There’s a growing legal movement across the globe to grant natural entities like forests and rivers the same legal rights as humans. And it’s catching on in the US.

As Juanpablo Ramirez Franco with the Mississippi River Basin Ag and Water Desk reports, Indigenous-led campaigns to recognize the legal rights of natural entities like wild rice, salmon and lakes are setting the stage for a nascent movement on the Mighty Mississippi.

The talk is already heating up in this fall’s gubernatorial race here in Louisiana, with fundraising in full swing and attack ads already on the airwaves. Now, a group of Louisiana’s largest public affairs organizations are setting out to educate not just the voting public – but also the candidates themselves – about the issues important to the state.

Barry Erwin, president and CEO of Council for a Better Louisiana, tells us more about this nonpartisan effort from RESET Louisiana. 

Community college enrollment may be on the decline nationwide, but Louisiana schools are bucking this trend. W. Chandler LeBoeuf, Governmental and Public Affairs Officer for the Louisiana Community and Technical College System, tells us why and explains how this benefits the state’s higher education system.

Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Adam Vos. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber and our digital editor is Katelyn Umholtz. Our engineers are Garrett Pittman and Aubry Procell. 

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at 12:00 and 7:30 pm. It’s available on Spotify, Google Play, and wherever you get your podcasts. 

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