The Florida History Podcast

Miami's Overtown neighborhood was the "Harlem of the South" and the most prosperous black area in the southeast United States. Then came I-95 and I-395. We also discuss the partial-destruction of the Sistrunk area of Fort Lauderdale thanks to I-95.

We discuss the destruction of several historically important black neighborhoods in Jacksonville due to the building of I-10 and I-95.

Starting Tuesday March 24 we will begin a new series on Interstate Highways through Florida and how they impacted historic African-American neighborhoods. We also congratulate Florida and Miami for making the NCAA Tournament again but more importantly pay tribute to USF and UCF for making it this season which is rare for both schools! Cheer for the Florida schools in March Madness!

Acclaimed journalist and historian Eliot Kleinberg has spent over a third of a century chronicling Florida and Florida History. His critically-acclaimed books about the state include his book about the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane which was written in 2003. He spent 33 years at the Palm Beach Post and now has launched a new series of historical novels about prohibition era South Florida. His works ca...

We discuss the court-mandated mid-1960's Redistricting that forced Florida to finally draw legislative districts that had equal numbers of people.

We discuss the 20th Century developments over voting rights in Florida and the role of Governor Leroy Collins in his Federal Government position at Selma.

The Tallahassee Sit Ins were a key moment in Florida's history.

We discuss Florida's most famous lynchings in the 20th Century and the political apparatus in the state that defended and even encouraged them.

We discuss the 1923 Rosewood Massacre, a topic that for a long time was the third rail of Florida politics.

Melissa Fussell an expert on the 1920 Ocoee Massacre which happened on Election Day joins us.

We introduce listeners to horrible history of Jim Crow in Florida as we begin a new series of the Florida History Podcast

We begin our focus on Florida's role in America 250 discussing the differences between the points of emphasis being pushed this year versus what was experienced in the Bicentennial year of 1976.

Kartik's new book is a deeper dive and longer read than his previous writings. He covers how areas that now comprise Florida stayed loyal to the British during the American Revolution and outside of the grasp of the United States until 1821, despite repeated efforts to buy it, conquer it or simply coax into the union. As America turns 250 it's important to note this history and how Florida...

As a bridge between our college football series and our forthcoming civil rights series we discuss the Miami-Notre Dame rivarly and the racial aspect of it- and assess the empowerment of African-Americans in college athletics.

We discuss the rivalry rivarly that defined College Football in the 1980's and changed the sport in general.

Despite being a backwater in the early days of college football, Florida did very occasionally produce some great teams - notably the 1928 Florida Gators and Miami Hurricanes teams of both 1950 and 1956. These were some of the best pre-integration teams from the state.

After we finish our current series on College Football we're going to dive into uncomfortable things about the America at 250 narrative - including events like the Ocoee Massacre and Rosewood. We will also compare the Bicentennial of 1976 to the America at 250 in 2026. Why is the storytelling so different now than it was then?

We dive into the two largest HBCU programs in Florida and discuss what they meant to civil rights and African-American athletes in the state.

To celebrate America 250 we are going to tell the true stories of what happened in Florida after joining the union in terms of African-Americans. We will go from 1845 right through the Civil Rights era.

Despite their own huge rivalry Miami and Florida State fans seem to exhibit a sense of solidarity when it comes to Florida. The same can be said for some SEC schools when it comes to Florida. Neil Blackmon joins us to examine why this is.

Neil Blackmon joins us again to discuss the historic rivalry between Florida and Miami which ended for the foreseeable future in 2025.

We continue our miniseries on Florida's college football history with a look at Bobby Bowden v Steve Spurrier and the colorful 1990's in the Florida v FSU rivalry.

We begin a short series on the history of College Football in the state discussing the early history of the rivalry between Florida and Florida State on the gridiron and the importance placed on it by both schools. In the coming weeks we will also look at the Florida-Miami rivalry and the FSU-Miami rivalry. Neil Blackmon of Saturday Down South and an eminent historian of UF football joins us for t...

Kartik Krishnaiyer explains why he believes Fort Caroline represents the actual origin story of the United States - decades before Jamestown or Plymouth Rock.

What did the French colonists find in the way of plants in the northwest corner of the Florida peninsula?