This week's episode begins with an update on the disastrous "Roads to Ruin" M-CORES toll road proposal and efforts in the state legislature to adjust it.

Our guest this week is historical reenactor Ersula K Odom who has been portraying Mary McLeod Bethune at events across Florida for many years. Odom's performances see her dress in period appropriate costumes and take on the personality of the famed educator, voting rights advocate, civil rights activist, feminist, stateswoman and humanitarian, Mary McLeod Bethune.

To book Odom to perform for your group or event, contact her at this link.

This week's episode is presented by Hipcamp. Hipcamp has members across the country looking to visit Florida to experience our natural beauty. That's where you come in. Hipcamp needs landowners in Florida willing to open up their property to welcome visitors to camp, glamp or RV. All you need is a flat spot where someone can pitch a tent or park an RV. Hipcamp takes care of the rest. Reach out today for more information about turning your property into side revenue with Hipcamp at Hipcamp.com/land. 

This week's episode begins with Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott discussing the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's unanimous ruling to ban the possession of a large number of non-native snakes and lizards in the hopes of avoiding their introduction into the state's ecosystem like as happened with the Burmese python and tegu lizard.

Our guest is Jack Davis who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for nonfiction with his book, "The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea." Craig and Chadd discuss Jack's time on the Gulf, his perspectives on the uses and abuses of the Gulf, what causes the Gulf Dead Zone, why he's optimistic about the Gulf's future, his favorite Gulfside restaurant and much more.

If you're interested in this topic, be sure to listen to previous "Welcome to Florida" episodes on Tarpon Fishing in Homosassa Bay and how industrial agriculture is destroying Florida's water supply.

If you'd like to help support Gulf of Mexico conservation, the Audubon Society's Gulf Restoration program is a great place to start.

This week's episode begins with a song from Zora Neale Hurston, "Shove it Over." Throughout this week's show we'll be hearing songs from Hurston which can be found in the State Archives of Florida.

Up next: cruise ships. Craig Pittman wrote recently how Republican state legislators are contradicting their so-called principles of "home rule" and "small government," trying to take away Key West's ability to limit the number of cruise ship passengers it receives in the future. In their haste to bow to the cruise ship industry's big money, however, they forgot one key point.

To learn more about Zora Neale Hurston, Craig and Chadd Scott talk to Kristy Anderson, writer and director of the documentary film, "Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun," which you can watch on Amazon. Zora Neale Hurston was a Florida author and anthropologist. While a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance, she spent little time there, Her novels explored the lives of ex-slaves living in the Deep South.

Although she died penniless with her books out of print in Ft. Pierce, Florida in 1960,  Black feminists resurrected her work, particularly the 1937 novel, "Their Eyes Were Watching God."

This week's episode of "Welcome to Florida" is sponsored by Hipcamp. Hipcamp is a growing community of outdoor enthusiasts who want to experience the natural side of Florida. That's where you come in. Hipcamp needs landowners in Florida to open their property up to Hipcamp members for camping, glamping and RV stays. If you have a flat piece of land large enough to pitch a tent or park an RV near a natural setting anywhere in Florida, Hipcamp wants to help you turn that property into side income. Contact them today at Hipcamp.com/land.

If your business would like to learn more about a sponsorship with "Welcome to Florida," email Craig and Chadd at: [email protected].

This week's episode begins with Craig Pittman's latest story for the Florida Phoenix about the remarkable discovery of a new whale species in the Gulf of Mexico. The whale was washed up on a beach near the Florida Everglades allowing scientists to study the animal. In doing so, they determined it had died as the result of a piece of plastic cutting through its stomach.

Single use plastics have become one of the greatest threats to the environment and animals globally, particularly fish and marine mammals. Learn more about the growing epidemic of plastic pollution and what is being proposed at a federal level to combat it. Make your voice heard. Amazon.com is increasingly coming under fire and being pressured to reduce the amount of plastic it uses.

Oceana is a conservation group doing good work globally to protect our oceans.

This week's guest is Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the University of Florida.

"Welcome to Florida" is presented by Hipcamp! Consider Hipcamp Airbnb for campers. Hipcamp members around the country want to visit Florida to experience our mild winter climate and beautiful natural scenery. If you are a landowner in Florida, Hipcamp would like to work with you to generate extra money by hosting Hipcamp members on your property. Hipcamp takes care of all the work and details. All you need is a flat spot large enough to pitch a tent or park an RV. Visit Hipcamp.com/land to learn more.

If your business would like to help sponsor "Welcome to Florida," email Craig and Chadd Scott at [email protected], or reach either of them on Twitter @CraigTimes or @ChaddScott.

This week's episode begins with Craig Pittman putting Ron DeSantis in the crosshairs over the governor's big talk and small action on protecting the state's water. If you'd like to learn more about the state's water quality problems, what causes them, what can be done to fix them, a previous episode all about the Floridan Aquifer does so in depth.

This week's guest is artist Kelvin Hair. Kelvin is the son of Alfred Hair, one of the original, legendary, Florida Highwaymen painters. The Florida Highwaymen are the subject of an exhibition on now at the Tampa Museum of Art through March 28. Chadd Scott reviewed the show previously when it was in Orlando.

During the interview, Kelvin mentions a book titled, "The Highwaymen Murals: Al Black's Concrete Dreams." You can find that online here.

As always, this week's episode is brought to you by Hipcamp which is looking for landowners across Florida to welcome its members for experiences in natural Florida. Do you own property on or near a natural or scenic place around the state? If so, Hipcamp wants to hear from you. A flat piece of property large enough to pitch a tent or park an RV is all you need to start earning side income by welcoming Hipcamp members to your property, and Hipcamp takes care of all the details. Visit Hipcamp.com/land to learn more.

This week's episode focuses on two of Florida's - and the nation's - most endangered species. First up, Craig Pittman tells us about recovery efforts for the Florida grasshopper sparrow which he detailed in a recently released story for "National Geographic."

From the very small to the very big, Craig and Chadd Scott are then joined by Florida panther biologist Deborah Jansen, a key figure in Craig's book about the heroic efforts to save the panther against the forces of development and government in "Cat Tale."

"Cat Tale" was the genesis for the "Welcome to Florida" podcast and if you'd like to go back and hear that story, you can do so here.

This week's conversation also references episode three about Burmese pythons, which you can listen to here.

Learn more about the disastrous "Roads to Ruin" M-CORES project threatening Florida.

You can become personally involved in helping to protect natural and wild Florida through groups like the Florida Conservation Voters, Free the Ocklawaha, and Friends of the Everglades.

Here's a look at the cover art for Craig's upcoming book, "The State You're In: Florida Men, Florida Women and other Wildlife."

"Welcome to Florida" is presented by Hipcamp. Consider Hipcamp the Airbnb for campers. Hipcamp users are looking to experience natural Florida and Hipcamp is recruiting land owners across the state to help them find it. If you have a flat piece of land large enough for someone to pitch a tent or park an RV, or have accommodations you're willing to share with Hipcamp's respectful community of nature lovers, Hipcamp wants to hear from you. Landowners across Florida are earning up to $1,000 a month renting their land through Hipcamp. Visit them to learn more.

Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott begin this week's episode discussing Craig's hope for a modern-day Richard Nixon (???) to save Florida from the disastrous M-CORES project, better known as the "Roads to Ruin." He explains the connection.

Chadd highlights a project working to secure American Beach's historic character and how you can help.

This week's guest is Neal Thompson, author of "Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR."  Neal talks about Bill France, how France organized NASCAR in Daytona Beach in 1947 from its bootlegging roots, and how it's evolved since then.

"Welcome to Florida" is sponsored by Hipcamp which needs your help welcoming guests to our state. If you are a landowner in Florida, Hipcamp can put extra money in your pocket while using your land to host visitors. Hipcamp features simple plots of land, developed cabins, and everything in between. No matter what you have, you’re ready to get started today. Host when you want, get paid every week, and Hipcamp takes care of all the details, including insurance. Learn more today by visiting Hipcamp.com/land. 

In what is sure to be the grossest episode of "Welcome to Florida" yet, Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott begin by discussing Craig's latest story for the Florida Phoenix which focuses on a toxic sludge disposal facility in Lakeland, aptly called the BS Ranch, that has neighbors upset and is looking to renew its permit to handle 5,000 tons of sludge PER DAY!

From there, Dr. Roberto M. Pereira joins us. He specializes in urban entomology, conducting research on different aspects of the biology and control of cockroaches, ants, bed bugs, flies, mosquitoes and other insects that live in and around houses and other human structures. He earned a Ph.D. in entomology from the University of Florida.

As always, this week's episode is sponsored by Hipcamp!

Hipcamp is a growing community of respectful people looking to get outside for camping, glamping, and RV stays on private land. Anyone with a property that helps people connect with nature can be a Hipcamp Host! Whether you have an acre of raw land near the Emerald Coast, an RV park on the way to the Everglades, a yurt in your backyard, or a farm outside of Daytona Beach, odds are our community can’t wait to visit!

Find out if your property is a fit to become a Hipcamp host.

Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott begin this week's episode talking briefly about the history of con men in Florida, the attempted overthrow of the federal government last week by white nationalists which prominently featured a Florida Man, and Craig's latest Florida Phoenix article about ecological catastrophe caused by a paper mill on the Fenholloway River in Perry.

This week's guest is Jeff Testerman, a now-retired former investigative reporter at the St. Petersburg Times (before it became the Tampa Bay Times) whose background as a mortgage banker gave him a unique ability among reporters to follow a paper trail and discern dirty deeds from a batch of documents. Exposing the Bobby Thompson scam was his finest hour, That story is told in his new book, "Call Me Commander: A Former Intelligence Officer and the Journalists Who Uncovered His Scheme to Fleece America."

"Welcome to Florida" is now sponsored by HipCamp. If you have property in Florida which will help campers, glampers or RV vacationers connect with nature, HipCamp needs your help as a host. Hosts in Florida are earning up to $1000 a month by offering their property through HipCamp. HipCamp allows you to rent your property on your schedule, pays via PayPal or direct deposit, and even handles the insurance. 

Learn more by visiting HipCamp.com/host.

This episode begins with exciting news about "Welcome to Florida's" first sponsor, Hipcamp. Hipcamp is a growing community of respectful people looking to get outside for camping, glamping, and RV stays on private land. 

Anyone with a property that helps people connect with nature can be a Hipcamp Host. Landowners across Florida are earning up to $1,000 a month. 

It’s free to list and Hipcamp takes care of everything including liability insurance! All you need is a flat spot where someone can pitch a tent or park an RV.

Got a place to share? Get started today at www.hipcamp.com/land or call (917)-563-2616.

Craig Pittman is sharing his weirdest stories of the year from across Florida.

This week's guest is Gilbert King who won the Pulitzer Prize for his book, "Devil in the Grove: Thurgood Marshall, the Groveland Boys, and the Dawn of a New America," which featured a depiction of one of the most evil sheriffs in Ameircan history, Willis McCall. McCall also features in King's most recent book, "Beneath a Ruthless Sun: A True Story of Violence, Race and Justice Lost and Found," another harrowing Florida account. 

Craig and Chadd Scott close the show discussing the death penalty in Florida and Craig explains why the state has more overturned death sentances than any other.