What is the future of farming? There were 12 million people employed in agriculture in the U.S. in the year 1900, which was 1 out of every 6 people. Today, there are about 1.7 million, which is just 1 out of every 50 people who are employed in agriculture. Two professors from the University of Florida say a robotic revolution is going to allow for increased food production in a sustainable way. Dr. Senthold Asseng , who teaches at UF’s Agricultural & Biological Engineering Department, and Dr

Self-driving cars used to be a thing of science fiction, but they’re quickly becoming a reality. Different manufacturers in different countries are working to make them safe enough for real-world use. We're joined by Larry Burns to discuss his knowledge as an educator and consultant in the world of autonomous vehicles. He is a retired senior vice president of research and development, and strategic planning at General Motors . Since retiring in 2009, he has consulted for Google’s self-driving

The US is still struggling with opioid addiction, and Florida continues to experience some of the highest opioid overdose rates in the country. Last year hospitals in Florida treated approximately 18,000 opioid overdoses...that’s almost 50 every day. Former governor Rick Scott declared a public health emergency in May of 2017, and last September Florida was granted 27 million dollars in federal funding to help fight the opioid crisis -- that was part of a two-year, 54 million dollar grant

As most of our listeners are well-aware, Southwest Florida recently experienced two severe harmful algal blooms: the red tide along the coast, and the toxic blue-green algae in the Caloosahatchee River and its estuary. Both blooms were at least partly fueled by nutrient-rich water from Lake Okeechobee, but there is no doubt that the lake was the source of the toxic blue-green algae. Now, there’s a new research effort underway to monitor algae in Lake Okeechobee using a self-driving, solar

We’ll hear music and conversation with Southwest Florida musicians Frankie Colt and Xid and the 25 . Colt and Xid perform as a duo every Friday night at Old Soul Brewing ’s “ Loud and Local ” event. They’re also members of the band Cobress , which delivers a unique fusion of punk, rock, garage, industrial and synth.

Karen Jacobsen is a Henry J. Leir Professor in the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy and Feinstein International Center at Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts. This Friday, February 22nd, Jacobsen will be the guest speaker at the FGCU lecture, “Migrants and Refugees: A Middle East Perspective.” She will talk about her current research, which explores urban displacement and global migration systems.

A recent survey reveals that some Southwest Floridians feel impacted by extreme weather more than Americans elsewhere in the country. The comprehensive survey was commissioned by the Conservance of Southwest Florida , the Southwest Florida Community Foundation , and the Community Foundation of Collier County , and was conducted by ecoAmerica . It found that Southwest Florida residents heightened their awareness about climate change after Hurricane Irma and the recent harmful algal blooms.

Joshua Johnson hosts “ 1A ,” a daily radio show that seeks to explore important issues pertaining to policy, politics and technology. Johnson was born and raised in West Palm Beach, and worked for public radio in Miami and San Francisco before “1A” replaced the “ The Diane Rehm Show ” in 2017. “1A” is produced out of WAMU in Washington, DC and distributed by NPR. Johnson joined us in the studio a few days ago as a guest on the WGCU podcast “ Three Song Stories ” with producers Mike Kiniry and

Since last year's mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School , schools in Lee County have received more than 200 violent threats. In response, the School District of Lee County, and its partners in law enforcement, is cracking down on threats. The “Fake Threat, Real Consequences” initiative means that students who threaten violence against a school or their classmates can and will be arrested. We’re joined in the studio by the school district's director of safety, Rick Parfitt , the

On today’s show we’re changing things up a little bit. Joshua Johnson from 1A is in town so we thought we’d spend an hour getting to know him -- but not in a traditional interview style. Instead, we're producing an episode of the WGCU podcast Three Song Stories live in the Gulf Cast Live time slot so we can get to know Mr. Johnson through his selection of three songs. If you’re not familiar with the podcast, it’s produced by Mike Kiniry and Richard Chin Quee -- they call it biography through