Behind The Lens episode 243: ‘The solar Motherhouse’

Nick Chrastil on a judge's order to the Dept. of Corrections requiring a plan to protect Angola inmates working the Farm line in blistering heat. Delaney Dryfoos on the The Sisters of the Holy Family nuns who are working to build a solar-powered microgrid resilience hub for their neighbors in New Orleans East.

This week on Behind The Lens, a U.S. District judge ordered the Louisiana Department of Corrections to submit a plan to protect inmates laboring on the Farm line at Angola who face “immediate threats” from working in extreme heat without adequate protection. The prisoners had filed an emergency motion asking to halt the dangerous and sometimes deadly practice. The DOC appealed the decision.

And the nuns at The Sisters of the Holy Family are constructing solar panels on the order’s New Orleans East motherhouse, to create the city’s 12th solar-driven Community Lighthouse. The project aims to create a microgrid resilience hub for the neighborhood.

Our guests this week are criminal justice reporter Nick Chrastil, environmental reporter Delaney Dryfoos, and co-editor Katy Reckdahl.

Theme music by Podington Bear. Additional music A Very Small Stage by Podington Bear soundofpicture.com. 

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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.