11/03 Tuesday: Bridgett Massengill, Cary Deaton, Kevin Kane, Glenn Guilbeau

Hour 1: 

Bridgett Massengill

Project Manager of THRIVE 2055 Bridgett Massengill from Chattanooga joins the conversation to talk about the citizen-lead, public-private endeavor in a tri-state area to encourage people to make the most of economic opportunities. She discusses the challenges she faces with a new automobile plant and what the future holds. 

Massengill is attending the Louisiana Smart Growth Summit. 

Cary Deaton

Democrat Cary Deaton, candidate for the governors election, who finished 5th in the primary, discusses the runoff election. He says he hasn't decided on a candidate he supports for the governor's election and has focused on the Lt. governor's race. 

Neal Gladner

Vice President of Sales for Louisiana Radio Network Neal Gladner joins the show to remember 23 years ago today, when Bill Clinton was elected President of the United State. Gladner was present on the chilly Tuesday night in Little Rock, Arkansas in 1992. 

Hour 2:

Kevin Cane

President of the Pelican Institute for Public Policy Kevin Kane discuss their research at the institute. Kane discusses the incarceration rate in Louisiana and how each gubernatorial candidate views the issue. There are about 40,000 people in prison in the Louisiana right now. 

Glenn Guilbeau

Sports writer Glenn Guilbeau chats about this weekend LSU-Alabama match up in Tuscaloosa. Guilbeau discusses why Tiger fans hate Nick Saban so much but says they need to remember how mad LSU football was before he was the coach. 

Guilbeau talks about the relationship between Les Miles and Nick Saban. 

WEDNESDAY: Astronaut Mark Kelly, Actress Sally Kirkland, Caddo Parish New DA Dale Cox, and the Pelican Institute of Public Policy

HOUR ONE: 

Astronaut Mark Kelly joins the show to discuss his new book Astrotwins.  He wants to ignite interest in math and science in young people outside of the classroom.  Both he and his twin brother, Scott Kelly, followed similar career paths and were both selected to be shuttle pilots by NASA in 1996.  "I was the better student," Mark says of he and his twin brother, "Even identical twins are not created exactly the same."

"It is the greatest thing ever. I cannot think of anything to compare it to... it's hard to do well," he says of his experience in space.  

In 2015, his brother was selected to be the Commander of the International Space Station.  

He also comments on his wife, Gabby Giffords, and her recovery from her shooting.  He shares his views on gun control and gun rights.  He expresses his support of the second amendment while stating the ways gun control can be improved.  

Jim comments on the NFL investigation released Wednesday which concluded that the New England Patriots employees and quarterback Tom Brady were "at least generally aware" of the violation in deflated footballs. 

Actress Sally Kirkland shares her experiences throughout her year.  Her first studio film was in 1954 in front of Andy Warhol's cameras.  "He set up a stationary camera and said don't move." 

She has made 150 films.  She will be at Perkins Rowe on Sunday at 12:30 for the Louisiana International Film Festival.  

Kirkland was in several films with Robert Redford.  She discusses those experiences.  Kirkland worked in Days of Our Lives and General Hospital.  

HOUR TWO: 

Newly appointed District Attorney of Caddo Parish Dale Cox joins the show.  He was recently appointed after the passing of former Caddo Parish District Attorney Charles Scott.  

He discusses the death penalty.  "The number of homicides and the savagery of homicides have grown exponentially from when I first started as a prosecutor." 

"I think we need it <death penalty> more than ever now."

"It is not uncommon for their to be 5, 10, 15, 25 years between the death sentence and actual death penalty," he says, "I think it's lost its effect." 

"I would not be in favor of any tax.  I'm a fiscal conservative." 

Dale Cox has been a prosecutor for 40 years and has had 4 death penalty convictions.  

"You should use it in those cases that are so horrendous they're really hard to describe they're so bad." 

President of the Pelican Institute of Public Policy Kevin Kane comments on the amount of people in jail.  Louisiana has the highest rate of incarceration in the country.  

Louisiana has about 400,000 inmates.  Kane offers his opinion of the challenges this poses to the state.  

"All this does is create a task force... that we recognize this is a problem that merits some study," he says, emphasizing the lack of controversy surrounding this proposition.  

They comment on the retributions against simple marijuana possession which can be life in prison.  

Our imprisonment rate increased since 2013, whereas the nation's rate decreased.  

WEDNESDAY: Hillar Moore, Kevin Kane, Susan Mustafa

Hour 1:

We start the day with East Baton Rouge District Attorney Hillar more who talks about the crime problem in Louisiana and what should be done about it.

Moore says we are not only able to track murders, we can track when somebody takes a shot via GPS coordinates.

There are 14 Assistant DAs for every murder in New York City. There are less than 1 for every murder in Baton Rouge.

The average on executions in Louisiana because of appeals is 20-25 years.

Hour 2:

Kevin Kane, president of the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, shares his thoughts about the high cost of incarceration in Louisiana.

We have more prisoners per capita than any entity in the Western hemisphere. 

Then it's Susan Mustafa who wrote three true crime novels about serial killers with links to Louisiana including Derrick Todd Lee.