Veteran Times-Picayune and NOLA.com entertainment reporter will host a new kind of weekly talk show with notable New Orleans personalities
New Orleans – WLAE-TV in partnership with The Times-Picayune | New Orleans Advocate and NOLA.com is launching “Let’s Talk with Keith Spera,” a new type of New Orleans talk show that invites viewers to sit in on the award-winning journalist’s conversations with a diverse assortment of entertainers, newsmakers, and notable personalities.
“Let’s Talk with Keith Spera” premieres Thursday, June 15, 2023, at 7:30 pm on WLAE-TV with an encore presentation on Sunday, June 18, 2023, at 9:30 pm.
During a career spanning 30 years, Spera has interviewed many of the biggest names in entertainment, from Jerry Seinfeld to Janet Jackson, as well as every New Orleans and Louisiana musician of note. On his new weekly half-hour talk show, he will chat with a cross-section of influential and interesting New Orleanians: musicians, media figures, athletes, attorneys, religious leaders, politicians, etc.
The first episodes feature homegrown rock star Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews, WWL-TV anchor Charisse Gibson and car salesman/crooner Ronnie Lamarque.
“Keith has interviewed so many interesting characters over the years,” said Jim Dotson, vice president of LAE Productions and New Orleans public television station WLAE-TV. “Viewers will enjoy his talent for getting his guests to open up about their lives and share their insights, while also having a little fun.”
On “Let’s Talk with Keith Spera,” Spera functions as a stand-in for viewers by asking the sorts of “always wanted to know” questions that might come up during a chance encounter at a local bar. His casual, conversational approach is substantive but not stuffy, which allows guests to relax and open up about themselves, what they do and why. Viewers see who they are as people, not just who they are in public.
A New Orleans native, Spera has spent his entire career telling the stories of his hometown, especially its music community. A recipient of numerous national feature-writing awards, he was a member of The Times-Picayune’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Hurricane Katrina coverage team. He is the author of the acclaimed book Groove Interrupted: Loss, Renewal and the Music of New Orleans (St. Martin’s Press, 2011), which introduced readers to some of the city’s most celebrated musicians as they recovered from various challenges. Spera lives in New Orleans with his wife, three children and their dog Goose, all of whom occasionally turn up in his newspaper columns.
“Let’s Talk with Keith” will air Thursdays at 7:30 pm with repeats on Sundays at 9:30 pm on WLAE-TV in New Orleans (Channel 32, COX Ch. 14 and 1014, Spectrum Ch. 11 and 711 and AT&T and DISH Ch. 32).