Antenna::Signals Podcast

In the final installment of our exploration of Subsidence and Evictions, we delve into economic and political strategies to address the realities facing the land and people of New Orleans. Do we lift houses to mitigate flood damage? What could replace the current landlord/tenant system for rental housing? From the systemic to the practical, my guests challenge us to expand our sense of what is and is not possible. Helping us bring this series home are Austin Feldbaum, the Hazard Mitigation Coordinator for the City of New Orleans; Kate Scott, a landlord and housing justice advocate; and Aron Chang, an urban planner and climate educator. Music in this episode is by Circus Marcus. You can help us keep creating this kind of content by supporting Antenna's work at
www.antenna.works/donate This podcast is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Louisiana Division of the Arts, Arts Council New Orleans, The RosaMary Foundation, Morris Adjmi Architects and most importantly by individuals like you. You can subscribe to support this and all other Antenna programming, which includes publications delivered right to your doorstep. Subscribe to hear more at
www.antenna.works/subscribe. This series was produced by Marie Lovejoy for Antenna with editorial support by Shea Shackleford. Thank you for listening with us.

In previous episodes of SINK, a series exploring subsidence and evictions in New Orleans, we’ve talked about the plight of landlords and tenants, an already fraught situation exacerbated by the pandemic. For this episode, I want to address Environmental Eviction. When the land is no longer habitable and people are forced to move. But what causes this change? I talked to local artists and activists John Taylor and Monique Verdin for their perspective. This is the Antenna Signals Podcast, a podcast exploring the people and ideas that flow into and out of New Orleans. We’re on Episode 4 of our Series on Evictions and Subsidence. This is SINK:: Episode 4::It Belongs to You. Thank you to Monique Verdin and John Taylor. Learn more about Monique's work here: https://www.moniqueverdin.com And learn more about John's here: https://www.joanmitchellfoundation.org/john-w-taylor Shana Griffin and Shea Shackleford provided editorial support. This piece was produced by Marie Lovejoy. Music in this episode is by Circus Marcus, Selva de Mar, Aaron Ximm and Neil Cross. You can help us keep creating this kind of content by supporting Antenna's work at
www.antenna.works/donate This podcast is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Louisiana Division of the Arts, Arts Council New Orleans, The RosaMary Foundation, Morris Adjmi Architects and most importantly by individuals like you. You can subscribe to support this and all other Antenna programming, which includes publications delivered right to your doorstep. Subscribe to hear more at
www.antenna.works/subscribe. Land Acknowledgement by Monique Verdin, Houma Nation, 2021 Juneteenth "There would be no land to acknowledge upon which you now rest if it were not for the Mississippi River. Indigenous Peoples have respected this ever-shifting fluid state at the end of one of the world’s largest river systems, inhabiting the high grounds, along the bayous of Bvlbancha, for centuries, as long as there has been land in these territories. Bvlbancha, “place of many tonges” as the Chahta called it, a place of many languages, know better as the global port city rebranded as New Orleans. Ancestral and current Indigenous stewards of these lands and waters, are Chahta, Chitimatcha, Houma, Biloxi, Washa, Chawasha, Bayougoula, Tchoupitoulas, Tunica, Atakapa-Ishak, Caddo, Natchez, Acolapissa, Taensa, and other nations; And all those nations that were erased or assimilated before colonial records had a change to document their existence. The Atakapa-Ishak called these high grounds, where a crossroads of waterways provide access to sites of sacred trade and ceremony ‘the big village,’ Nun Ush. A territory of biological and cultural diversity, where water travels through, looking to be purified as it makes its water cycle journey back to the sea or skies. This place is also where many People from Senegambia, the Blight of Benin, Bight of Biafra, and West-Central Africa and other African Nations were brought against their will, enslaved upon these lands. A place were Immigrants and Indigenous peoples from around the world have found and continue to find themselves, due to desires for a better life or nonnegotiable destinies, in this complicated and infinitely beautiful powerpoint on the planet known in the Lower Mississippi River Delta."

Welcome back to the Antenna::Signals podcast. This is episode three of our series SINK::Subsidence and Evictions in New Orleans. In the first episode, we concentrated on eviction policies, how these policies are generated and who they benefit. In the second, we considered the science of regional groundwater subsidence alongside these systems. Now we’re going to hear from two people most affected by evictions; tenants. First up is Heidi Breaux. Three times during this pandemic, Heidi has come home to an eviction notice on her door. Then we’ll talk with Justin Scalise, an actor and vocal coach whose family was evicted from their Metairie home thirty years ago, when Justin was 10 years old. Y’all, this whole series we’re talking about people who don’t or can’t pay their rent being removed from their homes. But for me, over and over the same question keeps surfacing. So as you listen to the rest of the series I want you to ask yourself: what does it mean to live in a community? ———————————————————- If you are having trouble paying your rent and possibly facing eviction, there are people who can help you. In New Orleans, contact Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative https://www.jpnsi.org They even have this really great informative webcomic: Help, I’m Being Evicted! A Step by Step Guide for Renters in New Orleans Music in this episode is by Aaron Ximm. Breathing sound effects performed by Justin Scalise. Additional sound effects provided by Hampusnoren at freesound.org. Shea Shackleford served as editor. This piece was produced by Marie Lovejoy. You can help us keep creating this kind of content by supporting Antenna's work at http://antenna.works/donate This podcast is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Louisiana Division of the Arts, Arts Council New Orleans, The RosaMary Foundation, Morris Adjmi Architects and most importantly by individuals like you. You can subscribe to support this and all other Antenna programming, which includes publications delivered right to your doorstep. Subscribe to hear more at http://antenna.works/subscribe

S-I-N-K. You know the feeling. That sinking feeling where you think you’re on solid ground. But everything’s falling apart. To live in New Orleans is to live near the water. We breathe it in our air. We feel it on our skin and under our feet. I wanted to know about the science of the ground sinking beneath us. And maybe by looking at subsidence of Louisiana soil while simultaneously learning more about the housing policies rooted upon this earth…maybe I could think about all of this in a new way. Maybe I can learn more about my part in this ecosystem. And work to make changes for the benefit of all involved. ---------------- Many thanks to our guests for their contributions to this episode: Cyndhia Ramatchandirane, a geoscientist at Earthjustice working to communicate the health, environmental and climate impacts of fossil fuels. https://earthjustice.org/about/staff/cyndhia-ramatchandirane Hannah Adams, a attorney focused on landlord tenant disputes and a board member of Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative
www.slls.org Davida Finger, an educator at Loyola Law School working with students representing low income clients.
law.loyno.edu/academics/faculty-…tory/davida-finger Shana Griffin, co-founder of Jame Place Sustainability Initiative, artist and activist. As Interim Executive Director of Antenna, Shana also provided editorial assistance to this series.
www.shanamgriffin.com Andreaneica Morris, the Executive Director of Housing NOLA.
www.housingnola.org/main/home Y. Frank Southall, Lead Organizer and Community Engagement Coordinator of the Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative and member of the New Orleans Renter’s Rights Assembly
www.jpnsi.org
nolarra.wordpress.com Music in this episode is by Circus Marcus, Selva de Mar, Aaron Ximm. and The Roots of Music. Shea Shackleford served as editor. This piece was produced by Marie Lovejoy. You can help us keep creating this kind of content by supporting Antenna's work at
www.antenna.works/donate This podcast is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Louisiana Division of the Arts, Arts Council New Orleans, The RosaMary Foundation, Morris Adjmi Architects and most importantly by individuals like you. You can subscribe to support this and all other Antenna programming, which includes publications delivered right to your doorstep. More at
www.antenna.works/subscribe. 📷: Shana Griffin

The theme for this episode is Subsidence, the sinking of the earth. I think about this sinking when I look around our city of New Orleans.
 I think about how the pandemic has removed the primary source of income for so many people and the sinking feeling that comes with that.
 And I think about the massive amounts of evictions that are coming. So I talked to some people who have been working on housing issues since long before restaurants shuttered and parades got cancelled. I talked to some people who know how the earth can disappear beneath your feet. This is the first episode of a series on Subsidence and Evictions in New Orleans. This series was produced by Marie Lovejoy. Shea Shackleford served as editor. Many thanks to our guests for their contributions to this episode: Hannah Adams, a attorney focused on landlord tenant disputes and a board member of Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative
slls.org Davida Finger, an educator at Loyola Law School working with students representing low income clients.
law.loyno.edu/academics/faculty-and-staff-directory/davida-finger Shana Griffin, co-founder of Jame Place Sustainability Initiative, artist and activist and Interim Executive Director of Antenna
shanamgriffin.com Andreaneica Morris, the Executive Director of Housing NOLA.
housingnola.org/main/home Y. Frank Southall, Lead Organizer and Community Engagement Coordinator of the Jane Place Neighborhood Sustainability Initiative and member of the New Orleans Renter’s Rights Assembly
 jpnsi.org
 nolarra.wordpress.com Music in this episode is by Circus Marcus, Selva de Mar, Aaron Ximm. and The Roots of Music. You can help us keep creating this kind of content by supporting Antenna's work at
 antenna.works/donate This podcast is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Louisiana Division of the Arts, Arts Council New Orleans, The RosaMary Foundation, Morris Adjmi Architects and most importantly by individuals like you. You can subscribe to support this and all other Antenna programming, which includes publications delivered right to your doorstep. More at
 antenna.works/subscribe.

“Being treated like you’re normal is like living in a storm and being graded on the amount of sunshine you produce.” That’s what Lil’ Jay says in Té V. Smith’s new young adult novel, Exit Ticket. It’s about the relationship between a black student named Lil’ Jay and his white teacher, Mr. Warrington. And in this moment in time? It kinda feels like the two of them have a lot teach all of us. About showing up. And about listening. 2020 is asking us questions. How will we answer? How will we each show up to this conversation? But there’s something this 2020 Té calls it The Shift. ------------------------------------ Té V. Smith is a writer and educator based out of New Orleans and Brooklyn. He can be found on Instagram and Twitter @tevsmith. The song “Living In” was recorded by The Asylum Chorus on their 2017 ep “Take a Piece” Written & arranged by Sybil Shanell & Roan Smith: theasylumchorus.bandcamp.com/album/take-a-piece Instagram @iamsybilshanell & @theasylumchorus “Single Coil” was recorded by Will Bolton for the 2017 album Night Paths: wilbolton.bandcamp.com Black Lives Matter protest sounds: Portland: Tim Kahn Toronto: Geldart Zurich: Astounded, Christopher J Astbury, Switzerland Editorial support provided by Shea Shackleford, Katie Fernelius and Bob Snead. Cover art by Amanda Cassingham-Bardwell. This piece was produced by Marie Lovejoy for the Antenna::Signals Podcast. This podcast is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Louisiana Division of the Arts, Arts Council New Orleans, The RosaMary Foundation, Morris Adjmi Architects and most importantly by individuals like you. You can subscribe to support this and all other Antenna programming, which includes publications delivered right to your doorstep. More at antenna.works/subscribe

When I say the word “drainage,” what do you think of? Do you think about the rain rushing down the street into the gutter? The way water does or does not flow into and out the city? Or do you think about the drainage of resources? Economic? Environmental? Emotional? Right after Katrina, the population of New Orleans decreased by more than half. Every year since, while it never got back to pre-K levels, it's steadily risen. Until these past couple of years. And in 2015, ten years after the storm, there were 100 thousand less black residents than in 2005. We’re losing people. These stats got me thinking about all of the iterations of this concept of drainage. So I talked to a few people about it, and here’s what they had to say. ---------------- The voices you heard in this piece were, in order of appearance Sunni Patterson, Ramiro Diaz, David Weinberg, Rebecca Duckert, Pericles Papadopoulos, Lisanne Brown, Kerrie Stewart, Liz Beeson and Shauna Leone. Special thanks to Ramiro Diaz of Waggoner and Ball for anchoring us in his work around sustainable urban water management. Music heard is the song “Love in the Time of Cholera” by Anna Roznowska. Marching Band sounds from The Roots of Music. Many thanks to all who contributed. The piece was produced by Marie Lovejoy for Antenna. This podcast is supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts, The Louisiana Division of the Arts, Arts Council New Orleans, The RosaMary Foundation, Morris Adjmi Architects and most importantly by individuals like you. You can subscribe to support this and all other Antenna programming, which includes publications delivered right to your doorstep. More at antenna.works/subscribe

Conversations with New Orleans-based composer and performer Dylan Trần. More about him can be found on his website (www.dylantranmusic.com), his Instagram @DylanTranMusic, and on his YouTube page here: www.youtube.com/channel/UCtc8dxZ3fMau-itaHxR4n1w Featuring sounds from the following: "String Quartet No. 1 on Vietnamese Themes" (Movements 1 - 3) -- by Dylan Trần and performed by the MUSAICA Chamber Ensemble "Grandmother" -- words by Paula Gunn Allen, arranged by Dylan Trần and performed by the Loyola University New Orleans SSAA Choir under Dr. M. Frazier "Agnus Dei", "Psalm 56", and "Kyrie" from Mass in E -- arranged by Dylan Trần "Spain" -- by Arm Candy "Teenagers" -- by My Chemical Romance "Una Furtiva Lagrima" - performed by Enrico Caruso, 1904 "Mad Scene" from Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti -- performed by Dame Joan Sutherland "Strings" -- by MaxLandergard Originally uploaded on September 5th 2019.

Perspectives on death, grieving, storytelling, memory, and the many ways in which they all intersect. Voices: Laurie Dietrich, Louis Benedetto, Jr., Emilie Staat, AnnieLaurie Erickson, HAL 9000, and just a bit from David Benedetto and Bob Snead. Sounds: Ping Pong Melody by thatjeffcarter-was-here; Street Car sound recorded by Sarah Holtz; Osborne Avenue by Tin Hat Trio; Last Dance by Donna Summer; Lacrymosa from Mozart’s Requiem; Libera Me & In Paradisium from Faure’s Requiem; and the 2nd Movement of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 2 Segment with AnnieLaurie Erickson was produced, recorded and edited by Bob Snead. This episode was produced, recorded, and edited by David Benedetto. Photo of Jane Whitmer by AnnieLaurie Erickson, 2019. Originally uploaded on July 11th 2019.

In this episode David speaks with a former public defender and an arts-based initiative out of Philadelphia that are both working to address problems that stem from the U.S. Justice and Prison system-- often in novel ways. Uploaded on May 20th 2019. More information about the People's Paper Co-op: http://peoplespaperco-op.weebly.com/ More on KATIE AND THE BLACK ROBIN HOOD: https://platformsfund.org/project/katie-and-the-black-robin-hood/ More on John Richie: http://www.johnrichiefilms.com/ More on Albert Woodfox and the Angola 3: https://angola3.org/