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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.
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Behind The Lens episode 281 part II: ‘Completely inadequate’

August 26, 2025 Updated August 26, 2025
Longtime environmental reporter Mark Schleifstein on the federal flood after the U.S. Army Corps’ levees failed and flooded 80 percent of the city in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Delaney Nolan on ongoing corrosion that could undermine the system again.
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Behind The Lens episode 281 part I: ‘Completely inadequate’

August 22, 2025 Updated August 26, 2025
Longtime Times-Picayune environmental reporter Mark Schleifstein on the federal flood after the U.S. Army Corps' levees failed and flooded 80 percent of the city in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
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Behind The Lens episode 281: ‘Crumbling’

August 15, 2025 Updated September 2, 2025
Reporter Marta Jewson, educator Deborah Richardson and advocate Ashana Bigard on John McDonogh High School's demise after a Los Angeles-based charter group took control.
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Behind The Lens episode 280: ‘The licensing of Essence’

August 8, 2025 Updated August 8, 2025
Bernard Smith on conditions at Angola as heat alerts persist across the country. Gus Bennett on Essence Fest's rapid expansion — and questions about who it's serving.
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Behind the Lens episode 279: ‘Incompetent or lying’

August 1, 2025 Updated August 1, 2025
Delaney Dryfoos on what the Alabo Street Wharf development may mean for neighbors. Matthew Wollenweber on NOPD's use of surveillance, including 5,000 cameras and partnerships that use facial recognition technology.
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Behind The Lens episode 278: ‘Failed to file’

July 25, 2025 Updated July 25, 2025
Matt McBride on a controversial candidate for the Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans. Marta Jewson on how state standardized test scores should serve the children who take the tests.
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Behind The Lens episode 277: ‘Hotter, hotter and hotter’

July 11, 2025 Updated July 11, 2025
Bernard Smith on New Orleans' notorious House of Detention and protections for Angola's Farm Line workers in summer heat. Marta Jewson on a student's suspension pending a mental health eval — a flagarent violation of special education law.
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Behind The Lens episode 276: ‘Breathing poison air’

June 27, 2025 Updated June 27, 2025
Delaney Dryfoos on Louisiana's decidion to classify natural gas, a fossil fuel, as "green energy." Brian Bienkowski on air pollutants effects on pregnant women and findings about early labor.
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Behind The Lens episode 275: ‘Snake hips’

June 23, 2025 Updated June 24, 2025
Mizani Ball on ethnographic dancer Chipo Kandake on her history of American music performance. Marta Jewson on improving literacy scores for young Louisiana students.
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Behind The Lens episode 274: ‘Human decency’

June 13, 2025 Updated June 13, 2025
Reporter Bernard Smith and Editor Katy Reckdahl break down a new program that provides tablets to incarcerated individuals. And a recent ruling to protect Angola's Farm Line workers.

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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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