WWOZ Street Talk

Roll with the NOPD Crisis Unit

2008-07-09T12:42:00.001-07:00

The New Orleans Police Department's Mobile Crisis Unit attends to the city's mentally ill on their worst days. With employees like Cecil Tebo and Earl Wilson, that's the good news. The bad news is that the city's medical infrastructure isn't equipped to handle everything which comes their way.

A Youth Documentary: Teen Baby Mamas

2008-07-02T22:58:00.001-07:00

Youth radio reporter Kadija Garner explores the issue of teen pregnancy in New Orleans. What are the options for pregnant teens? How are teen mothers judged by others and by themselves? This story is the product of a project facilitated by Eve Abrams and Jacob Brancasi called "Listen Up, New Orleans," funded by the Arts Council of New Orleans and housed at the Lafayette Charter Academy. "Listen Up, New Orleans" teaches teens the art of making radio stories.

A Youth Documentary: Growing Up Without a Father

2008-06-19T09:33:00.001-07:00

Youth radio reporter James Oliver tells the story of his relationship with his father, who has been absent for the bulk of James's life — in part due to a stay in prison.

This story is the product of a project facilitated by Eve Abrams and Jacob Brancasi called "Listen Up, New Orleans," funded by the Arts Council of New Orleans and housed at the Lafayette Charter Academy. "Listen Up, New Orleans" teaches teens the art of making radio stories.

Music in James's piece is by the Rebirth Brass Band and Tom McDermott.

Three Jews Walk Into a Church

2008-06-16T08:49:00.001-07:00

The section of Dryades Street in Central City now known as Oretha Castle Haley Boulevard is a part of New Orleans saturated with history. Step into the past and glimpse the future of this street which is more than a street.

Pedal Power

2008-05-29T13:45:00.001-07:00

From Elysian Fields to the St. Bernard Parish line, St. Claude Avenue now hosts New Orleans' first bike lane. Consider this a down payment on what's to come.

The New Orleans Food Co-Op

2008-05-08T05:37:00.001-07:00

Affordable, safe, healthy food. That's what the New Orleans Food Co-Op wants to bring to the corner of St. Roch and St. Claude Avenues. And they want you to help.
Music in this piece is by The Rebirth Brass Band and The Schatzy Band.

The New Orleans Musicians' Clinic is 10 years old!

2008-04-28T21:24:00.001-07:00

For the last ten years, The New Orleans Musicians' Clinic has been providing ongoing medical and mental health care to some of our city's greatest assets: our musicians.
With music by Jo Cool Davis, Astral Project, The Soul Rebels, Roselyn & David, and The Rebirth Brass Band.

For more information on the clinic, go to http://www.neworleansmusiciansclinic.org/

The Woman Behind the Signs

2008-04-21T21:09:00.001-07:00

Since 1985, Nan Parati has handmade every artist sign for Jazz Fest -- not to mention every craft sign and food price sign. Meet the woman whose artwork you already know, and whose handwriting just may make you feel like dancing.

NOCCA's Creative Writers

2008-04-02T18:42:00.001-07:00

What happens when you take young folks who are passionate about language, and give them the time, space, and resources to write and read? Come find out. Sunday, April 6 at 3pm, NOCCA (New Orleans Center for Creative Arts) will have a student reading featuring the department's seniors.

Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation Award

2008-02-27T21:43:00.001-08:00

When KIPP McDonough 15 started their new school year one year after Katrina, music teacher Kelvin Harrison had no instruments with which to teach. After he displays a little ingenuity and a lot of dedication, help comes from the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation...and they've brought more than just instruments.

Mardi Gras Indians

2008-02-15T14:11:00.001-08:00

A short history of the Mardi Gras Indians music and remembrances of the Wild Magnolia's first recordings with Willie Tee and John Sinclair's thirty years of observing the tribe.

The Kid Camera Project

2008-02-10T19:20:00.001-08:00

Its a rainy saturday morning in January at the Robinson home in the ninth ward but it feels a little like christmas as the kids gather around Aria Martin a volunteer from the Kid Camera Project. The kids are receiving their graduation cameras. They were the first participants of the program when it started as a plan to give kids something to do after the storm. They were given disposabe cameras and taught some basics about photagraphy and since then the program has grown to several other neighorhoods throughout New Orleans.

Live at Vaughn's: Stories From a Mexican Drug Smuggler

2008-02-10T18:52:00.001-08:00

Its wednesday night at Vaughns and the place is packed, but tonight the smoky bywater bar is filled with an unfamiliar crowd. Dozens of law students from Maryland are drinking cold beer and eating barbeque before the show starts. But it is not Kermit Ruffins or Shamar Allen who will take the stage. Its Eppy Lopez, a former drug smuggler from a small border town in Texas. The students are volunteers who came to give free legal aid to the citizens of New Orleans and tonight they will hear Eppy tell stories about his 13 years in Louisiana state and fedaral prison. Eppy strolls up to the stage and makes the Microphone look like a toothpick as he adjusts it to his massive frame. But he is all smiles as recalls the artwork he created while incarcerated in Louisianna.

Mardi Gras = Time to Costume

2008-01-28T13:33:00.001-08:00

When you live in New Orleans, you have to know a thing or two about costuming. A handful of New Orleanians explain how it's done, what it means, and why it's so darn important.

Tipitinas 30th anniversary

2008-01-14T16:29:00.001-08:00

A celebration of the 30th anniversary of Tipitinas going on the week of January 14th that contains some recollections of the early days and some short vignettes about more recent times.

The Food Talk Project

2008-01-12T06:43:00.001-08:00

Accessibility to healthy foods is still extremely limited in many New Orleans neighborhoods. Students at O. Perry Walker High School in Algiers partner with members of the Food and Farm Network to help educate members of their community about alternatives. To see some of the informative posters the students created, or learn more about The Food Talk Project, go to www.noffn.org.

The Peace Nomad

2008-01-05T15:11:00.001-08:00

As a senior in College With only 30 credits left to graduation Mathew Garicki decided to quit school and walk across the entire united states in the name of peace. Mathew recently stopped here in New Orleans and I met up with him in a park to talk to him about his journey, Dressed in a white t-shirt with the words peace nomad airbrushed across the front in bright colors Mathew sat with me under the glow of a nearby streetlight and explained why he decided to leave his old life nehind and start a new one as the peace nomad.

Fats Domino takes over NYC part 2

2008-01-04T12:37:00.001-08:00

This is part 1 of a piece about Fats Domino's trip to New York City in
November of 2007. Fats headlines the Today Show in Rockefeller Center. Ivan Neville and Tipitinas' Foundation executive director Bill Taylor also say a few words

Fats Domino takes over NYC part 1

2008-01-04T12:32:00.001-08:00

This is part 1 of a piece about Fats Domino's trip to New York City in November of 2007. Fats plays the Pink Elephant in Chelsea and gets given the key to New York City. Nick Daniels, Donald Harrison Jr., and Lloyd Price also make an appearance.

First Responders

2008-01-03T15:12:00.001-08:00

These days, New Orleans Police, Fire, and Emergency Medical Service departments are getting much-needed help from non-governmental sources. Go for a ride with one of New Orleans' finest, Chris Keller, an EMS paramedic. His job has changed since Hurricane Katrina -- in some ways you might not expect.

The Levee Hearing

2007-12-17T14:05:00.001-08:00

The National Research Council recently held a meeting at the Hotle Monteleone to announce some of the findings in their independent assesment of the Army Corps of Engineers Flood Protection plan for the city of New Orleans. We hear from Badass Emma, a local resident of New Orleans as well as the public as they address the board during the public comments session of the meeting.

Dunbar's Creole Cooking

2007-12-04T09:14:00.001-08:00

Celestine Dunbar lost her infamous soul food restaurant on Freret Street after Hurricane Katrina. But her cooking found new life at Loyola Law School, where she's taken over the dining hall.

Art in Action

2007-11-29T17:45:00.001-08:00

New Orleans visual artist Elizabeth Underwood started Art in Action a year ago as a means of reconnecting with her city and her people. Art in Action believes that the creative process can provide a way to heal from trauma, in addition to offering a bit of beauty and surprise to the world. So far, Art in Action has sponsored 19 art installations in storm-damaged parts of the city. Art in Action's 20th installation, by Pittsburgh based visual artist Sean Derry, is on view from November 13 -17 from 10 a.m. until nightfall. Derry has transformed the front parking lot of the former Robért Market on the corner of Broad and Bienville Streets in Mid City with inflatable cars hand-sewn from recycled bed sheets.

The Feel Good Tour

2007-11-08T09:25:00.001-08:00

This is the story of the Feel Good Tour: a trip around the country planned by Bill Hudson and Al Coffee, two musicans living in Roanoke Virgina. After the hurricane, they decided to help the best way they knew how by playing music and providing instruments to school music programs in rural parts of Louisianna and New Orleans.

Terence Blanchard explains: A Tale of God's Will

2007-11-02T11:28:00.001-07:00

On the eve of the premiere of his latest work, trumpeter Terence Blanchard speaks about his inspiration and thoughts about "A Tale of God's Will"