90.7 WMFE's Intersection

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.

Republicans have controlled the legislative and executive branches of the Federal government for nearly two years. The mid-term election gave control of the house to the Democrats, but one goal the Republicans have had is to repeal the affordable care act.

So what kind of shape is the affordable care act in right now? Funding’s been cut for navigators to help people get insurance, so what does that mean for people signing up? And what kind of coverage can they get from the plans on offer?

90.7’s Brendan Byrne joins WUSF’s Julio Ochoa, the editor of Health News Florida, Cynthia Cox with the Kaiser Family Foundation and Anne Packham, a healthcare navigator in Orlando to wade through some of the complexity of the Affordable Care Act as the open enrollment period comes to an end.

A funeral service was held in Orlando for James W. Chief Wilson, who died last week at the age of 90.

Wilson was the director of the Jones High School band from 1950 to 1990. Starting with hand me down instruments and uniforms, Wilson took the band to the national stage, including a performance of the World’s Fair in New York in 1964.

One of the band members at that performance was a young Carl Maultsby. He joined Intersection to talk about Chief’s influence on the musical lives of Jones High School students and beyond.

Violectric go by the label ‘classic musicians who rock.’ They’ve been rehearsing for their 6th annual holiday show at the Lake Eola Walt Disney amphitheater in Downtown Orlando this evening.

Violectric join Intersection for a conversation and to perform a mashup of Sweet Dreams and Hanukkah, O Hanukkah.

The UCF Knights are riding high on a 25 game winning streak, but that wasn’t enough for the college football playoff semifinals. The Orlando Magic are off to a solid start this season… can they keep it up? And Orlando City failed to make the playoffs once more- what does the future for the soccer club look like?

On this episode of Intersection, we take stock of the state of sports in the city beautiful, with Jeff Sharon, managing editor of the Black & Gold Banneret, Phillip Rossman- Reich, editor at Orlando Magic Daily and Jordan Culver, staff writer at Pro Soccer USA. 

Pediatricians are worried about what they say is a rise in vaping among young people. As the US Food and Drug Administration moves to restrict the sale of e-cigarettes and vaping products to teens, we talk to Orlando pediatrician, Dr. Candice Jones, about what she’s hearing from her young patients, and how she’s trying to educate them on the risks.

And singer songwriter Marc with a C returns to Intersection for a conversation about heading to the Canadian countryside to record his latest album- Obscurity- and how one of his music videos is a contender for a grammy nomination.

When it comes to religion, there’s been a rise of the nones: those who consider themselves atheists, agnostic or non affiliated with a religion.

So what’s going on? On this episode of Intersection, 90.7’s Brendan Byrne takes a dive into the state of faith with the three wise guys from “Friends Talking Faith.”

Of the women entering STEM careers today, 45 percent of them will be gone from the STEM field by the time they turn 40. We’ll revisit a conversation from 90.7’s Sunshine Week series about the gender and race disparity in engineering faculty in Florida.

And Albert Manero, who co-founded the non-profit Limbitless Solutions while still a student at the UCF, spoke to the United Nations this week.

Manero was part of a panel for International Day of Persons With Disabilities. We listen back to an interview with Manero and Dr. Albert Chi about a clinical trial to test the next generation of 3D printed arms.

Saturday is world AIDS day. The annual public health campaign began in 1988 as a way to draw attention to AIDS.

In the last three decades, treatments for HIV infection have improved. What was almost always a fatal disease is now, with proper care, a manageable condition. But millions of people worldwide still live with HIV and last year one point eight million were newly infected.

The latest in the battle against HIV – AIDs and the task still ahead for advocates and health workers and here in the sunshine state, what efforts are being taken to expand needle exchange programs to cut down the infection rate.

Then, a U.S. Supreme Court decision over the summer opened the door to legalized sports betting.

Some states have introduced legislation to allow sports betting but Florida isn’t one of them. An update on the state of gaming in Florida and what amendment 3 means for gaming in the Sunshine State.

And local musician and entertainment lawyer Kris Nichols talks about how he writes songs and how catchy riffs can sometimes catch out the songwriter and lead to lawsuits.

Giving Tuesday was started in 2012 by the 92nd Street Y, a cultural center in New York as a way to focus on charitable giving after the commercialism of black Friday and cyber Monday.  So what kind of an impact does Giving Tuesday really have? What is compassion fatigue, and how does that translate into people’s charitable giving habits?

On this episode of Intersection we’re joined by Mark Brewer, CEO of the Central Florida Foundation, for a conversation about how non-profits approach the end of year giving season, and how Giving Tuesday factors into the charitable giving strategy.

Floridians in the Panhandle are rebuilding after the devastation of Hurricane Michael. But some residents of the Sunshine State are still trying to fix the damage from the 2017 storm season. We talk to Erin Gillespie with the Department of Economic Opportunity about help available to rebuild and repair homes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Irma.

And Orlando publisher Ryan Rivas joins the show to talk about the Burrow Press’s recent visit to the Miami Book Fair, and what he’s publishing in 2019.