Center for the Study of Public Health Impact of Hurricanes
Co-founder and former director of the Hurricane Center and of the Center for the Study of Public Health Impact of Hurricanes, both at Louisiana State University; author of The Storm: What Went Wrong and Why During Hurricane Katrina
Emergency Preparations Ramp Up as the Northeast Waits for Irene Even before Hurricane Irene hit the Carolinas, evacuations were underway as far north as New York and New Jersey. President Obama said federal agencies are preparing with states and cities for a "historic" storm that could be "extremely dangerous and costly." As many as 55 million people live in areas threatened with power outages, high winds and flooding where heavy rains already have saturated the ground. Major airports are in the path of the storm, rail lines could be under water and highways are closed — with potential impact on transportation nationwide. We hear what's being done to prepare for the worst and the possible aftermath.
'The Big Uneasy' Five years ago, the Washington Post reported that “Louisiana's top hurricane experts have rejected the official explanations for the floodwall collapses that inundated much of New Orleans…and that the city's flood-protection system should have kept most of the city dry.” Those experts have since lost their jobs and Louisiana State University's Hurricane Center has now been shut down. That's just part of what's reported in the documentary, The Big Uneasy . Was Katrina really a “natural disaster” or largely man-made? Were levees built by the Army Corps of Engineers so poorly constructed they made it worse than it needed to be? What about recent efforts to protect New Orleans from future hurricanes? Are they based on sound engineering or pork barrel politics?
The President's Quick Trip to The Big Easy Senator Barack Obama went to New Orleans five times to criticize then-President George Bush for failing to rebuild New Orleans or protect it from future flooding. But today was his first visit as President, and he spent just a few hours before going on to a fundraiser in San Francisco.
Obama's Quick Trip to The Big Easy As a Senator, Obama went to New Orleans five times to criticize then-President Bush for failing to rebuild the city or protect it from future flooding. He campaigned on the claim that George W. Bush had failed to rebuild New Orleans after Katrina or to invest enough in future protection. Now, with 65,000 homes still abandoned, no public hospital and levees that remain vulnerable to flooding, Obama’s being criticized for not doing enough. Today, he made his first visit as President, with only enough time for a box lunch, before going on to a fundraiser in San Francisco. Has his administration been good for New Orleans? Can the Army Corps of Engineers prevent another disaster? What about politics in a city focused on race in a state focused on partisanship?
In New Orleans, the Disaster Continues Ernesto is now just a tropical storm, but it was the first hurricane of a new season. Meantime, politicians of both parties, including President Bush, are streaming into New Orleans for tomorrow's first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. Under direction from Congress, the Army Corps of Engineers has spent a billion dollars to bring the city's flood protection back where it was before Katrina. Despite billions in federal spending, there's not even a plan for rebuilding 12 months after America's worst natural disaster. If there were another Katrina, could levees rebuilt by the Army Corps of Engineers hold back the water? What does race have to do with the lack of planning? We hear about the slow and painful process of recovery.
What happens when America retreats from the world? Is President Trump taking his "America First" agenda to extremes, withdrawing the country from the international stage on trade and climate change, distancing America from its traditional allies across the Atlantic and even threatening to physically isolate the country through the building of a wall along its southern border? León Krauze guest hosts.
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?