Louisiana Insider

Episode 108: Secrets of Traiteuses

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…

Episode 107: Interview with a Voodoo Priestess

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…

Episode 106: Brown Pelicans Taking a Dive

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…

Episode 105: Hunting for Haunts

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,…

Episode 104: Love That Chicken!

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…

Episode 102: Shrimp Boats are Coming

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…

Episode 101: Looking for the Latest in Louisiana

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…

Episode 100: Russel Honoré, The General Who Took Charge

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…

Episode 99: Angela Gregory - A Woman Who Turned Stone Into Art

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…

Episode 95: In Search of Places Worth Saving

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…

Episode 94: Return of the Dew Drop Inn

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…

Episode 93: Operation Desert Storm Monument

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…

Episode 91: Exploring the Atchafalaya Swamp – And Minding the Gators

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…

Episode 89: The Evolution of Saints – A Shreveport Story

In 1873, one of the worst Yellow Fever epidemics in the nation’s history swept through Shreveport. The then fledgling Archdiocese of Natchitoches recruited five priests from France to service the needy. All five died having known they would not return…

Episode 88: Jim Brown - Stories To Tell

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…

Episode 87: Cajun Through the Lens

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…

Episode 86: MAGAZINE OF THE YEAR! Hey, That's Us!

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…