Baton Rouge

When you're diagnosed with HIV, it can feel like your fate has been written. You have questions, such as whether you’ll live, how much treatment will cost and whether people will still love you.

Guitarist James “Chicken Scratch” Johnson grew up near Baton Rouge in Erwinville. When he was in elementary school, guitarist Albert Collins played a concert there. In that moment Johnson knew what he wanted to do. Years later, James joined with harmonica player Slim Harpo on beloved songs like “Raining in My Heart” and “Scratch My Back.” Nick Spitzer spoke with James Johnson the night before the 2016 Baton Rouge Blues Festival about playing with Slim Harpo and growing up in the country.

Bring Your Own is a nomadic storytelling series that takes place in unconventional spaces within the New Orleans community. Each month, eight storytellers have eight minutes to respond to a theme. BYO airs on All Things New Orleans and is a biweekly podcast on WWNO.org. More at bringyourownstories.com.

Tens of thousands in Louisiana were surprised by floods last week. In a changing climate, what more can be done to warn communities that the weather can do things they aren't used to?

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The cleanup continues after record floods devastated Louisiana. Relief organizations are on the ground in, trying to help thousands of victims of the floods that devastated Baton Rouge. But some in a downtown shelter say it is not enough. Mallory Falk of WWNO found out that many are renters, and some would like to leave the area altogether.