Florida Spectacular

Send us your Florida questions!

Robin Mimna talks about the darker side of Henry Flagler, Stetson, and other "founding fathers" in Florida. We also talk about the women behind the men, and how the men controlled the narratives about them.

Links We Mentioned

Lake Helen

Flagler's Law

Arthur Hamlin

Mary Grace Quackenbos

Annie Laurie's Triumph 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Send us your Florida questions!

Elizabeth Randall, author of Florida haunted history books, joins the podcast — this week only, we've changed the name — to tell us some fantastic Florida ghost stories. 

Links We Mentioned

Elizabeth Randall website

Bosque Bello Cemetery in Fernandina

Amelia Island Museum of History (the old jailhouse)

Robert the Doll by David Sloan

David Sloan ghost tour and VIP Robert the Doll Experience

Robert the Doll Florida Spectacular episode

Books from Elizabeth Randall 

Women in White

Murder in St. Augustine: The Mysterious Death of Athalia Ponsell Lindsley

Haunted St. Augustine 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Send us your Florida questions!

To celebrate the 25th annual issue of Saw Palm, the editors came on the podcast to talk about what sorts of things to expect in the anniversary issue, a book from the man who started Saw Palm, and things to do in Ybor City.

Links We Mentioned

Saw Palm

Fearsome Creatures of Florida

Columbia Restaurant

The Castle

Kress Contemporary 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Send us your Florida questions!

Can AI make Florida better? Bess Auer joins the podcast to talk about AI, being a UF cheerleader during the Danny Rollins serial killings, and her Orlando treasure hunt.

Links We Mentioned

Cherry 2000

"How Ted Bundy Ended Our Innocence" by Diane Roberts

Second Harvest Food Bank

Fenn's treasure

HoundsHouse Orlando

The Secret: A Treasure Hunt (Byron Preiss)

HaveIBeenTrained.com

Bess' SubStack

Can AI plan a decent Florida road trip? Here's what happened when Rick and Cathy tried to get AI to do just that.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Send us your Florida questions!

Haley Moody, the director of the Florida Springs Institute, joins the podcast to talk about the idea of creating a National Springs Heritage Area in Florida.

About Haley

Haley’s passion for the springs began during her first visit to the Ichetucknee River. Her love of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was born during her time at the University of Florida, where she graduated with honors in Landscape Architecture. After a GIS Internship at the Florida Springs Institute, she transitioned into managing FSI’s outreach efforts and now focuses on the direction of FSI. Her dedication to the springs continues to grow as she communicates the challenges that face the Floridan Aquifer.

Links We Mentioned

The VRBO Cathy mentioned in the Orlando area

Florida Springs Institute

Reach out to Haley to be a stakeholder: [email protected]

Learn about how springs work and who controls what with the FSI Pocket Guide 

Springs photo by Rick Kilby.

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Send us your Florida questions!

Florida nature photographer Matt Keene talks about how he uses large-format film cameras to create his portraits. Matt has an exhibit at the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine (through Jan. 18, 2026), and this episode offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how much work, forethought, and effort goes into this extraordinary body of work. 

Links We Mentioned 

More about Matt Keene 

River Be Dammed

Lost Springs

Echoes of the Wild at the Lightner Museum Oct. 3, 2025-Jan. 18, 2026

Image: Gores Landing on the Ocklawaha River, Florida, Aluminum, 2024, by Matt Keene 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Send us your Florida questions!

Brandy Carlisle, a tour guide at St. Augustine's Fountain of Youth Park, is fascinated with the woman who bought the land that is now the park. So much so she's published a book about her: Luella. The trio talks about Luella, prostitution, and the Fountain of Youth.

Links We Mentioned

Luella

Fountain of Youth Park in St. Augustine

Find out more about Brandy — and her fascinating hobbies — on her website.

 Unearthing St. Augustine: America's Oldest City, by Kathy Deagan. 
 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Send us your Florida questions!

Rick and Cathy talk about Rick's trip to St. Augustine, then answer a letter from a listener about whether or not moving to Florida is a good idea. 

Things To Do in St. Augustine

St. Augustine's Fountain of Youth (visit with a critical eye!)

The San Marco shops in St. Augustine, including Duddington's

Columbia Restaurant in the St. Augustine Historic District 

 Don't forget to check out Spinster Abbott's. 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Send us your Florida questions!

Mikita Brottman, author of Guilty Creatures, joins the podcast to talk about the Tallahassee murder that scandalized the town when Denise Williams and Brian Winchester plotted and executed the murder of Denise's husband, Mike.

Mikita Brottman is a writer and psychoanalyst. Her latest book Guilty Creatures was published by Simon and Schuster in 2024. She has a D. Phil from Oxford University and is a professor of literature at the Maryland Institute College of Art, in Baltimore.

Links We Mentioned

Vilano Beach

Cap's on the Water

Guilty Creatures

Mr. & Mrs. Murder

Springs of Florida

Image via Simon & Schuster 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!

Send us your Florida questions!

 The face behind the super-popular Florida's Folk History Instagram account joins the podcast this week. Aubrey Naulin talks about her art, her hopes for Florida's future, and Florida's Indians.

Links We Mentioned

Florida Folk History on Instagram

Rosewood Remembered

Islands of Cedars by Shana Smith

Submerged Stories: Florida's Other Histories on Facebook

Lake Hourglass Studio 

Support the show

Question or comment? Email us at [email protected].

Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.

Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).

NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!