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Huey Long Vs. The Media

Huey Pierce Long.
Huey Pierce Long.

 

Listen to the Sticky Wicket podcast for free!

Huey Pierce Long: you either loved him, or hated him. He had thousands of adoring fans, and fearful enemies. Long went from traveling salesman to Louisiana Governor, and then US senator, through his mastery of the media. Then once in power, he waged a war against it.He rose in popularity through his anti-establishment speeches at rallies and on the radio, and spoke directly to rural and poor people, campaigning for income caps and ‘sharing the wealth.’ His methods though, became increasingly corrupt: attempts to shut down newspapers, physical attacks on journalists, propaganda newspapers, election tampering, and all the while, strongly combatting any alternative ideas to his own. He took this as far as he could, until his own antics paid him the ultimate price.

This is the story of one of the most polarizing forces in Louisiana politics, an environment historically riddled with corruption, populism, and cult of personality types. And Huey P Long, aka the Kingfish, is like the state mascot of these theatrics. This is Huey P. Long Versus The Media.

Listen to Episode 2 of Sticky Wicket about former New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison.

Listen to Episode 3of Sticky Wicket about former New Orleans Mayor Dutch Morial.

Listen to Episode 4 of Sticky Wicket about former Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco.Read Alecia Long's article on Huey Long featured in the LEH's 64 Parishes Magazine. 

Follow Sticky Wicket on instagram at @stickywicketpod.

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Sticky Wicket is part of the “Democracy and the Informed Citizen” Initiative administered by the Federation of State Humanities Councils. The initiative seeks to deepen the public’s knowledge and appreciation of the vital connections between democracy, the humanities, journalism, and an informed citizenry. The Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities thanks The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for their generous support of this initiative and the Pulitzer Prizes for their partnership. This radio series and podcast runs in tandem with four articles written in the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities’ 64 Parishes magazine, and is also in partnership with Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Communication.

 

 

 

Copyright 2021 WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio. To see more, visit WWNO - New Orleans Public Radio.

Laine Kaplan-Levenson
Laine Kaplan-Levenson is a producer and reporter for NPR's Throughline podcast. Before joining the Throughline team, they were the host and producer of WWNO's award-winning history podcast TriPod: New Orleans at 300, as well as WWNO/WRKF's award-winning political podcast Sticky Wicket. Before podcasting, they were a founding reporter for WWNO's Coastal Desk, and covered land loss, fisheries, water management, and all things Louisiana coast. Kaplan-Levenson has contributed to NPR, This American Life, Marketplace, Latino USA, Oxford American (print), Here and Now, The World, 70 Million, and Nancy, among other national outlets. They served as a host and producer of Last Call, a multiracial collective of queer artists and archivists, and freelanced as a storytelling and podcast consultant, workshop instructor, and facilitator of student-produced audio projects. Kaplan-Levenson is also the founder and host of the live storytelling series, Bring Your Own. They like to play music and occasionally DJ under the moniker DJ Swimteam.