The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is embarking on a new study during the 2021 algal bloom season — roughly now through September — to assess the health effects of exposure to cyanotoxins, in part to help health officials better inform the public. The “Cyanotoxins in Air Study” (CAST) will look at exposures to cyanotoxins produced by blue green algae among people who live or work near Lake Okeechobee, the Caloosahatchee River, Cape Coral’s Canals, and the St. Lucie River on the east coast.

Shortly after Governor DeSantis signed SB 90 a group of Florida-based civil rights organizations sued state and local election officials seeking to block the new restrictive voting measures. We dig into what the new law says with Patti Brigham, President of the League of Women Voters of Florida, which is leading that legal challenge; and Dr. Micah Kubic, Executive Director of the ACLU of Florida.

When we choose to do something, are we always consciously aware of why we made that decision? That is one aspect of the field of research our guest today has spent the past several decades investigating. Dr. Sandra Schneider is Professor in Cognition, Neuroscience, and Social Psychology, Department of Psychology at the University of South Florida in Tampa.

During the 2021 Annual Florida Legislative Session, state lawmakers passed a pair of bills aimed at expanding protections for landowners. The measures, currently awaiting Governor Ron DeSantis’ signature, authorize property owners to file lawsuits against government entities over local land-use regulations, even if the property owners have no formal development plans that would be impacted.Smart-growth advocacy organizations like 1,000 Friends of Florida say the bills could serve as a weaponization of the Bert Harris Act that could prevent local governments from imposing smart-growth regulations that would undermine the state’s coastal resiliency efforts. We'll take a closer look and explore the current state of toxic red tide and blue-green algae blooms in Southwest Florida.

When gyms and yoga studios closed, instructors had to get creative. Gil Gonzalez of Gil's Zumba and yoga teacher Jackie Chiodo tell us how they managed.

We meet the new Senior Scientist in Mote's Research Division, Dr. Demian Chapman, who will also serve as the Manager for the Sharks & Rays Conservation Research Program, and hold the title of Perry W. Gilbert Chair in Shark Research. Dr. Chapman was recently an Associate Professor at Florida International University in the Department of Biological Science, and was the lead scientist for the international initiative, Global FinPrint, which is the world’s largest-ever shark survey.

Recent incidents of police violence have brought what’s called Qualified Immunity into the public discourse. Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine established by U.S. Supreme Court precedent that grants police officers immunity from civil lawsuits unless the plaintiff shows that the officer violated clearly established statutory or constitutional rights of which a reasonable person would have known. We learn more about how qualified immunity plays out in the real world with Dr. David Thomas, Professor of Forensic Studies at Florida Gulf Coast University, Senior Research Fellow at the National Police Foundation, and a former law enforcement officer.

On this episode of the Gulf Coast Life Book Club, we hear from Lauren Hough, author of the NYT bestselling essay collection Leaving Isn't The Hardest Thing, and Elizabeth McCracken, whose new collection of short stories is The Souvenir Museum.

State lawmakers ended Florida’s 2021 annual legislative session, Friday, after passing a record $101.5 billion budget. Much of Governor Ron DeSantis’ priority measures did pass during this year’s session. We’ll get a closer analysis of what passed, what didn’t and what it all means for Floridians going forward are Florida Gulf Coast University Political Science professors Peter Bergerson, Ph.D., and Roger Green, Ph.D.

Former U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark passed away last month on April 9 at the age of 93. Clark served under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He supervised the drafting of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Civil Rights Act of 1968. We get some insight into who Ramsey Clark was and the long life he lived with Fort Myers resident Woody Hanson. Hanson is a doctoral candidate in history at Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland. His dissertation 'Liberal Democracy & Radical Dissent’ connected him with Ramsey Clark for the past three years because Clark plays a central role in it.