Katrina Stories

This is the second half of our stories about being in a new town as a high school student; a challenge that only multiplied the stress of the hurricane.  Some students found their way while some faced hostilities from their new classmates.  Let’s hear what happened to Christopher, ...

This is Part 1 of 2 where we listen to reflections from high school students.  No one was allowed back into the city for at least a...

In this episode, five people share stories that pull back the curtain on the state of healthcare in New Orleans during and after the storm. Angel, Renee, Willie, and Wayne each recount what it was like inside local hospitals—scenes marked by confusion, desperation, and a system buckling under pressure. Then there's Jairo, whose words shift us toward the future, raising urgent questions about Charity Hospital an...

One significant positive outcome was the amount of grassroots organizing that took place.  Whether it was for providing relief services or building coalitions to advocate for one’s community -- a lot of new connections were made and a lot of new organizations were formed.  Let’s listen to Minh, Robert, Bill, John, and Jaqueline te...

If you live in New Orleans you know we’ve got problems and unfortunately they’re nothing new.  Today’s four interviewees, Yvonee, Jeffrey, Jennifer and Daniel lament and vent about the broken systems New Orleans faced before the storm that were only exacerbated with Katrina’s landfall as well as discuss new issues that sprang up in the efforts to help the city.

This episode is gonna hurt because it’s about people returning to the remnants of their homes after the storm.  These three interviewees: Cassandra, Alexandria, and Mikey, experienced anywhere from massive damage to total loss of their homes and their family’s homes. 

Katrina Stories is a documentary podcast built from first-person accounts recorded after Hurricane Katri...

With New Orleans and surrounding areas being completely devastated, every resident who sought refuge in a new town had to contemplate the question, “If I can go home, should I?”  The four interviewees today, Leo, Jason, Duc and Jaqueline all decided to return.  Their love for the city, their vision for its potential rebirth and thei...

The throughline of today’s stories is racism.  Our interviewees today, Danita, Scott and Laurie, give some thoughtful insights into how and why New Orleanians were treated the way we were in the media and in person.  We finish this episode with a poem written and read by our friend Valentine Pierce entitled Reluctant Immigrants th...

This episode is about connections — the kind you don’t expect to find and the kind you need to make it in tough times.  Amid the destruction and chaos that followed Katrina, moments of generosity stood out.  In this episode, Alta, Rob and Desmond share stories of the kindness of strangers, the bond we feel to our community, and how ...

Like many areas of the city, Xavier University of Louisiana was hit hard by the storm.  In this episode three people including two students, Jamari, Ryan, and Kerwin, recount their experiences staying on campus for six days surrounded by flood waters, looking for food, being rescued by boat, and the feelings of homesickness and frustration they felt while having to atten...

This is part 2 of 2 of our interviews focusing on the police and National Guard.  Our first two interviewees, Sam and Larry, recount their interactions and perspectives on NOPD and the National Guard, while our third, Matthew, was an actual National Guardsman at the time of the interview who told us about some of the similarities and differences between being deployed overseas and being deployed at home.

This is episode one of two about the police and National Guard.  New Orleans was in chaos during the aftermath of the hurricane and for a long while was virtually a non-functioning city.  In this episode Andrea, Baruch, Scott and Noah tell us about their positive and negative interactions with those tasked with keeping order.

Today we hear from Deonta, Ismaelite, Kenya, Ngoc-Dung, Terionne, and Louise.  Each of these interviewees describe how they and loved ones made it through the immediate aftermath of the storm with flood waters rising around them.

Katrina Stories is a documentary podcast built from first-person accounts recorded after Hurricane Katrina as part Mondo Bizarro's I-10 Witness...

Our six storytellers today, Sharon, Francis, Kristen, Mai, Jenny and Cindy, tell us some eye opening stories about taking care of one another, especially the very young and the very old, assuming responsibility, and keeping it together when tensions are high and you’re packed like sardines in a three bedroom house with 54 people. 

Katrina Stories is a documentary podcast built from first-pers...