Gulf States Gumbo

On this week’s episode, we visit the Lower 9th Ward in New Orleans. Twenty years after Hurricane Katrina, the neighborhood still carries the scars of the storm — from empty lots to relentless heat. 

Public health reporter Drew Hawkins examines how rising temperatures are reshaping daily life for seniors in New Orleans — from sleepless nights to skyrocketing energy bills. 

WWNO and WRKF’s Coastal Desk reporter Eva Tesfaye bri...

On this week's episode, we head down to coastal Mississippi. While Hurricane Katrina is largely associated with widespread flooding and displacement in New Orleans, it also devastated the Magnolia State, destroying thousands of homes and businesses. 

Gulfport, in the heart of Mississippi’s Gulf Coast, is home to a group of historic Black communities that found themselves at the center of it all. WWNO and WRKF’s Coastal Desk...

On this week's episode, we speak with WRKF reporter and Report for America corps member Alex Cox about a new immigration detention center at the notorious Louisiana State Penitentiary — better known as Angola — and how it fits into national trends. 

Public health reporter Drew Hawkins also speaks with Bobbi-Jeanne Misick of Verite News and criminal justice reporter Kat Stromquist about their recent investigation into the co...

On this week's episode, we dip into our well of stories marking the 20th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and the federal levee failures. 

Public health reporter Drew Hawkins explains how small, local publications helped salvage New Orleans' culture from the floodwaters, while sports and culture reporter Joseph King takes us to a musical hub formed after the storm.  

Plus, community engagement producer Nellie Beckett joins t...

It’s been 20 years since a train service along the Mississippi Coast from Mobile to New Orleans was possible. Hurricane Katrina put a stop to that service. But in August, the train finally came back. 

In this week's episode, economic mobility reporter Stephan Bisaha takes the ride and stops at two locations along the Mississippi Coast to learn about the damage Katrina brought to the state and how it changed these communitie...

On this week's episode, we stir the pot from the Saturn music venue in Birmingham. Recorded on August 9th, 2025, Joseph King interviews senior reporter Stephan Bisaha about nightmare utility bills. 

This episode is hosted by Joseph King, who is also our social producer. The podcast was produced by Stephan Bisaha, Kat Stromquist, Drew Hawkins, Orlando Flores Jr. and Ryan Vasquez. Nellie Beckett is our audience engagement pro...

We know what the heat in New Orleans feels like, and we know what the data can look like with charts and graphs. But what does it sound like? 

On this week’s episode, we “sonify” the heat data, using music to illustrate how hot New Orleans has gotten over the last few decades — and how quickly temperatures are increasing. 

Public health reporter Drew Hawkins takes us through the process of analyzing the data and converting i...

On this week's episode, we venture onto the Pearl River, which flows through Jackson, Mississippi, down into southeastern Louisiana. For more than 100 years, that river has flooded in northeast Jackson. 

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has been trying to stop the flooding, but each plan has caused backlash and concern from Jackson down to Slidell, Louisiana. We talk with WWNO’s Michael McEwen and hear from Mississippi Publ...

Steep cuts are coming to to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits, better known as food stamps. And that’s bad news for independent grocery stores that see the bulk of their sales from SNAP dollars.

In this week's episode, economic mobility reporter Stephan Bisaha visits an Alabama grocer bracing for the cuts.

Also, the Gulf South continues to be left out of the tech industry boom. Stephan also reports on...

Federal grants helped bring down opioid overdose deaths by supporting peer services, expanding treatment access and increasing the availability of overdose-reversal drugs — like Narcan. But the Trump administration has stalled that funding. 

In this week’s episode, we go to the streets of Birmingham, Alabama, to find out how losing the funding for overdose-reversal drugs could reverse progress made in the opioid crisis. We ...

Major hacks at big companies like Sony and Equifax often get plenty of attention. But small businesses fall victim to cyber attacks, too — about four times as often as larger organizations, according to a report from Verizon.

For this week's episode, we go to a New Orleans neighborhood bar that lost about $10,000 because of scammers, along with losing access to her Facebook and Meta accounts — which helped drive a large par...

As thousands in the United States die from opioid overdoses each year, the Dutch responded to their own opioid crisis by changing their approach. That included embracing harm reduction and an integrated public health model to policing drug use. 

In this week’s episode, public health reporter Drew Hawkins takes us to the Netherlands, where he explores how these different tactics could work in the Gulf South. 

And for this wee...

On this week’s episode, we’re handing the reins over to the NPR science podcast Short Wave. 

Our economic mobility reporter Stephan Bisaha went on the show last month to talk about how Alabama’s fortified roofs have become a model program, protecting residents from hurricanes and rising insurance costs. We also hear from NPR climate correspondent Lauren Sommer about a similar program in California meant to fight wildfires. 

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In this week’s episode, we share some good news from the region: our states are leading the way on third-grade reading skills, a vital benchmark that can be a positive sign for future success in school. 

Mississippi was once at the bottom when it came to third grade reading levels. Now, it's close to the top. Alabama and Louisiana are climbing the ranks faster than other states, and Louisiana is implementing a new rule to m...

A quick warning — today’s episode is about the death penalty and includes talk about recent executions and methods. 

Capital punishment is a priority of the Trump administration, with the Deep South at the epicenter. We talk with our criminal justice reporter Kat Stromquist about the new method Alabama pioneered. Kat also talks with researcher Corinna Barrett Lain about her new book, “Secrets of the Killing State,” and how ...

Editor’s Note: This episode contains descriptions of sexual violence that may be upsetting for some listeners. 

Public health reporter Drew Hawkins takes over this week’s episode to focus on a single story — the Gulf South’s shortage of sexual assault nurse examiners, better known as SANEs. 

Over the last year, Drew has been reporting on the impacts the shortage has had on hospital systems and sexual assault survivors. In pa...

On this week's episode, we zoom into Clarksdale, Mississippi, where Ryan Coogler’s latest blockbuster "Sinners" is set. Movie critics said it's one of the best of the year, but residents couldn’t watch it without driving elsewhere. That changed after one man spoke out. 

Our sports and culture reporter Joseph King and Mississippi Public Broadcasting's Shamira Muhammad tell us about what they saw at a series of special screen...

On this week's episode, we’re heading to Mobile, Alabama, to find out why the Trump administration wants more ships built there and and across the Gulf. And, why critics say the policy meant to make that happen is not enough carrot and too much stick.

Also, this August will mark 20 years since Hurricane Katrina, an event that forever changed New Orleans. Whether you left Louisiana or stayed after Katrina, we want to hear yo...

On this week's episode of the Gulf States Gumbo, we examine how cost-cutting in Washington is being felt in the South. 

Take the federal funding that’s played a major role in fighting the U.S. HIV epidemic — especially in hard-hit places like Alabama — for example. DOGE cuts and Trump administration policy changes threaten to undo that progress, according to advocates. 

And Louisiana lawmakers are asking Congress to bring ba...