In 2005, Hurricane Katrina threatened to snuff out the spirit of New Orleans. Two decades later, our reporter and photographer chronicle the city鈥檚 long journey toward shoring it up.
Welcome to the weekend.
Journalism calls for maintaining a dispassionate mindset. That doesn鈥檛 mean journalists can鈥檛 have heart. The Monitor鈥檚 Patrik Jonsson and Melanie Stetson Freeman went to New Orleans 20 years ago to report on what Hurricane Katrina had wrought. Between long outings they would collect themselves at a Waffle House, then wade back in. For a long time, Patrik couldn鈥檛 cross any span like the steel-truss bridge he took into the city without reflecting on that storm.
He and Mel recently returned, Patrik in his trademark battered van, to assess two decades of recovery efforts. 鈥淭here鈥檚 still desperation here,鈥 one man told Patrik. Nearly 1,400 people were killed and the city saw a third of its residents displaced. But Patrik and Mel also found music, healing, and community.聽
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You can read Mel鈥檚 brief account of their teamwork here.聽She joined me on our podcast in 2023 to talk about how she sees Monitor photojournalism. Patrik, too, has been a guest. Our chat about the nuances of gun culture, also from 2023, displays his clear-eyed approach to challenging news 鈥 and, yes, his heart.
Find our latest stories and updated news briefs, including on Gaza and on U.S. economic developments, at CSMonitor.com.