Gulf Coast Life

This episode originally aired on August 11, 2021.While scholars have mostly focused on law enforcement’s use of aggression and brutality as a means of maintaining African American subordination, Black citizens of that time have often come off as powerless in their encounters with law enforcement.The new book, “Race, Crime, and Policing in the Jim Crow South” explores the various ways African Americans responded to the expansion of police departments in the early 20th-century South, including thousands of examples of African Americans seemingly working with law enforcement in order to, in some sense, take advantage of the only government institution they had access to: the police department.

For 17 years as an Extension agent with the Florida Sea Grant program at University of Florida, Betty Staugler has been based at the UF/IFAS Extension’s Charlotte County office, helping coastal residents and people whose livelihoods depend on the marine ecosystem deal with issues including harmful algal blooms in southwest Florida.She's taking on a new role now as NOAA’s Harmful Algal Bloom Liaison, where her work will include developing new data-driven communication tools about harmful algal blooms to better serve decision-makers in addressing this growing concern.

This Wednesday SpaceX is planning to launch from Kennedy Space Center with four private astronauts on board for its Inspiration4 mission. It’s the first of its kind, with a crew made up entirely of civilians. Today, we meet space reporter Brendan Byrne from WMFE in Orlando to get a bit of a peek behind the curtain of that mission, and what else he's been covering.

Sea Turtle nesting season in Southwest Florida runs from April 15 through October 31, which means it’s beginning to wind down. Find out what it takes to monitor and help protect the large marine reptiles.

Bats have been in the news in recent years in connection to deadly epidemics including Ebola and COVID-19, yet scientists are discovering evidence that bats may hold a key to longer and healthier lives.

We explore COVID-19 vaccine guidance for pregnant women and their babies in utero, as well as for nursing new mothers with Lee Health’s System director for Obstetric Services Dr. Cherrie Morris and Lee Health Pediatric Infectious Disease Specialist and interim chief of Quality and Patient Safety, Dr. Stephanie Stovall.

On this episode of the Gulf Coast Life Book Club, we talk to Brittany Ackerman, author of The Brittanys, and Julie Klam, author of The Almost Legendary Morris Sisters.

Monoclonal antibodies have been in the news lately since Florida opened more than a dozen state-run centers providing these Covid-19 treatments. These laboratory-made “substitute antibodies” can help the immune system recognize and respond more effectively to COVID-19. We learn how they work, and who are the best candidates for treatment — including whether they’re appropriate for younger patients.

The Florida Museum of Natural History is looking for your help to track two species of native bee that you’ll probably hear before you see. Southeastern plasterer bees live in scrub, pineland, and sandhill habitats; adjacent open areas; and along roadsides.

Former Florida Department of Environmental Protection Secretary and former state Chief Resiliency officer Noah Valenstein has been named the first presidential fellow in water policy at Florida Gulf Coast University’s Water School. We’ll talk with Valenstein about his time in state government and his future plans for the Water School.