First Coast Connect

The First Coast food scene is about to be taken a lot more seriously, as the Michelin guide expands its coverage area to include Northeast Florida next year. There’s no guarantee that a local restaurant will earn one of the guide’s coveted stars, but locals believe there are several worthy contenders. We ask three experts how including the region will affect the local food scene for restaurant owners, chefs and customers.

Guests:

• Waylon Rivers, executive chef at 36 Granada in St. Augustine.
• Lauren Titus, publisher, Edible Northeast Florida magazine.
• Hanna Raskin, founder of The Food Section and writer for Jacksonville Today.

Then, an acclaimed opera singer helms the signature music series on Amelia Island. In addition to master classes with classical performers, the 25th annual Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival includes performances by Grammy-nominated innovators Imani Winds, Grammy Award–winning cellist Zuill Bailey and 14-time Grammy Award winning singer/songwriter Emmylou Harris, along with more than a dozen others. We talk to the event’s executive director about how her own performance history as a standout soprano helps shape her leadership of the annual event.

Guest:

• Robyn Lamp, executive director of the Amelia Island Chamber Music Festival.

And, a free event aimed at elevating girls and women in the sport of surfing crashes into Jacksonville Beach this weekend. We talk to the Super Girl Surf Festival’s organizer and one of the teenage surfer phenoms competing, the First Coast’s own Lanea Mons. The World Surf League competition celebrates its fifth year at Jacksonville Beach Pier and SeaWalk Pavilion on Saturday and Sunday and features live music and more than 2,000 competitors.

Guests:

• Lanea Mons, professional surfer.
• Rick Bratman, event producer, Super Girl Surf Festival.

Nearly half of Floridians suffer from sleep disorders. As the clocks turn back, we discuss what research shows about the causes and effects of poor sleep, as well as ways to mitigate the time change as daylight saving ends. We also discuss what we are learning about the links between COVID-19 infections during pregnancy and the increased risks of autism, delayed speech and neurological differences in children.

Guest:

• Dr. Joe Sirven, Mayo Clinic neurologist and host of the WJCT show and podcast What’s Health Got To Do With It?

Then, documenting vulnerable ecosystems through a fragile photographic process. We talk to explorer and nature photographer Matt Keene about his new exhibition, which features haunting Florida landscapes created using a 19th century process called wet plate collodion. The photos — both shot and processed in the wild, using a portable darkroom — reflect the vulnerability of the state’s remaining wild places. Echoes of the Wild is on display at St. Augustine’s Lightner Museum through Jan. 18.

Guest:

• Matt Keene, journalist, adventurer and conservation photographer.

And, a local filmmaker launches an ambitious project with powerful local resonance. Middleburg-raised Drew Lewis Brown plans to shoot and cast his upcoming film in Jacksonville. He will kick off a fundraising effort showcasing the filmmaking process and the path ahead at The Baby Tooth Variety Show at WJCT Studios on Nov. 6.

Guest:

• Drew Lewis Brown, Jacksonville-based filmmaker, writer/director of Baby Tooth.

Our monthly check-in with attorney, author and government expert Chris Hand comes amid a cascade of financial developments. Whether it’s soaring health insurance costs and a cessation of SNAP benefits due to the federal government shutdown, or Florida’s increasingly chippy political debate over property taxes, quality of life for many in the Sunshine State will be affected. We break down the headlines with our reasoned and seasoned political sherpa.

Guest:

• Chris Hand, local government expert, attorney and co-author with the late Sen. Bob Graham of America, the Owner's Manual.

 
Then, a city program graduates its first class of entrepreneurs with disabilities. A new effort to empower future business owners and innovators celebrated its first cohort of graduates as eight city residents earned an Entrepreneurship Certificate of Completion at a recent ceremony. The program is a partnership between the city’s Disabled Services Division, the Mayor’s Disability Council, the Jacksonville Small and Emerging Business Program and Florida State College at Jacksonville. We talk to an administrator and a program participant about what the early success means for the nascent Entrepreneurship Program for Individuals with Disabilities.

Guest:

• Kara Tucker, chief of disabled services, city of Jacksonville.
• Nicholas Mendler, president of the Eye Spy Foundation and program participant.

 
And, the Jags eked out a win over the Raiders at Sin City's stadium in Las Vegas on Sunday night. We evaluate the team’s performance after back-to-back losses and a bye week break. From a record breaking field goal to a stymied two-point conversion in overtime, WJXT sportscaster Alessandra Pontbriand tells us what happened in Vegas and which takeaways will matter in the weeks ahead.

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

• The monthlong government shutdown forces a 30-year-old school for autistic children to close its doors for good.
• SNAP beneficiaries look for alternatives as government safety nets vanish. 
• The future of Marineland hangs in the balance, with competing visions for condos and conservation.
• Comments about Charlie Kirk lead to the first local university faculty firing.
• City Council members approve a Five Points Business Improvement District in response to concerns about security and upkeep.

Guests:

• Jessica Clark, anchor and reporter at First Coast News.
• Christina Burgess, reporter at First Coast News.
• Jake Stofan, City Hall reporter at Action News Jax.
• John Daigle, political consultant, former political reporter, co-owner Daigle Creative. 

And, new songs, Southern charm and possibly even a cover of Michael Jackson’s Thriller are in the offing as part of a special Halloween night quad-bill at Jack Rabbits. We talk to Mississippi native and current Jacksonville resident Madison Grace about chasing the blues, performing on her favorite holiday and musical influences ranging from Johnny Cash to Antonín Dvořák. Grace joins Folk Is People, Skyview and Trio (4) for a full-on San Marco monster mash on Friday.

Guest:

•  Singer/songwriter Madison Grace.

A former Navy officer, prosecutor and Northeast Florida lawmaker, Paul Renner believes he has the political bonafides to make a legitimate bid for governor in 2026. With one Trump-endorsed candidate in the race and another potential candidate already living in the governor’s mansion, Renner faces a steep uphill climb. But he also knows a little something about primary fights where close calls matter (having lost a 2014 primary by just two votes to the now politically invisible Jay Fant). Renner says "leadership" is what differentiates him from the competition. He also discusses rolling back vaccine mandates, the appeal of MAHA ideals and why he supports all public schools, including charters.

Guest:

• Paul Renner, former Florida speaker of the House, 2026 Florida gubernatorial candidate. 

Then, an animator hailing from the First Coast tells a story of survival in six minutes. We ask Savannah College of Art and Design graduate student Emily Richmond about the inspiration behind her short film Inkwashed, a 3D cartoon catastrophe that was selected for a student showcase at the SCAD AnimationFest 2025 in September.

Guest:

• Emma Richmond, graduate student of the Savannah College of Art and Design.

And, the nonprofit community theater 5 & Dime lifts the curtain on its 2026 season, which includes challenging and provocative shows like Alice by Heart. Created by the team behind the Broadway hit Spring Awakening, the show is described as “a bold reimagining of Alice in Wonderland, set in an air raid shelter during the London Blitz.” The 5 & Dime’s current show, Puffs, tells the story of Harry Potter’s now-adult classmates who are “old enough to question the ethics of sending children to fight evil.” Puffs, or Seven Increasingly Eventful Years at a Certain School of Magic and Magic, runs Nov. 7-15 at the peripatetic theater’s current home at The Florida Ballet on Atlantic Boulevard.

Guest:

• Denise M. Reagan, executive director of The 5 & Dime Theatre Co.

And, it’s time for a fond fair-well. The Jacksonville Fair is about to begin its final run at the Downtown fairgrounds before its move to the city’s Westside. We ask organizers what’s planned at the Great Downtown Fair-Well, from the funnel cakes and fried Twinkies to the Tilt-A-Whirl, livestock exhibits and nostalgic nods to the event’s 70-year history. The fair has been held at the Downtown location since 1955 but is pulling up stakes for greener (and larger) pastures near Cecil Field, a long-planned move related to Sportsplex-area redevelopments. The fair runs Nov. 6-16 and provides discounted entry to students and service members.

Guest:

• Lisa Thomas, director of marketing and events, Greater Jacksonville Agricultural Fair.

The transition from behind bars to life on the outside comes with myriad challenges for the formerly incarcerated. But making that change can present an entirely different set of obstacles for women. We talk to one woman who successfully made the journey and another who is helping clear the path for others in a program that offers assistance with housing, job and life skills, trauma recovery, substance abuse treatment and mental health counseling.

Guests:

• Rebecca Smith, founder and executive director, R.E.S.T.O.R.E.
• Nadieal Ashe, house manager and program graduate, R.E.S.T.O.R.E.

Then, an abandoned Springfield residence targeted for preservation was once home to real-life horror stories. We discuss the challenges of preserving the iconic, if foreboding, Drew Mansion, as well as its dark history and the promise of a $350,000 restoration funding request by state Rep. Wyman Duggan, a Jacksonville Republican.

Guests:

• Tim Gilmore, author, educator and historian at JaxPsychoGeo.
• Bill Bishop, architect, Akel Logan Shafer PA.
  

And, in space no one can hear you scream. But here on Earth, there are still plenty of spooky space facts to keep you on your toes. From an "alien comet" and ghost nebulae to surreal space sounds, we tread the terrifying outlines of the cosmos this Halloween as our resident spaceman touches down for his monthly visit.

Guest:

• Eddie Whisler, planetarium director at the Museum of Science & History.

A new poll by the University of North Florida’s Public Opinion Research Lab takes the political pulse of Florida residents on issues from vax mandates to tax rollbacks. In hypothetical matchups for governor, Republicans Casey DeSantis and Byron Donalds lead their Democratic opponents, David Jolly and Jerry Demings, by more than 10 points. We ask the lab's director what the results tell us about next year’s gubernatorial race, institutional trust and the state’s contests for attorney general and Senate.

Guest:

• Michael Binder, political science professor at UNF, faculty director at the Public Opinion Research Lab.

Then, an attempted assassination of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. in St. Augustine that had not been previously reported. Though MLK was known to be a target of Klan violence (a famous photo captures him pointing to a bullet hole in the home where he was believed to be staying), the city’s leading civil rights historian recently shared a more direct confrontation, which occurred in front of two other icons of the movement, Kat Twine and Dr. Robert Hayling. We talk to the St. Augustine native and labor reporter who broke the remarkable story about the murder plot, the dramatic confrontation and the eventual victory of humanity over violence.

Guest:

• Hamilton Nolan, labor writer for In These Times; author of The Hammer: Power, Inequality, and the Struggle for the Soul of Labor; creator of the How Things Work Substack.

And, after losing a leg to an IED blast while serving in the U.S. Army in Afghanistan in 2012, Sean Karpf embarked on a new life marked by intense physical and mental health challenges. But more than a decade ago, the nonprofit Wounded Warrior Project helped him connect with college, therapy and eventually resources to open his own small business (fittingly named “A Leg Up Pressure Washing”). On Nov. 8, he joins the program’s Carry Forward 5K held at Wounded Warriors’ Jacksonville headquarters for a fundraiser to benefit former service members around the country.

Guest:

• Sean Karpf, former Army sergeant, owner, A Leg Up Pressure Washing.

Florida’s recently expanded Schools of Hope law requires school districts to permit certain charter schools to occupy vacant or underutilized district buildings for free. According to public records obtained by Jacksonville Today, at least 25 schools have been targeted by one charter network alone, a move that stands to impact students and teachers, especially on the city’s north and northwest sides. (Seventy-five percent of the currently occupied traditional public schools slated for occupation are in School Districts 4 and 5, represented by the School Board’s two African American members.) We talk to the reporter about how school choice is shaping local educational options.

Guest:

• Megan Mallicoat, education reporter, Jacksonville Today.
  

Then, whether it's her work on NPR's lighter programs like It’s Been A Minute and Pop Culture Happy Hour, or her more serious duties as host of Weekend Edition Sunday and Up First, Ayesha Rascoe’s career mirrors the breadth of her reporting. Before and during her time at NPR, Rascoe covered energy policy during the Deepwater Horizon and Fukushima disasters and worked as a White House correspondent during three presidential administrations. More recently she edited a book of essays about the impact of historically Black colleges and universities called HBCU Made: A Celebration of the Black College Experience. We talk to Rascoe about the business of reporting the news — and finding her voice.

Guest:

• Ayesha Rascoe, host of Weekend Edition Sunday and Up First on NPR.
  

And, from networking strategies to simulated board rooms, we’ll tell you about a program teaching adult success skills to tweeners. We talk to the organizers of the annual event about what it takes to stage the What A Leader Competition, and ask a previous winner what lessons remain after the victory.

Guests:

• Jason Peoples, executive director, Jacksonville Arts and Music School. 
• Roy Harvison, 2024 What a Leader Competition winner.
• Jessica Lumpkin, director of mental health outreach and engagement, Jacksonville Arts and Music School.
  

Plus, from his work as an oncologist to his career as an Air Force colonel, his evolution as an artist and his eventual emergence as a writer, the Jacksonville-based author of Portrait of a Kaleidoscope Life traces a path of creativity through a life of adventure. We ask him what makes a good life story.

Guests:

• Dr. Douglas Johnson, author, Portrait of a Kaleidoscope Life.

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

• A crackdown on campus speech excising "dirty" words.
• A City Council member’s pressure to influence airport priorities. 
• Back-to-back state losses in high-profile murder cases.
• A funding plan to bridge divisions among Eastside advocates.
  

Guests:

• Nate Monroe, executive editor at The Tributary.
• Frank Powers, former assignment manager at WJXT News4Jax.
• Tricia Booker, author and journalism professor at the University of North Florida.
• Will Brown, race and poverty reporter at Jacksonville Today.
  

Then, a party to celebrate Filipino American pride in the county with the state’s largest Filipino population. As part of Filipino American History Month, the Filipino American Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce hosts this weekend’s Barrio Fiesta. The event celebrates more than 400 years of Filipino presence in the United States and features live music, karaoke, traditional performances, line dancing, local vendors and lots of Filipino food.

Guests:

• Cristina Comstock, co-founder and chairman of the Filipino American Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce.
• Nida Escobar, Filipino American Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce treasurer.

A WJXT documentary series uncovers the historic story of drug dealing, murder and corruption inside the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office. In the late ‘90s, federal prosecutors began an unprecedented investigation into dirty Duval cops using surveillance, snitches and unwitting confessions. At the time, investigators and prosecutors behind the case couldn’t talk publicly about their techniques. But a six-part documentary captures their story for the first time. One of the original WJXT reporters on the case and the former federal prosecutor behind the investigation discuss Behind the Badge, the first installment of News4Jax's true crime documentary series Florida Justice.

Guests:

• Jennifer Waugh, investigative reporter at News4Jax. 
• James Klindt, federal magistrate judge, retired but recalled, Middle District of Florida.
  

Then, the oldest tree farm in Florida opens up, literally and figuratively, as it aims to broadcast its pioneer history and invites visitors to check out the Northside farmstead. Geiger Pioneer Farm dates to 1877 and is still operated by descendants of the original owner. The great-great-grandson of the farm’s founder is hosting the first ever Pioneers & Pumpkins Fall Festival, featuring two crop mazes, sugarcane grinding demonstrations, animal encounters and a pumpkin patch that he says features “some of the best pumpkins in Jacksonville.”

Guest:

• Danny Geiger, owner, Geiger Pioneer Farm. 

And, a world-touring classical pianist brings her talents to the local stage in a performance that spans the continents and centuries. The acclaimed Katie Mahan performs an anthology of musical favorites in From Vienna to New York! showcasing the works of Beethoven, Mozart, Schubert and Gershwin. (In addition to her Thursday night concert, she gives a Wednesday night lecture titled Mozart, the miracle of Salzburg.)

Guest:

• Katie Mahan, classical pianist and performer at Friday Musicale.