Florida Spectacular

Send us your Florida questions! Elizabeth Randall, author of Florida haunted history books, joins the podcast — this week only, we've changed the name — to tell us some fantastic Florida ghost stories.  Links We Mentioned Elizabeth Randall website Bosque Bello Cemetery in Fernandina Amelia Island Museum of History (the old jailhouse) Robert the Doll by David Sloan David Sloan ghost tour and V...

Send us your Florida questions! To celebrate the 25th annual issue of Saw Palm , the editors came on the podcast to talk about what sorts of things to expect in the anniversary issue, a book from the man who started Saw Palm , and things to do in Ybor City. Links We Mentioned Saw Palm Fearsome Creatures of Florida Columbia Restaurant The Castle Kress Contemporary   Support the show Question or com...

Send us your Florida questions! Can AI make Florida better? Bess Auer joins the podcast to talk about AI, being a UF cheerleader during the Danny Rollins serial killings, and her Orlando treasure hunt. Links We Mentioned Cherry 2000 "How Ted Bundy Ended Our Innocence" by Diane Roberts Second Harvest Food Bank Fenn's treasure HoundsHouse Orlando The Secret: A Treasure Hunt (Byron Pre...

Send us your Florida questions! Haley Moody, the director of the Florida Springs Institute, joins the podcast to talk about the idea of creating a National Springs Heritage Area in Florida. About Haley Haley’s passion for the springs began during her first visit to the Ichetucknee River. Her love of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was born during her time at the University of Florida, where s...

Send us your Florida questions! Florida nature photographer Matt Keene talks about how he uses large-format film cameras to create his portraits. Matt has an exhibit at the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine (through Jan. 18, 2026), and this episode offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how much work, forethought, and effort goes into this extraordinary body of work.  Links We Mentioned  Mo...

Send us your Florida questions! Brandy Carlisle, a tour guide at St. Augustine's Fountain of Youth Park, is fascinated with the woman who bought the land that is now the park. So much so she's published a book about her: Luella . The trio talks about Luella, prostitution, and the Fountain of Youth. Links We Mentioned Luella Fountain of Youth Park in St. Augustine Find out more about Bran...

Send us your Florida questions! Rick and Cathy talk about Rick's trip to St. Augustine, then answer a letter from a listener about whether or not moving to Florida is a good idea.  Things To Do in St. Augustine St. Augustine's Fountain of Youth (visit with a critical eye!) The San Marco shops in St. Augustine, including Duddington's Columbia Restaurant in the St. Augustine Historic...

Send us your Florida questions! Mikita Brottman, author of Guilty Creatures , joins the podcast to talk about the Tallahassee murder that scandalized the town when Denise Williams and Brian Winchester plotted and executed the murder of Denise's husband, Mike. Mikita Brottman is a writer and psychoanalyst. Her latest book Guilty Creatures was published by Simon and Schuster in 2024. She has a...

Send us your Florida questions!  The face behind the super-popular Florida's Folk History Instagram account joins the podcast this week. Aubrey Naulin talks about her art, her hopes for Florida's future, and Florida's Indians. Links We Mentioned Florida Folk History on Instagram Rosewood Remembered Islands of Cedars by Shana Smith Submerged Stories: Florida's Other Histories on...

Send us your Florida questions! Mark Barrow grew up around gators — both the real one and a certain Florida college that pays homage to them. Now, he's written a book about alligators, and he joins Rick and Cathy to talk about why alligators deserve respect, not fear. The trio also talks about the gator's place in Florida's culture, roadside Florida gator attractions, and why gators...

Send us your Florida questions! This week Rick and Cathy talk about Punta Gorda Links We Mentioned Warm Mineral Springs Things To Do in North Port Myakka River State Park   Royal Order of Ponce de Leon Conquistadors Radioactive Fountain of Youth in Punta Gorda Sunseeker Resort DeSoto Veterans Memorial Park Ponce-apalooza Ponce-y Scheme Revisiting Warm Mineral Springs Old World Meets New Age at War...

Send us your Florida questions! Florida icon Lars Andersen joins the podcast to talk about his passion: Florida waterways.  Links We Mentioned Payne's Prairie: A History of the Great Savanna by Lars Anderson Book a river tour with Lars at Adventure Outpost or email him . Lost Springs in one minute with Margaret Tolbert Wacissa Slave Canal   Big Blue Spring . Haulover Canal . Photo: Canon Spri...

Send us your Florida questions! Michael Grunwald talks about cattle ranching and why Floridians — and everyone — should eat more plants. He, Cathy, and Rick also talk about meat grown in a lab, why Grunwald thinks Michael Pollan gets things wrong, and Michael's new book, We Are Eating the Earth: The Race To Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate . Links We Mentioned We Are Eating the Earth...

Send us your Florida questions! Anna Cooke, editor-in-chief at The New Barker magazine, jons the podcast to talk about rescue work in Florida; the long-gone Florida roadside attraction, Dogland; and a few famous Florida dogs.  Links We Mentioned The New Barker Magazine An abandoned dog in Memphis Dave the Wonder Dog ( Annie Oakley was a snowbird ) ( bonus link ) Brownie the town dog of Daytona Bea...

Send us your Florida questions! The Ocklawaha River in Central Florida has been dammed for decades. Now, there's a chance to tear down the dam and reunite the rivers. That's good news for bass, anglers, environmentalists, and the local economy. Margaret Spontak comes on the podcast to talk about why, and she encourages people to call their state legislators and ask them to support restor...

Send us your Florida questions! Ryan Worthington joins the podcast to talk about a new initiative he and Cathy are working on — a podcast to document and discuss history in Florida that doesn't get taught in schools. Submerged Stories is the name of the forthcoming podcast, and the Facebook group they've created to crowdsource information. Check out the link below, join the group, and sh...

Send us your Florida questions! With Cathy traveling through what she calls "historic West Florida", she and Rick talk about forgotten parts of Florida's history — and geography, the War of 1812, and some less savory parts of the early history of the United States and why they get left out of history classes. Links We Mentioned Map showing Florida and a "contested" area &q...

Send us your Florida questions! Did you know cattle ranchers were the "first intentional conservationists" in Florida? Annie Muscato does. She wrote her doctoral dissertation on it, and this week she joins the podcast to talk — passionately! — about research into how some Florida cattle ranchers are working to protect wild Florida, why Florida cattle ranching isn't nearly as cruel a...

Send us your Florida questions! Andrea Conover of Azalea City Brewing and Palatka Mayor Robbie Correa join us this week to help roadtrippers find Palatka's best-kept secrets. Links We Mentioned Palatka Coffee Company Angel's Diner Palatka's historic riverfront Velchoff's Corner Ravine Gardens State Park Magnolia Cafe Azalea City Brewing Lemon Street Market Kayak tours   North S...

Send us your Florida questions! Rick serves on the board of the Winter Park History Museum, and Cathy lived there for a time in the '90s (and loves to go back). That's why the book written by this episode's guest, Kim Michalak, was so appealing to both of them. Kim shares how she selected her 100 things for her book 100 Things To Do in Winter Park Before You Die . Links We Mentioned...

Send us your Florida questions! Dan Reiter joins the podcast to talk about his career surfing Florida and writing about the same. The trio talks about everything from the best place to surf in Florida to why surfers shouldn't be scared of sharks. Check out Dan's book about surfing (link below). Links We Mentioned On a Rising Swell: Surf Stories From Florida's Space Coast (and a link...

Send us your Florida questions! " Nature isn't just more complex than we know, it's more complex than we can know." There's a sadly great chance that the State of Florida is going to build a toll road through the last remaining wild growth of a pretty — and pretty endangered — plant. Here's what's happening, where it's happening, and what you can do about it...

Send us your Florida questions! Historian Holly Baker joins the podcast to talk about her work in preservation in St. Augustine, Vero Beach, and throughout Florida. The trio also talks about what makes a building historic, preserving historic evidence of Jim Crow, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Links We Mentioned St. Augustine Davis Shores Bridge of Lions Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in St. August...

Send us your Florida questions! Florida author and naturalist Andrew Furman returns to the podcast to talk about his latest book, Of Slash Pine and Manatees: A Highly Selective Guide to My Suburban Wilderness . Links We Mentioned Bitten: My Unexpected Love Affair With Florida Bidens pilosa (aka beggartick, etc., etc.) and its medicinal uses Frogfruit (aka hatpin) Who invented the grassy lawn? Yell...

Send us your Florida questions! How Bowers of the Retro WDW podcast joins Rick and Cathy to talk about the not-so-secret-after-all Florida Project, the origins of Disney Springs, and what Cypress Gardens had to do with Walt Disney deciding Florida would be a great place for a theme park.  Links We Mentioned Retro WDW Lake Buena Vista Historical Society Support the show Question or comment? Email u...