The Founders Show
A look at Louisiana politics from Chaplain Hy McEnery and Christopher Tidmore
Episodes
August 11, 2025 • 54 mins
Live from Canada, Christopher joints Hy from the middle of the St. Lawrence River, traveling down the waterways of historic “New France”. He talks about visiting the original home of Charles LeMoyne and how Montreal was the parent of New Orleans.
We also talk about the looming loss of a congressional seat, and the fact that the loss of population is not only causing that possibility, but our real economic problems. In 2024, just o...
We also talk about the looming loss of a congressional seat, and the fact that the loss of population is not only causing that possibility, but our real economic problems. In 2024, just o...
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August 4, 2025 • 54 mins
This week on the Founders Show, Hy and Christopher take a deep dive into the future of education.
Several Louisiana school districts have been experimenting with the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program. Pass the BAC exam, and virtually any university on the planet will throw open its doors. Currently, 5800 schools worldwide use IB’s curriculum.
For the first time in history, a school is being created—in Monroe—with the IB progr...
Several Louisiana school districts have been experimenting with the International Baccalaureate (IB) Program. Pass the BAC exam, and virtually any university on the planet will throw open its doors. Currently, 5800 schools worldwide use IB’s curriculum.
For the first time in history, a school is being created—in Monroe—with the IB progr...
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July 25, 2025 • 54 mins
Hy and Christopher spend the second half of the Founders Show talking about the entrance of Eric Skrmetta into the US Senate race on Friday, July 25. Qualifying is actually in December for a closed primary in April 2026, so his primary election occurs less than nine months from today.
The Louisiana Public Service Commissioner, who represents a district the size of a congressional seat, cuts into US Sen. Bill Cassidy’s support in the...
The Louisiana Public Service Commissioner, who represents a district the size of a congressional seat, cuts into US Sen. Bill Cassidy’s support in the...
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July 18, 2025 • 54 mins
Hy and Christopher discuss fundraising in the Mayor’s race and the rising danger of inflation later in the program, but our main issue are the cuts in the PBS budget.
WWOZ management called in all of its senior staff and stakeholders for strategy session to deal with the danger of the recession bill on Wednesday, July 17, when it became clear that Donald Trump’s $9 Billion cut in the foreign aid public media budgets would pass the U...
WWOZ management called in all of its senior staff and stakeholders for strategy session to deal with the danger of the recession bill on Wednesday, July 17, when it became clear that Donald Trump’s $9 Billion cut in the foreign aid public media budgets would pass the U...
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July 11, 2025 • 54 mins
Hy and Christopher begin the show with a spirited dive into New Orleans’s bohemian past where the funerary tradition is honored by a drink comprised of absence, gin, and vermouth. Chronicling this history, author Sue Strachan joins us on the Founders Show, talking about her new book The Obituary Cocktail, and it’s premier at the Garden District Book Shop on Friday, July 18. More information at gardendistrictbookshop.com
We then ask ...
We then ask ...
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July 8, 2025 • 54 mins
The Founders Show comes to you from Colonial Williamsburg this week as Hy and Christopher discuss the importance of the 4th of July as the show begins They go on to examine the “Big Beautiful Bill”, its impacts, benefits like a $1000 deduction for nonprofits (even if you claim the standard deduction), and the likelihood that a Louisiana legislative special session will be called to make up for the loss of Medicaid dollars. Could yo...
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We kick off the show talking about the fact that New Orleans is no longer a major city - at least according to the federal government. We keep into that theme in our conversation with former New Orleans Councilman and state Senator Jon Johnson. He’s running for Council District E, and we ask the question as a convicted felon, can he win? Johnson believes he can.
We then talk about the big beautiful Bill, which reached its first hurd...
We then talk about the big beautiful Bill, which reached its first hurd...
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June 20, 2025 • 54 mins
Hy and Christopher are joined for the second half of The Founders Show by Public Service Commissioner Eric Skrmetta, who has launched an inquiry into why the blackouts were ordered with just nine minutes notice by a little known federal regulatory group one month ago.
MISO is more than a soup, but Skrmetta believes that Louisiana and her electric utilities would be better off working with other southeastern states for a new intersta...
MISO is more than a soup, but Skrmetta believes that Louisiana and her electric utilities would be better off working with other southeastern states for a new intersta...
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June 17, 2025 • 54 mins
The Founders Show comes to you live from the Thousand Islands on the Canadian-US border, from the deck of the famed Canadian Empress riverboat.
We’ve been sailing down the St. Lawrence Seaway, and that triggered our kick off topic for this week’s show. The U.S. / Canadian relationship has been in the news quite a bit over the last year. North of the border, voters have resented the “51st state” comments, so much so that Canada re-el...
We’ve been sailing down the St. Lawrence Seaway, and that triggered our kick off topic for this week’s show. The U.S. / Canadian relationship has been in the news quite a bit over the last year. North of the border, voters have resented the “51st state” comments, so much so that Canada re-el...
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May 23, 2025 • 54 mins
Hy and Christopher are joined by Curtis Robinson of the Hunter-Gatherers podcast to interview the legendary David Amram. At 94 years young, the famed jazz and folk musician has played with everyone from Dizzy Gillespie to Leonard Bernstein. He invented jazz poetry with Jack Kerouac in Greenwich Village. And Amram explains why New Orleans is the most American city.
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May 19, 2025 • 54 mins
Curtis Robinson joins Hy and Christopher to talk about the chances to pass the current budget in Congress and the state of politics in Washington DC. He also mentions a little bit about Hunter S Thompson and Gonzofest 11 while he is at it.
Robinson is a veteran newspaper, editor, Washington-based columnist, and member of the National Press Club. He ranks as the consummate Washington insider, and based on what he has heard, he think...
Robinson is a veteran newspaper, editor, Washington-based columnist, and member of the National Press Club. He ranks as the consummate Washington insider, and based on what he has heard, he think...
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May 14, 2025 • 54 mins
May 15-18 will see Gonzofest 2025 at The Rink, 2727 Prytania. It's a celebration of the life and work of Hunter S. Thompson.
Hy & Christopher are joined by two of the organizers, Curtis Robinson and Kent Fielding. Christopher and Curtis actually produce a podcast on Hunter S. Thompson - Hunter-Gatherers - which they exerpt on this week's radio show.
Join us on Friday, Saturday and Sunday - Gonzofest is free! More information is a...
Hy & Christopher are joined by two of the organizers, Curtis Robinson and Kent Fielding. Christopher and Curtis actually produce a podcast on Hunter S. Thompson - Hunter-Gatherers - which they exerpt on this week's radio show.
Join us on Friday, Saturday and Sunday - Gonzofest is free! More information is a...
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May 6, 2025 • 54 mins
Hy and Christopher take on the legislative session, discussing Gov. Jeff Landry losing influence as the deficit picture changes and several pieces of legislation under consideration.
We also spent some time looking at the trash situation in the French Quarter, and a proposed legislative solution. This is Christopher‘s editorial on the subject:
Trash Bill: the first step at empowering neighborhoods
It’s curious that Mayor LaToya Cantre...
We also spent some time looking at the trash situation in the French Quarter, and a proposed legislative solution. This is Christopher‘s editorial on the subject:
Trash Bill: the first step at empowering neighborhoods
It’s curious that Mayor LaToya Cantre...
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April 25, 2025 • 54 mins
Hy and Christopher kick off with an interview with hospital activist Beth Pence. She reveals that only six Louisiana hospitals have been transparent with their pricing and cost for procedures, despite the law passed by U.S. Sen. Bill Cassidy which mandates hospitals must provide the pricing “openly and transparently”. We discuss how hard this byzantine economic burden places on so many families.
We then move to talking about our mai...
We then move to talking about our mai...
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April 19, 2025 • 54 mins
Hy and Christopher begin this week’s program talking about the 2025 legislative session. We kick off ruminating about over the Port of New Orleans seeking to build a container terminal in St. Bernard Parish—an issue coming up in the State House Transportation Committee on Wednesday. The concept is deeply unpopular amongst the residemts of Violet and Chalmette, but Port Nola officials are undaunted. The catch is that Plaquemine P...
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April 11, 2025 • 54 mins
Hy and Christopher start the show by celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to New Orleans on his 1825 Farewell Tour. We are joined by General Lafayette himself (as well as his alter ego, Mark Schneider) and the President of the American Friends of Lafayette, Chuck Schwam.
We then talked to Trump tariffs and the potential deal to open 10% trade with 75 countries, and Christopher says the words you...
We then talked to Trump tariffs and the potential deal to open 10% trade with 75 countries, and Christopher says the words you...
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April 7, 2025 • 54 mins
Hy and Christopher begin by talking about the impact of the Trump tariffs, and end the show highlighting the festivities this week celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the visit of the Marquis de Lafayette to New Orleans. Many of the events are free and open to the public, and Christopher will actually be playing then-Governor Henry Johnson on Thursday, April 10 at Chalmette Battlefield. More info at afl-louisiana.com
Most of today...
Most of today...
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March 29, 2025 • 54 mins
Louisiana public schools have made major advances in reading and math, yet still lag behind other states in educational achievement. Could the International Baccalaureate (IB) program service as the solution?
Seven Louisiana schools, including the French Quarter-bound Lycée Francais use the IB, but the internationally-recognized, integrated educational system has a significantly small presence in Pelican State. Robert Kelty, the N...
Seven Louisiana schools, including the French Quarter-bound Lycée Francais use the IB, but the internationally-recognized, integrated educational system has a significantly small presence in Pelican State. Robert Kelty, the N...
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March 25, 2025 • 54 mins
Hy and Christopher lament the loss of another local newspaper, and question if our society had become more crass and divided as local journalism outlets die? We then turned to Donald Trump and Ukraine. Christopher contends in a column of The Louisiana Weekly, which he talks about below, that when American needs a Churchill, it has a Chamberlain. Hy disagrees, to say the least.
Community newspapers unite us. Sometimes they highligh...
Community newspapers unite us. Sometimes they highligh...
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March 15, 2025 • 54 mins
Hy and Christopher kickoff this week show talking about a new production of Jersey Boys at Le Petit Theatre, running Thursday-Sunday through April 6. Joined in the conversation by Sebastian Rohn (Frankie Valli), Knox Van Horn (Nick DeVito and others), and Stephanie Abry (Lorraine and others), we talk about how the story of The Four Seasons particularly lends itself to a musical theater interpretation.
Jersey Boys follows the fascina...
Jersey Boys follows the fascina...
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