‘Waves of Change’ plaques tell the story of the courageous wade-in protests that challenged segregation at the former St. Augustine Beach Hotel during the civil rights movement. ( Photo courtesy of the St. Johns Black Heritage Trail Guidebook.)

The St. Johns County Black Heritage Trail chronicles the lesser known narratives of Black residents who helped shape the region. The self-guided tour features stories of resilience, leadership and cultural influence throughout five centuries of history from Spanish colonization to the Civil Rights Movement. We speak to the project’s collaborators about the importance of bringing these stories to light and the community’s aim to strengthen heritage tourism and education.

Guests:

• Dr. Tameka Bradley Hobbs, author, historian and lead researcher for the St. Johns County Black Heritage Trail.
• Brenda Swann, director of programs and development, St. Johns Cultural Council.
• Regina Gayle Phillips, executive director, Lincolnville Museum and Cultural Center.
• Thomas Jackson, community advocate and local historian.

Then, local teens join Duval’s literacy efforts and hone their job skills in the process. READ USA’s tutoring program trains and employs teenagers to deliver one-on-one reading support to elementary students throughout 14 schools in Duval. Youth literacy tutors develop workforce skills while helping struggling readers achieve grade-level proficiency.

Guests:

• Rob Kelly, READ USA president & CEO.
• Moya Allen, READ USA tutor.

And, connecting creators to their community. Riverside Avondale Preservation reveals its placemaking initiative with the launch of the Little Local Box, an accessible platform to give and receive handmade treasures from locals. RAP also has issued an all-call for mural artists through Aug. 20 with the goal of creating a public mural on the JEA pump station under the Fuller Warren Bridge.

Guest:

• Shannon Blankinship, executive director of Riverside Avondale Preservation.

(Stacey Bennett)

Each Friday, our media roundtable dives into the biggest stories of the week.

Among our topics this week:

• The State Attorney's Office says an officer seen striking a driver in a viral traffic stop video acted lawfully.
• The community rallies around a business owner who was taken into ICE custody after experiencing a mental health crisis. 
• Two City Council members and the council president say a text exchange was procedural and did not violate Sunshine Laws. 
• A new law takes effect that targets "super speeders."
• The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office cautions riders and drivers amid an uptick in deadly motorcycle accidents.

Guests:

• Jack Webb, attorney and former City Council president.
• David Bauerlein, metro reporter at the Florida Times-Union.
• Dan Scanlan, reporter at WJCT News 89.9.
• Sylvia Perry, editor of the Jacksonville Free Press.

Then, Jacksonville’s annual honey bee festival returns Saturday at the Jacksonville Fairgrounds. Bee Friends Farm and Local Fare Jax are bringing together beekeepers, makers and foodies to celebrate National Honey Bee Day. The BeeFare festival will feature honey tastings, cooking demos, live presentations and a bustling marketplace of more than 60 local vendors.

Guests:

• Michael and Christie Leach, beekeepers and owners of Bee Friends Farm.

(PBS / WJCT )

Caregiving is one of the fastest-growing health care needs in the United States, with over 53 million adults providing unpaid care to a loved one — many while managing full-time jobs and other domestic responsibilities. We talk about the demands and rewards of caregiving with experts, caregivers and you ahead of the The Caregiver Journey Workshop at WJCT Studios at 9 a.m. Saturday.

Guests:

• Dr. Joe Sirven, Mayo Clinic neurologist and host of the WJCT program and podcast What’s Health Got To Do With It?
• Susan Ponder-Stansel, president & CEO of Alivia Care Inc.
• Linda Levin, CEO of ElderSource.
• Alexandra Mackey, caregiver and nurse supervisor at Her Heart Assisted Living Facilities.

Then, the EMMA Concert Association launches its 47th season in the nation’s oldest city with an eclectic lineup of music and dance. From the intricate harmonies of a capella group Voctave, to the South Carolina Ballet’s take on Shakespeare, to a 1970s rock and roll tribute, the Lewis Auditorium stage in St. Augustine will feature a diverse array of performances starting in October.

Guest:

• Renee Unsworth, EMMA Concert Association board member and founder of totallystaugustine.com. 

Joyce Morgan, Duval County Property Tax Appraiser.(Stacey Bennett)

With some state officials claiming that Jacksonville's property tax collections have skyrocketed, we’re putting the question to the county's property appraiser. We discuss the formula for determining valuations, what it means to tax property owners in a booming market and what home and business owners can expect when their proposed tax bills arrive this month.

Guest:

• Joyce Morgan, Duval County property appraiser.

Then, the Women’s Center of Jacksonville celebrates 30 years as the region’s certified rape crisis center. We discuss how the group’s mission has evolved as conversations — and realities — around sexual assault have changed. In addition to providing a 24-hour rape crisis hotline, forensic exams and trauma counseling to victims, regardless of gender, the center has anchored community advocacy and education efforts for three decades. The anniversary event, Women, Words & Wisdom 2025, includes a keynote address by activist, author and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Amanda Nguyen. We discuss the center’s history of accomplishments and the challenges that still remain.

Guests:

• Teresa Miles, executive director, the Women’s Center of Jacksonville. 
• Maria Johnson, director of development, the Women’s Center of Jacksonville.

(Stacey Bennett)

Budget season began in earnest last week, as the Jacksonville City Council began carving away at the mayor’s proposed budget. In addition to taking aim at some of her policy priorities, including spending on public health programs, the council Finance Committee also approved a ⅛-mill property tax rollback, a move the mayor dubbed “performative,” as it coincided with a contentious DOGE visit from the state’s chief financial officer. We ask the mayor about it all and take your calls and questions, in our monthly Ask the Mayor segment.

Guest:

• Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan.

Then, as arts organizations and nonprofits alike struggle in the face of new economic and funding realities, we talk to Northeast Florida's largest arts nonprofit organization about how the organization is adapting and evolving. This year, the Jacksonville Symphony is celebrating a $15 million anonymous donation that will help steer the 60-member orchestra through the coming season of nearly 100 concerts.

Guest:

• Steven B. Libman, president & CEO of the Jacksonville Symphony.

And, a community arts and farmers market kicks off the new school year with curiosity and creativity. The Riverside Arts Market's back-to-school celebration blends hands-on learning, youth entrepreneurship and interactive workshops from rug-making to science exploration. The event, held under the Fuller Warren Bridge, will take place from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.

Guests:

• SJ Osborne, Riverside Arts Market manager.
• Melanie Maylon, Southern Style Bread Pudding owner. 
• MacKenzie Maylon, 6-year-old entrepreneur.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks as President Donald Trump listens at an event to promote his proposal to improve Americans' access to their medical records in the East Room of the White House, Wednesday, July 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)(Mark Schiefelbein/AP / NPR)

A recent decision by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to claw back $500 million worth of federal mRNA vaccine research funding is already having effects on local clinical trials. It’s a move local health researchers have called unethical, saying it will derail existing drug trials and possibly put clinical researchers out of work.

Guest:

• Dr. Michael Koren, cardiologist and CEO at the Jacksonville Center for Clinical Research.

Then, the growing controversy surrounding raw milk. Though illegal to sell for human consumption in Florida, wellness influencers (and HHS Secretary RFK) have touted the purported immune-boosting and digestive benefits of drinking unpasteurized milk. A recent E. coli and Campylobacter outbreak linked to a Florida raw milk farm left more than 20 people ill and six hospitalized. We ask an infectious diseases expert what the science says about the claimed benefits and why certain pathogens can make raw dairy products dangerous.

Guest:

• Chad Neilsen, director of infection prevention and control at Nemours Children’s Health.

And, as students head back to school across the First Coast, an in-school tutoring assistance program is coping with cutbacks. Officials with City Year AmeriCorps have had to cut the number of schools they work in due to federal funding cuts and are looking to raise $300,000 to offset the loss. We talk to two senior leaders about the work City Year does and the effect it’s already had.

Guests:

• Allishia Bauman, senior vice president and executive director of City Year Jacksonville.
• Quintin Griffin, interim managing director of impact at City Year Jacksonville.
  

(Stacey Bennett)

Each Friday, our media roundtable dives into the biggest stories of the week. Among our topics this week:

• The city balances budget hearings with the demands of a sudden state DOGE audit.
• Back to school begins with controversy over books removed from Duval shelves — despite nobody requesting it. Plus: There’s no more free lunch at some schools, after a district rollback.
• A judge orders more transparency in Alligator Alcatraz contacts even as a new detention center takes shape at Camp Blanding.
• And, St. Johns County residents grapple with an ongoing airport scandal, the demolition of a beloved motel and an e-scooter accident involving a teen.

To discuss all that and more, we’re joined this week by:

• David Bauerlein, metro reporter at the Florida Times-Union.
• Randy DeFoor, attorney and former Jacksonville City Council member.
• Jim Piggott, longtime City Hall reporter at News4Jax.
• Jake Stofan, reporter at Action News Jax.

Then, as MOSH prepared to vacate its Southbank digs, employees uncovered a trove of ancient (or at least antique) treasures. Rather than let them go to waste, museum employees created a farewell exhibit from the items — everything from an original Star Wars lunchbox to a midcentury bug collection to an actual phone booth. We talk to the museum’s CEO about sifting through the remains while planning for the future.

Guest:

• Alistair Dove, CEO of the Museum of Science & History.

Parvez Ahmed, chief of analytics for the city of Jacksonville.(Stacey Bennett)

A new city-run data analysis portal examines community discrepancies in areas like education, health care and home ownership. The initiative compares Jacksonville to other similarly governed and economically situated cities, and city officials say it will help identify root causes of the disparities and track progress on several metrics of well-being. We talk to the city’s chief of analytics about why measuring matters and what they hope to gain by marshaling the facts.

Guest:

• Parvez Ahmed, chief of analytics for the city of Jacksonville.

Then, amid rapidly changing immigration policies, a new book offers corporate employers an important toolkit to maintain and expand their international hiring efforts. We talk to a Jacksonville immigration attorney and author about how her decades in the business of immigration compliance have given her a unique perspective at a particularly fraught time.

Guest:

• Giselle Carson, immigration compliance attorney and author of The Corporate Immigration Advantage: How to Hire, Retain and Thrive with Global Talent in a Competitive World.

And, the China Cat Sunflower Festival celebrates its 30th year commemorating the anniversary of Jerry Garcia’s 1995 death. The annual event honors the The Grateful Dead co-founder and the legacy of the trailblazing psychedelic bluegrass band. We talk to the organizing force behind the annual festival about what keeps her going and what to expect this year.

Guests:

• Brenda Star Walker, founder of the China Cat Sunflower Festival.
• Rick Buda, musician.

(Bee Harris for NPR)

After weeks of controversy surrounding the release of a video showing a Jacksonville Sheriff’s Officer punching a Black motorist, the racial equity group 904WARD has scheduled a series of community conversations tackling everything from JSO’s ranking on the Police Scorecard Project to an exploration of what it calls “the coded language often used when discussing policing and justice.” The series runs through September at The Jessie Downtown.

Guests:

• Audrieanna Burgin, chief executive officer, 904WARD.
• ReGina Newkirk Rucci, director of equity, 904WARD.
• Melinda Patterson, criminal defense attorney.

Then, a celebration marking the 105th anniversary of women’s suffrage. We talk to League of Women Voters members about how the rights conferred by the 19th Amendment continue to affect the lives of all Americans. We also preview the organization’s anniversary event, and settle once and for all the “suffragist” vs. “suffragette” conundrum.

Guests:

• Jessica Lowe-Minor, president, League of Women Voters of Florida.
• Lanelle Phillmon, president, League of Women Voters Jacksonville First Coast.
• Rhona DiCamillo, vice president, League of Women Voters Jacksonville First Coast.

And, an unlikely hideaway in a most public place, Secret Mall Apartment tells the true story of eight friends who constructed a covert “condo” inside a Rhode Island mall and lived there, undetected, for four years. The acclaimed 2004 documentary is built around footage recorded by the friends during their time in the mall. It screens Wednesday at WJCT Studios as part of the Film at WJCT movie series.

Guest:

• WJCT Station Manager David Luckin.
  

Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico.(Stacey Bennett)

As a new City Council president takes the helm, we look at what it means to lead the 19-member body at a time of increased partisanship and rising costs for city services. Kevin Carrico comes to the job after five years on Jacksonville City Council and more than 15 years in the city’s nonprofit sector, including serving as vice president of operations at the Clara White Mission and vice president of strategic initiatives for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northeast Florida. His one-year presidential term begins at a time of growing rancor between local lawmakers and the Mayor’s Office, when political priorities are frequently influenced by national ones. We ask Carrico how he plans to lead and how he hopes to make his mark.

Guest:

• Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico.

Then, supporting murder victims and their families after investigations go cold. Project: Cold Case celebrates 10 years of victim advocacy in North Florida and beyond. Since its inception, the nonprofit has highlighted more than 1,800 cases from 48 countries, 70 of which have reached some form of resolution. The group’s upcoming gala, scheduled Thursday at Casa Marina Hotel & Restaurant, is free to attend, but also a fundraiser for the organization. The group’s founder joins us to reflect on the progress of the last decade, how his personal loss continues to animate his work and why raising awareness for unsolved cases — and victims’ families — remains a priority.

Guest:

• Ryan Backmann, founder and executive director, Project: Cold Case Inc.