Engage

Republican leaders in Florida say it’s only fair to redraw the congressional maps now. Critics call it a power play. We explore how it impacts your representation in Central Florida. Orlando restores the four-faced clock in Parramore as a symbol of the neighborhood’s past and future.

As part of our Engage in the community initiative, we assembled a panel of professional caregivers, elderly care organizations, and caregivers with personal experience assisting their parents while juggling their own families. We present that discussion, called “Caring Across Generations.”

Florida’s Attorney General bans the 7-OH concentrate derived from kratom that’s found in many smoke shops and vape stores. Advocates argue responsible use is therapeutic. The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office launched a new program using an artificial intelligence assistant to answer non-emergency calls and decrease response times. Rising costs and dwindling time threaten the future of a long-awaite...

The Volusia County Sheriff’s Office has a new team ensuring the safety of students. A report questions the efficacy of active shooter drills in American schools. New research points to positive approaches to reducing the chances of developing Alzheimer’s. An Orlando based bandleader brings the sounds of Puerto Rico to Central Florida.

A battle is brewing over protecting rural land in Orange County after the state determined the long-term plan for managing growth is against the law. A local swim instructor tackles racial inequities around swimming safety to help students survive and thrive. Punk bands unite for a benefit concert to support Central Florida Public Media following major funding cuts.

Engage dives into how a slowdown in international visitors is being felt in a region fueled by its tourism economy, and whether shifts in political policies play a part. A race against time to preserve overlooked Black cemeteries in the state. A local chef and therapist serves up healing in more ways than one.

The passage of the federal spending reduction bill is predicted to result in the loss of healthcare for millions of Americans. Also, the state is scheduled to carry out the most executions in 45 years and a class in the Milk District is teaching women how to man the DJ decks.

Central Floridians are being taken to the new, remote ICE detention center in the Everglades. Supporters say it’s a necessary part of illegal immigration enforcement, but critics call it inhumane. Also, after years of planning, Winter Park has erected a tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. as a memorial that also calls for civility and kindness.

A new law went into effect that allows houses of worship to circumvent local zoning codes to create on-site affordable housing. Public broadcasting entities are facing a major clawback of funding. The general managers of two of Central Florida’s public media stations discuss the impact on our communities. The Mary McLeod Bethune Home is reopening after more than two years of renovations.

Breaking down the impact of Governor DeSantis’s veto on environmental spending in the state. How tariff wars threaten the future of the fireworks industry. A new community resource hub is bringing together the region’s Caribbean American communities.

The 2025 state legislative session marked by budgetary disagreements and personal animus is finally over. We break down what’s being funded, what got cut, and the impact to the state’s education system. We look at trends in gun ownership in Central Florida’s LGBTQ+ communities. The City Beautiful welcomes soccer royalty and the huge international fanbase for the global showdown happening in Orland...

Planning Juneteenth commemoration events and the annual BLK Joy Festival under the backdrop of efforts to eliminate Diversity Equity and Inclusion programs. Growing interest in urban farming with Central Florida’s youngest farmers can shape the future of city agriculture and food insecurity. A group of skateboarding moms learn to skate, stumble, and support each other.

Thursday June 12, 2025, marks a solemn time of reflection as communities across Central Florida remember the friends and family lost at the Pulse Nightclub nine years ago. Engage speaks with survivors about how that night changed the rest of their lives. We hear the voices of a first responder and a grief counselor about the continuing efforts to provide healing for a scarred community. Zebra Yout...

One in five Florida children is food insecure, and the school cafeteria is closed for summer. Big money is backing the Orlando Dreamers proposal to bring Major League Baseball to Central Florida. Engage producer Richard Copeland visits Yalaha Bootlegging Company.

Deportations are affecting the everyday lives of Central Floridians and the immigrant community. Epic Universe, the first major theme park to open in Orlando in 25 years, raises the stakes for the theme park industry. We speak to a Central Floridian who designed the sounds at Super Nintendo World. We visit the lounge in Oviedo that is using pinball to create a sense of community.

Forecasters at NOAA predict above-normal hurricane activity in their outlook released today. Engage speaks to local emergency managers, fired NOAA employees, and others about impacts to Central Florida and how the region is readying for what could lie ahead. Engage visits the Orlando Cricket Club and the 22 Yards club for a league match.

Whether you’re driving, biking, or taking the bus or train, we are all investing our time, energy, and money in Central Florida’s transportation system. A panel of experts in shaping the future of transit in our region joins Engage for a live panel discussion about creating an accessible and equitable public transportation system.

While some celebrate the expansion of school choice as personalized learning, others say it comes at the expense of public schools. Understanding why severe drought conditions remain despite recent rain in Central Florida and the impact on those fighting an increase in brushfires. During commencement week at Bethune Cookman University, new grads tell us about the program that allowed them to overc...

The 2025 State Legislative Session will not end by Friday's deadline. We’ll break down policy and politics that could shape Central Florida and the reason lawmakers aren’t ending on time. Seminole County is looking at the rideshare model and micro-transit as a transportation alternative to the Lynx bus system. This week marks the 50th anniversary of the fall of Saigon. We hear some of the voices i...

Rockledge Hospital closed this week leaving the community without its emergency department. While ICE enforcement and immigration reform are at the forefront of Florida policies, we visit classes where thousands of Central Floridians prep for their high-stakes U.S. citizenship test and interview. Two former members of Congress, Democrat Val Demings and Republican Ted Yoho, sit down for a One Small...

UCF signed a cooperative agreement with ICE for campus police to enforce immigration policies. Orange County suspends DEI and sustainability committees and their grants to protect other arts funding. Behind the scenes at SeaWorld Orlando’s manatee rescue program.

Central Florida businesses reliant on imported goods are dealing with the uncertainty of future tariffs. Florida lawmakers moved a measure forward to extend personal injury laws to unborn fetuses and allow family members to sue for damages. Jim McFarland is running a fourth-generation shoe repair shop in Lakeland using some 21st century marketing methods.

Two bills are advancing in the Florida Legislature that would roll back state regulations regarding the scheduling of teen workers. The Trans Doe Project aids the Lake County Sheriff’s Office in identifying the remains of a transgender woman found outside of Clermont in 1988. The Orlando Valkyries are fighting their way to the top of the Professional Volleyball Federation – we’ll meet head coach A...

The Tourist Development Tax puts the primary financial burden on visitors to Florida compared to the people who live here. We discuss the debate over the “bed tax” and where that money goes. A federal funding freeze threatens to disrupt the distribution of food to vulnerable communities and Central Florida families. We travel to Audubon Park to visit Orlando’s romance-only bookstore.

Following cuts to the U.S. Department of Education, a Seminole County father of a special needs student discusses the uncertainty surrounding the future of programs and protections for families. A bill advances requiring Florida public school students to be proficient in cursive. Central Florida kids are observers and curators of a unique exhibit on display at the Rollins Museum of Art that’s teac...