Mardi Gras Beyond The Beads

New Orleans Magazine produces this focused exploration of Carnival, the sprawling tradition that defines the city's cultural calendar every year. Now in its seventh season, Mardi Gras Beyond The Beads has released 41 episodes that trace the history, traditions, and modern evolution of the Greatest Free Show on Earth. The show carries a 4.5-star rating and updates biweekly during Carnival season. Historian Errol Laborde serves as the primary voice on the show, bringing decades of Carnival scholarship to each episode. The topics span thousands of years of history, from the ancient roots of pre-Lenten celebrations in Europe to the uniquely American forms that took shape in New Orleans. Recent episodes have examined how Carnival has evolved across the country, the origin stories behind king cake traditions, and interviews with cultural figures like artist Brandan BMike Odums. The podcast goes well beyond float schedules and bead counts. It gets into the krewes, the social dynamics, the music, the food, the costumes, and the community organizations that keep Carnival alive and changing. Each episode runs about 30 minutes and benefits from Laborde's ability to connect historical detail to present-day practice. For anyone who has ever wondered why Mardi Gras means so much to New Orleans, or who wants to understand what happens behind the scenes of the parades, this is the podcast that answers those questions with real depth.