Since President Trump returned to the White House in January his administration has undertaken a number of actions that seem to signify a retreat from international support and cooperation, and reflect a broader shift toward prioritizing domestic interests over international collaboration, fundamentally altering the United States' traditional role in global affairs. Our guest's work focuses on issues that intersect with what’s been unfolding on a number of levels. Dr. Andrew Rosenberg is an Associate Professor of International Relations and Political Methodology at University of Florida. His 2022 book “Undesirable Immigrants: Why Racism Persists in International Migration” focuses on the politics of international migration and what drives and constrains it.

We talk with a political scientist who has been collaborating on a project to explore how minority parties are able to accomplish their goals. Dr. Andrew Ballard is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Florida State University. His forthcoming book distills research that he, and his co-author have been doing that looks at U.S. Congressional power dynamics in history to see just how minority parties approach getting their goals into legislation, or in some cases obstruct the majority party’s efforts.

Here in Southwest Florida about 30% of the population is 60 and older. That translates to about 1.3 million people, and this population and percentage is growing. Demographic trends show an expected 38% increase in adults over 60 by 2040 and a 62% increase in adults over 70 by that same year. While southwest Florida has been a destination for older people when they retire for decades, this area’s aging population is chronically underserved. We learn about the work being done to address the need at Florida Gulf Coast University’s still relatively new Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging.

We took the show on the road to the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in downtown Fort Myers because they were marking the 100th anniversary of professional baseball in the City of Palms. They have an exhibit up in the museum there called “Fanatics: Thomas Edison, Connie Mack and Spring Training in Fort Myers” and on Feb. 20 Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson officially proclaimed that day to be “Spring Training Day in Fort Myers.”

Since President Donald Trump returned to the White House his administration has taken many steps that critics describe as executive overreach, and many of his executive actions are already being challenged in the courts. So, in an effort to gain perspective on this administration’s approach so far, and how it might impact higher education, we sit down with FGCU President Emeritus, Dr. Mike Martin, to get his views on these times we’re in.

Robert Mnookin has spent his career exploring exactly this conundrum: the ways interpersonal, and geopolitical, disagreements unfold — and how to handle really difficult disagreements mindfully and rationally rather than emotionally and thoughtlessly. He is the Samuel Williston Professor of Law, Emeritus at Harvard Law School – and he is the author and/or editor of at 10 books, including “Bargaining with the Devil: When to Negotiate, When to Fight” which was published in 2010. It offers practical advice on addressing tough conflicts analytically through examples that range from siblings fighting over an inheritance, to Winston Churchill’s decision to refuse to negotiate with Adolph Hitler.

Florida is home to more than 500 nonnative species, more than 50 of which are reptiles. Current monitoring techniques depend on visual surveys by scientists, and this is far from an exact science because reptiles — particularly snakes — are extremely elusive. A new technique being developed by scientists at University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) can identify DNA traces of Burmese pythons — as well as northern African pythons, boa constrictors, and rainbow boas — weeks after they have left an area using soil or water samples.

The United States was founded with three branches of government which were designed to act as checks on each others’ authority, and the role of the head of the Executive Branch — the President — was intended to be that of a head of state who would be a unifying force that stayed above the partisan fray. But the role of the president has changed greatly since George Washington left office, and has evolved to become more of a party head who makes bold promises in order to gain and maintain support for their policy agenda. Our guest says this evolution has not strengthened the United States and in many ways has led to the deeply partisan divide we’re living through right now.

Last July we talked with a woman who was closely following Project 2025 on her Substack “How Project 2025 Will Ruin Your Life.” Andra Watkins is a bestselling author who doesn’t normally follow these kinds of things, but she was raised with a Christian Nationalist worldview and when she started reading through Project 2025 was alarmed by things she found in it that she says align directly with that worldview, which she has long-since left behind. Now that President Trump has returned to the White House, and many of his initial flurry of executive actions align with what’s in Project 2025, we’ve brought her back for a follow up conversation to get her take on what's unfolded so far.