The Atlantic

Floodlines

A History , Society & Culture and Documentary podcast

About the show

Some call it Hurricane Katrina. Some call it the Federal Flood. Others call it the day the levees broke. On August 29, 2005, the city of New Orleans was submerged. That story of hubris, incompetence, and nature's wrath is now etched into the national consciousness. But the people who lived through the flood and its aftermath have a different story to tell. A story of rumors, betrayal, and one of the most misunderstood events in American history. Hosted by Vann R. Newkirk II. Floodlines has been named an Apple Podcasts Series Essential.

Newest episodes

Rebirth

Aug 1, 2025 39 min

Part IX: After Hurricane Katrina and the breach of the levees in 2005, Floodlines examined what went wrong in New Orleans and what those errors meant for the people left behind. Now, 20 years later, the host, Vann R. Newkirk II, revisits New Orleans to meet up with Le-Ann Williams again and learn more about how time has shaped the role she holds in her family and her city. You can support this work, and the work of all Atlantic journalists, when you subscribe to The Atlantic at TheAtlantic.com/Listener. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Introducing Holy Week

Feb 28, 2023 5 min

Holy Week: The story of a revolution undone. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, is often recounted as a conclusion to a powerful era of civil rights in America, but how did this hero’s murder come to be the stitching used to tie together a narrative of victory? The week that followed his killing was one of the most fiery, disruptive, and revolutionary, and is nearly forgotten. Over the course of eight episodes, Holy Week brings forward the stories of the activists who turned heartbreak into action, families scorched by chaos, and politicians who worked to contain the grief. Seven days diverted the course of a social revolution and set the stage for modern clashes over voting rights, redlining, critical race theory, and the role of racial unrest in today’s post–George Floyd reckoning. Subscribe and listen to all 8 episodes coming March 14: theatlantic.com/holyweek Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices