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Radiolab

WNYC Studios

Science, Natural Sciences, History, Society & Culture, Documentary

4.6 • 43.5K Ratings

🗓️ 19 May 2023

⏱️ 64 minutes

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Summary

In 2021, editor Alex Neason's grandfather passed away. On his funeral program, she learned the name of his father for the first time: Wilson Howard. Not Neason. Howard. And when she asked her family why his last name was different from everybody else's, nobody had an answer. In this episode, we tag along as Alex searches for answers through swampy cemeteries, libraries, and archives in the heart of south Louisiana: who was her great grandfather, really? Is she supposed to be a Neason? Where did the name Neason come from, anyways? And is a name something whose weight you have to shed, or is it the only path forward into the future?Special thanks to, Cheryl Neason-Isidore, Karen Neason Dykes, Johari Neason, Keaun Neason, Kevin Neason, Anthony Neason, the late Clarence Neason Sr. and Anthony Neason, Clarence Neason Jr., Olivia Neason, Tori Neason, Orelia Amelia Jackson, Russell Gragg, Victor Yvellez, Asher Griffith, Devan Schwartz, Myrriah Gossett, Sabrina Thomas, Nancy Richard, Katie Neason, Amanda Hayden, Gabriel Lee, Paul Brandenburg, Justin Flynn, Mark Miller, Kenny Bentley, Jason Issacs, Irene Trudel, Bill Hyland, the staff members at the Orleans Parish, East Feliciana Parish, and Plaquemines Parish Clerk of Court offices.

Episode Credits:Reported by - Alex Neasonwith help from - Nicka Sewell-SmithProduced by - Annie McEwenwith help from - Andrew ViñalesMusic performed by - Jason Isaacs, Paul Brandenburg, Justin Fynn, Mark Miller, and Kenny Bentleywith engineering and mixing help from - Arianne Wack and Irene TrudelFact-checking by - Emily KriegerEpisode Citations:Audio - You can listen to the episode of La Brega (https://zpr.io/p5EcBJyU2dfJ), in English and in Spanish.Our newsletter comes out every Wednesday. It includes short essays, recommendations, and details about other ways to interact with the show. Sign up (https://radiolab.org/newsletter)!

Radiolab is supported by listeners like you. Support Radiolab by becoming a member of The Lab (https://members.radiolab.org/) today.

Follow our show on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @radiolab, and share your thoughts with us by emailing [email protected].

Leadership support for Radiolab’s science programming is provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Science Sandbox, a Simons Foundation Initiative, and the John Templeton Foundation. Foundational support for Radiolab was provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Wait, you're listening to radio lab from W and Y.
0:13.7	Hello, I am Louisa Miller, though I go by the name Lulu.
0:25.1	I'm Laptop Shira's Abdul Fuzzle Master Ballu.
0:28.9	And here is my full name.
0:32.2	Is that true?
0:33.2	That is my full name.
0:34.2	It is stately and ringy and wonderful.
0:36.4	Yeah, it's my dad's name, his dad's name, his dad's name, it's basically all the dad's
0:41.4	name.
0:42.4	Okay.
0:43.4	Anyway, here at Radio Lab, we are talking about this because we kind of are a little obsessed
0:48.6	with names.
0:49.6	It turns out.
0:50.6	Yeah, it just keeps coming up.
0:52.6	And in addition to the oh six part series, you did a lot of about sharing a name with
0:57.8	the Guantanamo Dittany.
0:59.7	We have done stories about names that make computers go haywire.
1:04.2	Names that seem to influence a certain life path.
1:07.7	Like a study that shows that if you're named Dennis, you're more likely to become a dentist.
1:11.3	But today, we have a very different kind of name story because our editor, Alex Niesen,
1:18.2	recently got some kind of confusing news about her name.
1:23.0	You see these wasps?
	...

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