A team of UF researchers is embarking on a 3 year project that will study the symbiotic relationship happening between the small Hawaiian bobtail squid, and a bioluminescent bacteria that lives inside of it, which provide the squid with a way to camouflage itself. They will be developing new tools allowing them to track what’s happening with that relationship at the cellular and even molecular level.

We explore why this season is so active with Jeff Huffman, Chief Meteorologist and Director of the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network. We also discuss hurricane preparedness, and get some shelter advice during the time of COVID-19 with Jennifer Trammell, Board Chair for the Florida Gulf Coast to Heartland Chapter of the American Red Cross.

Public schools across Florida closed down back in mid March as the new coronavirus began spreading. Schools districts quickly developed remote learning programs, and students finished out the school year from home. These plans were created on the fly out of necessity. The School District of Lee County has been working on its reopening plans for the fall semester for months. We get details from superintendent, Dr. Greg Adkins.

Coral reefs continue to face serious threats all over the world, and are dying at alarming rates because of things like coral bleaching, various diseases, and environmental stressors like warming water temperatures and increased acidification. In response, there are many efforts around the world to find ways to restore corals, and we’re going to learn about two ongoing research programs doing just that.

FGCU resumes on campus instruction today as the fall semester begins. About 15,000 students are enrolled to start classes — about the same as last year. Classes will include a mixture of in-person and virtual models. The university has embarked on an extensive, campus-wide education campaign to “Protect the Nest.” We’re joined by FGCU President, Dr. Mike Martin, to get an overview of reopening plans.

Next Tuesday, August 18 a hearing at the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will be the next step in the process of determining the constitutionality of Senate Bill 7066, and the future of Amendment 4. We're going over the Amendment 4 story up to now, and get a sense of what the outcome of the upcoming hearing will mean, and what will likely happen next.

We get some history on mail in voting, around the U.S. and here in Florida, with Susan MacManus. She is Distinguished Professor Emerita in political science at the University of South Florida. And Charles Stewart, Kenan Sahin Distinguished Professor of Political Science at MIT.

We're discussing the instructional models the School District of Lee County is offering for students this upcoming fall. Our guests are Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Jeff Spiro, the Director of Curriculum for Elementary Schools, Dr. Bethany Quisenberry, and the Director of Curriculum for Middle/High School Candace Allevato.

Advances in technology, and the privatization of the space industry, have led to far more satellites being launched into space — small satellites to be exact. What once required a refrigerator-sized satellite can now sometimes be packed into one the size of a microwave, or even smaller.

Anyone who was in Southwest Florida during 2018 will remember the two massive, simultaneous harmful algal blooms that devastated marine animal populations, and hurt local economies. The blue-green algae — or cyanobacteria — bloom that originated in Lake Okeechobee, choking the Caloosahatchee River, the canals that line it, and its estuary met the offshore red tide bloom which was lining beaches with dead fish, dolphins, and other marine life. While the blooms fouled the waters, and kept tourists away, there is growing evidence the toxins they produced can be harmful to humans.