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…

We all know about the enormous economic challenges that newspapers are facing. With access to information that’s posted online almost the minute it happens, it’s become more difficult to convince people that reading the news next day in print has any value. The fact is that a good journalist can frame an issue, give it context,…

You’re probably familiar with the term “Art versus commerce.” It’s one of the concepts that we take for granted are opposites. “Good versus evil.” “Communism versus capitalism.” “Left versus right.” The problem with lumping art versus commerce into this list is that if you are an artist, you’re required to find a place where art and commerce…

Any conversation about the global economy today is bound to include a discussion of China. Economists and pundits frequently refer to China as “the world’s fastest growing economy.” Or “the world’s second biggest economy.” The unspoken intimation in this choice of language is that we in the United States better look out – China is catching up…

You probably know the line from the 1989 movie, Field of Dreams, “If you build it they will come.” Decades after the movie came out this line continues to resonate with us, because it’s about faith. Faith in ourselves. In our own courage to follow our dreams. And faith in our fellow humans – that…

Have you ever bought something on impulse?  You see something you really like. You can’t afford it. You know it’s crazy, but you buy it anyway. Maybe you’ve done that with a piece of clothing. A pair of shoes. Even a car. How about a business? That’s what happened to Camille Carloss.   Camille’s husband, Dylan, took Camille…

On this edition of Out to Lunch, Aileen Bennett sorts out the complex web of economic development organizations in Acadiana. Well, more or less.  Aileen says there are so many of these business-boosting organizations that,  “If I just read out a list of all the economic development and business support organizations in Acadiana and gave…

For hundreds of years, philosophers puzzled over the mind-body connection: the relationship between our physical body and the feelings, emotions, and mental abilities that define us as human beings. Eventually, philosopher Rene Descartes summed up the mind-body connection as, “I think therefore I am,” which seemed like the final word on the subject. Then, as we…

Many of us aspire to a life in the arts. For evidence of that, you only have to look at the massive popularity of long-running shows like American Idol and The Voice. Apparently, competitive sketching does not make  compelling viewing, so we don’t see TV shows about visual artists. But there are many people who have…