9/01/2007 Community Gumbo

Democracy Now

• Listen | The Path to Destruction: Two Years After Katrina, Cleanup and Recovery Far From Complete
• Listen | "The Resilience of the People Is What Carries This City Forward": Poet Sunni Patterson & Hip-Hop Artist Truth Universal Reflect on New Orleans Two Years After Katrina

Listen | Carl Brauner: Surviving the Flood (re-broadcast)

Carl Brauner weathered Hurricane Katrina inside his State Street Drive New Orleans home. He details his experience wading out of his house, the camaraderie he discovered in the city as he escaped the flooding and made his way downtown, his confrontation with Gretna police on the way out of town, and how Hurricane Katrina has provided him with an opportunity for positive growth despite the personal property losses he suffered. Some of the experiences he relates are similar to other disaster accounts reported by Rebecca Solnit. This interview was conducted on 3/12/06.

Note: Because the interview was anchored when it was originally broadcast, and the whole audio was uploaded without anchor comments, continuity may be difficult to understand in a couple of places -- Carl helps a police officer push a car out of the floodwater, Carl crosses the CCC bridge, and Carl arrives in Baton Rouge where he saw video of the extent of flooding for the first time.

Music Played:

Dr. John, "World I Never Made"

Irma Thomas, "Back Water Blues"

Allen Toussaint, "Tipitina and Me"

Dr. John, "Sweet Home New Orleans"