One of the most traumatic and gut-wrenching feelings that families endure is when one of their family members is a victim of a crime and they disappear without a trace, or their assailant is never found or convicted.

You've heard about these cases, and as days turn into weeks that turn into months and even years, the wounds never completely heal without closure.

Several cases in the Central Florida area over the years are brought back to our attention, usually on a yearly observance of that disappearance.

Spectrum News 13's Watchdog reporter Curtis McCloud has followed these cold cases and the law enforcement departments tasked with finding answers.

In This Episode

Curtis McCloud's Twitter: @CurtisNews13

About This Podcast

Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don't capture the context of the whole story. "Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite" expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

May 2020: George Floyd dies in Minneapolis while being detained by police. Nearly one year later, Derek Chauvin is convicted of Floyd's murder.

Other officers are also set to stand trial. In the aftermath of the death of Floyd, nationwide protests regarding "Black Lives Matter" were held, and calls to "defund the police" both, of course, politicized by both Republicans and Democrats.

With a year in the rear-view mirror, how do we move forward as a community, a state, and a nation to make this a better and safer place to live?

We'll ask our guest Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolón on this week's "Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite."

In This Episode

Orlando Police Chief Orlando Rolón's Twitter: @OrlandoPDChief

About This Podcast

Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don't capture the context of the whole story. "Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite" expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

If you thought there was a respite from elections and campaigns because the November 2020 elections are in the rear-view mirror, guess again. Now it's time to look ahead to 2022.

The first big-name here in Florida to get on board, former Gov. and current U.S. Congressman Charlie Crist announcing his plans to run for governor in 2022.

Before Crist's announcement, political speculation was sort of bubbling under on which people would campaign for what office, and so now it's sort of a domino effect, so what are all these politicians going to do? Grab your scorecard, because you can't tell the players without a scorecard.

Political analyst Frank Torres has once again joined Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite to help spell out what you need to know right now about Decision 2022.

In This Episode

Frank Torres' Twitter: @MrFrankTorres

About This Podcast

Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don't capture the context of the whole story. "Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite" expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

If you've heard some rumblings lately from due east, you're not alone. After 10 long years, activity along the Space Coast is reaching epic proportions as public-private partnerships with companies like SpaceX are thriving.

Soon, it won't be just about going to the International Space Station. The moon, and eventually Mars, are in our sights, but with these new partnerships with private businesses, what's the role of NASA and the NASA administrator?

We talk exclusively with the former head of NASA Charles Bolden on this week's Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite and he shares what his role was like, what it was like flying the space shuttle and much more.

IN THIS EPISODE

Former NASA Administrator Charles Bolden's Twitter: @cboldenjr

ABOUT THE SHOW

Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don't capture the context of the whole story. "Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite" expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

It's been more than a year and many in Central Florida are still feeling the pressures of the pandemic. We've taken deep dives into the aspects of health, economics, jobs — and the ways in which COVID-19 impacts our lives — and will continue to do so. Those challenges will continue to play out in classrooms where educators have had to balance pandemic precautions with learning. Our guest this week oversees all academic, administrative, and operational functions related to teaching at Orange County Public Schools, a district with more than 212,000 students and more than 25,000 teachers and staff.

Dr. Maria Vazquez, deputy superintendent of Orange County Public Schools, reveals how the school district plans on handling the next school year in this week's "Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite."

IN THIS EPISODE

Dr. Maria Vazquez's Twitter: @maria_f_vazquez

ABOUT THE SHOW

Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don't capture the context of the whole story. "Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite" expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

It just goes without saying that the coronavirus pandemic took a toll on a lot of people in a lot of different ways. For some, the domino effect was disastrous. Lower-income workers furloughed, struggling with the unemployment system, and then the bills keep rolling in, including for a roof over your head. What was once a somewhat back-burner issue has now come to the forefront.

We're talking about affordable housing in Central Florida. Spectrum News 13's Molly Duerig, our affordable housing expert and Report for America reporter, goes in-depth on this week's "Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite."

She not only talks about the economic impacts of affordable housing but also the psychological impacts as well.

IN THIS EPISODE

Molly Duerig's Twitter: @mollyduerig

ABOUT THE SHOW

Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don't capture the context of the whole story. "Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite" expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

In last week's Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite, Equality Florida's Director of transgender equality Gina Duncan talked about how Florida's bills banning transgender women from playing women sports had no basis in fact.

In the second part of that podcast, State Rep. Anthony Sabatini from District 32 in Lake County returns to the show and says that women's sports should have "biological women" as players only, saying, "It would mess with the integrity of the sport" if a trans woman played.

Plus, he also explains more about his proposed House Bill 935: Youth Gender and Sexual Identity, which the bill states, "provides criminal penalties for health care practitioners who engage in or cause specified practices to be performed on minor under certain conditions."

IN THIS EPISODE

State Rep. Anthony Sabatini's Twitter: @AnthonySabatini

ABOUT THE SHOW

Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don't capture the context of the whole story. "Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite" expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

Currently, several state legislatures across the country, Florida included, are considering transgender bans specifically relating to trans women participating in women's sports. What does that mean?

Gina Duncan, Equality Florida's director of Transgender Equality, says the bills have no basis of fact and they only feed the political bias. In fact, Duncan claims there have been no issues of a "transgender athlete was called out for having athletic prowess that was considered unfair on the playing field."

She has more to say about this topic and also shares her personal experiences during her own transition in the latest Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite.

IN THIS EPISODE

Gina Duncan's Twitter: @DuncanGina

ABOUT THE SHOW

Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don't capture the context of the whole story. "Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite" expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

From the six Asian women killed in a shooting in Atlanta to Tampa Bay Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis apologizing for saying a slur, the national spotlight now focusing on violence and hate directed at Asian Americans, and it is not the first time they have experienced this.

For the longest time, it was normalized into the psyche of Americans, even during this past year throughout the pandemic when political leaders used an Asian slur to describe the COVID-19.

But Atlanta changed all that and Ricky Ly says that speaking out against Asian discrimination is a first step to combatting it.

IN THIS EPISODE

Ricky Ly's Twitter: @TastyChomps

ABOUT THE SHOW

Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don't capture the context of the whole story. "Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite" expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.

Two words in politics that sound esoteric, but can have real consequences for us here at home and in Florida: Foreign Policy.

So many things play into U.S. policies abroad, and financial and other impacts ripple back to the states.

This week's guest spent time overseas as a U.S. Army National Guard Special Forces officer, and has seen first-hand the effects that foreign policy has.

We're going to talk about a few different topics — such as the Beijing Olympics and fleeing Venezuelan refugees — within that umbrella with Congressman Michael Waltz (R-U.S. House District 6) as he returns to Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite.

IN THIS EPISODE

U.S. Congressman Michael Waltz's Twitter: @RepMichaelWaltz

ABOUT THE SHOW

Political figures and influencers are often heard in brief bites that don't capture the context of the whole story. "Central Florida: Beyond the Soundbite" expands the conversation with these newsmakers along the I-4 corridor and beyond. Join award-winning Spectrum News 13 anchor and Orlando Woman of the Year Ybeth Bruzual, political reporter Greg Angel, and veteran producer Gary Darling for a must-hear interview each week and learn about the issues affecting Central Florida.