90.7 WMFE's Intersection

As the COVID-19 surge continues, the rhetoric around mask wearing shows no signs of cooling down. Meanwhile more school districts are defying the governor’s order banning mask mandates and requiring students to wear masks- at least for the next few weeks. 

On this episode of Intersection, host Matthew Peddie talks with Dr. Ross McKinney, chief scientific officer with the Association of American Medical Colleges about how Florida and other states are handling the return to in-person school. Joining the conversation is Judi Hayes, a parent of two kids in the Orange County Public School system, who discusses her concerns about the return to school, and a lawsuit against the state of Florida over the mask issue. 

State leaders are touting monoclonal antibodies as a “gamechanger” for the pandemic. But as COVID continues to fill hospitals- just how much of a difference will this therapy make? We’ll hear from the Florida Department of Emergency Management’s chief medical officer, Dr. Kenneth Scheppke.

And Dr. Jason Byrd with the University of Florida talks about the state's response plan for mass casualties and COVID, and how the state can assist overwhelmed medical examiners offices through the Florida Emergency Mortuary Operations Response System.

On this episode of Intersection we hear from Dr. Ross McKinney, chief scientific officer with the Association of American Medical Colleges about how Florida and other states are handling the return to in-person school. Joining the conversation is Judi Hayes, a parent of two kids in the Orange County Public School system.

On this episode of Intersection we talk to epidemiologist Ali Mokdad about the booster shots and how they factor into getting the surge under control.

On this episode of Intersection, we discuss the impact of the COVID-19 surge on doctors and nurses; why some people decide not to get vaccinated, and a lawsuit filed against the state of Florida over Gov. DeSantis's ban on mask mandates in schools.

On this episode of Intersection, UCF psychology professor Kimberley Renk talks about dealing with the stress of heading back to school as the pandemic continues.

Coronavirus cases are spiking across the US once more, and Florida is emerging as the new epicenter of the pandemic.

On Tuesday Florida reported more than 16,000 new cases.

Orange County mayor Jerry Demings has declared a state of emergency, mandating vaccinations for county employees and urging residents to mask up.

Meanwhile Disney World is requiring facemasks indoors, hospitalizations are ticking up and schools are reconsidering their rules about face masks

On this episode of Intersection we talk with experts in the field of epidemiology about the latest on the Delta variant of COVID-19, and what people should be doing to keep themselves- and their friends and families-- safe.

Joining the program are Abe Aboraya, WMFE health reporter;  Dr. Amesh Adalja, Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security;  Alvina Chu, epidemiologist with the Florida Department of Health in Orange County, and Orlando area pediatrician, Dr. Candice Jones.

Coronavirus cases are spiking across the US once more, and Florida is emerging as the new epicenter of the pandemic.

In 1999, Black farmers won a landmark civil rights case against the US government… but Orlando attorney Greg Francis says there’s still more to be done in the path to equity in agriculture. 

Francis has a book out about the case-and the settlement he won for those farmers- called Just Harvest. 

On this episode of Intersection host Matthew Peddie talks with Francis about the fight for equality for Black farmers. Also joining the conversation is John Rivers of Four Rivers Smokehouse, who explains how a new farm campus he's developing could help bring more diversity to agriculture.

Later in the show: space tourism got a boost this month with the launch of a Virgin Galactic mission to space, followed this week by the launch of Jeff Bezos’s New Shepard spacecraft. 

WMFE space reporter Brendan Byrne joins us to explain what  the boom in space tourism means for science, and for Florida's space tourism economy. 

Also on the show: one of the backers of a charter amendment promoting the rights of nature, Chuck O'Neal, talks to WMFE's Amy Green about his bid to take the measure statewide.

In 1999, Black farmers won a landmark civil rights case against the US government… but Orlando attorney Greg Francis says there’s still more to be done in the path to equity in agriculture.

Demonstrators showing solidarity with Cuban protesters took to the streets in Orlando this week. On Tuesday night they blocked Semoran Boulevard for about an hour until police told them to move off the roadway. One person was arrested. 

On this episode of Intersection we talk to Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolón about how his department is handling the protests and whether demonstrations in Orlando and elsewhere across the state are a test case for Governor DeSantis’ controversial so-called anti-riot law. We also hear from business leader Angel de la Portilla about what the protests mean for the Cuban community here, and for him personally and his goal of one day visiting a free Cuba. 

Ater the assassination of the Haitian president, Jovenel Moise, we check in with a Winter Park church that's been working with community leaders in Haiti to support agriculture and infrastructure projects. 

John Rife and Ken Firling spearhead the St. Margaret Mary mission in Haiti. They join the show along with Jean Bony and Wisly Zephyr to discuss the impact of the crisis on their partners in Haiti. 

And we listen back to a conversation with Florida Institute of Technology marine biologist, Dr. Toby Daley-Engel about sharks, dispelling myths and misconceptions about the apex predators of the oceans.