Behind The Lens episode 245: ‘Adults failed them’

Nick Chrastil on "extreme" conditions incarcerated people face at David Wade Correctional Center. Marta Jewson on a judge's order that will give Kennedy High School seniors who endured a graduation scandal their day in court. And Delaney Dryfoos on what a 'D' for New Orleans' water system means for residents.

This week on Behind The Lens, the David Wade Correctional Center has been put under federal oversight to bring the prison up to constitutional standards after a judge found that corrective measures had not been implemented in the two years since the facility had been the target of a class action lawsuit brought against it by incarcerated individuals. 

And a judge has certified Kennedy High School 2019 and 2020 seniors for a class action lawsuit, five years after the graduation scandal that rocked the city.

And the water treatment facility that provides much of New Orleans with drinking water received a grade of D but officials with the state health department says that doesn’t mean it is unsafe to drink.

Our guests this week are Lens reporters Nick Chrastil, Delaney Dryfoos and Marta Jewson. 

Theme music by Podington Bear soundofpicture.com. Additional music, “Keep your hand on the plow,” by Mahalia Jackson.

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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.