Welcome to Florida

Craig turns his attention to wildlife underpasses in Florida in his latest Florida Phoenix column. He wrote previously about the largest wildlife overpass in the United States.

Andrew Otazo has pulled nearly 50,000 pounds of trash from the mangroves around Miami. He tells us how and why he does it.

Read about how corporations shifted the blame for litter from their products to consumers.

Florida's solution to cleaning much of its stormwater - ditches, drains, and retention ponds - is not working and the state's Department of Environmental Protection isn't all that interested in improving it.

Addison Mizner was an architect who came to great reknown in 1920s South Florida popularizing a style of building known as "Mediterranean Revival." Susan Gillis, author, historian, and longtime curator at the Boca Raton Historical Society joins us to discuss his continuing legacy.

A developer - and county council member - in Volusia County wants to build a motocross track on conservation land in the Florida Wildlife Corridor.

Author and historian Robert Redd joins us to discuss his recent book, "100 Things to do in Daytona Beach Before You Die."

Congressional Republicans are trying to make it easier for developers to pave over wetlands in Florida. Byron Donalds is attempting to do the same thing from inside the state.

"Romper Room" was a wildly successful television show that attempted to bring kindergarten to TV. It ran more than 40 years on station's across the country. Wayne Hicks, author of "Did All My Friends Have Fun at Play: An Oral History of Romper Room," joins us to discuss the program.

The Boy Scouts organization in Hernando County wants to sell roughly half of a 1300 acre natural area it owns and uses for outdoor recreation for potential development.

Our guest this week is long-time Florida cave diver Tom Morris. Morris was featured in the famed "Water's Edge" PBS cavediving documentary. Morris tells us about the volume of caves in Florida, what causes them, and what's down there.

"Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly Florida conservation newsletter for just $5 per month.

Lee County planning officials wanted to exclude public comment from rezoning decisions; residents laughed out loud!

Roseate spoonbills are one of Florida's iconic wading birds. Florida Audubon Executive Director Julie Wraithmell joins us to discuss the gorgeous pink bird.

On this episode we celebrate Florida's lifestyle magazine, 'Flamingo' magazine, as it enters its next 10 years of publication. Our guest is the magazine's founder and editor Jamie Rich.

The Hope Florida scandal involves Ron DeSantis, Casey DeSantis, and Ashley Moody, but the figure at the center of the theft is Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. 

Amaris Castillo's parents run the Orlando Latin Market bodega in St. Pete. Several years ago, she began sharing stories of the bodega online; that effort has become a new book, "Bodega Stories," published in September of 2026.

Florida's public school textbooks downplay the impacts of climate change and protect industry from blame. 

Between the late 1600s and the U.S. Civil War, freedom seekers from across the South fled south, and by sail, to the Bahamas and Caribbean. This escape route from slavery is what is known as the Saltwater Underground Railroad. Our guest this episode, Stefan Moss, is a historian researching the Saltwater Underground Railroad and has developed a website and app sharing what he's learned.

Learn more about Florida's Black history through our "Florida Black History" YouTube channel.

A Florida university wants to build an airstrip in the Ocala National Forest. 

George Siegal is a former weatherman turned documentary filmmaker. Upon moving to Florida, he was shocked by the state's casual attitude toward hurricane preparedness. His documentary, "Built to Last: Buyer Beware," catalogues the numerous ways in which Floridians ignore hurricane preparedness and how you can make yourself and your home safer from storms.