Twelve years after Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans’ iconic music scene seems to be thriving again. But at a time when the city’s tourism industry is booming, the changing face of New Orleans presents new challenges that threaten to push out the very people who make it such an appealing place to visit – the locals who make this culture so special.

Five years after a neo-Nazi killed six people at a Sikh temple, the town of Oak Creek, Wisconsin has come together to find forgiveness. Best friends Arno Michaelis, a former white supremacist, and Pardeep Kaleka, a Sikh man whose father was among the victims, now work together to conquer hate and ignorance in today’s political climate.

Instead of a new episode of I’m Still Here, we’re running an episode from another HuffPost podcast called Candidate Confessional. It’s a show about tough defeats, and on this episode, hosts Sam Stein and Jason Cherkis spoke to Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut. Shortly after he won election to the senate in 2012, 20 first graders were shot dead at Sandy Hook Elementary school. The tragedy, which took place in Murphy’s old district, fundamentally changed him and his career, but...

Two men fight to beat addiction in West Virginia, the state that’s been hit hardest by the opioid epidemic. Greg and Archie have tried everything, and now they’re in a medication-assisted treatment (MAT) program, which is proven effective but is highly controversial. How did we get here? Where the hell are politicians who’ve promised to help? And will it work this time for Archie and Greg?

Mike Brown’s murder sparked a massive movement, but three years later, has anything actually changed for black people in Ferguson? Local activists grapple with the conundrum of their work: It’s deeply necessary but the consequences are harsh, sometimes deadly. Pushed out of jobs, arrested, dehumanized: this is what fighting a police state looks like.

A 6-year-old trans student was forced to urinate on herself at school because she wasn’t allowed to use the girls’ bathroom, thanks to HB2. Her parents spent a year fighting the school with the help of local activists. They discuss what it’s really like to live in a state hell-bent on criminalizing your very existence.

Katrina. Ferguson. Oak Creek. In America, a local tragedy can spark a national conversation. But what happens after the national news cycle moves on? On this podcast, we’ll visit communities whose tales of adversity have put them on the map and we’ll explore what “survival” in America really looks like. Coming Wednesday, October 18th.