In the second part of our episode with Ella Brennan, we explore the opening of Mr. B's Bistro in 1979 and what it said about the changing dining tastes of New Orleans as the '70s came to a close, the arrival of Emeril Lagasse and how his symbiotic relationship with Commander's Palace enabled both to flourish, and Ella's reflection on the stakes of building a tourism economy in New Orleans.

Justin and Jack discuss their 2014 interview with Ella Brennan, matriarch of the storied restaurant family. In part one, Ella describes coming to Commander's Palace after the 1974 Brennan family split that sent them away from the Royal Street landmark and the enormous effort it took to transform the Garden District restaurant into the establishment that we would recognize today. She also talks about the changing culinary landscape of New Orleans and her relationship with the first chef to become famous while at Commander's Palace, Paul Prudhomme. Episode 1 of 2.

Jack and Justin discuss their interview with Charlie Ferguson - who was once Jack's boss back in the 1970s and early 1980s when they were both at the States-Item and after when that paper's team took over the Times-Picayune. Jack suggests that Ferguson had more of a positive impact on New Orleans journalism than anyone else in the latter half of the twentieth century, a record for which this episode makes a case. Ferguson began working in journalism when he was a copy boy in his father's office, and went on to become a reporter in the early 1960s for the New Orleans States-Item. At the age thirty-two he was made that paper's editor, a move that ushered in an era of aggressive reporting in an era when the city underwent profound change. We cover everything from the relationship between the paper and politics to the desegregation of Carnival, the emergence of food criticism in the city, and the impressive team of young journalists Ferguson assembled at the States-Item and later Times-Picayune.