Florida Book Club

Zaat really might be the worst movie ever. It's definitely down near the bottom of the barrel, if not at the absolute bottom. Join me as I discuss this venerable film with Wanda Suttle Duncan — in whose hometown Zaat was filmed! — and film critic Steve Jarrett on this season's final episode of Florida Book Club.

I can't imagine buying property out-of-state sight unseen. But that's what a lot of shady land "developers" were able to convince people do in the 1950s and 60s, selling unimproved patches of Florida swampland. Join me as I discuss the unsavory and environmentally damaging legacy of some of these companies with Jason Vuic, author of The Swamp Peddlers .

Orlando's Burrow Press has published some of Florida's most well-known and renowned authors -- Kristin Arnett, Laura van den Berg, Sarah Gerard, and John Henry Fleming among them. Today I’m joined by the founder and publisher of Burrow Press, Ryan Rivas, to talk about the early years of the press, how its mission has evolved, and his views on the changing Florida literary scene.

Tragic and violent comeuppance born from hubris is as old as Ancient Greece. Join me as I discuss Lori Roy's sinister Florida noir tale "Chum in the Water," which appears in the Akashic Books collection Tampa Bay Noir , with the author herself on this episode of the Florida Book Club .

This time around, we've got the author himself on board to discuss phantom panthers, skunk apes, beach monsters, and other Florida cryptids that may or may not be lurking in your development or favorite park.

The marketing of Florida’s once-pristine springs has a long and mostly ignoble history. Today I’m joined by Rick Kilby , author of the 2013 book Finding the Fountain of Youth and the 2020 volume Florida’s Healing Waters , to discuss this history, and what the future of these precious natural resources might look like.

She’s interviewed Carole Baskin, researched the history of a spaceship atop a Tampa strip club, and above all, she wants you to see your local newspaper as a vital and trusted community resource. Join me as I talk about these topics and more with Tampa Bay Times Life and Culture reporter Gabrielle Calise.

Wanda Suttle Duncan’s account of her small north Florida hamlet is subtitled “A Florida Woman’s Memoir,” but  Cracker Gothic  is not what you might think — it’s a heartfelt, often touching, and displays great humor and turns of phrase while documenting the author’s return to her hometown amid heartbreaking circumstances. On the season three premier, I'm joined by the author herself...

The new season of The Florida Book Club podcast drops August 18.

There’s a proud lineage of monstrous, gigantic alligators terrorizing humans in pop culture (just see previous episodes of this podcast). But that tradition stretches back to the earliest colonial days. White Europeans have always been fascinated by alligators. Join me as I discuss Alexandre Aja’s 2019 alligator film Crawl through the lens of William Bartram’s and Jacques LeMoyne’s centuries-old a...

“The world is less tame than you’d imagined.” So says John Henry Fleming to the unwary visitor arriving to Florida by plane or cruise ship, or as they leave the boundaries of the theme park. Join me in welcoming back Florida native Amanda Young to this episode, where we discuss Fleming’s 2009 bestiary Fearsome Creatures of Florida and ponder how many of these fictional (?) beasts we may have unkno...

There’s a long tradition of making cheesy promotional videos to lure people to Tampa Bay area. One of them, from the 1960s, even features an alien visitor who decides to relocate to St. Pete Beach after seeing all the dazzling attractions the town has to offer! Today, I’m joined by Andy Huse, Special Collections Librarian at University of South Florida, to discuss these old promotional films (and...

There are certain books most people readily associate with Florida, such as The Yearling or Their Eyes Were Watching God . And more recently, Patrick Smith’s 1984 epic A Land Remembered . I’m joined today by Andre Frattino, whose 2018 graphic novel adaptation of A Land Remembered captures in vivid visual detail all the heartbreak and loss of the MacIvey family across 100 years along with their tri...

The exciting, glamorous world of independent publishing, it turns out, actually involves a lot of frustration, hard work, and luck. And during a pandemic year, well... it can still be really rewarding! And as a reader, I can tell you you’ll find some real gems among the offerings from most indie publishers. Join me for a conversation with Matt Peters, founding publisher of Orlando’s Beating Windwa...

Florida was as violent a place as anywhere in the US in the early 1800s as in the 21st century. “Stand your ground” was the dominant ethos, there was a distrust of law and government, belief in self-determination and personal “rights,” and tons of guns and booze, just like now! My guest today is James Michael Denham, author of A Rogue’s Paradise: Crime and Punishment in Antebellum Florida . We’ll...

Will monstrous invasive pythons soon be roaming the streets of suburban Florida? Probably not. But that doesn’t mean they don’t represent a pressing ecological crisis. Larry Perez, a former ranger at Everglades National Park and my guest today, wrote a book in 2012 that warned readers about this issue spreading beyond the Everglades, where the snakes have become established. Has it gotten worse? J...

“Grotesque, Florida Man-type stories” is how my guest today, Florida College English Association president Christina Connor, describes Vicki Hendricks’ 2010 collection Florida Gothic Stories . Does that appeal to you? There are hurricanes, iguanas, identical twins, murders, and rather unconventional human/animal relationships on hand, too. Join us for the discussion!

Coming March 31. Nature's revenge. Twisted Gothic tales of murder. Creatures hiding in the Florida wilderness. Blood-soaked streets and lawless frontier towns. Sound interesting? This is a taste of what awaits you in Florida Book Club Season 2.

"Alligator" looks like the cheapest kind of pulp horror novel upon first glance. The cover, the summary, the title – they all do it no favors in terms of perception. But it is a remarkably compelling book about an economically struggling Everglades town and the hunt for a comically-large killer gator in the local swamps. There’s sneaky depth to it, though, I promise. Join me in the Season 1 finale...

Shane Hinton’s 2019 novel "Radio Dark" doesn’t seem like the kind of book one would want to read in 2020. It’s about a plague that effectively ends society, it uses its Florida settings to present some truly ominous and disturbing imagery, and generally seems to think humans are doomed. But it’s pretty good! I’m joined by avid reader Tony Litvinas to talk about Hinton’s novel. Further reading at w...

George Long Brown was no Harriet Beecher Stowe. I mean, he bought slaves when he settled in Florida after emigrating from New England, and Stowe was a fervent abolitionist. But like her, he left us a document of Florida frontier life in the 1800s — and Newnansville, Florida, was indeed frontier back then. I’m joined by Keith Huneycutt , professor of English at Florida Southern College and editor o...

Frogs aren’t really scary. Well, unless they’re telepathically controlling lizards, alligators, snakes, and other reptiles and commanding them to attack humans. I mean, these are humans with lots of hubris and a very unfavorable view of Nature in general, so I guess the victims in George McCowan’s 1972 eco-horror film "Frogs" deserve it. But how true to reality are the settings and wildlife depict...

Walt Disney World, it could be argued, has not had a net positive effect on Central Florida, environmentally speaking at least. University of Central Florida professor of art history Keri Watson joins me to discuss her article “From the Sideshow to Walt Disney World: Florida Reimagined,” paying special attention to how Walt Disney went out of his way to shut out the natural environment and attract...

There is a book out there filled with sexual anecdotes and stories that in some cases are so embarrassing, frightening, or… well, ordinary, that they make for pretty entertaining reading. “Condoms and Hot Tubs Don’t Mix” was published by Orlando’s Beating Windward Press in 2018, and all the proceeds from its sales go to Planned Parenthood. In this episode, the book’s coeditors, Jennie Jarvis and L...

Florida before air-conditioning was still somehow considered paradise by a lot of people, including "Uncle Tom’s Cabin" author Harriet Beecher Stowe, who wrote a book on it! Join me as I discuss her 1873 travelogue "Palmetto Leaves" with Florida Institute of Technology professor Debbie Lelekis. Find further reading and a full transcript at FloridaBookClub.com