Craig Pittman was recently invited by the New York Times to write an opinion column regarding Ron DeSantis' approach to combating climate change. It's a topic he has covered regularly at the Florida Phoenix.

While better known for their connections to Macon, Georgia, the Allman Brothers were a Florida band, with brothers Duane and Gregg growing up in Daytona Beach and the band forming in Jacksonville. Bob Beatty is the author of a newly published book highlighting a critical moment in the band's rise to popularity, the recording of its live album in 1971. The book is titled, "Play All Night: Duane Allman and the Journey to Fillmore East."

Find Bob on Twitter at @LongLiveTheABB

"Welcome to Florida" is presented by Windstorm Products. Visit windstormproducts.com to make sure your home or business is secured from the next hurricane.

When it comes to homeowners in Florida and hurricane damage, it's buyer beware.

Our guest is Ralph Krugler, historian at the Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse and Florida barefoot mailman historian. The Barefoot Mailmen operated in the late 19th century walking the mail to residents along the Florida frontier on the east and west coasts of the state.

Here's a great Sunshine State "did you know:" the official seal of the city of Hypoluxo in Palm Beach County features an image of a barefoot mailman.

"Welcome to Florida" is presented by Windstorm Products, a family business in Florida which has grown to become the largest online retailer of hurricane hardware. When the next hurricane comes, and it will, have your home protected from wind and flood damage by using the products and expertise available at windstormproducts.com. 

A vote for Ron DeSantis is a vote for more Hurricane Ian's. Craig explains.

This episode's guest is Samantha Chapman, a professor of biology at Villanova University and a researcher of mangroves around the world, but particularly in Florida. Craig relied on her expertise in a previous story he wrote about how climate change is increasingly allowing mangroves to migrate into areas they haven't traditionally been seen.

"Welcome to Florida" is presented by Windstorm Products. Hurricane Ian has come and gone, but if you put off your hurricane preparedness, windstormproducts.com is still there for you as the world's largest retailer of hurricane hardware to secure your home or business from hurricane wind damage. You can also purchase the amazing and convenient Quick Dam water activated flood barriers from the. This product will save you hours of dirty, sweaty, backbreaking work filling sandbags to secure your home from hurricane flooding, and it's also a great solution to water intrusion from storms if you're in low lying areas and constantly worried about water getting into your basement or garage. 

Developers and road builders want to plow through a state forest in the Panhandle to bring more people to the Gulf Coast.

Patrick Smith wrote "A Land Remembered" in 1984. The historical fiction novel followed a Florida cracker family as it entered the state in the 1850s and successive generations went on to build a fortune here through ranching, citrus and land development. Countless people consider it the greatest piece of Florida fiction ever written.

Patrick Smith's son Rick joins us on this episode of the podcast to discuss his father and the timeless book. Rick mentioned a video of Patrick Smith speaking, you can find that video here.

"Welcome to Florida" is presented, as always, by Visit Sarasota. Discover Sarasota's rich literary history and community and be sure to visit Bookstore 1 in downtown Sarasota for readings, signings - including Craig Pittman - and a full selection of Florida titles.

Windstorm Products also supports the show. This small, family-owned Florida company has grown into the largest online retailer of hurricane hardware in the world. From bolts and screws to wingnuts, drill bits and whatever else you may need to protect your home from hurricane wind damage, Windstorm Products has it - including expertise. If you run into a question, give them a call, toll free, at the number right on the website, windstormproducts.com. 

How do land developers almost always get what they want in Florida even if state law or local residents don't support them? Bribes.

Our guest this episode is David Sloan, Key Lime pie researcher, author, baker and founder of the Key Lime festival in Key West. David's newest Key Lime book, "Key Lime Pie: An Intriguing History of Key West's Native Desert," was released this summer. We discuss the pie's origins, it's controversies - meringue or whipped cream - and where to find the best Key Lime pie in Key West.

This week's episode is sponsored by Windstorm Products. Homeowners, business owners, contractors, municipalities – if you are responsible for protecting a structure from hurricane wind damage, you’re going to want to visit windstormproducts.com and see what they have to offer. Windstorm Products is a family-owned Florida company that has grown to become the world's largest online retailer of hurricane hardware.

Fall in Florida is BEACH SEASON for the locals with crowds and temperatures down. Find your favorite among the many wonderful beaches in Sarasota. Thanks to Visit Sarasota for its continued support of "Welcome to Florida."

County officials in Sarasota have amended their COMP plan to allow for greater development into rural areas.

Our guest is historian and Miami native and resident Paul S. George. George wrote the definitive account of the wild environment of land speculation which took place in Miami during the early 1920s, resulting in the first of many Florida land "busts."

George leads a variety of bus, boat and walking tours around Miami, sharing the city's history via HistoryMiami.org.

"Welcome to Florida" is presented by Visit Sarasota. Good news from Sarasota thanks to a variety of local conservation groups, Crowley Museum and Nature Center is now permanently protected! Part of a farmstead originally established in 1878, this 191-acre slice of Old Florida has served the community as a natural and cultural museum for more than 40 years. Crowley Museum invites people of all ages to discover Southwest Florida’s nature and history.

"Welcome to Florida" is further supported by windstormproducts.com. Homeowners, business owners, contractors, municipalities – if you are responsible for protecting a structure from hurricane wind damage, you’re going to want to visit windstormproducts.com and see what they have to offer. Windstormproducts.com is a family-owned Florida company that has grown to become the world's largest online retailer of hurricane hardware. 

Florida's history of racial violence is examined in this episode. Our guest is Tameka Hobbs, Executive Director of the A. Philip Randolph Institute at Edward Waters University. She authored the book "Democracy Abroad, Lynching at Home: Racial Violence in Florida" and lectures on this topic through the Florida Humanities.

Among the numerous critical discussion points you may want more information on are redlining, Harry T. Moore, the Ocoee Massacre and the Equal Justice Initiative.

For a full list of publications by Dr. Hobbs, visit https://tamekabradleyhobbs.com/.

To learn more about the A. Philip Randolph Institute at Edward Waters University, visit https://www.ew.edu/apri/.

You can follow Dr. Hobbs on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/tameka-bradley-hobbs-7064395.

Follow Dr. Hobbs on social media: @dr.tamekahobbs on Instagram, Dr. Tameka Bradley Hobbs on Facebook, and @tamekahobbs on Twitter.

To learn more about the South Florida People of Color, please visit https://southfloridapoc.org/.

Dr. Hobbs can be reached by email at [email protected] for questions regarding today’s discussion or for inquiries about booking.

"Welcome to Florida" is presented by Visit Sarasota and Windstorm Products.

Twelve years of work attempting to find common ground between developers and conservationists in southwest Florida goes down the drain because the developers cheaped out.

Our gest this week is Moni Basu who visited the Spiritualist community in Cassadaga and wrote about her experience for Flamingo Magazine. What Basu found differs greatly from advertisements popularizing Cassadaga as the "Psychic Capital of the World."

Now is the time to visit the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art in St. Pete to see it's latest temporary exhibition, "Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West." On view through January 8, 2023, "Black Pioneers" explores the path of Black history in the West with a timeline of original pictorial quilts. The timeline begins in 1528, which marks the arrival of Africans in the American West, and continues through the Civil Rights Movement. Dispelling the myth that Black people in the old West were mostly cowboys, the exhibition shows rich diversity in their occupations and achievements in society, religion, education, and the arts. Choosing quilts as the visual medium for this exhibition accentuates the intersections of African Americans in the Western Frontier while informing others about the art form and its important role in African American history.

"Welcome to Florida" is also presented by Windstormproducts.com, a Florida company which has grown to become the largest online supplier of hurricane hardware in the world. Beyond the hardware needed to protect your home or business from hurricane wind damage, Windstormproducts.com also sells the amazing Quick Dam water activated flood barrier, an inexpensive, easy to install, lightweight product which does the work of dozens of sandbags. If you've ever had to fill sandbags, you know what a pain in the neck that is. Never again. Check out how the Quick Dam water activated flood barrier works.

As always, "Welcome to Florida" is presented by Visit Sarasota which features its own distillery! At Siesta Key Rum in Sarasota, you can take a distillery tour, enjoy tastings and purchase your own bottle of its toasted coconut, coffee and spiced rums.

The Gas and Oil Party (GOP), wants Floridians to believe that it's possible to both promote drilling in the Gulf of Mexico AND protect Florida beaches from the inevitability of oil spills which is, of course, ridiculous.

This week's guest is Jamin Wells a professor and researcher at the University of West Florida in Pensacola. Wells is helping lead a project analyzing the deep involvement of one of Pensacola's most prominent historic citizens, T.T. Wentworth, in the Ku Klux Klan. Craig Pittman wrote about the subject in the summer of 2021 for Flamingo Magazine.

"Welcome to Florida," as always, is presented by Visit Sarasota and if you love seafood, there's no better place in the state to find it than Sarasota, particularly its seafood markets which bring in fresh Gulf seafood daily. Across Sarasota County you'll find fresh catch seafood to take home and prepare yourself at these exceptional seafood markets.

Windstormproducts.com is a Florida-owned small business that has turned itself into the world's largest online retailer of hurricane hardware. From bolts and screws and wingnuts to the drill bits required to anchor them into concrete, sidewalks, wood, masonry or stucco, Windstormproducts.com has the professional tools you need to secure your home or business from hurricane wind damage AND the expertise to make sure you have the right product for your job.

Opening September 3, 2022, at the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art in downtown St. Petersburg is "Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West." This exhibition, the first of its kind, explores the path of Black history in the West with a timeline of original pictorial quilts. The timeline begins in 1528, which marks the arrival of Africans in the American West and continues through the Civil Rights Movement. Dispelling the myth that Black people in the old West were mostly cowboys, "Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West," shows rich diversity in their occupations and achievements in society, religion, education, and the arts.

Craig Pittman is taking after Ron DeSantis and "firing" people in state government he doesn't think are getting the job done.

Our guest this week is flamingo researcher Tony Pernas. Pernas recently helped found the Florida Flamingos Working Group to help determine if flamingos are a native bird to Florida, or purely an exotic escapee and occasional migrant.

"Welcome to Florida" is presented by the James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art in St. Petersburg which debuts its newest temporary exhibition, "Black Pioneers: Legacy in the American West," on September 3, 2022. The first of its kind exhibition explores the path of Black history in the West with a timeline of original pictorial quilts beginning in 1528 which marks the arrival of Africans in the American West and continues through the Civil Rights Movement.

The show is also supported by Windstorm Products, the largest online supplier of hurricane hardware in the world. This Florida-owned business not only helps home and business owners prepare for hurricane wind damage, but flooding as well. If you experience occasional flooding on your property, check out the Quick Dam Water Activated Flood Barrier which does the work of dozens of sandbags with a fraction of the effort.

As always, we want to thank Visit Sarasota for its support of "Welcome to Florida." Sarasota was named by the "New York Times" one of its "52 Places to Travel in 2022" for its unrivaled collection of Modern architecture on the East Coast.