Oliver Thomas, AmTrak, & Jesus AI Chatbot

You're listening to American Ground Radio with Stephen Parr and Louis R. Avallone. This is the full show for October 13, 2025.

0:30 We unpack former Louisiana Governor John Bel Edwards’ decision not to run for the U.S. Senate — and what it means for the future of the Democratic Party in the Deep South. Once seen as a rare “moderate” voice in a red state, Edwards’ exit from the political stage leaves the Louisiana Democratic bench nearly empty. We dive into why Edwards won when others couldn’t, the decline of his party’s statewide influence, and the political dynamics shaping figures like Cleo Fields, Bill Cassidy, and Louisiana’s upcoming Senate race.

Plus, we cover the Top 3 Things You Need to Know.

• Helena Moreno won the Mayor's race in New Orleans over the weekend.
  
• Former Intermin Police Superintendent Michelle Woodfork was just elected Sheriff of Orleans Parish over the weekend.
  
• John Bel Edwards is not running for Senate.
  12:30 Get Brain Reward from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20.
  
  13:30 After finishing third in the New Orleans mayoral race, City Councilman Oliver Thomas delivered a concession speech that raised more eyebrows than applause. When Thomas declared, “The devil don’t want 99%, the devil want 100%,” we dig into what he really meant — was it a spiritual metaphor, or a coded reference to race and power in New Orleans politics? The conversation unpacks the layers of meaning behind Thomas’s remarks, the long history of racial fault lines in the Crescent City, and what this rhetoric reveals about the fractured state of the Democratic Party in Louisiana’s largest city.
  
  23:00 It’s not often you hear “Amtrak” and “sellout” in the same sentence — unless we’re talking about subsidies. But the new Mardi Gras route between New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama, is bucking expectations. In just two months, the line carried over 13,000 passengers, adding extra cars to meet demand on Saints game weekends and Gulf Coast festivals. The hosts break down what’s fueling this unexpected boom, whether the numbers actually add up to profit, and what this could mean for rail travel — and government-run projects — in the South.
  
  26:00 We Dig Deep into a recent Associated Press report about Louisiana’s redistricting case and show how subtle word choices. Calling a legal challenge an attack or adding just before a fact — can shift tone and perception. From headlines written for clicks to the ethics of modern reporting, we explore how bias sneaks into media coverage, often without readers even realizing it.
  
  32:30 Get NSorb from Victory Nutrition International for 20% off. Go to vni.life/agr and use the promo code AGR20.
  
  33:30 There’s a new app stirring up divine debate — Text with Jesus, an AI chatbot that lets users “talk” with biblical figures like Moses, Mary, and even Satan. We dive into the controversy: is this harmless curiosity that could spark new interest in Scripture, or a dangerous distortion of faith? From the ethics of simulating sacred voices to the question of whether technology can ever bridge the spiritual gap, we tackle what happens when Silicon Valley meets the Sermon on the Mount.
  
  40:30 Plus, it wasn’t the kind of Louisiana Saturday night anyone expected. Before kickoff in Baton Rouge, a man adjusting his pants accidentally discharged a Glock .45 — and later that evening, a second shooting rattled the LSU campus. We break down the bizarre sequence of events, the response from campus and local law enforcement, and what these incidents say about gun safety, stadium security, and the culture surrounding major SEC game days.
  
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