Imagine a Lieutenant leading a platoon through a French village during World War II. He has questions to ask the locals but everyone in his group only speaks English. What does he do? He calls for the soldier from French…
Imagine being Vice-President of the United States and having killed Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton in a duel. Imagine that later in his career the same person possibly committed sedition by trying to make the newly purchased Louisiana territory…
What is the better fish for eating, red drum or red snapper? They’re both good but food writer Stanley Dry know the differences. Dry has a long list of credentials including being food editor for Louisiana Life magazine and the…
Is Voodoo a religion or is it a way of life? According to Sallie Ann Glassman it is both. Glassman, who travelled to Haiti to study Vodou and to be initiated into the priesthood explains the complexities including the parallels with…
Churches in the Black community are historically known as places where preachers preach with more fervor and where choirs rock the house with hand-clapping joy, hoping for better days. A documentary produced by Louisiana Public Broadcasting entitled, “Louisiana’s Black Church,…
It all began with the word “Acadian," which became Americanized to “Cajun” and then popularized to define life’s necessities including a two-step in Mamou and the spiciness of fried chicken. Join Errol Laborde, executive editor of Louisiana Life, along with…
One of the most powerful men in the history of what is now Louisiana was Jean Lafitte. At his peak, Laffite was a mixture of pirate king, Mafia Don and local hero. For as famous as he was there is…
We know about the interstates and federal highways that lace the state but there is a lot to be learned from exploring the old roads. Louisiana is rich with trails all of which have fascinating stories from the gulf coast…
At first glance the French breakfast dish pain perdu doesn’t have much to recommend it, especially if you only speak English. The word “pain” is not what one would be looking for in a breakfast selection, and the English name…
At first glance the French breakfast dish pain perdu doesn’t have much to recommend it, especially if you only speak English. The word “pain” is not what one would be looking for in a breakfast selection, and the English name…
Glen Pitre’s first film “Belizaire: the Cajun” (1986) starring Armand Assante was backed by Robert Redford’s Sundance Institute. Pitre would go on to have more successes, including “The Scoundrel’s Wife” (2002) starring Tatum O’Neal. Roger Ebert, the late film critic…
Hardly anyone knows it, but the Louisiana-based Sazerac Company has become one of the top liquor brand distributors in the country. Plus, it operates the amazing new Sazerac House museum in New Orleans. Rhiannon Enlil, a historian for the museum,…
Where a bridge crosses the Mississippi River, connecting St. Francisville on one side and New Roads on the other, is a little like crossing the English Channel. There is the French culture on the New Roads side and a touch…
Besides sending many of its best overseas, Louisiana played important roles in World War II including ship manufacturing, training and housing German POWs. Dwight Eisenhower even spent times here overseeing maneuvers. Louisiana is still part of the World War II…
Spoiler alert!! The answer to the above question is that they are both among this year’s class of Louisianians of the Year. The two – Zydeco buff Herman Fuselier and teacher Nathalie Roy – are part of the nine selected…
They’re not all Cajuns nor are there any admirals in the bunch, but they have certainly experienced battles on the water and on the land. Rob Gaudet, the founder of the Cajun Navy, joins Louisiana Life executive editor Errol Laborde…
Cajuns are often associated with seafood, especially the crawfish, but in the prairie areas of south Louisiana, Cajuns are pork eater. Dixie Poche, author of the book the “Cajun Pig,” joins Errol Laborde, executive editor of Louisiana Life magazine, along…
Not only have whiskey and rum long been shipped through the state’s ports but local bartenders have created classics such as the Sazerac and Huey Long’s favorite, the Ramos Gin Fizz. Tim McNally – an expert on cocktail history and…
Let us pause a moment to consider midnight trains: Winston Hall is a Shreveport musician, song writer and music history buff. His town was once the home of the “Louisiana Hayride,” a Grand Ole Opry-type radio concert that helped grease…
– What is it like to own a plantation estate? Well, instead of worrying about the sugar harvest there is more concern about the tourist arrivals. It also helps to have a good eye for architecture, design and style. Kevin…
To the great debate about which is more appropriate to accompany gumbo – sweet potato or potato salad? – Stanley Dry offers a great alternative, sweet potato salad. Dry is the Food Editor for Louisiana Life magazine. He had also…
Asked which he prefers, alligators or crocodiles, and Dean Wilson did not hesitate. “Alligators,” he replied, “I can swim with them, but I can’t swim with crocodiles.” Wilson should know. He once spent four months alone in the Atchafalaya swamps'…
Poverty Point is a pre-historic settlement dating back as far as 1700 years BC. Located in what is now Northeastern Louisiana, Poverty Point was the center of an indigenous culture that spread thorough the Gulf South. Archaeologists Diana Greenlee digs…
There are two things that many of us might like to have more of “faith” and “healing.” Mary Perrin can provide both. Perrin is a traiteuse, the Acadian equivalent of a faith healer. Working with herbs, plants and prayer traiteurs…
Natchitoches is one of Louisiana’s most charming towns. It is also the oldest continuing settlement having been discovered by French explorers, even before New Orleans. The region is known for its rich history, including having been the setting for the…
Located in Keithville, Chimp Haven is the largest protected area for chimps in the country. Many of the residents were once owned by the federal government for research; others were pets. Now they all live a leisurely life, which…
Now I guess is as good a time as any to resolve an issue and move on with our lives. Afterall, we have been through so much this year that we should get all of the controversies behind us and…
Warren Perrin might be referred to as a Cajun Activist. The Lafayette Attorney once petitioned Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain asking for a British apology for the deportation of the Acadian people. (The British did not apologize but they acknowledged…
By law, the job of the Lieutenant Governor is not only to be ready when needed, but to also oversee the state’s tourism. COVID-19 has dropped many bombs on the industry and this week, Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser talks…
Louisiana has long inspired the artist finding natural beauty, Kings and Queens, Jazz roots and the passion of many cultures. Errol Laborde, executive editor of Louisiana Life, along with podcast producer, Kelly Massicot, join guest John Kemp, art columnist…
Monroe, Louisiana is the town that put the pop in Coca Cola and is near prehistoric mounds and a crop duster service that turned into a major airline. Monroe and its sister city West Monroe are separated by the…
Lake Charles is close enough to Texas to the west to have a cowboy influence; close enough to the Atchafalaya to the east to have a Cajun influence and close enough to the swamps to the south to have…
He grew up listening to swamp pop music. The only difference was that his Pop was one of the swamp poppers. This week’s Inside Louisiana podcast is a fun romp through the music that echoed across Louisiana during the…
Several times Lake Pontchartrain has faced serious pollution issues and each time it has survived largely because the lake, when given a chance, has had the ability to cleanse itself. Once closed to public swimming, folks these days are…
There are more legends about life along the Mississippi river than there are curves in its path. (Well, almost as many.) This week’s “Louisiana Insider” podcast examines the legends and the dynamics of the mightiest of rivers. Mary Ann…
The best of what is new in Louisiana is the subject of the latest edition of “Louisiana Insider.” This week Melanie Spencer, managing editor of Louisiana Life Magazine, joins us to celebrate the winners of La Nouvelle Louisiane awards…
Capitol Ideas Here’s a hint. The place is in Baton Rouge. OK, I guess you need more information, but first, what prompted this discussion? In this a year that best be forgotten, except maybe for LSU’s football trophy, there has…
This week, Mark Romig, chief marketing officer for tourism development at New Orleans & Company, joins host Errol Laborde to explore one of the world’s most colorful cities – New Orleans. They talk about the future, tourism, the Saints…
This week, Jeremy Alford, the publisher and editor of LaPolitics Weekly, joins host Errol Laborde to explore the state’s capitol city. They talk about politics, LSU, favorite haunts and things to do. Enjoy songs, stories about Earl and Huey…
In this week's episode, listeners will hear from Elvis, early blues singer Leadbelly and stories about Hank Williams. The latest episode is about Shreveport, which was once the site of the Louisiana Hayride, a Saturday night country music show…
In the first episode of "Louisiana Insider," Errol Laborde and Cheré Coen travel to Lafayette, Louisiana. There's music, food and a whole lot of history! THIS OR THAT Cheré Dastugue Coen…
One semester in college I had a professor who started every class with the same question, “Is anybody here from Clarence?” After the first couple of classes it was evident that none of us was from the Natchitoches Parish village,…
A SPECIAL EDITORIAL We have all experienced our Evangeline Oak moments this year. In 1928 Huey Long, a then little-known candidate for governor, stood beneath the oak and made a speech that is a classic in American politics. Referring to…
Hardly anyone knows it, but this year the Cajun Courir De Mardi Gras approaches the 70th anniversary of its revival. Had it not been for a few men wanting to rescue a lost ritual there would be no customs to…
What I remember most about going to Christmas midnight mass as a kid was the men standing outside the church until the last moment before the mass began. I didn’t know it at the time, but that was a French…
This is a gubernatorial election year, which raises the admittedly dorky question, to me at least: Who was governor 100 years ago? That would be in 1919. Well, it turns out the answer has significance in two of the state’s…
Fifty years ago, the search for the meaning of life wound through Louisiana with stops in the Pointe Coupee parish town of Morganza and in St. Mary Parish on the way to New Orleans. The motorcycle riders never found the…
The sibling question is such a hard one for me to successfully answer, and I get asked it all the time. Everyone does. It is a typical “get to know you” question, ostensibly harmless: “Do you have any brothers or…
When the sonographer first told me I was having a second daughter, I had a brief moment of … not disappointment, exactly, because I was so happy about everything else the baby had – a four-chambered heart! a brain! the…
Rare Surgery Saves Newborn SHREVEPORT – In late February, Brendicianna Turner was having what was supposed to be a routine ultrasound when doctors noticed that her son, who was at full term, had an underdeveloped jaw. “I thought I might…
