Welcome to Florida

The Florida legislature has appropriated $25 million to study a problem it already knows the causes of and solutions for.

Everyone knows Orlando for Disney, even though the theme park isn't inside the city limits, but there's a lot more to the Magic City than rides and tourists. Scott Maxwell has been writing for the Orlando Sentinel since 1998 and joins us to discuss the myths and realities of Orlando.

The Florida legislature is sacrificing outdoor workers to climate change.

Read Florida corporate and government watchdog Jason Garcia's outstanding "Seeking Rents."

The great Dave Barry joins the show this episode. His humor column ran from 1983 through 2005 in the Miami Herald. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his commentary in 1988. He's authored over 30 books, the most recent, "Swamp Story."

Click here to read Craig's favorite column by Barry.

When does "permanent" have an expiration date? When the term is applied to a conservation easement in Florida.

Our guest is Florida historian and author Robert Redd who's written numerous books on Florida, including two on the state's role in the Civil War.

The Florida legislature is attempting to solve climate change by ignoring it.

Florida is the epicenter of right wing efforts nationally to ban books, discriminatory efforts targeting books with LGBTQ+ as well as Black and brown characters. Katie Blankenship is the Director of PEN America Florida, a new outreach effort to combat the government suppression of free expression here.

More information on PEN America's Free to be Florida Network can be found here.

Katie's favorite banned books:
"And Tango Makes Three"
Toni Morrison's "Beloved"
"All Boys Aren't Blue"

Ripley's free book giveaway.

Thanks again to all of our supporters at Patreon.com/WelcometoFlorida!

Great news for conservation in Florida starts this episode!

Janet Reno is best known as being the first female U.S. Attorney General during the Clinton Administration. She was also a Floridian, born and raised in Miami. Judith Hicks Stiehm has written the definitive biography of Reno, "Janet Reno: A Life." Judith Hicks Stiehm's daughter Jamie Stiehm joins us to discuss Reno.

This episode begins in Estero Bay.

Florida's geology, it's sandy surface soil, abundance of surface water and ground water, and limestone karst bedrock make it the sinkhole capital of America. Ann Tihansky studied sinkholes for many years in Florida with the U.S. Geologic Survey and put together the "Sinkholes 101" guidebook. She joins us to explain why and how sinkholes form.

Graphic of water distribution on, in and above the earth. Another one.

How much water there is on earth.

New York Times article on America's sinking East Coast.

Members of the Florida State Legislature want to protect the rights of single use plastics.

Journalist Ben Montgomery worked as a reporting duo helping expose the Dozier School for Boys in Marianna, a facility with a horrifying 100 year history of torture. The story is graphic and gruesome, details we'll discuss in this episode. 

Additional reading on the Dozier School:

https://www.quillmag.com/2019/08/05/qa-ben-montgomery-the-reporter-whose-work-led-to-colson-whiteheads-novel-the-nickel-boys/

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/2013/04/15/search-for-dozier-truth-raises-towns-hackles/29165956007/

https://www.axios.com/local/tampa-bay/2022/06/06/tiger-king-director-dozier-school-documentary

https://www.wmnf.org/floridas-white-house-boys-talk-about-the-promise-of-justice-for-survivors-of-the-dozier-school/

Now that his presidential campaign is over, Craig Pittman has some advice for Ron DeSantis.

Warren Zanes played music with rock icon Tom Petty and was his friend for decades. He also wrote Petty's biography, "Petty: The Biography." Zanes joins us to discuss Gainesville's Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.

The Florida legislature is attempting to make it more difficult for home inspectors to do their jobs in securing the safety of residents moving into new construction.

The era of the Johns Committee was one of the darkest in Florida's history. Stacy Braukman's book "Communists and Perverts Under the Palms: The John's Committee 1956-1965" details the political witch hunt for Communists and gays centered on the University of Florida in Gainesville. She joins us to discuss.

Developers and state politicians want to cram more homes into the Keys despite state law prohibiting them from doing so.

The inaugural Florida Man Games will be held February 24, 2024, in St. Augustine. Founder Pete Melfi joins us to discuss.