Behind The Lens episode 181: ‘This is paradise’

A carbon sequestration project has residents worried about the future of Lake Maurepas. A mental health crisis intervention program in New Orleans. And The Lens' newsroom has a new editor.

On this week’s episode, some Livingston Parish residents fear a proposed carbon sequestration project below Lake Maurepas could permanently damage the lake’s delicate ecosystem.

And the city of New Orleans signed a $1.3 million contract last week with a company to provide an alternative dispatch program to respond to 911 calls related to mental and behavioral health crises with mental health professionals instead of police. The contract follows a pilot launched last year that should have provided useful data and insight for the permanent program, but appears to have fallen short.

Finally, changes are afoot in our newsroom here at The Lens.

Our guests this week are Lens reporters Joshua Rosenberg, Nick Chrastil, interim editor Marta Jewson and outgoing editor Charles Maldonado.

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Carolyne Heldman

Carolyne Heldman Rovira has been in media for 35 years, and is currently the podcast host and producer for Behind The Lens. Heldman served as executive director at Aspen Public Radio, an NPR affiliate, where she launched four weekly news, public affairs, and cultural affairs programs. She has been a guest lecturer at Tulane University, is a frequent guest and moderator for the Aspen Institute, Rocky Mountain Institute, and the American Enterprise Institute.