SpaceX ‘pinky promises’ no bad impacts for Louisiana locals — then forced to backtrack

In a tense meeting, SpaceX managers told locals the massive spaceport won’t affect them at all. Then locals pressed for specifics.

Delaney Nolan, The Lens Oct 13, 2026

Agriculture

Aging farmers and the government want to save farms, but for many the cost is too high

A federal program promises to pay for farmland preservation. Few landowners are taking advantage.

Jana Rose Schleis, KBIA Oct 8, 2026

Community

Researchers, patients optimistic in fight against alpha-gal syndrome

A support group and a lab in the St. Louis area provide resources for people with the allergy to mammal products — and evidence that its effects can be reversed.

Rose LaForest, Nine PBS Oct 1, 2026

Mark Schleifstein

Mark Schleifstein is a freelance environment reporter based in the New Orleans area. Previously he was an environmental reporter at The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate. Schleifstein contributed to the award-winning “Polluter’s Paradise” series on the state’s petrochemical industry, published in the paper and online on NOLA.com and ProPublica. His stories on Hurricane Katrina were among the Times-Picayune's stories honored with 2006 Pulitzer Prizes for Public Service and Breaking News Reporting. He's the co-author of the 2006 book Path of Destruction: The Devastation of New Orleans and the Coming Age of Superstorms," about Katrina.