01/22 Friday: "The Artful Detective", Elaine LaLanne, Louisiana Budget Proposal, and Flashback Friday to Lynn Marino

HOUR ONE: 

Yannick Bisson 

Yannick Bisson stars as William Murdoch on the popular Ovation TV series The Artful Detective which is about to begin its ninth season on January 23.  

Elaine LaLanne

Elaine LaLanne is the wife of the late fitness legend, Jack LaLanne.  She joins Jim to remember her husband as the fifth anniversary of Jack's death approaches this Saturday.   "He died with a weight in his hand," Elaine says. 

Clara Benson

Clara Benson is the author of No Baggage.  Clara Bensen’s 2013 Salon.com article entitled “The Craziest OKCupid Date Ever,”  was read by more than half a million people. The story of her luggage-less adventure attracted major national and international attention, with coverage in USA Today, and appearances on The View, Fox News. No Baggage has also been optioned by New Line cinemas.   Clara and her partner Jeff have made four subsequent no baggage trips, to South America, the Caucuses, Scandinavia, and Japan.  "I was nervous about a lot of things... we washed our clothes in the sink, hung them up to dry at night, and put them on in the morning and kept going," Bensen says, "We used couchsurfing.com." 

HOUR TWO: 

Jim Brown

Jim Brown is the former Louisiana Insurance Commissioner.  He comments on Governor Edwards's budget proposal.  Brown suggests examining the effectiveness of higher education and the TOPS program and look to see what can be improved. 

Flashback Friday

Lynn Marino was the mother of a Derrick Todd Lee victim.  Marino passed away this last year after a battle with cancer despite her wish to outlive Lee.  Jim remembers her on this segment of Flashback Friday in light of the serial killer's recent death. 

01/21 Thursday: Death of Serial Killer Derrick Todd Lee, BTR Airport, and Louisiana Budget Proposal

HOUR ONE: 

Ann Pace

Ann Pace is the mother of Charlotte Murray Pace.  Murray Pace was victim to serial killer Derrick Todd Lee.  The killer died of complications due to a heart pacemaker today, and Ann Pace shares her reaction to the news. "We don't remember victims.  I don't know what it is about humans.  You could say Ted Bundy, and everyone would know who he is, but I don't think one person could name a victim.  We remember the killers." 

Jim Caldwell 

Jim Caldwell is the Marketing & Air Service Development Manager at Baton Rouge Metro Airport.  He comments on air travel right now. "Total passenger volume (inbound and outbound) is about 800,000," Caldwell says, "We have a slightly higher percentage of business travel than the New Orleans airport." Caldwell also notes of a betterment in the food options at the BTR airport. 

Mike Edwards

Mike Edwards is the Airport Safety & Operations Manager at Baton Rouge Metropolitan Airport.   He joins Jim Caldwell to discuss air travel and safety.  "We actually have one of the shortest screening times as far as getting through security," Edwards says.  He also comments on his experience working with the security for President Obama's recent visit to Baton Rouge.  

HOUR TWO: 

Barry Irwin

Barry Irwin is the President and CEO of the Council for a Better Louisiana.  He discusses Governor Edwards's budget proposal.  "It's going to have to be a balance... not just businesses or individuals getting picked on... share the pain," Irwin says of the budget. 

Susan Mustafa

Susan Mustafa is the author of Bloodbath.  Mustafa shares her book as serial killer Derrick Todd Lee died today. "I looked at a timeline of his life, and where he was when a lot of women in that timeframe were missing because of unsolved cases," Mustafa says. 

01/20 Wednesday: Marriage Hall of Fame, Cigarette Tax, Louisiana Budget, and Financial Analyst

HOUR ONE: 

Gene Mills

Reverend Gene Mills is the head of Louisiana Family Forum.  He is looking for the longest married heterosexual couple to join the Louisiana Family Forum Marriage Hall of Fame. 

Lydia KuyKendal

Lydia Kuykendal is the Director of Government Relations for Louisiana at American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.  She discusses raising the cigarette tax to more than the national average.  She disparages at the proposed 22 cent tax by Governor John Bel Edwards.   

HOUR TWO:

George Sells 

George Sells is a recently retired longtime evening news anchor at WAFB in Baton Rouge.  He discusses the economy and drops in the stock market.  Sells also discusses the Chinese economy and how this affects the United States. 

Tony Guarisco

Tony Guarisco is a former Louisiana state senator who proposed a bill to legalize medical marijuana through a research program in 1978. He discusses the economy and stock market with George Sells.  

Amy Anderson 

Amy Anderson is the Financial Analyst Marketing Director and Investment Advisor Associate at BF Anderson and Co. 

01/19 Tuesday: Ernest Gaines 2016 Winner, Louisiana Education, Jazz Fest Lineup, and Remembering Glenn Frey

HOUR ONE: 

T. Geronimo Johnson 

T. Geronimo Johnson is the 2016 winner of the Ernest Gaines Literary Award.  He joins Jim to discuss his book Welcome to Braggsville. 

A literary coming-of-age novel for a new generation, written with tremendous social insight and a unique, generous heart, Welcome to Braggsville reminds us of the promise and perils of youthful exuberance, while painting an indelible portrait of contemporary America.

William Wynn

William Wynn is CEO of xTeros.  xTeros is a D.C. based group that works with individuals to promote Obamacare.  Wynn shares how to sign up and the way the group is working in Louisiana. 

HOUR TWO: 

Steve Monaghan

Steve Monaghan is the President of the Louisiana Federation of Teachers.  He was elected to his fifth term in November 2014.  He discusses cuts to higher education. 

John Wirt

John Wirt is a music, movie, arts reporter and critic in Louisiana.  He is the author of New Orleans music biography Huey "Piano" Smith and the Rocking Pneumonia Blues. He comments on the jazz fest lineup.  He also remembers the life and legacy of Glenn Frey of the Eagles. 

01/18 Monday: Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Former LSU Coach Skip Bertman, and Commissioner Jay Dardenne

HOUR ONE: 

Raymond Jetson 

Raymond Jetson is a Baton Rouge Reverend.  Raymond was elected to the Louisiana Legislature in 1984 and served until 1999. In 1994, Raymond became the fourth pastor of Star Hill.  Under his leadership the congregation has grown to more than 1,500 members and is  continually recognized for its impact on the local community.  Raymond served as CEO for the Louisiana Family Recovery Corps in the coordination of local, state and national efforts to connect people and families with the resources needed to return, recover and resume their lives after surviving disastrous situations.  Raymond served as the state Representative for District 61 in the Louisiana House of representatives for 15 years.  Pastor Jetson has served as a source for media outlets including USATODAY, The New York Times, NBC Nightly News, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and the Chronicle of Philanthropy.  

He remembers the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. today in celebration. 

Skip Bertman

Skip Bertman is a former baseball coach for LSU.  He discusses how to achieve goals in 2016 and political team building.  

Phyllis Horne

Phyllis Horne is the owner and CEO of Horne Creative in DC.  Her clients include the FBI and Indian Affairs.  The Louisiana inventor shares an idea to shelf process.  

HOUR TWO:

Jay Dardenne

Jay Dardenne is the Commissioner of Administration for Louisiana.  He is the former Lieutenant Governor.  He discusses the budget.  Dardenne also comments on taxes, tuition, and tags increases. 

Nick Bruno

Dr. Nick Bruno is the President of ULM.  He explains what cuts have done to ULM and programs in the last several years.  ULM has gone from being 70% state funded to 70% tuition funded.  The state only gives 24 million dollars now.  

Richard Lipsey

Richard Lipsey is a member of the Baton Rouge Board of Regents.  He comments on the Jindal administration's cuts to higher education and the Stelly Plan.  He also gives his suggestions on how to pull Louisiana out of the fiscal crisis. 

01/15 Friday: Climate Science, Friday Flashback with Former Coach Mack Brown, Principal of McKinley

HOUR ONE: 

Michael Mann

Michael E. Mann directs the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University and is the author of “The Hockey Stick and the Climate Wars: Dispatches From the Front Lines.”  He discusses  his article in The New York Times: The Assault on Climate Science. 

Mann says 97-100% of scientists believe "that climate change is real and human caused."  He also asserts that 2015 will go as the warmest year on record in the warmest decade on record.  

Friday Flashback

Jim remembers the career of former football coach Mack Brown in this week's "Friday Flashback."  He discusses the tense rivalry that thrived between Tulane and LSU. 

HOUR TWO: 

Dr. Herman Brister Jr. 

Dr. Herman Brister Jr. is the Principal of McKinley Magnet School.  Dr. Brister gives an account of President Obama's visit to Baton Rouge and the town hall meeting at McKinley.  "It was an honor for our community," he says, "He's a very down to earth person...very personable."