Forecasters are predicting an extremely active hurricane season, with 23 named storms and 11 hurricanes, including five major hurricanes. We talk with Megan Borowski, the interim chief meteorologist and director of the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network about the season ahead. Also joining the show to discuss hurricane preparedness are Tim Dudley, the Hillsborough County Emergency Management Director, Mary Burrell, Whole Community Engagement Program Lead for Pinellas County, and David DeCarlo, the emergency manager for Hernando County.

When extreme weather hits Florida, the destruction can be immense. Hurricane Idalia caused $3.6 million in damage when it barreled into the Big Bend last year. That’s according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s estimates.

Cleaning it up is tough, dirty and dangerous work. The workers are often left without adequate protection as they deal with toxic mold, dust and other hazardous environments.

On this episode of Florida Matters we talk with journalist María Inés Zamudio about her reporting on the dangerous conditions facing immigrant workers doing disaster restoration work.

We also talk with WUSF's Jessica Meszaros about another group of workers in Florida: people whose jobs are outside, like farmworkers and construction workers. With the summer heat approaching, we look at the potential impact of a new law that bans local governments from mandating heat protections like shade and water breaks for outdoor workers.

This week, we speak to WUSF reporters about their experience covering the pro-Palestinian protests on the USF campus, along with two local historians who talk about the history of protests in Tampa and at USF.

College campuses around the country are witnessing a surge of protests against the war in Gaza. Some of the demonstrations have been marred by violence as pro-Palestinian demonstrators have clashed with counter-protesters and faced off against police.

WUSF’s Nancy Guan and Meghan Bowman join Florida Matters to discuss how demonstrations at the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus unfolded over three tense days.

And we revisit protests on campus and around the greater Tampa Bay region, from the Civil Rights era and Vietnam War, up until the present day with Andy Huse, curator of Florida studies at Special Collections at the University of South Florida Library, and Rodney Kite-Powell, director of the Touchton Map Library and Hillsborough County historian at the Tampa Bay History Center.

In this episode, we’re talking about Bob Graham’s environmental legacy - including his efforts to protect wild places like the Everglades and other waterways - and wildlife, like the manatee.

Bob Graham knew how to rally people to a cause, no matter their political affiliation.

He died this month at the age of 87. The Democrat from South Florida had a profound influence on state politics during his two terms as governor, and later as a U.S. senator.

As governor, Bob Graham helped usher in the Save Our Rivers program, the Wetlands Protection Act, the Growth Management Act, and the Save Our Everglades program.

In this episode we talk with Jake Varn and Victoria Tschinkel, who both served as secretary of the Department of Environmental Regulation when Bob Graham was governor of Florida. We also hear from the executive director of the Save the Manatee Club, Pat Rose. Graham formed the club- initially as the Save the Manatee Committee- in 1981 with singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett.

This November, Floridians will vote yes or no on allowing adults 21 and older to use recreational marijuana.On this episode of Florida Matters, we discuss how the proposed amendment could change life in the Sunshine State.

Joining the conversation: Tampa Bay Times/Tallahassee correspondent Romy Ellenbogen, who covers state government, with a focus on criminal justice and health. And Richard Blau, an attorney with GrayRobinson. He's chair of the regulated products division, where he oversees the firm’s legal guidance, compliance, and support services for the alcohol beverage, cannabis, food, and tobacco products industries.

Teachers have been navigating challenging and confusing times since education laws rolled out in 2022. In this episode, we get an update on what their classrooms have been like since.

For the past couple of years, public school teachers in Florida have navigated some challenging, and at times confusing, changes to what they teach and how they teach it.

Legislation was rolled out in 2022 with restrictions on classroom instruction on race, gender identity and sexual orientation. Transgender students have faced restrictions on what bathrooms they’re allowed access to. Teachers are now required to convey that under enslavement, some African Americans gained skills that later benefited them, a change heavily criticized by teachers and some state officials. And there’s been increased scrutiny, and in some cases removal, of books on teachers’ shelves and in school libraries.

WUSF’s Kerry Sheridan, who covers K-12 education and has been reporting on how teachers have been dealing with the new laws over the last couple of years, joins Florida Matters along with Gail Foreman who teaches social studies, history, and AICE psychology at Booker High in Sarasota, and Brandt Robinson, a history teacher at Dunedin High School.

People know Titus O’Neil as a star of WWE.

But before he was a pro wrestler and Global Ambassador for WWE, Titus O’Neil was Thaddeus Bullard. He began his athletic career as a promising football player - a University of Florida Gator who played under legendary coach Steve Spurrier, and later in the Arena Football League.

Bullard's path to athletic fame and fortune wasn’t an easy one. He writes about his upbringing to a single mother who struggled to make ends meet in his book, "There's No Such Thing as a Bad Kid." But along the way, Bullard built a reputation as someone who’s worked to give back to his community. Through the Bullard Family Foundation, he's helped kids who face the same kind of challenges he did growing up.

Over the last decade Bullard, who lives in Tampa, has given out more than 15,000 gifts every year to underprivileged kids through his "Joy of Giving" event. And in partnership with Hillsborough County Public Schools - he’s worked to transform Sligh Middle Magnet School into an educational innovation hub. On this episode of Florida Matters, Bullard talks about overcoming poverty, finding fame as professional wrestler Titus O'Neil, and helping the next generation.

The Florida Supreme Court released opinions on two proposed constitutional amendments Monday afternoon. One would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, and the other would legalize recreational marijuana for adults 21 and older.

At the same time, the court released a ruling on a challenge to Florida’s 15-week abortion ban. The court upheld the 15-week ban, which in turn means a more restrictive six-week ban will soon take effect.

Stetson University College of Law professor Louis Virelli spoke to Florida Matters about the legal context of the court's decisions. Also joining the program to discuss the impact of these court opinions on health care are WUSF reporter and host Cathy Carter, WUSF health care reporter Stephanie Colombini and political analyst and retired political science professor Susan MacManus.

The issue of a new ballpark for the Tampa Bay Rays been debated for decades. And in the next few months, make-or-break decisions will be made on the redevelopment plans.

This week marks the start of another season of baseball for the Tampa Bay Rays. They’ll face the Toronto Blue Jays in their first home series at Tropicana Field, the stadium that’s nearing the end of its residency in downtown St. Petersburg.

A world-class development that will “fuel our economy” for decades to come is how St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch described the multibillion-dollar plan to transform Tropicana Field and the sea of asphalt parking lots surrounding it.

"If you look out over the next 10, 15, 20 years, we have so much more confidence that this is going to be a great place for a ballpark, and for a neighborhood that fits that ballpark," said Rays co-president Matt Silverman, who spoke recently on the team's podcast about the redevelopment, "Here to Stay."

But it’s not a done deal just yet.

The heart of the current debate isn’t so much about sports, it’s about money. Specifically how much the city and Pinellas County and the Rays ownership will invest. Tampa Bay Times reporter Colleen Wright joined Florida Matters to explain the next steps in the long process of building a new stadium for the Rays and redeveloping the land around it. And Ron Diner from No Home Run, a group of Pinellas County residents who oppose the stadium deal, explains why he thinks the deal is wrong for St. Pete

This week, we speak with two women veterans about their military experiences and opportunities and challenges for women veterans.

The number of women in the military is rapidly growing. A 2022 Defense Department report shows that in 2021, there was an 18% increase in women in active duty and a 22% increase in women in the reserves. That’s even as the overall number of service members dropped, according to the same study. Holley Harris is the president of the Greater Tampa Bay chapter of the Women in Defense organization, a national organization that brings the Department of Defense together with all the industries that support it to create and enhance opportunities for women, and increase the diversity in the defense community. Vanessa Thomas works as the women veteran’s coordinator at the Florida Department of Veteran’s Affairs.