Presidential politics and energy expert Jay Hakes, a former University of New Orleans Political Science professor, has written a compelling new book about contemporary presidents and their response to environmental issues. He helped organize Jimmy Carter’s Louisiana campaign in 1976…
Sometimes life seems to move in a circle taking its passengers from where they started, to other destinations and then back again. Some of the literary figures who were regulars at the historic Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans’ French Quarter…
One evening in 1949, a group of women stormed into the lobby of the majestic Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans. They headed straight to the bar and demanded to be served Sazeracs, the house specialty and a New Orleans legendary…
As a former Louisiana Secretary of State, Insurance Commissioner and State Senator, Jim Brown has had to cross many rivers including the Mississippi, Atchafalaya, the Red and the Pearl. In his retirement, Brown has had the chance to wade in…
“Down the River” is more than a variant of a poker game. For the writer it can be a stream for words; for the adventurer it can be a highway past great cities and alongside bountiful wetlands. Boyce Upholt, a…
As a chef, Eric Cook is known for having lots of spice and flavor in his creations. The same can be said about his conversations. Cook – who owns Gris-Gris restaurant on Magazine Street in New Orleans’ Garden District, as…
After traumatic events, such as hurricanes, there are two areas in particular that need damage repair. One is the actual physical destruction and the other can be the psychological damage. A two-part documentary produced and streamed by Louisiana Public Broadcasting…
There was a time and region where a homerun might have been exclaimed as being a coup de circuit! The added excitement that the ball may have landed in a field such as near the southwest Louisiana towns of Rayne…
Randy Fertel knows how to serve with a sizzle, including on steaks or in life. Fertel, the son of Ruth’s Chris's Steakhouse founder Ruth Fertel (known for her butter-topped sizzling steaks), is an author who is fascinated with ideas. He joins Louisiana Life…
Liz Williams dishes out information about food in several different servings. She is the founder of New Orleans’ Southern Food and Beverage Museum (SoFab). She has written books about food, the latest being “So Fab Cookbook: Recipes from the Modern…
Few people understand Louisiana, especially its politics, history and issues, better than Robert Mann. He is an author of several books about Louisiana politics, none so close to the topic as his most recent publication, "Kingfish U," a rollicking history of…
We know, sometimes back pains can be a real pain in the neck, or something like that. Between our extremities and our shoulders muscles get tight, tensions increase. Beth Winkler is a physical therapist who worked at a hospital where…
Insurance is supposed to provide security; in Louisiana it has become a crisis. We hear stories of homeowners being challenged to pay house notes because of the growing costs of home insurance. Automobile rates have increased, too, and what about…
Imagine Louisiana without French. Even if you don’t hear it often, you know that it is there and part of the state’s history, culture and even its music and food. Well, it could have happened. In 1925 a state law…
Here is a dash of chicory for your daily podcast listening. The Louisiana-based Community Coffee company is now in its 105th year. Headquartered in Baton Rouge with facilities in New Orleans, Community is the largest family-owned and operated retail coffee…
Louisiana was the location for the very first Tarzan movie, back in 1917 when actor Elmo Lincoln swung from the trees near Morgan City where the Atchafalaya Swamp played the role of Africa. Louisiana has produced many more settings including…
No sports figure represent mores of an emotional tug of war than Steve Gleason. It was he that, on the glorious night in 2006 when the New Orleans Saints returned to the Superdome after being away for a season because…
Ramon Vargas, a former reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune and now an editor/reporter for the London-based publication The Guardian, has for several years been covering sex scandals mostly between adult educator authority figures and school age youth. Most of…
Don’t you hate it when three alligator brothers will not listen to each other when trying to find a safe place to build a home? The reason: Well, two of the brothers, Bumpy and Lumpy, ignore the other brother, Stumpy,…
In 1984, New Orleans hosted the Louisiana World’s Exposition, known more simply as the world’s fair. Through the years the evaluations have been similar – the fair was financially challenging but the locals loved it. Peggy Scott Laborde, a producer for…
Secretive Men’s organizations – such as the Free Masons, Elks, Odd Fellows and many more – did not originate just for the sake of privacy. In many cases they had a social purposes such as providing health and security benefits…
Louisiana’s longest running weekly news TV program celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. During that time topics have included the Katrina recovery; the David Duke vs. Edwin Edwards gubernatorial runoff; a World’s Fair; the ups and downs of the economy;…
Words are for reading, but sometimes it is good to pause and have a word or two about words themselves: how they are used; where they have taken us. Louisiana Life magazine Editor Reine Dugas joins Louisiana Life’s Executive Editor…
Just having survived in New Orleans as a poor French Jewish immigrant was a major accomplishment for young Leon Godchaux. But having lived a life in his adopted city where he eventually opened his own department store, mastered the use…
