Welcome to Florida

Fort Mose roughly 1 mile north of St. Augustine has the distinction of being the first free Black settlement in what is now America. Despite that august history, the site remains little known inside or outside of Florida.  Kathleen Deagan and Jane Landers have spent the last 40-plus years attempting to uncover and promote the history at Fort Mose. Their book, "Fort Mose: Colonial America&apos...

Lake Okeechobee is the most polluted lake in the United States as a result of the governor's inaction on cleaning up the state's water. Jonathan Dickinson only spent about a year in Florida, stranded here after a shipwreck on his way to Philadelphia from Jamaica, but his name lives on with the Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County. Joining us to detail Dickinson's life and...

A scam of epic proportions has been perpetrated by the governor upon the people of Florida. Land conservation used an excuse to pay off political bribes. Robert Rauschenberg is arguably the most influential American artist of the 20th century. He moved from New York to Captiva Island in 1970 and would spend the rest of his life there, more than 30 years. 2025 is the centennial of Rauschenberg&apos...

In little Arcadia in southwest Florida in the 1980s, two tragedies became national news: the exoneration of a Black father wrongfully convicted in 1968 for the death of his seven children, and three little white boys being ostracized from the community after contracting the AIDS virus through blood transfusions.  Jason Vuic grew up in nearby Ponta Gorda and remembers following these events closely...

This episode centers on music icon and Winter Haven native Gram Parsons . Parsons career took off in California, but his life began in Florida. Bob Kealing, author of "Calling Me Home: Gram Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock" joins us to discuss. Catch Bob October 9, 2025, at Florida Southern College in Lakeland for a lecture about Elvis' time in Florida. Gram Parsons' Derry...

More incontrovertible evidence of climate change: Florida stone crabs are living in the Chesapeake Bay.  On Christmas Eve, 1951, central Florida civil rights activists Harry and Harriette Moore were assassinated via bomb blast by Orlando members of the Ku Klux Klan in their home. The married couple became America's first civil rights martyrs.  Robert W. Fieseler is a journalist, scholar and t...

Ron DeSantis is using his personal version of a Department of Government Efficiency to harass areas that didn't vote for him; he should turn the magnifying glass on the state's Everglades immigrant concentration camp . Mark Proctor leads the trust in charge of overseeing the historic Moseley Homestead in Branden. Proctor joins us to discuss the property's history and future. "...

The villains running British Petroleum - BP - want to drill in the Gulf again . Their last effort in the Gulf resulted in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Our guest this week is Eckerd College professor of environmental science and biology Beth Forys. Forys is also active with the Florida Shorebird Alliance , and that's our topic this episode: shorebirds. If you'd like to get involved wi...

A lawsuit seems to be all that now stands between Florida and a lot of dead black bears. Paynes Prairie Preserve just south of Gainesville has a fascinating ecological history and history of human habitation as well . Lars Anderson guides tours throughout Paynes Prairie and wrote "Paynes Prairie: The Great Savanna: A History and Guide." "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive excl...

A new law purporting to ease recovery from hurricane damage for Florida homeowners may have been a Trojan horse from developers looking to get around local growth ordinances. "Florida's Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber," by Blair and Dawn Witherington, is a fantastic resource for anyone walking on a beach in Florida and wondering "what's that?" Blai...

Cedar Key is running out of drinking water and wants to take some from their neighboring communities. Our guest Chad Crawford is a Florida native and creator and host of the popular "How to do Florida" TV Show. He also created the "Flip My Florida Yard" show and "Protect Our Paradise" docuseries. Check out Chad's new podcast, "Sunshine Junkie." Chad&apo...

Chadd Scott visited DeSantis and Trump's immigrant concentration camp in the Everglades as far as the public is allowed to go. It was worse than he imagined. $5 per month "Welcome to Florida" patrons can watch a video of what he saw. Jason Garcia's exceptional "Seeking Rents" podcast and website are a great source for more information about the camp. Our guest this ep...

How is human waste from Miami ending up polluting the St. Johns River? Craig explains. The Stonewall Uprising in New York in 1969 can be viewed as the start of the modern gay rights movement. A teenager in Hollywood, FL was inspired and started a small library to recognize the gay community. That effort gradually evolved into Fort Lauderdale's Stonewall National Museum, Archives and Library ....

The Trump regime's attempts to destroy the federal government and sell off the pieces to private business is impacting Florida's public lands.   Our guest this episode is Dalia Colón, author of the award-winning "The Florida Vegetarian Cookbook" and host of "The Zest," a Florida cooking podcast produced by WUSF radio in Tampa. We discuss popular Florida fruits and veg...

Unsurprisingly, the Florida Department of Environmental Prostitution/Protection continues putting the interests of industry and developers ahead of the interests of our springs. One expert source in Craig's latest Florida Phoenix article linked above is springs advocate Ryan Smart. Smart co-hosts an essential podcast for Florida conservationists called "As Bad As It Is." Two recent...

The Manatee County Commission did what county commissions in Florida almost never do: it told a real estate developer "no." Our guest this episode is novelist, playwright, and Cedar Key clam farmer Michael Presley Bobbitt.  Michael joins us to discuss Cedar Key history, his Cedar Key novel series , and clam farming in the Gulf of Mexico. More Florida history can be found at our "Flo...

The governor wants to put a concentration camp for immigrants in the Everglades, following in the footsteps of "Florida's Worst Idea." Previous “Welcome to Florida” podcast episode about "Florida's Worst Idea," the Everglades Jetport, which gave rise to conservation legend Marjory Stoneman Douglas.  Our guest on that episode was Michael Grunwald, author of " The...

Florida has a sewerage treatment problem . Our guest this week is Michael Adno who wrote a beautiful story about the life of north Florida native Ernie Mickler. Mickler became famous in the late 1980s for his offbeat Southern cookbook, "White Trash Cooking," which merged old country recipes with folklore, storytelling, and ethnography. "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclu...

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing the ghost orchid under the Endangered Species Act. Comment here in support of the proposal . David Bulit is an urban explorer who visits and documents Florida's abandoned places. He tells us how he got into this unusual hobby and what he's seen. "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly "Flor...

The Trump administration's tax bill is gutting funding for clean energy, national parks, science, climate resiliency, emergency weather information, and more, but it's increasing support for BIG SUGAR through additional subsidies.  Rachel Silverstein is the CEO for the Miami Waterkeeper and after listening to this episode, you may think she has the most difficult job in Florida.

Developers run Florida and the state legislature wants to keep it that way , even if municipalities would like less construction to safeguard themselves from hurricanes. Julian Dimock photographed Southwest Florida in the early 20th century . His photographs depict Seminole Indians , African American laborers on Marco Island, and the areas remarkable ecology. Jerald T. Milanich has authored multip...

The people of Florida once again united against their governor and state agencies to protect the environment .  "Welcome to Florida" Episode 1 was about alligators. Episode 257 is about crocodiles. Joining us in Frank "The Croc Doc" Mazzotti. Show patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter." For only $5 per month, you'll be up...

In Florida conservation, the old axiom holds true: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Our topic for this episode is the Lake Wales Ridge . Our guest is Hillary Swain , Executive Director & CEO, and Senior Research Biologist at Archbold Biological Station. "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter" for...

Anyone inspired by our previous episode with painter Christopher Still to go out and see some art can do so at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville where a fantastic show reassembling the first Modern art exhibition ever presented in Florida can be seen through November 23, 2025. Our guest is Ken Meyer, executive director at the Avian Research and Conservation Institute . He's been...

The Florida legislature, the best legislature corporate money can buy, has done the bidding of phosphate giant Mosaic, endangering public safety and making the polluting company less accountable for the harm it creates. Florida artist Christopher Still is best known for his Florida history mural cycle at the State House in Tallahassee. An exhibition of his paintings can be seen at the Tarpon Sprin...