Welcome to Florida

Join Craig, Chadd, and Jason Garcia from "Seeking Rents" Thursday, May 7, from 7:00-8:30 PM at Tombolo Books in St. Pete and on Saturday, May 9, from 3:00-5:00 PM at Austin's Coffee in Winter Park for our FIRST EVER LIVE PODCAST meet-and-greets! Chadd Charland is running for State House in District 15. Learn more . Our guests this episode are archaeologists and anthropologists Uzi B...

BIG NEWS!  "Welcome to Florida" is hosting our first ever in-person events along with Jason Garcia from "Seeking Rents!" Thursday, May 7, from 7:00-8:30 PM at Tombolo Books in St. Pete. Saturday, May 9, from 3:00-5:00 PM at Austin's Coffee in Winter Park. PLEASE come out and say "hi" if you're in the area. MORE BIG NEWS! Chadd Scott is running for State Hous...

Not satisfied with simply being a dictator, Donald Trump allowed for the convening of the Endangered Species Committee "God Squad" at the behest of Secretary of War Crimes Pete Hegseth. Hegseth has declared a phony-baloney "national security emergency" that he says should preempt off-shore oil drilling in the Gulf of Mexico from Endangered Species Act regulations. The regime&ap...

Craig found a villainous Floridian who thinks his interest in building a home is more important than the survival of Florida scrub jays. Our topic this episode is guavas . Joining us in guava farmer and historian Jorge J. Zaldivar. "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly Florida Conservation Newsletter for only $5 per month.

The state legislature passed laws preventing Florida municipalities from pursuing clean energy. Mobster Charlie Wall ran Tampa in the 20s and 30s . Author and journalist Paul Wilborn researched Wall's life for a fictionalized version of it he wrote titled " The Everlasting Life of Charlie Wall." "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly conservati...

Florida U.S. Representative Cory Mills is one of the most unscrupulous politicians and businesspeople in the state, or nation. Colonial history in what is now Florida typically revolves around the Spanish, but for a period between the 1760s and 1780s, the English occupied the state. Andrew Turnbull tried establishing a British-style plantation in the New Smyrna Beach area with disastrous results....

The Florida State Legislature continues breaking state law and disobeying the will of the people by defunding the Florida Forever land conservation buying program . Our guest for this episode is geologist and author Hilary Flower who has written a new book about Everglades Snail Kites, "The Kite and the Snail: An Endangered Bird, its Unlikely Prey, and a Story of Hope in a Changing World.&quo...

Fifteen miles south of Tallahassee, one of Florida's most magnificent springs can be found: Wakulla Springs. Kellie Keys is a professor in the Communications Department at Florida State University working with FSU researchers at Wakulla Springs to help tell the story about what they're learning.

Big Sugar is leaning on the legislature to make it so people can't badmouth their product. Big ag is leaning on the legislature to make it ok to graze cows on state land including state parks. An unscrupulous business owner and lax Department of Environmental "Protection" contributed to a catastrophic fire in Dunnellon .  If you've ever been to Lakeland, perhaps you've see...

Spring Training has marked the end of winter in Florida for more than 100 years. Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Roberto Clemente, Hank Aaron, Mike Schmidt, Greg Maddux, and today's stars have begun their legendary seasons and careers in places like Sarasota, Dunedin, Vero Beach, and Clearwater. On this episode, longtime southwest Florida newspaperman Glenn Miller , w...

Florida continues to promote unfettered growth without paying attention to the water demands of all those new people and businesses.  Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge in Vero Beach was the first site in a program that now features nearly 600 locations. Paul Tritiak was the former refuge manager at Pelican Island and tells us how the refuge came to be. "Welcome to Florida" patrons...

The Florida State Legislature continues its rich tradition of doing the bidding of powerful corporate interests , this time - not for the first time - Mosaic mining company. Carrie Sue Ayvar is a professional storyteller who embodies Dr. Anna Darrow, the 2nd ever female doctor in Florida, in programs around the state. Darrow was referred to as the Swamp Doctor for her work with residents in the Ev...

Immigration and Customs Enforcement goons are murdering American citizens in Minneapolis, running concentration camps around the country - including Florida - and increasing their terror campaign in and around Orlando. The mission of ICE is to abuse Brown people, strike fear into their communities, and retrench white supremacy.  Anthropologist and Puerto Rican/Hattian American Simone Delerme spent...

Craig has identified what he believes to be the single worst piece of proposed legislation for the upcoming session of the Florida State Legislature. Chadd's vote goes to the "Blue Ribbon Project" scheme . Abbott Kahler is an author and investigative reporter. Her September of 2025 "Vanity Fair" article revealed the true identity - the Florida identity - behind an author w...

The people of Palm Beach County are fighting a proposed data center . Learn more about data centers by subscribing to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter." Clarence Earl Gideon was tried and found guilty of burglary in 1961 in a circuit court near Panama City. He was poor, and despite asking for legal counsel, was denied that request. At the time, Florida was one of 13 states tha...

Craig wraps up 2025 with his weirdest Florida headlines of the year . Our patrons at Patreon have exclusive access to an interview Craig did with the co-curator of "It's Florida, Man," on HBO. Our guest this episode is Jessica Pate from the Florida Manta Project who tells us all about one of our most remarkable endangered marine species: manta rays.

In the upcoming legislative session, Florida politicians will be considering a bill which would give the biggest Florida land developers and land developments the least oversight and opportunity for public input. Jason Garcia's fantastic "Seeking Rents" podcast episode about the scheme. This week's episode focuses on who Craig considers to be the ultimate Florida man: James Wel...

Drawing down the Rodman Reservoir proves how a free-flowing Ocklawaha River would benefit Florida. Free the Ocklawaha ! Amazingly, a distinct species of whale lives year-round in the Gulf of Mexico that until the last decade was largely a mystery to biologists: the Rice's whale. Former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist and Rice's whale expert Laura Engleby joins u...

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is proud to acknowledge that it didn't follow science when recommending a black bear hunt. Our guest this episode is documentary filmmaker Rob Hoovis. In November of 2025, he premiered "Outlaws of the Everglades," a film detailing the marijuana smuggling pipeline from Central America and the Caribbean that flowed through the 10,0...

With the gubernatorial election less than a year away, now is the time to ask the crowded field of candidates about their positions on conservation and the environment. Three episodes ago, we discussed the impact America's lead-up to World War II had on Florida, bringing hundreds of thousands of servicemen and dozens of military installations to the state. That was the 1930s. In this episode...

Residents in Crystal River are worried about a sand mine disrupting their drinking water and springs. The smalltooth sawfish is one of the most unusual looking animals in the animal kingdom. Tonya Wiley has been studying the species for more than 25 years, most recently with her Havenworth Coastal Conservation organization. Tonya joins us to discuss this endangered species, how it has hung on in F...

Folks in the Panhandle are upset about a scheme to swap 200 acres of National Forest land to build a county recreation area. Our guest this episode is Patrick Manteiga, second generation owner, publisher, and columnist at the Tampa-based La Gaceta newspaper . La Gaceta is the state's - and the nation's - only trilingual newspaper. Filling in for Chadd Scott his episode is Florida author...

The local Audubon Society chapter and residents in Sarasota took on the country's largest homebuilder - and WON ! Florida was an essential training and support location for military operations during World War II. Anthony D. Atwood is a military historian who authored "State of War: A History of World War II in Florida." He joins us to discuss how Florida shaped the War and how the...

Former unelected shadow president and super-villain Elon Musk wants to close public beaches and pollute an estuary near Cape Kennedy on the Space Coast so he can play astronaut. Pulitzer Prize winning author Gilbert King is back on the show to talk about his latest book, and podcast , both focused on an outrageous miscarriage of justice in Lakeland: "Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and...

It's Halloween and "Welcome to Florida's" favorite spooky co-host, Cathy Salustri , is back, filling in for Chadd Scott. Cathy is a Halloween FANATIC and author of "It Came from Florida: The Best of Florida's Worst B-Movies." Cathy hosts her own Florida podcast, "The Florida Spectacular."