its contents. The initial journal entries were written by thirteen-year-old Celeste Repp while a student at St. Mary’s Academy, Immediately following Celeste's prettily decorated pages a new title page intervenes, introducing “An Abstract Journal Kept by William L. Park, of the U.S. gunboat Essex during the American Rebellion.” Park’s diary is a fulsome three-year account of military engagements along the Mississippi and its tributaries, the bombardment of southern towns, the looting of plantations, skirmishes with Confederate guerillas, the uneasy experiment with “contrabands” (freed slaves) serving aboard ship, and the mundane circumstances of shipboard life. Very few diaries from the inland navy have survived, and this is the first journal from the ironclad Essex to be published.

1. This week in Louisiana history. July 1, 1731. The Company of the Indies gave up its charter of Louisiana Colony.
2. This week in New Orleans history. One of the lengthiest and most violent transit railway strikes the nation ever experienced began in New Orleans on July 1, 1929. Although an agreement was reached in August, the union members did not agree to go back to work until October.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Celebration on the Cane
   July 4th, 2017
   10:00 am - 11:00 pm
   Riverbank Stage
   781 Front Street,
   Natchitoches, LA 71457
   318-352-2746 | 800-259-1714
   Website | Email
   Riverbank Stage
   The day begins around 10 a.m. with children's activities and live musical entertainment at 6 p.m. with spectacular firework show over Cane River Lake at 9 p.m. over the Cane River Lake in historic Downtown Natchitoches, Louisiana. Event is FREE and open to the public. Bring blankets or lawn chairs. No ice chests allowed.
4. Postcard from New Orleans. Bruce listens to a song played by Dennis Journey, who was singing on the corner of Royal St. and Toulouse St. in New Orleans.

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Dennis Journey

214. Tyler Bridges. Long Shot.

214. We interview Tyler Bridges, co-author of Long Shot. This recent book is the story of Louisiana’s 2015 race for governor — but the story of John Bel Edwards’ improbable victory over David Vitter holds lessons for candidates and voters in all 50 states. It’s an inconceivable and sometimes hysterical odyssey that unfolds against the unique backdrop of Louisiana’s back roads, bayous, barrooms, and ballrooms.
     Tyler Bridges and Jeremy Alford, two veteran political reporters in Louisiana, take readers deep into the inner workings of the Edwards and Vitter campaigns. To document this unforgettable ride, they interviewed more than 100 of the people who cut the deals, launched the attacks, and even played both sides. Clancy DuBos, one of the state’s foremost political analysts, brought his tremendous knowledge to bear as he edited the book.

1. This week in Louisiana history. June 25, 1868. FL, AL, LA, GA, NC & SC readmitted to US following the Civil War.
2. This week in New Orleans history. Upstairs Lounge Fire. June 24, 1973. Twenty-eight people died at the scene of the sixteen-minute fire, and one died en route to the hospital. Another 18 suffered injuries, of whom three died. The arson was never solved, and it remained the largest hate crime against gay people until the Orlando shooting at the Pulse nightclub on June 12, 2016.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   ComedySportz
   Saturday, July 1
   8:00 PM
   Venue information:
   NOLA Comedy Theater
   5039 Freret St.
   New Orleans, LA 70115
   504.231.7011
   http://www.nolacomedy.com
   Admission: $10 adults, $8 children
   Two teams of comic improvisers compete for points, based upon audience suggestions. Rated "E" for Everyone.
4. Postcard from Louisiana. Sheryl St. Germain reads her poem, “Getting Rid Of The Accent.”

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213. Arlie Hochschild. Strangers in their own Land.

213. We interview Arlie Hochshild. A sociologist in Berkeley, Arlie spent 5 years with people near Lake Charles to try to understand the attitude of the Tea Party voter. The result of her study, Strangers in Their Own Land is a New York Times best seller and a 2016 finalist for the National Book Award for Nonfiction. Her work goes beyond the commonplace liberal idea that many on the political right have been duped into voting against their interests. In the right-wing world she explores, Hochschild discovers powerful forces—fear of cultural eclipse, economic decline, perceived government betrayal — which override self-interest, as progressives see it, and help explain the emotional appeal of a candidate like Donald Trump. Hochschild draws on her expert knowledge of the sociology of emotion to help us understand what it feels like to live in “red” America.

1. This week in Louisiana history. June 20, 1968. Presidential candidate George Wallace speaks in Baton Rouge raising $60,000.
2. This week in New Orleans history. Elias Toutant Beauregard, commandant of Spanish forts. Born, June 17, 1759, New Orleans. In 1779; first served Spain as a member of the New Orleans Company of Carbineers in the Mobile campaign of 1780; was a captain in the Louisiana Infantry Regiment, March 1, 1781; appointed by Gov. Esteban Miró as first commandant at Los Nogales (now Vicksburg, Miss.), April 1791; cooperated with Spanish agents in seeking peace between Choctaw and Creek Indians; reported on all vessels descending the river and served as a courier protector by sending messages up and down the river; was judge of civil and criminal cases; laid the groundwork for the Nogales Conference and signed the Treaty of Nogales, October 28, 1793; replaced as commandant from June 23, 1794; was commandant of the post at San Fernando (now Memphis, Tenn.), May-September 1795; was in New Orleans during yellow-fever epidemic of 1796; returned to Los Nogales as commandant from June 23, 1796 to March 23, 1797; listed in 1798 as a captain, Seventh Company, Second Battalion of the Louisiana Infantry Regiment; lived in New Orleans for a time; removed to Baton Rouge and laid out that part of the city known as Beauregard Town. Thrown from a horse during a military review. Died as a result of the accident, December 3, 1809.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Louisiana Catfish Festival
   June 17th, 2017 - June 19th, 2017
   St. Gertrude Catholic Church
   17324 La. 631
   Des Allemandes, LA 70030
   985-758-7542
   Website
   St. Gertrude Catholic Church
   The festival is held on the grounds of St. Gertrude the Great Catholic Church in Des Allemands. From New Orleans, take I-10 W to I-310. Head south on I-310 for about 12 miles. Exit to the right on Hwy. 90 W to Houma. Continue on Hwy. 90 W through Paradis to Des Allemands. Upon reaching Des Allemands,  St. Gertrude the Great Catholic Church will be on the right side of LA 631 in the Des Allemands Business District.

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212. Wayne Self. "Upstairs."

212. We interview Wayne Self about his musical Upstairs about the UpStairs Lounge Fire. The UpStairs Lounge arson attack took place on June 24, 1973 at a gay bar located in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Thirty-two people died as a result of fire or smoke inhalation. Wayne wrote the musical Upstairs about the fire. Until the Pulse Nightclub shooting in Orlando one year ago, it was the largest mass killing of gay people in the United States.

1. This week in Louisiana history. June 6, 1814. Pierre Lafitte arrested and accused of piracy by order of WCC Clairborne.
2. This week in New Orleans history. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was established by executive order of Franklin Delano Roosevelt on May 6, 1935. It replaced the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) as the federal government agency responsible for combatting the ill effects of the Great Depression. The WPA was a work relief program and it was instrumental in providing jobs for many individuals who had become unemployed during the nation's economic downturn.
         Most WPA projects were carried out by local and state governments using funds provided by Washington. Several projects were administered directly by the federal government, including the Art, Music, Theatre, and Writers' projects. The bulk of WPA spending went toward the construction and maintenance of the nation's infrastructure. Smaller amounts funded educations, recreational, and cultural activities.
         In Louisiana, state headquarters of the WPA was located in New Orleans. The agency also operated district offices around the state. In 1939 the program's name was changed to Work Projects Administration. On December 4, 1942, the president ordered an end to WPA activities as the nation's war effort eliminated most of the unemployment that the agency had been designed to combat.
         WPA projects in the Crescent City ranged from street paving and bridge building to bookbinding and adult education.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Let the Good Times Roll Festival
   June 16th, 2017
   5:00 pm - 12:00 am
   Festival Plaza
   101 Crockett St.,
   Shreveport, LA 71101
   318-470-3890
   Website
   Festival Plaza
       Let The Good Times Roll Festival features performances by top names in soul, gospel, hip-hop and R&B. The festival was named a Southeast Tourism Society Top 20 Event, because of its great line up of music, food and art booths. This will be a weekend-long celebration of African American culture.

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211. Kevin Cutrer. "Lord's Own Anointed."

211. We interview writer Kevin Cutrer about his book of poetry, Lord’s Own Anointed. Kevin is from Kentwood, LA, in the north end of Tangipahoa Parish. He has lived in South America, and now resides in the southernmost neighborhood of Boston. His first poetry collection, Lord’s Own Anointed, was released by Dos Madres Press in 2015. His run-ins with higher education have occurred at Southeastern Louisiana University and Emerson College.

1. This week in Louisiana history. June 6, 1814. Pierre Lafitte arrested and accused of piracy by order of WCC Clairborne.
2. This week in New Orleans history. By ordinance of June 3, 1844 the City Council reorganized the police of the municipality into a Night Watch and a Day Police. The former was composed of a captain, a lieutenant, a sub-lieutenant, two sergeants, and twenty-five men, divided among a main post, a post in Faubourg Washington, and one on the Bayou Road. The captain served at the main post and was responsible for distributing the men, taking care of the weapons, reporting daily to the Recorder (with a copy to the Mayor), and appearing at the Recorder's Court with the prisoners apprehended by the Watch. He was to keep a register of Watch officers and men and a journal of all police activities. All Watch members had to give proof of their citizenship and be able to read and write as well as speak English and French fluently. (NOPL)
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   St Tammany Photographic Society Meeting (User Submitted)
   Monday, June 5
   All Day Event
   Venue information:
   St. Tammany Art Association
   320 N. Columbia St.
   Covington, LA
   http://stphotosociety.org/
   Admission: Yearly dues after the first meeting
   The St Tammany Photographic Society meet the second Thursday of the each month. The club meets at the Covington Art Association, in downtown Covington, LA. Meeting start at 7:00PM, if you are interested in attending a meeting or would like to join the club. Please come to one of our meetings.

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210. Lamar White. Alexandria History

210. We talk to Lamar White, activist and journalist, about the history of his hometown, Alexandria. Lamar runs the CenLemar blog.  He is also in the process of starting The Bayou Brief, which will be the first and only statewide, non-profit, progressive, all-digitial publication, exclusively focusing on Louisiana

1. This week in Louisiana history. May 29, 1948. The Desire streetcars stopped running.
2. This week in New Orleans history. Vice-President Hubert Humphrey earned a Master of Arts degree in Political Science from LSU in 1940. From 1939 to 1940 he taught there as an assistant instructor of political science. He was born on May 27, 1911 in Wallace, South Dakota.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   STAR Tournament
   May 27th, 2017 - September 2nd, 2017
   State Wide
   P.O. Box 86458,
   Baton Rouge, LA 70879
   225-952-9200
   Website | Email
   State Wide
   The CCA STAR tournament, attracts more than 13,000 anglers and there is over $500,000 in prizes and spans the entire coast of Louisiana. Boundaries are from Texas/Louisiana line to Louisiana/Mississippi line with over 30 weigh stations across the state. It will run from the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend (May 27th) to Labor Day (Sep 4th). For more information you can check out ccastar.com. 

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209. Ambata Kazi-Nance

209. We interview New Orleans writer Ambata Kazi-Nance. Ambata writes from the perspective of an African-American woman who is also Muslim, living in a city and a culture that don't always know what to make of these characteristics.
       "The mistake often made by well-meaning people is to say that we’re all the same. We are all the same, in the sense that we’re human beings, but we’re all also different. The objective isn’t to erase the differences nor always highlight them, just to acknowledge they exist and not pass judgment based on them. We are as God created us to be. As my four-year-old son lovingly proclaimed one day while we were out walking, 'God made us all from clay, and then He painted us different colors!' Or like a friend who said, observing a newborn baby, 'God never runs out of designs.'”

1. This week in Louisiana history. May 20, 1835. The Planters Hotel in New Orleans collapsed killing 25.
2. This week in New Orleans history. Jazzland Opens  May 20, 2000. It later became a 6 Flags, and never reopened after Katrina.
   
3. This week in Louisiana.
   Rendez-vous des Cajuns
   January 21st, 2017
   6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
   337-457-7389
   Website
   The Liberty Theatre
   Bring your dancing shoes to "Rendez-vous avec des Cajuns," a live radio show in the Grand Old Opry/Louisiana Hayride/Prairie Home companion format. The emcee hosts the program in Cajun French with enough English spoken so that everyone can enjoy this unique and one-of-a-kind experience. The entire family is welcome so make this event your Saturday night plan. $5 admission charged. Temporarily taking place at Rocky's Cajun Kitchen until renovations are complete!
4. Postcard from Louisiana.
   We talk to Karen Riley Simmons, Sherry Bovey, and Michelle Riggs from the Sankofa Cultural Collective of Alexandria. The Collective promotes, preserves, and encourages the visual, performance and cultural arts and heritage of people of African descent by providing cultural arts programming for youth and families in Central Louisiana.

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Ambata Kazi-Nance

Karen Riley Simmons, Sherry Bovey, & Michelle Riggs