New Orleans / NPR

New Orleans intrigues me. Not the drunken tourist version. The food culture. The music culture. Paul Prudhomme's cooking style is huge to me. Just now I heard an NPR piece about a new show on HBO called 'Treme.' It sounds pretty awesome.

Harry Shearer does a show on NPR called 'Le Show' and he often talks about New Orleans. His shows around when Katrina hit are heartbreaking parts of I, all of II. {Alas, streaming from the KCRW website stinks, they are also available from his website, search for the 25 Aug and 4 Sep 2005 shows}. The 25 Aug was one day before Katrina hit. He plays the song Louisiana 1927 by Randy Newman, and discusses evacuating New Orleans. The 4 Sep show is stunning. I've learned a ton about New Orleans listening to him, the history and tradition associated with the non-touristy part of Mardi Gras is fascinating (e.g., 3 Feb 2008 is about Mardi Gras Indians, 31 Jan 2010 has a bit with pianist John Cleary, 3 Sep 2009 is about the Army Corps of Engineers/levees). This American Life also did a couple of great post-Katrina shows I,II. Float On by Modest Mouse featured prominently in one of them.
Update: this morning Morning Edition also had a piece on 'Treme.' It wasn't as interesting as the All things Considered last night, but it was still quite listenable.
Update2: it's a little wonky, but AV talk talks about Treme, starting at the 24 minute mark.
Update3: Fresh Air covered it, too.