Explore every episode of the podcast Eat, Drink, and Be Buried

From Graves to Glitter: Interview with Danielle Smith, Former Mortician Turned Glitter Mogul.

We discuss Danielle's job as a mortician, her journey to New Orleans, how she became owner of Elektra Cosmetics, the magic of Mardi Gras, and more.

Danielle answers these questions and more- How did she first get into the funeral industry? What is the best makeup to use on a corpse? What were some of her biggest challenges as a mortician? How does glitter factor into all of this? And did you really see her riding in a motorized chaise lounge in a Mardi Gras parade?

Find out more about Elektra Cosmetics (and follow them on Instagram) and the Chaissez Ladies!

Opening credit music "Buttermilk Drop" courtesy of Katy Hobgood Ray & The Confetti Park Players. Glenn May sound. Logo by Scott Frilot.

Pulling the Strings: Musician, Writer, Composer, Producer, and Marionette Artist Harry Mayronne. I sat down at Café Envie with the legendary Harry Mayronne to discuss New Orleans, culture, music, and what it is like to be marionettist.

Opening credit music "Buttermilk Drop" courtesy of Katy Hobgood Ray & The Confetti Park Players. Glenn May sound. Logo by Scott Frilot.

“Love That Chicken from Popeye’s: Interview with Donald Lacompte, Al Copeland’s first brother-in-law.” Founder of Popeyes Chicken, Al Copeland was a larger-than-life character. Known for his tasty chicken (restaurant chains), and also for his high-profile personal life with its kudos and condemnations; I speak with Donald Lacompte, Al Copeland’s first brother-in-law about Copeland’s early days starting Popeyes Chicken.

Opening credit music "Buttermilk Drop" courtesy of Katy Hobgood Ray & The Confetti Park Players. Glenn May sound. Logo by Scott Frilot.

“Interview with an Embalmer: A Conversation with New Orleans Embalmer Olivia Hunt.” There is no federal law in the United States requiring embalming; it varies state to state. This episode explores the history of embalming, how it actually works, various factors you need to consider when embalming a body, what role embalming played in ending body snatching and more.

Announcer Donald Lewis. Opening credit music "Buttermilk Drop" courtesy of Katy Hobgood Ray & The Confetti Park Players. Glenn May sound. Logo by Scott Frilot.

No two women in New Orleans have had more misinformation spread about them then Voodoo Priestess Marie Laveau and the sadistic socialite Delphine LaLaurie. For over a century, the lives of these women have been largely told through misinformation and speculation. Historically, writers have embellished and sensationalized their lives and over time rumor has been taken for reality. You can hear some of these urban legends told nightly on the streets of the French Quarter by some tour guides with often more regard for folklore than fact. Born fourteen years apart, both were alive and in New Orleans in 1834 when a fire at LaLaurie’s house on Royal Street uncovered her barbaric and cruel treatment of her enslaved. Scholar Carolyn Morrow Long wrote a book on each of the women, debunking many of the myths that surrounded them for well over a hundred years.

Announcer Donald Lewis. Opening credit music "Buttermilk Drop" courtesy of Katy Hobgood Ray & The Confetti Park Players. Glenn May sound. Logo by Scott Frilot.

Scrim, A ‘Tail’ of Serendipity: Interview with Margaret Orr.”

Margaret Orr discusses her new children’s book “Scrim My Tail: As Told to Margaret Orr,” published by Susan Schadt Press and illustrated by Matt Rinard.

Announcer Donald Lewis. Opening credit music "Buttermilk Drop" courtesy of Katy Hobgood Ray & The Confetti Park Players. Glenn May sound. Logo by Scott Frilot.

Links

Margaret Orr Facebook

Margaret Orr Instagram

X: @margaretorr

Susan Schadt Press

Krewe of Barkus

Gallery Rinard

Zeus' Rescue

“New Orleans’ Haunted Restaurants: An Interview with Poppy Tooker.”

“New Orleans’ Haunted Restaurants: An Interview with Poppy Tooker.” Cookbook writer, radio host, and tv personality Poppy Tooker discusses some of New Orleans’ most haunted restaurants.

Links: www.poppytooker.com

https://www.wwno.org/show/louisiana-eats

Instagram: @louisianaeatsnola

Announcer Donald Lewis. Opening credit music "Buttermilk Drop" courtesy of Katy Hobgood Ray & The Confetti Park Players. Glenn May sound. Logo by Scott Frilot.

“Secrets from the Skeleton House of St. Charles Ave: An Interview with the Skeleton Queen of New Orleans.” For over twenty years, Louellen Berger has been transforming her home on St. Charles Ave into a must-see Halloween destination known as the Skeleton House. For the entire month of October, visitors flock from all over the world to see Louellen’s front yard that is overflowing with skeletons meant to illicit more delight than fright.

Announcer Donald Lewis. Opening credit music "Buttermilk Drop" courtesy of Katy Hobgood Ray & The Confetti Park Players. Glenn May sound.

“The Calm After the Storm: The Labyrinths of New Orleans.”

An interview with Marty and Debi Kermeen, educators, presenters, facilitators, owners of Labyrinths in Stone, and founding members of The Labyrinth Society. The Kermeens discuss what led them into making labyrinths, the significance behind them, and what makes the labyrinths in New Orleans different from all the others.

https://labyrinthlocator.org

https://www.labyrinthsinstone.com/

https://labyrinthsociety.org

Announcer Donald Lewis. Opening credit music "Buttermilk Drop" courtesy of Katy Hobgood Ray & The Confetti Park Players. Glenn May sound.

In this episode I take a deep dive into two very different women – controversial temperance advocate Carrie Nation and New Orleans madam Josie Arlington – and what happened when they met on a December night in 1907 in the city’s notorious red light district known as Storyville. 

The final episode of the three-part series entitled “Interview with a Gravedigger” with city gravedigger, sexton of Greenwood and Cypress Grove Cemeteries, and owner of NOLA Cemetery Renewal LLC, Nick Black. Listener discretion is advised. Nick discusses, among other things, disturbing things found in and above tombs, the difference between a reuse fee and an internment fee, what happens when a tomb is full, and his worst experience in a cemetery. This is intended for mature audiences.

Part two of a three-part series entitled “Interview with a Gravedigger” with New Orleans' city gravedigger, sexton of Greenwood and Cypress Grove Cemeteries, and owner of NOLA Cemetery Renewal LLC, Nick Black. Listener discretion is advised. This episode deals with some topics that some might find troubling. Nick talks about, among other things, what happens when they need to move a body that has not fully decomposed, how you move a body inside a tomb, what occurs when a tomb is full, and how opening every tomb in New Orleans is a lesson in troubleshooting. This is intended for mature audiences only

I sat down with New Orleans native Nick Black who is the contracted gravedigger for the city's cemeteries, as well as the sexton of Greenwood and Cypress Grove Cemeteries, and the owner of NOLA Cemetery Renewal LLC.

Nick discusses, among other things, the often-disturbing tradition of New Orleans’ burials, including the process of digging a grave, how New Orleans’ water table effects the body’s decomposition, and the challenges with moving a decomposed body.

Announcer Donald Lewis. Opening credit music "Buttermilk Drop" courtesy of Katy Hobgood Ray & The Confetti Park Players.