02/17 Wednesday: The Advocate's Mark Ballard, Republican State Rep. Chris Broadwater, former Senator Troy Hebert & Assistant Editor, James Moran of Tiger Rag

HOUR ONE :

The Advocate's Mark Ballard

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Advocate political columnist Mark Ballard explains some of the reasoning behind Gov. John Bel Edward's statements dealing with taxes and budget cuts.  Ballard mentions that he would definitely foresee a future tax on alcohol in Louisiana.  

Republican State Representative Chris Broadwater

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Republican State Representative Chris Broadwater of Hammond serves on the House Ways and Means Committee. He  talks about the limited amount of time lawmakers have to figure out ways to balance the state's massive budget deficit. He doesn't eliminate the possibility of raising taxes as solutions. Broadwater also expresses the amount of concern Louisianans should have for higher education and the future of the state.

HOUR TWO:

Former Senator Troy Hebert

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Former lawmaker and ATC Commissioner Troy Hebert provides a list of ideas that he feels will decrease some of the excess spending in the state.  Using time clocks for state workers and possibly college professors as well as placing GPS devices in state vehicles are just a few of the ideas that he proposes.

Assistant Tiger Rag Editor James Moran

Assistant Tiger Rag Editor James Moran discusses the debut Tiger Rag Extra publication, "Stars Align." He tells the story of LSU's top athletes in the school's biggest sports: Leonard Fournette in football, Ben Simmons in basketball and Alex Lange in baseball.  Moran explains how the recruiting of these athletes has increased attention on the university's athletic program.  He says he wants the publication to not just focus on the athletic program, but how it ties in with the city of Baton Rouge.

02/16: Tuesday: Attorneys Suzy Terrell & Bill Grimley on Scalia Death, Dean Jobb: Empire of Deception, Rep. Party Exec. Dir. Jason Dore

Hour One:

Attorneys Suzy Terrell & Bill Grimley

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Attorneys Suzy Terrell and Bill Grimley discuss with Jim their predictions for what kind of candidate President Obama should choose as successor for Assoc. Justice of Supreme Court, Antonin Scalia.

Author Dean Jobb: Empire of Deception

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Journalism professor and award-winning author, Dean Jobb talks today about his latest book,  Empire of Deception: The Incredible Story of a Master Swindler Who Seduced a City and Captivated the Nation. It’s the stranger-than-fiction saga of con man Leo Koretz, the Bernie Madoff of the 1920s and his escape to a new life in Canada.

Hour Two:

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Jason Dore

LAGOP Executive Dir. and Attorney Jason Dore talks to Jim about a number of topics including Governor John Bel Edwards and his statements about raising taxes, former Governor Bobby Jindal and the state's budget.

02/15 Monday: Sec. of Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife & Fisheries, Congressman Charles Boustany, Stephen Handwerk, Katy Simpson Smith: Free Men

HOUR ONE:

Sec. of Louisiana Dept. of Wildlife & Fisheries, Charlie Melancon

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Charlie Melancon is the Secretary of Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries.  From 2005 to 2011, he was the U.S. Representative for Louisiana's 3rd congressional district.  Melancon lost the 2010 Senate race to David Vitter, he then served in the Cabinet of Governor John Bel Edwards. He talks with Jim about the effects of the budget cuts on the wildlife and fisheries department.

Congressman Charles Boustany

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Congressman Charles W. Boustany Jr., M.D., a cardiovascular surgeon with more than 30 years of clinical experience, was first elected to Congress in 2004.  Boustany represents Louisiana’s Third Congressional District, covering South Louisiana.  Boustany has championed health care reform, international trade, tax reform, and sound energy policy focused on building a comprehensive vision providing solutions for all Americans.  

HOUR TWO:

Stephen Handwerk

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The Executive Director of the Louisiana Democratic Party.

Katy Simpson Smith

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Katy Simpson Smith was born and raised in Jackson, Mississippi. She attended Mount Holyoke College and received a PhD in history from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MFA from the Bennington Writing Seminars. She is the author of We Have Raised All of You: Motherhood in the South, 1750-1835, and the novels The Story of Land and Sea and the forthcoming Free Men.

02/12 Friday: Gov. John Bel Edwards, Councilman John Delgado, Former Councilman Darrell Glasper, The Marriage Test, Ernie "Big Cat" Ladd & Eddie Robinson; Guests Ara & Julie Rubyan

HOUR ONE:

Gov. John Bel Edwards

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Governor John Bel Edwards discusses the status of the state and its budget deficit.  He also talks about programs like TOPs and LSU athletics,  and the potential cuts they are facing.

Jill Andres & Brook Silva-Braga: The Marriage Test

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Jill Andres and Brook Silva-Braga After four years together (and one year apart, the couple faced a common question: How does a couple know if they should marry? They decided to build a 40-activity obstacle course to simulate wedlock and to help them make the big decision. “The Marriage Test” is the story of how that went.

Ara and Julie Rubyan

The couple talks about meeting on eHarmony and getting through the obstacles of online dating, eventually getting married, and staying so for 12 years.

 

Friday Flashback : Ernie "Big Cat" Ladd and Coach Eddie Robinson

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Ernie Ladd, a massive defensive tackle turned wrestler who was the only man elected to the American Football League Hall of Fame and the World Wrestling Entertainment Hall of Fame. Hear the "Big Cat" talk about his former Coach Eddie Robinson who would have been 97 on Saturday.

HOUR TWO:

Councilman John Delgado

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Councilman John Delgado joins us next to talk about his run for mayor, potential budget cuts and Baton Rouge becoming the next smoke-free city.

02/11 Thursday: Daniel Oppenheimer, Dr. Joseph Giaime, WAFB Anchor Matt Williams, Stephen Handwerk

HOUR ONE:

Daniel Oppenheimer: Exit Right

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Daniel Oppenheimer is a writer and short documentary filmmaker whose articles and videos have been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, Tablet Magazine, and Salon.com.  He is on the show today to talk about his first book, Exit Right. In this book, Oppenheimer tells the stories of six major political figures whose journeys away from the left reshaped the contours of American politics in the twentieth century.

Dr. Joseph Giaime (LIGO)

Dr. Joseph Giaime talks today about LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory) and the first ever detection of gravitational waves.  This monumental observation marks the beginning of the era of gravitational-wave astronomy and provides evidence for one of the last unverified predictions of Einstein's general theory of relativity.

HOUR TWO:

WAFB's Matt Williams

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Matt Williams is 9 News This Morning anchor for Baton Rouge's WAFB. Matt talks with Jim about Donald Trump's Louisiana rally this afternoon and his views on taxes and budget cuts.

Exec. Dir. of Louisiana Democratic Party, Stephen Handwerk

Stephen Handwerk is the Executive Director of the Louisiana Democratic Party.  He talks to Jim about Gov. John Bell Edwards, TOPS for students, budget cuts, taxes and more today on the show.

02/10 Wednesday: The First Congress, One Nation Under Gods, The Presidential Primaries

Hour 1: 

Fergus Bordewich

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Author Fergus Bordewich joins Jim to discuss his latest book, The First Congress. 

"The little known story of perhaps the most productive Congress in US history, the First Federal Congress of 1789–1791. The First Congress was the most important in US history, says prizewinning author and historian Fergus Bordewich, because it established how our government would actually function. Had it failed—as many at the time feared it would—it’s possible that the United States as we know it would not exist today."- Amazon
 

Peter Manseau 

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Author Peter Manseau joins the conversation to talk about his book, One Nation Under Gods.

"At the heart of the nation's spiritual history are audacious and often violent scenes. But the Puritans and the shining city on the hill give us just one way to understand the United States. Rather than recite American history from a Christian vantage point, Peter Manseau proves that what really happened is worth a close, fresh look. "- Amazon

Hour 2:

Quin Hillyer

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Quin Hillyer is a Contributing Editor of National Review magazine, a Senior Editor for The American Spectator magazine, and a nationally recognized authority on the American political process.  He joins Jim to discuss Presidential candidates Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders and their primary wins in New Hampshire. 

Vincent Bruno

Former New Orleans police officer Vincent Bruno joins us again to finish up yesterday's conversation about the 1979 police strike, which shut down Mardi Gras in New Orleans.