Gulf Coast Life

Life has changed for all of us in some ways over the past two years as the coronavirus pandemic has impacted the world. Explore what these times have been like for writers, who generally do their work at home, or in a sort of isolation.

FGCU political scientists provide insight and analysis of what to expect in Florida’s 2022 legislative session which begins Tuesday.

As the spring semester kicks off today at Florida Gulf Coast University, learn about what COVID-19 protocols and resources are in place at FGCU, including the university’s contact tracing program for students, faculty and staff.

Florida consistently ranks near the top of the list among states when it comes to the most reported cases of human trafficking. January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, so joins us and explore what role the health department in Collier County plays in raising awareness about this issue to help combat it, and increase the public’s understanding about what to look for in hopes of uncovering cases.

Over the years as a journalist Craig Pittman has had the opportunity to write about some of Florida’s most interesting characters and the wild stories they tend to star in. He’s also the author of a number of non-fiction books, including his latest “The State You’re In: Florida Men, Florida Women, and Other Wildlife.” He joins us to talk about the new book, and his work documenting Florida’s weirdness, or shall we say its distinctiveness.

Explore stories and strategies about dealing with change during these tumultuous times with author Bruce Feiler.

This has turned out to be a record year for the number of dolphin calves born in and around Sarasota Bay. Researchers with the Chicago Zoological Society’s Sarasota Dolphin Research Program (SDRP) have documented 22 dolphin births so far this year, exceeding the record of 21 set in 2017. We learn about the program, and what’s made 2021 a record breaking year for new dolphin births.

The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has been all over the news lately. The massive, roughly 10-billion dollar space telescope has been jointly developed for decades by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). Plans for it began forming as far back as the 1980s.The JWST will allow for observation of some of the most distant events and objects in the universe, including the formation of the first galaxies, and detailed atmospheric information on potentially habitable exoplanets — those are planets orbiting stars other than our sun.

Pollinators are responsible for assisting about 80% of the world's flowering plants to reproduce, and that includes quite a few crops grown for food. So, it’s fair to say that pollinators play a crucial role in not only our ecosystems, but our economies and lives.We learn about the work being done by pollinators all around us, and get some tips on how to attract them to our yard, and how to keep from harming them by misusing pesticides.

This episode originally aired on June 16, 2017.