Over the last couple of years, we’ve talked a lot about diversification of the Acadiana economy. We’ve talked about how our local economy has to change to withstand global oil and gas market. And how we can re-train people who have been hurt by the downturn in the oil field.  What has been lost to some…

The decision to go in to business for yourself is a big one. On the one hand, you can do exactly what you want at any hour of the day without having to ask for anyone’s permission. On the other hand, you’re not getting paid. Aileen Bennett’s two lunch guests on this edition of out to Lunch Acaiana…

At the end of the day, business is all about sales. You might have a revolutionary idea for a business or a product. You might even be a genius. But if you can’t sell, you might as well just leave all your brilliant ideas in your desk drawer. The art of sales is a particular skill….

No matter who you are, what you do, or where you live, there’s no doubt that you’re looking for same thing out of life as every other human being in the world: Happiness. Happiness is the stated goal of almost every societal organization in recorded history – from ancient Hindu writings to the United States Declaration…

Acadiana is changing. Yes, we still jealously guard our traditions and our culture, but we also embrace change. We’re happy to have the fastest internet in the country. We’re happy to be home to some very cool tech businesses. And we’re happy to be able to go downtown to a coffee shop like Reve, which is as…

If you’re young you might find this hard to believe, but it’s only been within the last generation that we have made the link between our health and our diet. It started with the realization that inhaling cigarette smoke can cause the formation of cancerous cells in our lungs. It took quite some time for us…

There’s a lot of talk these days about Artificial Intelligence. Economists and pundits are betting on who’s still going to have a job in 20 years and who’s going to be replaced by a robot or an algorithm. Some say the jobs most likely to disappear are taxi drivers, Uber, and truck drivers. Others say it’s…

Here’s a question for you. What is Art? There are various possible answers. From the personal and pragmatic, “I know it when I see it,” to the wide-ranging and ideological, “Anything that holds up a mirror to society.” When we talk about art on a show that is about business, I can tell you one…

If you’d lived in the United States in the early 1900’s, you would have been part of a fierce debate about alcohol. For many years there were people in Washington DC, and all across the country, who believed that alcohol was a drug that was so bad for us, that for our own good it should…

If everything worked out the way you thought it was going to, 10 or 20 years ago, what kind of a life would you be leading today? It’s fascinating to ponder how different the world might be if Jeff Bezos didn’t quit his job and start Amazon. Or if William Shakespeare had been content to make…