Whether you’re interested in politics, music, crime, technology or just about anything, there is likely a podcast for you. But while millions of people enjoy listening to podcasts every day, others still don’t understand this relatively new form of media.

This week on Florida Matters: Podcasting 101. Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham talks to Kenny Malone of the Planet Money podcast; and Dalia Colón, producer of WUSF's The Zest podcast.

Lovebugs, termites, mosquitoes, cockroaches – there is no doubt that Florida is home to many insects, and they seem to thrive in the state's hot, humid conditions.

You can’t avoid them, so this week on Florida Matters we’re talking about how to deal with them. 

Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham sits down with Steve Fuhs, service coordinator with the pest control company Truly Nolen's Port Richey Service Office; and Phil Koehler, endowed professor at the University of Florida who specializes in urban entomology.

This week on Florida Matters, host Robin Sussingham talks with Jack E. Davis, whose book The Gulf: The Making of An American Sea won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for History, about how the environmental history of the Gulf of Mexico shaped the lives of the people along its shores.

Citrus has shaped the state's identity for a hundred years. But it's been a rough ten years, with freezes, hurricanes, development pressure...and worst of all, the disease Huanglongbing, otherwise known as citrus greening. And when the industry needs help the most, Tallahassee doesn't seem to be that interested. There's nobody with a powerful political position right now that has a citrus background. And legislators just cut the budget to the Florida Citrus Commission by about 80 percent. Citrus is at a crossroads. Host Robin Sussingham talks to Kevin Bouffard, senior reporter at The Ledger; Mike Sparks,  CEO of Florida Citrus Mutual; and Shannon Shepp, executive director of the Florida Department of Citrus.

Jane Castor is in her first weeks as the new mayor of Tampa. Her position as the first gay mayor in the Southeast didn't come up much during the campaign, but she made national news the day after her victory.

Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham asks Castor about whether she considers herself a role model - and why she likes certain breeds of chihuahuas and schnauzers - but is not so crazy about cats.

The 2019 state legislative session ended Saturday. The budget includes hundreds of millions of dollars for Everglades and freshwater springs restoration, and for affordable housing; a large increase in education funding; and help for the hurricane-ravaged panhandle. Governor Ron DeSantis says, "We have put people over politics." There was still quite a lot of political theater to be found, though. Host Robin Sussingham talks to political reporter Janelle Irwin of Florida Politics; and columnist Steve Bousquet of the Orlando Sentinel and South Florida Sun Sentinel.

With Florida’s population on the rise, we're taking a look at how we’re adapting. "Zoning" may sound mundane but in reality, it's anything but! Zoning and building regulations affect us intimately -- because they hit us where we live. Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham sits down with Peter Belmont, Vice President of Preserve the ‘Burg, the non-profit that promotes historic preservation in St. Petersburg; Tyler Hudson, a land use and real estate attorney, and a member of the Urban Land Institute who served as the Chairman of All for Transportation, the referendum to raise the  sales tax in order to fund county transportation; and Evangeline "Van"  Linkous, Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of South Florida.

These are exciting times for eating out in Tampa Bay. Our cuisine is getting better and more varied and starting to draw national attention. Florida Matters hosted a taping in front of a live audience earlier this year at the St. Petersburg Conference on World Affairs at USF St. Petersburg. The topic: Tampa Bay as an international dining destination. 

Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham sat down with Laura Reiley, former restaurant critic with the Tampa Bay Times, who recently started a new position with the Washington Post; Janet Keeler, journalism instructor at USF St. Petersburg and former Tampa Bay Times food editor; and Emmanuel Roux, owner of Gateau O'Chocolat Bakery and the 15th Street Agri-hood/Eco Village, an organic, educational farm in downtown St. Petersburg. Roux has owned several restaurants in the Tampa Bay Area over the years.

Florida is home to more than 500 invasive species. Not all of these plants and animals are big and scary like pythons, but they can still harm the state’s native wildlife, and a lot of time and money is spent fighting them. 

Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham spoke with John Humphrey, wildlife biologist with the USDA Natural Wildlife Research Center’s Florida Field Station in Gainesville; and Todd Campbell, Associate Professor of Biology at the University of Tampa, about their efforts to combat these non-native species.

A new mayor of Tampa will be elected on April 23rd. The two remaining candidates, Jane Castor and David Straz, debated at the WEDU PBS studio, and we're bringing that debate to you. 

Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham also spoke with WUSF reporter Steve Newborn, who's been following the contentious race.