Florida Department of Corrections Secretary Ricky Dixon recently pleaded with state lawmakers for significantly more funding. He described a prison system in which teenage correctional officers manage as many as 150 inmates at a time. Admitting his $500 million budget request amounted to a “staggering” increase, Dixon noted the agency is managing about 10,000 more inmates than it did a decade ago, with roughly the same staffing. We talk to a former corrections investigator and 30-year veteran of the state corrections system about how the money would be used, and why Dixon’s request doesn’t begin to reach the $6 billion to $12 billion experts say is needed to modernize the system.

Guest:

• Aubrey Land, retired senior investigator with the Florida Department of Corrections.

Then, a new regional Black arts, culture and heritage magazine launches ahead of a planned museum of Black history in St. Johns County. We talk to the woman at the helm of both efforts about the launch of the new magazine, the promise of the museum and the opportunities both offer to showcase the region’s rich and layered Black history.

Guest:

• Alesia Wilbekin, editor of ESTEBANA and executive director of the Foundation for the Museum of Black History.

And, nearly 80 years after the choir’s founding, the Oakwood University Aeolians bring their inspirational sounds from Huntsville, Alabama, to the First Coast for a performance at Palms Presbyterian Church. The group, which performs a range of styles — from Baroque-era classical music to gospel, spirituals and jazz — has spun off dozens of professional singers, including Grammy-winning gospel group Take 6.

Guest:

• Ronn Cummings, director of music and fine arts at Palms Presbyterian Church.
• Jeremy Sovoy Jordan, conductor of The Aeolians of Oakwood University.

Plus, a chance to explore the farm before the table. We talk to organizers of a pair of agrotourism events happening in St. Johns County, where fall farm tours include pumpkin patches, sunflower farms and crop mazes. In addition to a self-guided passport tour for locals to explore farms, the Hastings Main Street organization is presenting curated opportunities to shop and dine in collaboration with farms, as part of its two day fall festival and harvest tour.

Guests:

• Jena Dennis, chair of the Hastings Main Street board, Fall Festival of Art & Harvest Trail Tour organizer. 
• Andrea Parker, farmer at Parker Flower Farms, Farm Passport Tours organizer.