As a reporter covering Florida executions, John Koch has never been busier. He attended each of the state’s record 19 executions last year, as well as the first of 2026, bringing his total to 106. We talk to him on the eve of his 107th execution, of Melvin Trotter, who is scheduled to be put to death Tuesday for the 1986 murder of Virgie Langford in Manatee County. We ask Koch what keeps him going, and grounded, in a largely thankless job that has earned him the nickname “Dr. Death.”

Guest: John Koch, correspondent, Independent News Service

JEA power play 

Shortly after a JEA board appointment ended in political embarrassment for Jacksonville City Council President Kevin Carrico, he levied allegations against the utility’s CEO, accusing her of fostering a racist and toxic work environment. Mayor Donna Degan, JEA CEO Vickey Cavey and JEA Board Chair Joe DiSalvo pushed back on Friday, with Deegan calling the allegations a “vile smear campaign” tied to people who previously tried and failed to sell JEA. Deegan said the allegations surfaced after Cavey refused to renew a contract with an influential lobbying group. Although she didn’t mention names, JEA recently declined to renew a lobbying contract with Ballard Partners, which employs former Mayor Lenny Curry and his former staffer Jordan Elsbury, both key figures in the failed JEA sale. We get a breakdown from Florida Times-Union reporter David Bauerlein ahead of a pair of meetings Tuesday, of both the JEA board and the City Council.

Guest: David Bauerlein, metro reporter at the Florida Times-Union