First Coast Connect

In a sprawling new investigation, Florida reporter Michael Adno dives into the political, legal and financial swamp of Everglades restoration efforts. The Rolling Stone cover story, “A Billionaire, a Scientist, and a Secret in the Florida Everglades,” focuses on the bitter split that occurred between the Everglades Foundation’s CEO and its chief scientist, ultimately landing the latter in jail. We ask Adno about the roots of the ugly breakup and how it’s affected the decades-long, multibillion-dollar effort to restore the iconic River of Grass.

Guest: Michael Adno, reporter, “A Billionaire, a Scientist, and a Secret in the Florida Everglades”

From living through segregation to leading in education, we talk to Betty Burney ahead of her OneJax humanitarian award. The former Duval County School Board chair recalls watching television with her parents as Black students were being denied access to Florida colleges. That early memory proved foundational to a career in education and community service. In 2010, after leaving the School Board, Burney founded the I'm A Star Foundation, a nonprofit whose mission is defined by its acronym, dedicated to developing “Smart, Talented, And Resilient Students.” Teen participants volunteer their weekends for community service projects, focused on three core issues: childhood obesity, food deserts and student homelessness. We talk to Burney about what the OneJax recognition means and her ongoing work with the Jacksonville Journey Forward.

Guests:

• Betty Burney, founder and CEO, I’m A Star Foundation 
• Elizabeth Andersen, CEO of OneJax

A decidedly dark comedy, this A24 production offers an anxiety-laden take on modern motherhood. Featuring Golden Globe-winning Best Actress Rose Byrne as well as acclaimed performances by Conan O’Brien and A$AP Rocky, the film follows the mounting strain on Linda, a therapist and mother to a sick child whose exterior is beginning to show the disorder she feels inside. The film is just the latest in the Film at WJCT series, which focuses on award-winning new films and classic old ones. Next up is the Spike Lee Joint, Do the Right Thing. We talk to station manager David Luckin about picking the films and how the series has been received.

Guest: David Luckin, host, Electro Lounge, WJCT Public Media station manager

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

• Florida’s attorney general attacks the local state attorney over her investigation into a city gun registry.
• A former fire union chief steps into the political crossfire after he’s tapped to join the JEA board.
• A new University of North Florida poll shows affordability remains top of mind for Florida voters.
• State taxpayers may be left holding the bag for Alligator Alcatraz costs.
• A federal judge says the governor can’t designate a Muslim advocacy group a terrorist organization.

Guests:

• Obi Umunna, attorney and political consultant
• Christina Burgess, reporter at First Coast News
• David Bauerlein, metro reporter at the Florida Times-Union
• Nikesha Williams, former TV producer, author of "The Seven Daughters of Dupree"

It’s a fusion of America’s pastimes and thematic obsessions — baseball, seduction and a deal with the devil. We talk with key cast members of the Tony award-winning Broadway classic Damn Yankees, including “young” Joe, who sold his soul to lead a winning baseball team, and the two more sinister forces: the legendarily irresistible Lola and her bumbling devil incarnate boss, Mr. Applegate. The musical is staged at Alhambra Theatre and Dining through April 5.

Guests:

• Allan Baker, actor playing Mr. Applegate in Damn Yankees
• Charity Walton, actor playing Lola in Damn Yankees
• Thad Walker, actor playing Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees

A lifelong coral researcher, Nancy Knowlton is no stranger to the dark realities of environmental decline. In fact, she and her husband, Jeremy Jackson, also a renowned marine scientist, were once known as "Drs. Doom and Gloom" on the lecture circuit. But Knowlton came to believe doomsaying without solutions breeds only apathy and inaction. She has since become a dedicated accentuator of environmental success stories, from the recovery of near-extinct species like the great egret and the brown pelican in Florida, the sea otter in coastal California and the puffins of Downeast Maine, to the resilience of sea grasses in Tampa Bay and the irreversible global trend toward clean energy. We ask her why measuring success may be just as important as focusing on failure.

Guest: Nancy Knowlton, marine scientist, conservation biologist and author of Citizens of the Sea: Wondrous Creatures From the Census of Marine Life

A statewide nonprofit is bringing its rebuild and rehab operations to the First Coast. Rebuilding Together Greater Florida is part of a national network that provides assistance to people living in homes that are either damaged or deteriorating, focusing on veterans and low-income families. The largely state-funded nonprofit prioritizes ensuring dwellings are safe, watertight and pest-free, as well as retrofitted as needed for people with mobility challenges. We ask the group’s leader why their new focus is Jacksonville and who might expect to qualify for assistance.

Guest: Jose Garcia, CEO, Rebuilding Together Greater Florida

Dance and visual art combine to form a creative corridor in Jacksonville Beach this month as part of a collaboration among the Beaches Museum, Players by the Sea and the local dance troupe Emily Cargill and Dancers. The Women Arts Exchange 2026 Festival, designed to coincide with Women's History Month, includes the exhibit VISION, featuring five local female artists, and the MOVE! Dance Festival, staged Friday and Saturday on the PBTS stage. The exhibit at the Dickinson Gallery displays the work of Amanda Holloway, Anne Cullum, Kim Hurt, Balsam Abo Zour and Susanne Schuenke through April 17.

Guests:

• Emily Cargill, founder and artistic director of Emily Cargill and Dancers; founder of the Women Arts Exchange
• Bradley Akers, managing director, Players by the Sea
• Chris Hoffman, mayor of Jacksonville Beach and executive director of Beaches Museum

Free-roaming cats face an array of hazards, from vehicles to other predators to occasionally freezing temperatures. But they can also be deliberately targeted by humans — which is where the University of Florida’s Veterinary Forensic Sciences Laboratory comes in. Under the direction of forensic pathologist Dr. Adam Stern, the program A Cat Has No Name prides itself on being a “kitty CSI” team, using science and evidence to determine cases involving animal cruelty. Stern, founder and coordinator of three Animal Cruelty Task Forces throughout the state, explains how the program uses current cat necropsies, the results of earlier investigations and the data sorting capacity of artificial intelligence to better identify patterns and guide future criminal investigations.

Guests:

• Dr. Adam Stern, veterinarian and professor of forensic pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida  
• Dr. Jon Kim, assistant professor, College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Florida

A new poll asks Florida residents who they want to be the state’s next governor based on expected head-to-head matchups. It also examines evolving views on the affordability crisis, ICE crackdowns, legalizing marijuana, gun laws and the need for AI regulation. We talk about the results and what they suggest about the coming midterm election cycle with the director of the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab.

Guest: Sean Freeder, assistant professor of political science, University of North Florida, and director of the UNF Public Opinion Research Lab

From bleak arrays of abandoned baby strollers to an American flag fashioned from clothing security tags, New York-based, Jamaican-born artist Nari Ward pulls meaning from the mundane. In works both political and deeply personal, Ward’s multimedia creations have earned acclaim from the artistic world for their nuanced exploration of both the soul of man and the detritus of his existence. Ward brings his five decades of creative experience to an installation at MOCA Jax's Project Atrium, the monumental Great Greetings.

Guests:

• Nari Ward, artist, creator of MOCA Jacksonville Project Atrium installation Great Greetings
• Ylva Rouse, deputy director of curatorial affairs and senior curator, MOCA Jacksonville

Having barely survived the birth of her second child after a life-threatening hemorrhage, Dr. Bobbie Decker was nothing but grateful for the first few months. Then her postpartum psychosis began. Despite her training as a neurologist and being married to a neurosurgeon, Decker says, “I understood the brain but lost touch with my own.” In a searing editorial, Decker recalls being overwhelmed by impulses to harm herself or her child, and intrusive thoughts, like seeing insects crawling in her food. It wasn’t until she reached out for help that she found relief and stability, which she largely credits to programs offered through The Motherhood Space, a maternal health and wellness program at Baptist Health in Jacksonville, one of just 40 similar programs in the country. We talk to Decker and the program’s founder about providing better care for new and expecting mothers, whether in crisis or not.

Guests:

• Dr. Bobbie Decker, neurologist, epileptologist and mother
• Dr. Jill Garrett, director and founder of The Motherhood Space
  

In 1992, when Linda Sexton and her husband began building their family, there were few guideposts in the world of open adoption. Her family memoir literally opens the book on their experience, sharing three generations’ and three decades’ worth of perspective, including that of the four birth parents, birth grandmothers, adoptive parents and the two adopted kids. We ask her about the surprises, lessons and joys of the experience and why she wants to share it with others.

Guest: Linda R. Sexton, open adoption advocate and author of The Branches We Cherish: An Open Adoption Memoir

A long awaited announcement solidifies Sporting Club Jacksonville’s home on the First Coast. We talk to the football club’s chief community officer about playing for keeps at the team’s new permanent stadium site, as well as the start of the inaugural men's USL Championship season. The games get underway with Head Coach Liam Fox on March 7 when the team hosts the Hartford Athletic at 7:30 p.m. at the University of North Florida's Hodges Stadium, the first of 17 home games in a 34-match schedule.

Guest: Tony Allegretti, chief community officer, Sporting Club Jacksonville

The growing trend of “biohacking” has many social media influencers pushing DIY peptides. Doctors fear unwitting users are acting like human lab rats, injecting themselves with unapproved and often unregulated substances in pursuit of faster healing, better skin and a range of other alleged benefits. We talk about that and other medical headlines with our resident doc, Mayo Clinic neurologist Dr. Joe Sirven, host of WJCT’s program and podcast, What’s Health Got To Do With It?

Guest: Dr. Joe Sirven, Mayo Clinic neurologist and host of WJCT’s What’s Health Got To Do With It?

Between hosting annual Ramadan dinners, which have collectively drawn more than 4,000 guests, to co-founding the ever-expanding and A-rated River City Science Academy charter school, Sel Buyuksarac has arguably touched more lives on the First Coast than most elected officials or faith leaders. His work is being recognized with a Silver Medallion in the 2026 OneJax Humanitarian Awards. He joins us during this year’s Ramadan observance to discuss the meaning of the Muslim holy month and how his faith informs his decades of work in the community.

Guests:

• Sel Buyuksarac, educator, host of annual community dinners and 2026 OneJax honoree
• Nur Puyan, student from South Africa, fasting for Ramadan
• Elizabeth Andersen, CEO, OneJax

An upcoming production of the Tony Award-winning dark comedy God of Carnage examines how civility devolves into savagery as a diplomatic conversation between two sets of parents sinks into childish pandemonium. The play was written by French playwright Yasmina Reza and later adapted and “Americanized” to appeal to Broadway audiences. The upcoming staging at Limelight Theatre in St. Augustine is led by Flagler College alumni with performances beginning March 5.

Guests:

• Sherrie Provence, executive director, Limelight Theatre
• Leah Page, associate professor, Flagler College and actor playing Annette Raleigh

Our Friday news roundup focuses on the biggest stories of the week. Among our topics:

• JEA’s board shuts down critics calling for the CEO’s job.
• St. Augustine cracks down on horse drawn carriages.
• The Jacksonville Transportation Authority explores all options for the Skyway’s future.
• A woman is beaten to death in jail after being denied transfer to a state mental hospital.

Guests:

• Nate Monroe, executive editor at the Florida Trib
• Frank Powers, former assignment manager at WJXT News4Jax
• Tricia Booker, author and journalism instructor at the University of North Florida
• Noah Hertz, St. Johns County reporter at Jacksonville Today

The Northeast Florida Sierra Club is offering an introductory handshake this weekend, along with an old-fashioned hoedown. The theme of the annual event is “Get to know your Sierra Club,” a presentation framed around traditional music and dance by the bluegrass-influenced string band Skin and Bonz. The Third Annual Sierra Symposium will be held from 9:30 a.m. to noon Saturday at the Tree Hill Nature Center and concludes with a guided nature walk. Registration is requested.

Guest: Susannah Randolph, director of the statewide chapter of the Sierra Club

The history of Jacksonville is curated and celebrated through the works of 100 seminal Black leaders in a Jacksonville Today feature, the Blacksonville 100, compiled for the centennial of Negro History Week. Whether they spent their entire lives on the First Coast or touched it before they moved on, the list ranges from Civil Rights heroes like A. Philip Randolph to lions of literature like Zora Neale Hurston and educators like Johnnetta Betch Cole. We talk to the reporter behind the story as well as three local historians about the legacy and impact of these community leaders.

Guests:

• Will Brown, reporter for Jacksonville Today
• Jerry Urso, historian, writer and archival researcher
• Adonnica Toler, museum director, Eartha M. M. White Historical Museum and Gardens
• Carol Alexander, executive director, A.L. Lewis Museum at American Beach

From the food of Haiti to the dances of South Sudan and India, the World of Nations Celebration brings the diversity of the world within reach of the First Coast. The event offers a glimpse at the culture and customs of countries represented at the two-day event, which this year include Argentina, Bahamas, Cambodia, Cameroon, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, France, Ghana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Israel, Jamaica, Mexico, Palestine, Peru, Philippines, Puerto Rico, Republic of Panama, Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Spain, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkey, U.S. Virgin Islands and Venezuela. But for fans of the annual festival, food is the undeniable centerpiece, and you can get a taste of what's going to be on the menu by perusing the actual event menu. The 2026 World of Nations Celebration runs from 10 a.m.–7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Sunday.

Guests:

• Randa Abdelhameed, president and CEO, Sudanese Finest
• Anubhav Dahiya, advisory board chair, Indian Cultural Society of Jacksonville
• Michelove Jules, vice president, Haitian Alliance of Jacksonville

If you’ve ever watched late night TV, you’re familiar with the concept of a mass tort — a large civil lawsuit, often predicated on medical malpractice. The solicitation generally begins, “If you or a loved one suffers from X …” and urges viewers to seek their “just compensation.” In her new book, The Pain Brokers, University of Georgia law professor Elizabeth Chamblee Burch investigates a case gone horribly awry, in which women were lured into unnecessary surgeries to remove pelvic mesh, then left with enormous debt and lifelong injuries. We ask Burch how vulnerabilities in the legal system allowed the scam to occur, and her recommendations to prevent similar exploitation in the future.

Guest: Elizabeth Chamblee Burch, law professor and author of The Pain Brokers: How Con Men, Call Centers, and Rogue Doctors Fuel America's Lawsuit Factory

They’ve been called the “house band for the United Nations,” were such to exist, and over three decades, the multilingual, multicultural mini-orchestra has only expanded its musical horizons. We talk to the band’s featured vocalist, Storm Large, about her own musical evolution, exploring everything from punk anthems to torch songs, with memorable stops along the way on America’s Got Talent and Rock Star: Supernova. Pink Martini performs at the Florida Theatre at 8 p.m. Friday.

Guest: Storm Large, featured vocalist, Pink Martini

The constellation Auriga, “The Charioteer,” was observed as far back as the Bronze age and cataloged by astronomer Ptolemy in the 2nd century, but its secrets continue to reveal themselves to modern cosmologists. The prominent Northern Hemisphere winter constellation can be recognized by its pentagon shape as well as its brightest star, Capella (aka “the little goat”). We ask our resident spaceman what’s new with the cosmically ancient six-star cluster.

Guest: Eddie Whisler, director of planetarium and outreach, Museum of Science & History

Florida has had plenty of competition when it comes to removing books from school shelves and students’ hands, but in sheer numbers, the Sunshine State has no peer. According to PEN America, the state has held the No. 1 title for three years running, with more than 9,000 titles removed and restricted just since 2021. A new documentary explores the trend and its effects, particularly for those working on the front lines — media specialists. No longer tasked with shushing visitors, school librarians are instead fighting efforts to silence the voices of authors, particularly those with diverse experiences or those exploring difficult topics. The PBS documentary The Librarians explores the role of libraries and the people tasked with running them in an increasingly fraught and even dangerous environment. The film focuses primarily on Texas but features local book fights, including in Clay County, the most restrictive school district in the state. We discuss the film with two local participants ahead of a screening of the film at WJCT Studios on Thursday.

Guests:

• The Rev. Jeffrey Dove, freedom-to-read advocate and pastor of Saint James AME Church in Orange Park
• Julie Miller, freedom-to-read advocate and librarian
  

Connecting to a new job can be difficult, but it’s far more challenging when you don’t know the job exists. As part of a nationwide initiative by public broadcasting stations, WJCT Public Media embarked on a social media effort to inform young people about potential careers on the First Coast. Led by social video specialist Jordan Luckin, Jobs Explained showcases both specific job opportunities — including train engineer, air traffic controller and “penetration tester” — as well as more general challenges for young employees, like finding work/life balance, dealing with imposter syndrome and how to dress for work. We talk about meeting young workers where they live and the job of making work fun.

Guests:

• Dr. Stephanie Murray, director of education, WJCT Public Media
• Jordan Luckin, social video specialist, WJCT Public Media

If you’ve started to notice a few hundred people out walking on a random Wednesday night, you may well be catching sight of the First Coast’s burgeoning weekly walk show. Since it began last summer, the 904 Walk Club has emerged as both a healthy and social exploration of the city on foot. Though the Wednesday walk often starts at the Riverside Arts Market location under the Fuller Warren Bridge, meetup locations range from the beach to Friendship Fountain. All “paces” are welcome, and walks are family, pet and wheelchair friendly. We talk to the club’s founders about walking the walk when it comes to building fitness and friendship.

Guests:

• Troy Busscher, founder, 904 Walk Club
• Hakim Danner, founder, 904 Walk Club