Episode 201: Down the River - Author Ned Randolph Explores "The Big Muddy"

Louisiana Insider

It is not the most poetic of nicknames but it is backed by science. Author Ned Randolph joins Louisiana Life Executive Editor Errol Laborde and podcast producer Kelly Massicot to talk about his new book, "Muddy Thinking in the Mississippi River Delta," and his experiences covering the state’s landscape including the river known informally as “The Big Muddy.” Because the Mississippi River drains much of the central part of the continent, the water carries sediments from upriver along the way that in turn has built riverbanks and nourished marshes and swamps and, near the river’s mouth, given the Gulf of Mexico its chocolatey color. It has also built land that would one day give the region, “the blues.” And speaking of colors, the sediment’s rich soil also enriches the land for our indigenous “Creole tomato.” You will likely gain a new appreciation for mud including it being the building substance for the Mississippi Delta region – all the better for sitting on a levee and listening to the blues.