On April 27, 1928, at a recording studio in New Orleans performers gathered for what would be an historic session. Joe Falcon and his future wife Cléoma Breaux immortalized a song that would become an anthem for a culture. He…
Imagine three great cooking styles served in one place, or written about with recipes in one book. The place is Wayne Jacob’s Smokehouse in LaPlace (St. John the Baptist Parish); the book is "Southern and Smoked: Cajun Cooking through the…
There are all sorts of anniversaries in life, however seldom is a milestone celebrated for a candy. But then there are few confections as worthy of special recognition as Heavenly Hash. This year is the centennial of Elmer Chocolate creating…
There are two principal ways of Carnival group ritual in Louisiana. One is the New Orleans style float parade with bands, marching groups and maskers flinging throws from floats. And the other is the Cajun style Courir de Mardi Gras…
A century ago, a New Orleans based company, founded by Lucius H. Hayward Jr., was in the business of purveying dried beans, most notably the red kidney shaped variety. The company would eventually trademark the name Camellia Brand Red Beans.…
It's funny... Lafayette doesn’t look a day over 150, yet the town is celebrating its 200th anniversary. The commemoration is based on the state issuing a charter, in 1823, to what was then known as Vermilionville. (In 1884, the name…
Louisiana is the only state where beads are known to dangle from oak trees. That phenomenon is especially common in New Orleans where the trees along certain avenues are nurtured by Carnival floats passing beneath their limbs late each winter.…
There are four meaningful seasons in Louisiana: football, hurricane, Carnival and elections. All are important; two are fun. Robert Mann, holder of the Manship Chair in Journalism at LSU and a former staffer with Governor Kathleen Blanco and Senators John…
We have heard of Shriners Hospital but, but we bet you didn’t know that the organization’s children’s healthcare movement began in Shreveport in 1922. Steve Caskey, chairman of the Board of Governors for Shriners Children’s Shreveport, tells Louisiana Life Executive…
Had it not been for a few men wanting to rescue a lost ritual seven decades ago, there would be no Cajun Mardi Gras to talk about today and only faded ancient memories. Carnival, especially as practiced in New Orleans…
With one of the world’s great rivers flowing through it, Louisiana has always deserved a seat at the table when the topic is world trade. Now the subject had become enhanced as the local chapter of the World Trade Center…
Warren Perrin could deserve the title of Mr. French (Monsieur Français.) The Lafayette lawyer was a founder of Codofil (the organization to preserve the French language in Louisiana) and founded the Acadian Museum of Louisiana in Erath. Perrin joins Louisiana…
There are many acres of crawfish ponds in China, but did you ever hear the story about where the stock for those ponds originate? Hint: It is a state in America. Errol Laborde, Executive Editor of Louisiana Life, along with…
Here is a question we should all consider: “Why Louisiana Ain’t Mississippi or Anywhere Else?” Philosophers have long pondered the question but now there is good news, a TV documentary series takes a closer look. Jay Dardenne, a two time…
Though we hope to never see anything like them again, great urban tragedies should never be forgotten – if for no other reason than to to remind us to be vigilant at doing the things to prevent more disasters. Errol…
When you need a way to promote your state that will draw lots of attention and is fun to look at, a spin-off of a Mardi Gras float might work, especially if your state is Louisiana. State tourism promotion is…
They were raised among French speaking families. Their ancestry traced through Nova Scotia and the maritime provinces. They were teased by Anglo troops when they went to war. They became of enormous value in France as translators. Louisiana Life Executive…
Jerry Lee Lewis made a lot of music and left a lot of stories to tell about unrivaled popularity, unparalleled scandal and a rocking comeback. Jim Brown, former Secretary of State, Insurance commissioner and State Senator joins Louisiana Life Executive…
I guess you might call them faith healers, but they are more than that description because they often rely on certain herbs and plants, as well as handed-down prayer and sometimes even a gentle touch to heal certain maladies. They…
With the new year will come a gubernatorial election, a quadrennial event that is only out- rivaled by the LSU-Alabama game for fan interest. This year the attention should be especially high because Gov. John Bel Edwards is term limited.…
There are some people who claim to do Voodoo but are just doing it for fun. Then, there are others who are the real thing. Sallie Ann Glassman is a Voodoo priestess; ordained in the Haitian ritual. Glassman, who operates…
Just watching a brown pelican in action reveals how fascinating they are as they hover over a water body and then suddenly take a crash dive, to surface with fish in their bills. It is one of nature’s more dramatic…
While filming a documentary about ghosts in an old plantation home producer Barbara Sillery once noticed a woman standing outside a window looking in. Later when the camera operator and the sound technician were asked about the woman they responded,…
You’ve heard the expression “love that chicken!” Well, you might like this colorful interview as well. Al Copeland Jr , the CEO and chairman of the Copeland foundation, joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde and podcast producer Kelly Massicot…
Allison Plyer is an expert on numbers – not the boring kind that we may have experienced in school, but the fascinating statistics that reveal information about our lives and futures, as well as trends in the state. Plyer, the…
Shrimp may be the most versatile of all seafoods. We crave the jumbo shrimp but small shrimp has a use in gumbo. We eat the crustacean fried, boiled, grilled or topped with a remoulade sauce. It is also an industry…
What’s new in Louisiana? That's a question that Louisiana Life magazine asks in every issue but especially its annual cover story entitled "La Nouvelle Louisiane." The magazine’s editorial staff probes the state to discover what’s new in many topics including…
In 2005, during the days of confusion after Hurricane Katrina broke New Orleans’s levees, the military needed someone to take charge. That happened once Russel Honoré, a Louisiana-born General with lots of swagger, stepped off the helicopter. New Orleans Mayor…
Angela Gregory was one of Louisiana’s greatest artists and among the least known. She is distinguished for having chiseled a reputation in a field long dominated by men – sculpturing. From the streets of turn-of-the-century New Orleans, where she grew…
One Saturday morning when I was a kid and we were staying for the weekend with relatives near Moreauville in Avoyelles Parish, I was awakened early — way early — to prepare for the morning’s big event, a boucherie. I…
What exactly is the purpose of roux in a gumbo or stew? And how about those prepared roux mixes? Louisiana Life’s longtime food columnist and genius in the kitchen as well Stanley Dry ponders these question and others with Errol…
It is the true Public Enemy Number One. In Louisiana, cancer takes many victims but there is an advance guard providing research and treatments. Jasmyne Watts, a cancer support manager for the American Cancer Society, joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor…
Natchitoches, Louisiana is known for its quaint architecture, plus one building that is hip and cutting edge. The building, which now houses the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and the Northwest Louisiana History Museum, is so much of a discussion…
Some of the state’s most interesting places were built for everyday people to do great things. There were the Rosenwald Schools built by a wealthy Southerner who, in the pre-Civil Rights days, wanted to provide settings for Black kids to…
Back in the bad old days, when racial segregation was the law, there were music entertainment clubs throughout the state to accommodate a Black-only crowd. Known as the “Chitlin' Circuit,” some of the biggest names in rhythm and blues, including…
Bill Caragan fought two military-related battles in two different decades – and he was successful with both. The first can in the 1990s when Caragan's Louisiana National Guard Unit prepared to be shipped to Iraq as part of the effort…
Louisiana’s movie business is rebounding and Alfred Richard knows the scene from inside and out – as a fan and as a participant. Richard, whose movie comments are heard weekly on New Orleans stations WWL-TV Ch. 4 and periodically as…
In the last issue of this magazine (May/June) I wrote this column about Lucy the Cow. When I was a kid, a neighbor had a farm (and yes, he was actually named McDonald) and, with the agreement of my parents,…
Louisiana’s Atchafalaya Basin is the largest river swamp in the country. It is filled with vegetation, birds, animals, reptiles (including alligators) and wonderment. Unfortunately, any place that is so ecologically precious also has its challenges, including keeping the water flowing…
Besides color, what is the difference between a brown bear and a black bear? And which are you most likely to find in Louisiana? How plentiful are feral pigs? Does Louisiana have more alligators than people? What’s the difference between…
Jim Brown, former Louisiana Secretary of State, Insurance Commissioner and State Senator makes a return visit to the podcast and for good reason. He always has a lot of stories to tell. Brown joins Errol Laborde, Executive Editor of Louisiana…
There are many stories to be told about Louisiana’s Cajun culture; most joyous, a few heartbreaking, all part of a lifestyle that has flourished in southern Louisiana. Conni Castille, a ULL documentarian who has specialized in chronicling Acadiana, joins Louisiana…
One of the biggest honors given to any magazine is to be named “Magazine of the Year,” especially by a national trade organization. Well, ahem!, Acadiana Profile, Louisiana Life magazine’s sister publication, was recently named Magazine of the Year (in…
Whenever early education is the topic, charter schools are always part of the discussion. This is especially true in New Orleans, which has the only all charter public school system in the nation. J. Celeste Lay an Associate Professor of…
New Orleanian Tom Sancton is a master of the clarinet as well as an accomplished journalist, having served as Paris Bureau Chief for Time Magazine. Sancton joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde, along with podcast producer Kelly Massicot, to…
Here is the amazing story of how the pecan, as we would come to know it, was transformed from being a lowly nut that grew wild in the south to becoming a finely developed food source. All of this was…
Across the street from the house where I was raised there lived a man named McDonald. And he had a farm. I am not kidding. The neighborhood of my youth was a block in New Orleans’ Lakeview section next to…
A favorite topic of many podcast listeners is food; a second favorite topic is drink. Y’all are in luck. This episode’s guest is an expert on both. Liz Williams, a founder of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum and President…
We know that the Acadians were exiled from Nova Scotia, but why did so many settle in Louisiana? Was it because of the crawfish, the swamp, the alligators or the duck hunting? No, it was because of cattle and the…
You would think if you were a former Secretary of States, insurance Commissioner, state senator and candidate for governor you could get good attention in a public hospital. That was not the case in the early days of the COVID-19…
