Every drama deserves a good backstory. For New Orleans, this narrative takes place during the "long 1970s," a time when political transformation, cultural rebirth, and urban reimagining revived a fading port city. Hosted by historian Justin Nystrom and journalist Jack Davis, each episode of the Making Modern New Orleans podcast explores how the city we know came into being through first-hand accounts of the people who made them happen.
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Latest Episodes
Ella Brennan - Part 2
In the second part of our episode with Ella Brennan, we explore the opening of Mr. B's Bistro in 1979 and what it said about the changing dining tastes of New Orleans ...
Ella Brennan - Part 1
Justin and Jack discuss their 2014 interview with Ella Brennan, matriarch of the storied restaurant family. In part one, Ella describes coming to Commander's Palace af...
Charles Ferguson
Jack and Justin discuss their interview with Charlie Ferguson - who was once Jack's boss back in the 1970s and early 1980s when they were both at the States-Item and a...
Bonus Track - Charles Ferguson
In this bonus track, Jack and Justin consider Charles Ferguson's observations about the decision to pursue convention business in New Orleans and the important legacy ...
Ben C. Toledano
This week Jack and Justin talk about their 2013 interview with self-exiled New Orleanian and iconoclast, Ben C. Toledano. Whether you agree or disagree with his point ...