08.29.10 / MSNBC 'Meet the Press' Full Broadcast

A special edition live from New Orleans: Five years after Hurricane Katrina devastated this historic city and the surrounding region, we take an in-depth look at where things now stand. What progress has been made in rebuilding communities, schools, and businesses? Why was the recovery so long and painful? What lessons did we learn from the government's botched response? And did those lessons help in dealing with the Oil Spill disaster this summer? Guest moderator Brian Williams speaks with two of the area's notable political leaders: Louisiana Sen. Mary Landrieu and New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Then, our interview with actor Brad Pitt, founder of the Make It Right Foundation -- an effort to build 150 green, affordable, high-quality design homes in the neighborhood closest to the levee breach, the Lower 9th Ward. Plus, a special discussion with three men who have worked tirelessly to bring renewal and regrowth to the city they love: New Orleans native, a star of HBO's "Treme" -- set in a post-Katrina New Orleans -- and President of the Pontchartrain Park Community Development Corporation -- a non-profit organization formed by former residents seeking to have a voice in the redevelopment of their community -- Wendell Pierce; Long-time New Orleans journalist and Host of WWL-Radio's "Think Tank", Garland Robinette; and Historian, former Professor at Tulane University and Author of "The Great Deluge: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast", Douglas Brinkley.