Anti-Social

Governor Ron DeSantis thinks it should be easier to sue for libel, and a bill in the Florida Legislature would to exactly that. Our guest is veteran newsroom leader Bobby Block, the head of Florida's First Amendment Foundation, to talk about how this proposed law would chill speech -- whether it's from the right or left, and whether it's a newspaper or a WhatsApp post.

We also talk about Dilbert Creator Scott Adams racist rant on YouTube and how it led to many newspapers dropping his strip.

Finally, Thom asks Tony about a threat of violence that came after news coverage of scooters and e-bikes in the Key Biscayne Independent. 

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OUR GUEST Sofia Schott has devoted her life to teaching people good manners, and her business is now taking off. Our world may be politically polarized, but that's no reason to ignore the social rules that just make life more pleasant for you -- and everyone else. 

Join us -- so you won't be Anti-Social. 

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Former Florida Agirculture Commissioner Nikki Fried wants to be the chair of the Florida Democratic party, which took a drubbing in November's election. What is her plan to turn the party around in the Sunshine State.

And the Chat GPT artificial intelligence software has exploded into all kinds of fields, what about education? We talk with a Sofia Barnett, a writer for WIRED magazine about how the program is fueling debate on what constitutes plagiarism

Plus, the local news from the island paradise, including a crackdown on scooters. 

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Are schools back from the pandemic? Out guest is Anne Rothe, the director of the Key Biscayne Presbyterian School, which is celebrating 25 years of service.

Also joining us: Miami-Dade Commissioner Raquel Regalado with updates on e-bikes, scooters, and the Rickenbacker Causeway

We also discuss a big battle in the largest condo complex in Key Biscayne. What's the fight all about?

Our podcast now also available on Youtube

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Key Biscayne is about to start a crackdown on e-bikes and electric scooters, while state officials consider granting local communities more tools to promote safe ridershi

Police Chief Frank Sousa joins us on our OUR 100th SHOW!

We also ask the chief about some serious local crimes, his reaction to the police beating of Tyre Nichols, and a proposal to let people carry concealed weapons in Florida without a permit

And Thom talks about his reaction to writing a column in the Miami Herald on Crypto and damage to the region's brand

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GROWTH is 2.9 percent, unemployment is low, and inflation has cooled down a lot. So why do so many think we're headed into a recession. We talk the "R" word with Bankrate.com analyst Mark Hamrick.

As we welcome new co-host Mike Davey to the show, we talk about an inflation issue locally -- wages for sanitation workers

On the fun side we also get into some wacky social media ranging from M&M's to a bizarre Tweet by the Associated Press Stylebook about "the French." (a reference manual in every U.S. newsroom).

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Starbucks is in the news -- not for it's new latte flavors, but for dozens of alleged labor law violations as baristas try to form unions across the country. We talk to two employees in Miami, one of whom says he was illegally fired in retaliation for trying to unionize the Hialeah store. We also discuss the national trends where there's been an large increase in the number of union elections -- but the overall rate of unionization remains low.

In Segment 2, we talk about Key Biscayne's new Vision Plan, which was sent to the Village Council in October and was set for approval this week -- but was not. And Thom had a very cool thing happen on his social media feed. 

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Meet Olena Goncharova, part of a team of journalists covering the war in Ukraine. We as her about the KYIV INDEPENDENT, a new English nonprofit newspaper that

We ask Olena about the  war and how her colleagues are covering -- and coping -- with the bloodshed in their homeland after Russia's full-scale invasion 11 months ago,

You can support her work and the Kyiv Independent here

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Should e-bikes be banned in Key Biscayne?

A leading seller of the powered devices, Don DiCostanzo,  joins us on the show. He  is an e-bike expert and CEO/ Founder of one of the nations largest e-bike chains, Pedego.

He'll give us a 101 course on the various classes of e-Bike and weigh in on the Village's proposed ban on the vehicles.

Plus we dive into a the breaking story of a former reporter posing as a current reporter in order to stir up a political mud-storm

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Brianna Wu, political activist, gamer, follower of Elon Musk and Crypto joins us. She fills us in on whether Twitter is doomed. She's also got a lot to say about the fall of FTX,  what the means for the rest of the crypto-world, and how it's all going to impact Miami's brand. 

We'll also fill you in on the latest efforts by the Key Biscayne Village Council to ban certain e-bikes.  

Follow Brianna on Twitter https://twitter.com/BriannaWu
or Mastodon @[email protected]

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