Murphy Sam & Jodi - Callin' Baton Rouge

Mardi Gras season means King Cake. Which King Cake is King? And we do mean in Sweet Baton Rouge.

It means so much - to so many. MSJ explain how and why 96.1 The River began playing all Christmas music 20 years ago and never looked back.

From a neighbor's carport to the 13th Gate - what is the scariest haunted house in Baton Rouge?

What is truth and what is rumor regarding Coach O, and where does LSU football go from here?

Sam has so much he wants to show his girlfriend about Baton Rouge and New Orleans - and this is where he'll start.

Murphy Sam & Jodi talk about their oldest daughter's first experience in the student section, and the things that make Saturday night in Tiger Stadium one of Baton Rouge's most exciting destinations.

How cleanup from this storm is different and improved, and why you may see drones taking aerial video of our canals and creeks. Murphy Sam and Jodi visit with Fred Raiford, Director of Transportation and Drainage for East Baton Rouge Parish.

What is the future of Wearin' of the Green - Baton Rouge's St Patrick's Parade? Will there be one in 2022?

Sam is looking for ideas on where to take and what to show his new girlfriend around Baton Rouge.

Ever spent the night at the most haunted house in the U.S.? Find out what happened Murphy Sam and Jodi and Producer Faith spent a night at the Myrtles in St Francisiville.

In the Summer of 2011, the late Gov Edwin Edwards was one of our funniest guests. He told Jodi how he learned to charm others and why he wasn't pardoned early. (From MSJ: We were honored to have his time, and send our condolences to his family during this time.)

Flooded streets and homes are a more frequent occurrence in recent years in East Baton Rouge Parish. Lots of guesses as to why, but we wanted to know the actual reasons. Fred Raiford gets real with us on what is working well, and what needs to be fixed and when!

EVERYTHING you ever wanted to know about LSU's Live Mascot Mike the Tiger: Was he really rescued? Why he's not brought onto the football field on gameday anymore? Is he lonely?

Mestizo Restaurant Owner Jim Urdiales "dishes" on his favorite menu item,where ELSE he likes to dine out in BR, and how he's dealt with flooding 4 times in 5 years!!!!

Sam admits to something he probably shouldn't have done in Tiger Stadium. We should note that what he is talking about is not something anyone should try today (he did this in the 1980s). This was before gates, locks, cameras, security and new rules.

Connections to Murphy's family that surprised him as a child. In a previous episode, we found out that Murphy's grandmother was in a sorority run by the late Huey P Long's wife. This time, it's a family member who was a foreman on the construction of the "Old" Mississippi River Bridge, and another who is the reason the cannon is stuck in the sidewalk on Third and Laurel St.

If you grew up in Baton Rouge you either had field trips or family outings to tour what everyone calls the "new" State Capital building (even though it was built in 1932). Still the tallest capital building in the U.S., it was built by Gov Huey Long who was assassinated there after a speech in 1935. Sam wonders if the holes in the marble were caused by bullets as some tour guides have explained, or if those stories have taken on a new life over the decades.

Murphy Sam & Jodi have the conversation that is the most common in Baton Rouge - but specifically about their youngest daughter now officially driving on her own. Entrances, exits, flyovers, merge lanes, shifting lanes.

Murphy & Jodi want to get away on a day trip this weekend - and Sam winds up planning it! What is there to do within miles of Baton Rouge that feels like a getaway?

What inspired Todd Graves to invest $2 million in family owned restaurants around the country? Murphy Sam and Jodi visit with the Baton Rouge based Raising Cane's CEO & Founder about the making of "Restaurant Recovery" on Discovery+. The show is now airing nationwide: https://www.discoveryplus.com/show/restaurant-recovery

Whether you live here or are just passing through (or trying to pass through), prepare to enjoy the sites because you'll be here a while :-)

Too many great choices? A thirty minute discussion and negotiation among family members, and then we go. Just another typical Baton Rouge night eating out.

What is your favorite memory of Cortana Mall? Murphy Sam & Jodi share theirs and other experiences from the Baton Rouge shopping and entertainment of the 1970s and 80s. Demolition of Cortana Mall began this week (3-22-2021).