90.7 WMFE's Intersection

Florida’s clemency board has pardoned the Groveland four. Is that the end of the story, or do the families of the four men have more work to do in their quest for justice?

On this episode of Intersection, we talk to Pulitzer prize winning author Gilbert King, whose book Devil in the Grove explores the miscarriage of justice in the 70 year old case, about what happens next for the families of the Groveland four.

Then we turn to a more recent case on Florida’s space coast where news columnist John A Torres believes a man may have been wrongfully convicted.

Torres podcast – Murder on the Space Coast- is now in its fourth season. Torres says he hopes his examination of the claw hammer killing, which happened at the height of the pill mill crisis, may prompt authorities to take another look at the case.

And- Sean Baker may have shot one of his movies on an iPhone- but he believes the cinema is still the best place to watch movies. The director of The Florida Project– the critically acclaimed feature exploring the lives of the hidden homeless- talks about the power of film to ignite change.

The partial federal shutdown is now in its 4th week, and over 95% of NASA’s workforce is furloughed. That’s having a big impact on Florida’s space coast where most of the 2,000 servants who work in the space industry are sitting idle.

On this episode of Intersection, we’re joined by 90.7’s space reporter Brendan Byrne and space policy analyst Laura Forczyk to explain what this shutdown means for the Kennedy Space Center and the private space industry as hundreds of workers go without paychecks and projects are delayed.

Then-  planetary scientists are delving into the data from the New Horizons flyby of Ultima Thule. We’ll hear more about just what this BB-8 shaped asteroid about the size of the city of Orlando four billion miles away has to teach us.

And we talk to filmmaker Charlie Minn about his documentary focused on the survivors of the shooting at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High school last year. ‘Parkland: Inside Building 12″ opens at Fashion Square Mall in Orlando and runs for a week beginning this Friday.

President Trump spent the week making his case for a wall on the Southern US border.  The president wants $5.7 billion for the wall. Amid his call for wall funding and congressional Democrats opposition, the federal government remains partially shut down.

On this episode of Intersection, we take a closer look at the shutdown, and what effect the national debate around immigration is having on immigration cases in Florida.

Then- environmental advocates are looking to Governor Ron DeSantis to deliver on his campaign promise to clean up Florida’s waterways and tackle toxic algae. In his first week in office, DeSantis introduced sweeping measures to boost funding for water and Everglades restoration… and called for the entire governing board of the South Florida Water Management District to resign. 90.7’s Amy Green joins us to explain what this means for Florida’s environment.

And we hear new music from Lakeland singer songwriter Michael McArthur. McArthur’s first full length album, Ever Green, Ever Rain releases on January 25th. 

Ron DeSantis was sworn in as Florida’s 46th governor this week. Advocates for school choice and the environment have high hopes for the Republican former congressman: DeSantis campaigned on a platform of improving the state’s water quality, and he favors expanding the use of school vouchers.

On this episode of Intersecion, we talk to Florida Trend magazine associate editor Jason Garcia about what to expect from Governor DeSantis.

Then- former felons across Florida are registering to vote, as amendment four takes effect. But just how smooth is the implementation of the amendment restoring the right to vote for about one point five million residents of the Sunshine State? WLRN’s Danny Rivero explains what’s next for those newly registered voters. 

And the StoryCorps mobile recording booth is parked up at the Orlando Museum of Art for the next month. Mobile site manager Jacqueline Van Meter tells Intersection about mission of StoryCorps- conversation with a purpose.

After last year’s mass shooting in Parkland, parents, law enforcement, school leaders and lawmakers have been trying to figure out how to prevent the next school shooting.

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School public safety commission sent its first report to Tallahassee this week- with recommendations including beefing up security and surveillance and arming school staff.

On this episode of Intersection we explore what the The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Commission report means for students and staff at schools statewide, with WLRN reporter Caitie Switalski, school security consultant and former police officer Zach Hudson, and Seminole County sheriff Dennis Lemma. 

At Fiesta Bowl on New Year’s Day,  the UCF knights winning run came to an end- thanks to the LSU tigers. As the team prepares for the offseason- UCF’s two year undefeated streak leaves a question about what goes into deciding who makes the college playoffs. We’ll explore that question with Jeff Sharon, managing editor of the Black and Gold Banneret. 

And fiddle player Cameron Ross is heading back home to compete in BBC Scotland’s young traditional musician of the year contest. Ross has been honing his craft in Orlando for the last couple years- he joins us to perform with the Raglan Roots coalition.

President Trump has ordered the creation of a US space command.  A memo from the president authorizes the Defense Department to create a new command to oversee and organize space operation across all branches of the military.

On this episode of Intersection, we take a closer look now at what the space command’s role will be and how it fits into the administration’s bigger goal of a ‘space force’, in a conversation with space reporters Brendan Byrne and Chabeli Herrera, and UCF political science professor Roger Handberg. 

Teachers’ unions have traditionally opposed charter schools, but a US supreme court ruling in 2018 that’s expected to have an impact on union membership and revenue, has some unions rethinking their relationship to charter schools. We examine what that changing relationship looks like in a conversation with Education Week writer Arianna Prothero. 

And the sexton of Orlando’s Greenwood Cemetery, Don Price, retired last year after more than 3 decades with the city. As sexton he helped Central Florida families through their worst moments, but he also cultivated a reputation as an historian, leading tours of the cemetery and telling stories about the city’s past. Although Price is moving on- he tells Intersection he’ll continue to lead tours of Greenwood.

Gilbert King won a pulitzer prize for his book Devil in the Grove- a deep dive into the case of four young African American men who were falsely accused of rape in 1949. Since that book was published, momentum has grown in the movement to pardon the Groveland four.

King says he hadn’t planned to write another book about Lake County but when a former sheriff’s deputy approached him at a book reading, he began to dig deeper into the actions of sheriff Willis V. McCall.  

His next book Beneath A Ruthless Sun- a true story of race, violence and justice lost and found-  chronicles the story of another young man railroaded for a crime he didn’t commit. King talked to Intersection in May about why the stories from Lake County in the 1950s still resonate today. We revisit that conversation in this episode of Intersection. 

In 1968 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar boycott the Olympics in protest against racial discrimination. Now a new generation of students are protesting a different issue.  We listen back to a conversation about gun violence and student activism with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. 

Every Wednesday, Eugene Snowden brings his unique style of blues to Lil Indies in downtown Orlando. The host of Ten Pints of Truth joins Intersection to perform and shares stories from his musical journey and how he’s keeping the spirit of blues alive with his musical residency.

 

A driver’s license or state ID is essential for things like cashing a paycheck, housing and jobs, even getting a library card. But if you’re homeless, getting that ID, and the documents you need to establish your identity can be incredibly difficult.

On this episode of Intersection, we revisit a conversation we first aired in 2016, with IDignity Orlando executive director Michael Dippy.

Back in 2008, Dippy took on the challenge of helping the homeless get IDs.  He explains what he’s learned since he starting his non-profit IDignity, and how he wants to grow the organization.

Red Huber retired from the Sentinel in September, after more than forty years as a visual journalist with the newspaper. He tells Intersection about the images that stand out from the thousands he’s taken over the years, and the importance of connecting with the community and telling stories that need to be told.

And- music from Orlando duo Momo Browne. They tackle the holiday classic “You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch,” and serenade us with an original Christmas tune.

Recounts, upset victories and the end of an era for some elected leaders. With 2018 coming to a close, what can we expect from the next 12 months in Tallahassee and from Florida lawmakers heading to Washington?

On this episode of Intersection, a look back at some of the biggest stories in Florida this year with political commentators Dick Batchelor and Eddie Fernandez.

Then- renewed calls for posthumous pardons for the Groveland 4, four African-American men who were wrongfully accused of rape 70 years ago.

We talk to Orlando journalist Scott Powers about the case and where it’s headed next.

And December 21st marks the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 8 launch. Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders made the first orbit of the moon, and their journey also left us with an indelible image: Earthrise.

Retired astronaut Nicole Stott talks to 90.7’s Brendan Byrne about the legacy of Apollo 8 and inspiring the next generation of explorers. 

Kyle Johnson says people who are blind are – in some ways- invisible, and he wants Floridians to recognize what they have to offer the community. Part of his strategy to do that is by growing the business which Lighthouse Central Florida operates with visually impaired staff.

On this episode of Intersection, a conversation with the incoming CEO of Lighthouse Central Florida about raising the profile of the blind. 

The incoming Florida education commissioner had a reputation as a fiscal conservative when he was house speaker, and he’s an outspoken supporter of charter schools. Richard Corcoran’s appointment as the head of the education department has alarmed teacher’s unions. We talk with WFSU reporter Ryan Dailey about what his leadership could mean for public education in Florida.

And we revisit a conversation with 90.7’s Crystal Chavez and Tracy Frampton of The Florida Wildlife Hospital and Sanctuary in Palm Shores, about nursing injured animals back to health.