574. Lynette Mejia, Library Defender

574. We talk to Lynette Mejia about her defense of the Lafayette Library system. Louisiana born and raised, Lynette has become one of the faces of the anti-censorship movement in Lafayette, co-founding Lafayette Citizens Against Censorship and Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship. "The board," Mejia said, "has a very specific far-right Christian nationalist worldview and seems bent on imposing it on the library and changing its programming and collections to fit that world view."

573. Robert Caldwell on the Choctaw tribe.

573. Today, Robert Caldwell returns to discuss the history of the Choctaw Tribe. He has written a recent article on the subject: “Choctaw Frontier: Incursions and settlement in Northwest Louisiana and East Texas, 1760-1836,” North Louisiana History Fall 2020.

572. Comic Gloria McConnell

572. We welcome comedian and oroducer Gloria McConnell to the podcast. Gloria has been in business since 2019 performing standup comedy and producing Mid City Live! comedy variety show across southeast Louisiana. She has opened for national touring comedians, Sean Patton, Caitlin Peluffo, and Susan Saiger." (Black Dress Productions).

571. Hans Rasmussen

571.  This week we talk to Hans Rasmussen about the book he edited, A Girl’s Life in New Orleans: The Diary of Ella Grunewald, 1884–1886. “A Girl’s Life in New Orleans presents the diary of Ella Grunewald, an upper-middle-class teenager in New Orleans at the end of the nineteenth century. Grunewald, the daughter of one of the Crescent City’s leading music dealers, used her journal to record the major events of her day-to-day life, documenting family, friendships, schooling, musical education, and social activities.

570. Jackson Skillingstad

570. This week we talk to musician Jackson Skillingstad. Hailing from the heart of Ruston, Louisiana, Jackson Skillingstad is a genre-defying singer/songwriter whose music blends the soulful essence of deep South roots with a fusion of rock, country, and hip hop vibes.

569. Jeroen Dewulf

569. We welcome Jeroen Dewulf back to the podcast to discuss his new book, Afro-Atlantic Catholics: America’s First Black Christians. "This volume examines the influence of African Catholics on the historical development of Black Christianity in America during the seventeenth century. Dewulf’s analysis focuses on the historical documentation of Afro-Atlantic Catholic rituals, devotions, and social structures.

568. Lisa Wingate

568. We welcome author Lisa Wingate to the podcast to discuss her novel, Book of Lost Friends. “From the bestselling author of Before We Were Yours comes a dramatic historical novel of three young women searching for family amid the destruction of the post–Civil War South, and of a modern-day teacher who learns of their story and its vital connection to her students’ lives” (NYT).