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Author: Carolyne Heldman

About 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.

SNAP cuts could threaten free school meals; New Orleans marks Black Education History Week.

September 18, 2026 Updated September 18, 2026
Changes to federal food assistance and a new recognition of Black education history raise important questions about students, schools, and the history taught in New Orleans classrooms.

PODCAST: Color or community? Supreme Court ruling reshapes Louisiana’s congressional map

September 11, 2026 Updated September 11, 2026
Journalist Emmanuel Felton talks about traveling through Louisiana’s disputed congressional district, examining the communities at the center of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on racial gerrymandering, representation and political power.

Behind The Lens Podcast: Contempt of court (audio)

August 28, 2026 Updated August 30, 2026

Behind The Lens Podcast: Clean slate and school bells (audio)

August 26, 2026 Updated August 27, 2026

PODCAST: Why New Orleans keeps losing power in fair weather (Audio)

August 7, 2026 Updated August 7, 2026
New Orleans experiences an exceptional number of fair-weather power outages as aging and failing equipment raises concerns across the city.

PODCAST: “Where did all my people go?”  (Audio)

July 30, 2026 Updated August 3, 2026
Black defendants face major barriers to securing representative juries, while a Lower Ninth Ward family farm wins a settlement after its property was mistakenly treated with pesticides.
Black-and-white portrait of Greg Bright seated with one arm resting across a wooden handle, looking directly at the camera.

PODCAST: Governor’s veto and student’s arrest put government power under scrutiny (Audio)

July 24, 2026 Updated July 24, 2026
Questions about how power Is exercised in Louisiana, as the governor vetoes more money for wrongfully convicted exonerees and a 14-year-old student is handcuffed and barred from her middle-school graduation.

Behind The Lens: ICE detention, court access and federal intervention in Louisiana (Audio)

July 17, 2026 Updated July 17, 2026
Reporter Delaney Nolan and editor Katy Reckdahl examine the surge in ICE activity across Louisiana.

Behind The Lens: False claims, real consequences: Why an Iberia Parish solar farm never got built (Audio)

July 10, 2026 Updated August 27, 2026
A proposed solar farm in Iberia Parish promised millions in local tax revenue and a boost for Louisiana's clean energy future. Instead, a misinformation campaign fueled public opposition that helped bring the project to a halt.

Behind The Lens: Detained despite citizenship and the debate over jury secrecy  (Audio)

June 12, 2026 Updated June 13, 2026
A U.S. citizen shares her account of being stopped, shackled and detained in Lafayette Parish, while reporters examine a new Louisiana law that could shield juror identities from public scrutiny.

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About The Lens

The Lens fights to reveal and report on issues that impact the community and the region.

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The Lens
The Lens fights to reveal and report on issues that impact the community and the region. Staunchly defending the public's right to know and deeply committed to sharing our knowledge with the community at large. We center human impact in all our work.
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Our reporting has more urgency than ever.


For more than a decade, we have reported on issues as well as public policy meant to address the needs of residents. The Lens seeks to focus on the inherent inequality that has created a multi-tiered system. We, at The Lens seek to uncover, illuminate, inform and take part in a forward-looking community. Join us.

 
 

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