Podcast Summary:

New Books Network – Doug MacCash, "Mardi Gras Beads" (Louisiana UP, 2022)
Host: Emily Allen
Guest: Doug MacCash
Date: November 17, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode of New Books Network features a conversation with journalist and author Doug MacCash about his book Mardi Gras Beads (Louisiana UP, 2022), the inaugural volume in a series exploring Louisiana’s iconic cultural symbols. The discussion traces the history, cultural significance, industry, and future of Mardi Gras beads—from their origins before World War I through their modern transformation and environmental impact in a changing world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Doug MacCash’s Background & the Genesis of the Book

• Art Critic’s Perspective:
  • Doug began as an art critic 21–22 years ago, treating New Orleans’ Carnival as “the biggest, liveliest art scene in the country” because of the artistry behind floats and costumes.
  • “Everybody in the city becomes an artist during Mardi Gras.” (03:12)
• Book’s Origin:
  • LSU Press approached Doug to write for the new "Louisiana True" series, which explores local symbols (e.g., accordion, crawfish, beads).
  • Doug initially thought beads might be trivial but soon argued “there is no more unique symbol of New Orleans than the Mardi Gras beads” (04:31).
  • The book research coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced him to pursue archival and newspaper-based research remotely.

2. Research Techniques & Surprising Discoveries

• Archival Rabbit Holes:
  • Old newspapers, now digitized, were Doug’s primary source. He fondly described the experience as going “down a rabbit hole a day.” (07:13)
• Rethinking Bead Origins:
  • Popular oral history claims bead-throwing started in 1921, but Doug found an earlier newspaper report from 1911, challenging received wisdom.

3. The Evolution of the “Throw”

• What is a Throw?
  • Defined as any trinket, toy, or souvenir tossed from floats to parade watchers.
  • The industry is significant: New Orleanians spend $40-50 million annually on “throws” (08:34).
  • The Endymion parade is cited, where each of 3,200 riders tosses around 500 pounds of throws.
• Origins:
  • Traced to 1871, when “Santa Claus” ended a parade by tossing toys while advertising a department store (10:00).
  • First “Rex Parade” followed in 1872, picking up the tradition.

4. Material and Cultural Stories: Beads and Beyond

• Material Stories:
  • Glass beads once colored by uranium for a unique green—making them slightly radioactive and still glowing under UV light (13:11).
  • Environmental tales: Beads washing into Lake Pontchartrain and even finding their way into local oysters.
• Legendary Bead Lore:
  • Humorous and subversive anecdotes:
    • The Mars Rover hoax website, falsely reporting it discovered Mardi Gras beads on Mars.
    • Legal battles over “breast beads” and marijuana leaf beads, demonstrating the seriousness and profitability of Mardi Gras bead designs (13:11, 18:12).

5. Beads as Cultural Touchstones

• Global Politics:
  • The bead industry’s roots are in the Sudetenland (pre-WWII Czechoslovakia), which became the sparkpoint for WWII and eventually Soviet bloc territory (19:53).
  • During the late 1940s, Mardi Gras beads were sourced from Germany, Japan, and Czechoslovakia—“all the beads you catch will have been made by either past or future enemies of the United States.” (21:55)
• Modern Impacts:
  • The contemporary bead trade centers in China, raising questions about trade and geopolitics (24:19).
• Beads as Language and Art:
  • Beads and costumes are “like a language,” expressing everything from political satire to personal beliefs—functioning like wearable T-shirts (29:13, 36:31).

6. Carnival as Collective Artistic Expression

• Costume Culture:
  • Homemade costumes on Mardi Gras morning are a favorite focus—“preposterous, political, self-revelatory.” (25:21)
  • Historical references: Even as early as 1839, accounts of cross-dressing, social commentary, and topical costumes are found.
  • Doug aspires to trace costume trends through newspaper records over decades.

7. Firsthand Mardi Gras Experiences

• Personal Participation:
  • Doug didn’t grow up in New Orleans, but his children did, giving him a unique family perspective.
  • Describes the tradition of putting children atop ladders to catch beads: “you take your precious children... and you sit them on a seat on top of a ladder so that they become targets for everybody who loves children, throws them Mardi Gras book beads during a chaotic Mardi Gras parade." (27:55)
• The Chaotic Joy of the Parade:
  • Catching beads can be hazardous; techniques involve both excitement and self-preservation ("hands up" as protective gesture) (30:18).
  • Louisiana law shields parade organizers from liability for injuries during “normal course” parade activities.

8. Reflections on the COVID-19 Era and Carnival’s Resilience

• Carnival During the Pandemic:
  • New Orleans suspended parades in 2021. In response, residents decorated homes (“Yardi Gras”) and celebrated safely.
    • “I’m so proud of us. So proud of New Orleans because we did other things. We decorated houses and we conducted a safe, you know, a safe carnival celebration.” (32:03)
  • 2022’s return was especially poignant: “At times, it truly was moving. It was like, oh, my goodness, we’re back. You know, it’s like life is back.”
  • Noted empathy in artistic expressions, like costumes celebrating Ukraine amidst current events.

9. Author’s Role and Current Work

• Chronicler of Culture:
  • Doug sees himself as a chronicler and translator of Mardi Gras’ impromptu artistry:
    • “It’s my pleasure, but also my, my, my duty, my task to point out, look at this, look at this, look at this, how good this is, you know what I mean? Look at how this is brilliant, you know?” (36:31)
• Wider Reporting:
  • Doug reports on a variety of New Orleans’ cultural stories, such as uncovering historic signage beneath hurricane-damaged houses—a testament to the constantly evolving, discovery-rich nature of his job. (36:52)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Beads as New Orleans Symbol:

  “There is no more unique symbol of New Orleans than the Mardi Gras beads.”
  — Doug MacCash (04:31)

• On the Industry’s Size:

  “People spend between 40 and 50 million dollars a year on throws.”
  — Doug MacCash (08:34)

• On Beads as Global Commodity:

  “Who would have thought that in any…you know, who would have thought Mardi Gras beads, right?”
  — Doug MacCash (22:57)

• On Costumes:

  “On Mardi Gras morning downtown…everybody just does their own thing…they’re preposterous, they’re political…a language of expression for an awfully long time.”
  — Doug MacCash (25:21)

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment / Topic | |-----------|-----------------| | 03:12 | Doug MacCash’s art criticism background and approach to Mardi Gras culture | | 04:31 | How the book started; beads as a local symbol | | 07:13 | Newspaper research; rediscovering origins | | 08:34 | The economic scale of “throws” and parade bead lore | | 10:00 | The story of “Santa Claus” as inspiration for bead-throwing | | 13:11 | Material anecdotes: uranium beads, oyster stories, Mars Rover prank | | 18:12 | “Breast beads,” marijuana beads, and bead patent court battles | | 19:53 | Beads as touchstone of social history and geopolitics: Sudetenland and WWII | | 24:19 | Modern global supply chain—beads from China | | 25:21 | Mardi Gras costumes as evolving performance art | | 27:55 | Personal/family experiences; the New Orleans “ladder tradition” | | 30:18 | Safety, law, and parade etiquette | | 32:03 | Carnival during COVID, resilience, and 2022’s triumphant return | | 36:31 | Doug as “chronicler” of contemporary culture and artistry |

Closing

Doug MacCash’s Mardi Gras Beads is shown to be much more than a study of a festive accessory; it’s an exploration of art, community, commerce, politics, material culture, and resilience. With archival tales, global backstories, and a dash of humor, MacCash and Allen illuminate how beads—seemingly mundane—are vivid threads in both New Orleans’ past and present.