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Field set for NOLA mayor’s race; conference aims to break down barriers for blind people; Calvin Duncan on ‘Jailhouse Lawyer’

Edward Bell, director of the Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness at Louisiana Tech University
Courtesy of Dr. Edward Bell
Edward Bell, director of the Professional Development and Research Institute on Blindness at Louisiana Tech University

The field for New Orleans’ fall elections is now set, and there were a few last-minute surprises before the candidate filing deadline. The Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate’s editorial director and columnist Stephanie Grace joins us to break down the crowded field of candidates.

Last week, the National Federation of the Blind National Convention came to New Orleans. The convention is the largest gathering of blind people in the world, and it offers training, support, networking and more to people from all over the country who are blind.

Edward Bell was one of the guests that many were excited to meet. Bell is the director of Professional Development and Research at the Institute on Blindness at Louisiana Tech University. He joins us to talk about his life and his mission to create more employment opportunities for the blind.

According to the National Registry of Exonerations, more than 80 people in Louisiana have been exonerated after being wrongfully convicted. Calvin Duncan is among them. While he faced his trial, and as he spent 28 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, Duncan started to learn everything he could about the law to fight for his freedom and the freedom of fellow inmates.

Duncan and co-author Sophie Cull tell his story in the new book, "The Jailhouse Lawyer." The Gulf States Newsroom's Kat Stromquist spoke to them about the memoir.

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Bob Pavlovich. Our managing producer is Alana Schreiber. We get production support from Garrett Pittman and our assistant producer Aubry Procell.

You can listen to Louisiana Considered Monday through Friday at noon and 7 p.m. It’s available on Spotify, the NPR App and wherever you get your podcasts.

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A longtime fill-in host for New Orleans Public Radio, Bob Pavlovich joined the station full-time in 2023. He hosts "All Things Considered" and "Louisiana Considered" on Thursdays.
Alana Schreiber is the managing producer for the live daily news program, Louisiana Considered. She comes to WWNO from KUNC in Northern Colorado, where she worked as a radio producer for the daily news magazine, Colorado Edition. She has previously interned for Minnesota Public Radio in St. Paul.