According to a new census report, New Orleans is the fastest growing city in the country. Last year its population grew 8.2 percent faster than any other city. And while the population has not yet reached the levels it was before Hurricane Katrina hit, the city is well on its way. Joining us to talk about life in the Big Easy are Allison Plyer, the co-director of the Greater New Orleans Community Data Center, and Shantrelle Lewis, the director of the McKenna Museum of African American Art and a longtime New Orleans resident.

For a closer look at the people behind the numbers, check out New To New Orleans: The Saints Who Came Marching In.

Click through for transcript

The Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1st, with forecasters predicting a near-normal hurricane season. Statistically speaking, "normal" translates into a 70 percent chance of four to seven hurricanes occurring, including as many as three major ones. For a closer look at what hurricane season means for those people who live in a storm's path, we check in with Mark Schleifstein, the environmental reporter for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans and Terry Coleman, a tugboat captain and a lifetime resident of New Orleans.

In New Orleans, the city's famed Jazz & Heritage Festival is underway. And of course, most people go for the music. But there's another side to JazzFest: the food. The Takeaway is joined by Kathy Gunst, a food writer and radio producer who did some digging into Louisiana's favorite dishes, from gumbo to jambalaya to ya ka mein.

Today in New Orleans a trial gets underway that could ultimately determine what kind of damages thousands of victims of Hurricane Katrina can demand from the government. Five residents and one business are suing the Army Corps of Engineers because, they say, the Corps did not properly maintain a shipping channel and that act intensified the storm surge, causing the devastation of neighborhoods including St. Bernard Parish and the Lower Ninth Ward. Saiward Pharr is a radio host in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and is reporting on the case. She'll join The Takeaway with a preview.