A great friend of mine in graduate school was Ari Kelman. And while I was poring over the details of English settlers and Indians in 17th century New England, he was busy writing an environmental history of New Orleans. So I guess he wins the relevant knowledge prize. But then I was always a long shot.
He’s got an article up tonight at Slate about just why that city was built below sea level.
I assume smart producers will be ringing his phone off the hook in coming days.