Louisiana is infamous for its high incarceration rates. But that reputation didn’t happen overnight. A new book, "Prison Capital," explores the history of the issue, and efforts to push back on it over the past fifty years.

Author Lydia Pelot-Hobbs joins the Gulf States Newsroom’s Kat Stromquist for more.

Founded in 1784, the Prince Hall Masons is the oldest African American Masonic order. The organization also claims to be America's oldest civil rights organization, although their contributions have been largely unseen. 

Kathe Hambrick, executive director of the Amistad Research Center at Tulane University and Ralph Slaughter, grand master of the Louisiana Prince Hall Masons, tell us more about these organizations ahead of their upcoming panel discussions on Black masonic history. 

This Saturday, the organization Restore the Mississippi River Delta is presenting its sixth-annual “Cook-off for the Coast” event. Campaign director Simone Maloz tells us how this food festival aims to raise money and awareness for coastal restoration efforts. 

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Adam Vos. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber and our assistant producer is Aubry Procell. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12:00 and 7:00 pm. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play, and wherever you get your podcasts. 

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