90.7 WMFE's Intersection

Florida’s economy has taken a huge hit from the coronavirus pandemic. The shutdown of businesses and disruption to the supply chain has meant farmers can’t sell a lot of what they produce. So what does that mean for farmworkers? 

On this episode of Intersection we talk to Antonio Tovar of the Farm Worker Association of Florida about the impact of the pandemic on the people who harvest the food we eat, many of whom are now out of work and unable to pay rent. 

Health leaders are cautiously optimistic that the peak of the pandemic for Florida may have passed. We talk to 90.7’s health reporter Abe Aboraya about how one Central Florida hospital system has handled hundreds of COVID-19 cases- including new therapies they’re using to try and treat the disease. 

So much of Central Florida’s economy is tied to hospitality. It’s not just big theme parks and hotels closing -restaurants and bars are struggling to survive too. Orlando wine blog creator Judith Smelser is following the lives of three people working in the wine and hospitality business as they navigate the pandemic- she joins us to chat about her podcast- UnWineding. 

The pandemic is changing the way we live, and for tens of thousands of Floridians, it’s not just a matter of hunkering down and waiting for business to resume. 

Many of those suddenly without work are also wondering how to pay rent and keep a roof over their heads. 

On this episode of Intersection, host Matthew Peddie is joined by state representative Anna Eskamani and attorney Alex Mestdagh for a conversation about what the pandemic means for tenants and landlords. 

Author Don Winslow is best known for his crime fiction, including the Power of the Dog trilogy about the drug trade.  

Winslow talks about his new book Broken, what he’s reading and watching during the stay at home order, and the TV series based on his books. 

And Nicole Stott has taken creativity to new heights herself. She’s painted watercolors on the International Space Station. 

The retired NASA astronaut talks about what the last few months have taught us about how we need to work better on what she calls spaceship earth. 

Could the pandemic teach us some things about how to live better? Retired NASA astronaut Nicole Stott thinks so. She says some of the lessons that astronauts learn about team work, isolation and resilience could be applied to the way we’re dealing with this crisis on earth.

The peak of coronavirus cases isn’t expected to hit Florida for another two weeks- but already the economic pain of the pandemic is being felt statewide. 

On this episode of Intersection, we talk to US Rep. Darren Soto about what the $2.2 trillion coronavirus relief package means for Floridians. 

Soto also reflects on Vermont Senator Bernie Sander’s impact on the Democratic presidential primary campaign. 

Then 90.7 Health reporter Abe Aboraya talks with Dr. Ali Mokdad from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, about the science behind coronavirus projections and about the huge challenge of treating COVID-19 patients. 

And Opera Orlando director Gabriel Preisser hasn’t gone out on his balcony to serenade his neighbors- yet. He’s still figuring out how to keep the opera company afloat while performances are suspended. Preisser joins us to discuss the challenge of keeping the performing arts going during the pandemic.

After calls mounted for governor Ron DeSantis to lock down the state and try to stop the spread of coronavirus, on Wednesday the governor announced a statewide stay at home order. Orange County’s stay at home order began last week. 

On this episode of Intersection we talk to mayor Jerry Demings about why he thinks that was the right call.  Demings says the peak of this epidemic is likely still weeks away, and the death toll for the state could climb into the thousands. He says the next week will be critical as Central Florida hospitals prepare for a surge in patients. We also talk about the economic impact of the pandemic– with 30 thousand people applying to the county’s emergency rental assistance program in just 12 days. 

Then- Stetson University epidemiologist Asal Johnson explains the efforts to slow the spread of this deadly virus as case numbers increase in Florida. Dr. Johnson tells Intersection more testing is still needed to fully understand the virus. 

And- restaurants are struggling to stay afloat with their dining rooms shuttered and takeout service only. We talk to Orlando Sentinel multimedia food reporter Amy Drew Thompson, Orlando Weekly restaurant critic Faiyaz Kara, and Matt Hinckley, chef and owner of Hinckley Fancy Meats, about how restaurants are trying to survive the pandemic. 

The biggest challenge facing Florida’s health care system right now is the lack of protective equipment- like masks, gloves and gowns. 

That’s according to Governor Ron DeSantis. At a press briefing in Orlando Wednesday he said the state has ordered 7.8 million N95 masks. 

Those masks are expected to arrive in the next few weeks, and in the meantime, the governor is also asking the federal government for a further two million masks from the strategic national stockpile. 

On this episode of Intersection, we talk about the surge in cases that hospitals and health care workers are bracing for here in Central Florida, what hospitals are doing to prepare, and what frontline medical staff are seeing. 

Joining the conversation are 90.7 health reporter Abe Aboraya; Orlando Health’s Hospital Epidemiologist Dr. Asim Jani; and Orlando Professional Firefighters Local 1365 president Ron Glass.

Schools are closed, businesses shut down and Central Florida’s tourism engine has ground to a halt as theme parks shut their gates and flights are grounded. 

As coronavirus cases continue to rise statewide– what impact is the pandemic having on the lives of central Florida residents, from parents trying to balance the demands of working from home to the thousands who make their living in Central Florida’s massive tourism industry. 

Joining Intersection host Matthew Peddie to talk about the impact of the pandemic on Central Florida are 90.7’s Health reporter Abe Aboraya; emergency medicine physician and Chief Medical Officer at AdventHealth Apopka and AdventHealth Winter Garden, Dr. Omayra Mansfield, and economic analyst and president of Fishkind Litigation Services Hank Fishkind. 

The 2020 census is almost here. National Urban League president and CEO Marc Morial says historically communities of color have been under counted ih the census– and he doesn’t want that to happen this year. 

On this episode of Intersection, we talk to Morial about the census, the importance of the African American vote in this presidential election and more. 

The Orlando Sentinel’s Central Floridian of the year is Rev. Mary Lee Downey. For nearly a decade she’s been fighting poverty and homelessness in Osceola County with her non-profit, the Community Hope Center. 

In a conversation with Intersection, Downey highlights the biggest challenges ahead in the struggle against homelessness, and how she’s working with different parts of the community to tackle the housing crisis. 

And– Boeing’s test flight of its starliner capsule last December didn’t go to plan.  Space reporters Chabeli Carrazana with the Orlando Sentinel and 90.7’s Brendan Byrne explain what that means for NASA’s commercial crew program. 

The rise of app based food delivery services has sparked the development of a new kind of kitchen. Ghost kitchens are changing the culinary landscape. 

On this episode of Intersection, 90.7’s Matthew Peddie talks about this revolution in the restaurant world with the pioneer of Orlando’s food truck scene, Daily City publisher Mark Baratelli;  chef and co-founder of Ghost Kitchen Orlando, Jay Nartowicz; and East End Market Chef in Residence Jessica Tantalo. 

One of the first stories Talbert Gray was sent out to cover was a Ku Klux Klan rally. Gray was the first black television news person in commercial TV in Florida, and he says covering that particular story almost made him reconsider his career. He talks about his experience as a media pioneer. 

And a photography exhibit at the Orlando Public Library re-imagines Mary Poppins as a modern day black woman. We’ll talk to photographer and former WMFE reporter Renata Sago seeing Mary Poppins through a different lens.

Tomorrow a monument to the Groveland Four will be unveiled on the lawn of the Historic Lake County Courthouse in Tavares. 

The four African American men: Earnest Thomas, Charles Greenlee, Samuel Shepherd and Walter Irvin were wrongly accused of raping a white woman in 949.

They were posthumously pardoned by the Florida clemency board last year, but their families want to see them exonerated. 

On this episode of Intersection, Matthew Peddie talks with Samuel Shepherd’s niece Vivian Shepherd and with State Rep. Geraldine Thompson about the fight to clear the names of the Groveland Four. 

Then– what’s the price of free speech? UCF student senators voted to bring conservative podcast host Ben Shapiro– who’s made headlines for controversial comments– to speak at the University. Student funds will help pay for his speakers fee. We’ll hear from student senator Michael O’Blevins about bringing Shapiro to campus. 

And– TV Guy Hal puts away his remote– at least for now. Hal stops by to share stories from his decades long career as a TV critic and media reporter for the Orlando Sentinel.