Clare Chennault led the country he was fighting for in defeating the Japanese in the air war. Surprisingly, that country was China and without his aerial combat skills Japan may have conquered the nation in 1937. Accordingly, the outcome of…
This year marks the 30th anniversary of casino type gambling being legitimized in Louisiana. Pulitzer-winning journalist Tyler Bridges joins Errol Laborde, executive editor of Louisiana Life, along with producer Kelly Massicot to discuss the political history of the games of…
When Jim Brown, a young attorney from Louisiana first met Edwin Edwards, who was in Congress at the time, the two men sat on the steps of the U.S. capitol and talked about Louisiana politics and their ambitions. It was…
It was 1966 and racial tensions, which were always high in Plaquemines Parish, were boiling over—a group of male Black students was fighting against some white males. Gary Duncan, a local who was related to one of the Black students,…
Imagine, you’re the pilot of an ocean freighter working its way up the Mississippi River. There’s something important you should know. Regardless of your destination you should dock the big ship somewhere before you reach the “old bridge” in Baton…
Imagine, walking down the street one night in Opelousas and hearing in the distance music from Ray Charles or maybe James Brown. Only that was no jukebox that you were hearing but Charles and Brown themselves performing live in St.…
A levee’s riverside is called a batture. For a few hearty souls it is also called “home.” Author Macon Fry lives in a camp on a batture at the edge of Orleans Parish. He has been chronicling stories of people…
Louisiana has always had some dry parishes where booze was limited by local law, but the state and especially New Orleans did not take too well to the period from 1920 through 1933, when alcohol sales was curtailed nationwide. Prohibition…
What does it mean when the top 10 movies set in Louisiana are discussed, two of them have the word “Easy” in the title? After much discussion, we have concluded that it is probably only a coincidence because the competition…
For many, the image of Jewish settlements in the United States have been mostly on the East Coast and in major cities. However, there has long been a Jewish population spread across the South and in rural areas. Dating back…
Bre'r Rabbit was a trickster who loved to defy authority and who pulled his stunts throughout the South. He is known for finding seclusion in briar parches but in Louisiana, his spiritual home was Laura Plantation where former slaves told…
Don’t you just hate it when you’re walking in the yard of an old farmhouse and there is a ghost staring out the window? How about that strange noise some folks claim they have heard coming from the barn? And…
Louisiana was one of the pioneering states at offering free healthcare to its citizens. And there were several state-run Charity hospitals, with the New Orleans facility being one of the largest in the nation. James Ciaravella, a retired surgeon turned…
Louisiana, we know, is the creation of many ethnic groups but one that doesn’t always get the credit it is due is the Sicilians. The port of New Orleans was the largest arrival point of migrants from the island off…
Huey Long is such a part of the legend of Louisiana politics one might think he was governor for decades. In fact he did not serve a full term, but his impact would last for decades. From his perch as…
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…
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…
