Drew Hawkins
Public Health Reporter, Gulf States NewsroomDrew Hawkins is the public health reporter for the Gulf States Newsroom, a collaboration among public radio stations in Louisiana (WWNO and WRKF), Alabama (WBHM) and Mississippi (MPB-Mississippi Public Broadcasting) and NPR. He covers stories related to health care access and outcomes across the region, with a focus on the social factors that drive disparities.
Before joining the team, Drew freelanced for multiple outlets including The Guardian, Scalawag Magazine, Louisiana Illuminator, Mississippi Center for Investigative Reporting, LitHub, and others.
Drew was born in Lafayette, grew up in LaPlace and moved to Ponchatoula after Katrina. He studied creative writing at the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts (NOCCA), and earned degrees at LSU in Baton Rouge. In short, he is a proud product of South Louisiana.
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The Gulf States Newsroom traveled across Mississippi and collected 219 written responses from people with lived experience of addiction. -
The Gulf States Newsroom wants to find out what residents in Richland Parish want to know concerning Meta's Hyperion data center's impact on their lives by monitoring and testing the air, water and dust. -
The multibillion-dollar liquefied natural gas industry has reshaped the landscape, the economy and the daily lives of the people who have lived in Cameron Parish for generations. -
Mississippi will receive more than $400M to fight the opioid epidemic. So far, officials haven't directed it toward programs that support addiction recovery. -
Traditional plastic beads can be toxic and bad for the environment. In response, some are moving away from plastic beads, using locally recycled glass instead. -
Nolan discusses the journey of writing her debut novel, how her journalism informs her fiction and more with the Gulf States Newsroom’s Drew Hawkins. -
Security is tight in New Orleans as people remember the victims of the New Year's Day attack on Bourbon Street one year ago. -
Tariffs, inflation, and other federal policies have battered U.S. farmers' bottom lines. Now many farmers say the expiration of federal health care subsidies will make their coverage unaffordable. -
Louisiana is experiencing some of the highest flu activity in the country, with health experts warning that cases are likely to keep rising through the holidays and into the new year. -
Proponents for the change say it will help the state be competitive for major developments. Critics, however, say it weakens long-standing consumer protections.
