Former Saints player and ALS patient and advocate Steve Gleason on new memoir; political roundup; assigning names to heat waves

On Thursday July 11, Steve Gleason was honored at the ESPY awards with the Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. The former Saints player first rose to fame when he blocked a punt against the Atlanta Falcons in the team’s first game back in the Superdome after Hurricane Katrina. 

But in the years since, Gleason’s been living with ALS, a disease that attacks nerve cells and renders patients unable to move, speak and breathe on their own. Still, Gleason has had some extraordinary accomplishments since his diagnosis, like fathering two children, founding Team Gleason, and most recently, writing a memoir, titled ‘ A Life Impossible.’

He spoke with Louisiana Considered’s Alana Schreiber about writing a book with his eyes, and what his memoir reveals about his life, family and journey with ALS.

The Times Picayune/New Orleans Advocate’s editorial director and columnist Stephanie Grace recently held a town hall meeting with insurance commissioner Tim Temple. She joins us to discuss his plans to attract more businesses to the state and try to reduce high property premiums. 

We know many big weather events and disasters by their names, like Hurricane Sandy, the Thomas Fire and most recently, Hurricane Beryl. But these days, one of the biggest threats to health and safety is extreme heat. The Gulf States Newsroom’s Drew Hawkins explores the question of whether or not to assign names to heat waves. 

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Today’s episode of Louisiana Considered was hosted by Alana Schreiber. Our managing producer is Alana Schrieber. Matt Bloom and Aubry Procell are assistant producers. Our engineer is Garrett Pittman.

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