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Author Tom Piazza has written 12 books, many of which feature New Orleans, music, or both. His post-Katrina manifesto Why New Orleans Mattershelped to inspire the HBO show Treme,\\xa0and the show\'s co-creator David Simon brought him on as a staff writer largely because of it. Tom received a Grammy Award for his album notes to\\xa0Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues: A Musical Journey\\xa0and has also written for numerous publications including The New York Times, The Atlantic, and The Oxford American.

I met with Tom at the historic Columns Hotel in New Orleans to talk about his work and the city that has shaped so much of it. Some of the things we discuss in the episode include

• Highlights from the 50th anniversary of Jazz Fest
• How to write about a place like a local
• What not to do when writing music criticism
• Research that went into his album notes for\\xa0Martin Scorsese Presents The Blues
• How the writing room on Treme\\xa0worked together to flesh out challenging story points

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This episode\\xa0features an interview with Laura Cayouette, a New Orleanian actress who played Kay, a recurring character on Treme. Laura is often recognized for her role in Django Unchained, where she played the sister of Leonardo DiCaprio\'s character.\\xa0\\xa0

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