Florida Matters

Across the greater Tampa Bay region, people are taking stock of the destruction left behind by Hurricane Helene. Storm surge of eight feet and more in some places flooded homes and businesses. Tens of thousands of homes and buildings are damaged- some completely destroyed. Some beachside towns look like a war zone after a wall of water bulldozed sand through the streets. And as of Monday, 11 peopl...

It’s election season. And if you’re a new voter, it may be intimidating trying to decipher the flood of campaign ads, figure out your ballot or even know who it is you are being asked to vote for. Two people paying close attention to elections are Tara Newsom and Alex Mahadevan. They sat down with WUSF’s elections podcast: Our Changing State, Vote 2024 to talk about how young voters are navigating...

In this episode of Florida Matters, you’ll get a taste of what’s on offer from the host of the Zest Podcast, Dalia Colon. Season 10 of The Zest includes vegan fare for theme park buffs, what basketball pros eat when they’re on the road, and even some kitchen hacks. If you’re a foodie, you’re probably already streaming the new season of The Zest, WUSF’s podcast celebrating the intersection of food...

In the upcoming general election, Florida voters will get a chance to decide whether they want to approve the use of marijuana for recreational purposes. Matthew Peddie, host of "Florida Matters" and the podcast "Our Changing State," speaks with WUSF reporter Sky Lebron about what Amendment 3 means. And- it takes a savvy voter to separate fact from fiction when it comes to making sense of politica...

WUSF’s Gabriella Paul has been talking to renters, homeowners and investigators to find out what’s been going on with the housing market. She says investors are changing the market by adding competition on houses deemed affordable. Paul joins Florida Matters along with Kristin Washington, a Tampa realtor, to explain the impact of large and small investors on the housing market. Plus- Alex Mehadeva...

Florida's Department of Environmental Protection revealed plans to build golf courses, pickleball courts and lodges on some state parks- and people aren't happy about it. Now the group backing the golf course proposal has pulled out. The uproar over the development proposal shows just how strongly Floridians feel about their state parks. Coming up, you’ll hear what makes these wild places so speci...

You may know Titus O’Neil as a star of WWE. You may have even seen the viral moment when he tripped on his way into a wrestling match and slid under the ring. But in the greater Tampa Bay region, O’Neil is known best as Thaddeus Bullard, and how he gives back to the community through the Bullard Family Foundation. Every year the foundation holds a ‘Back to School Bash’. Organizers said they gave a...

Abortion is a polarizing issue. But whatever your opinion, if you’re a Floridian voting this November, you’ll have a say in whether the right to an abortion is written into the state constitution. Like voters in 11 other states this fall, Floridians will have the chance to vote on abortion access - in this case through a constitutional amendment. But since May, Floridians seeking an abortion have...

Debby dumped 12 inches of rain in some parts of Tampa Bay on her way through the area over the weekend. Cities are starting to assess the damage. And the Tampa Bay Rays are finally getting a new stadium, and then some, after the St. Petersburg City Council greenlighted the plan. Hear from WUSF's Kerry Sheridan about Debby's Impact on Sarasota. And Tampa Bay Times reporter Colleen Wright, who cover...

One of the hot button issues this presidential election is reproductive rights. Floridians registered to vote have a say on whether the state enshrines abortion rights in its constitution. Debbie Mucarsel Powell, one of the Democrats running for U.S. Senate, tells Florida Matters why she believes it could help her. Plus, you’ll learn where Incumbent Senator Rick Scott stands on the issue. And- WUS...

Jamal would sleep outside some nights when his mother would lock him out of the house. Other nights he would go from couch to couch at friends' houses. That's until he found help with a Tampa non-profit run called Starting Right, Now. You'll hear how Jamal coped without a place to call home. And how Starting Right Now founder Vicki Sokolik dedicated her life to helping kids like Jamal, who are sep...

School board elections have been nonpartisan in Florida since 2000. That’s because voters here approved a constitutional amendment on the issue back in 1998. But now there’s a proposal to make school board races partisan again: a constitutional amendment to reverse the one decided 25 years ago. Floridians will get to vote on Amendment 1 in November. One reason may be that in the past four years, s...

The arts are vital in Florida. You’ve heard what cuts to arts funding means for hundreds of theaters, museums and arts groups - and the economies they help support. Arts and humanities also help Floridians make sense of this state. On this episode of Florida Matters, you'll hear from someone whose mission is to promote and share the history, culture and stories of the sunshine state. Nashid Madyun...

Summer break is in full swing with a way to go until school starts up again. This is the time kids can lose a lot of the academic gains they’ve made during the school year. Nicole Brown, vice president of community impact for United Way Suncoast, joins Florida Matters to discuss programs to help stop the "summer slide". And, with the last two Scripps National Spelling Bee champions hailing from th...

Arts organizations around Florida are scrambling to make up budget shortfalls after Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed $32 million in cultural and museum grants. The cuts will have an impact on hundreds of theatres, museums, performance groups and other arts organizations large and small. The vetoes are part of nearly $1 billion that DeSantis trimmed from the state budget, which is now a whopping $116.5...

It’s pride month - and Juneteenth is just around the corner. Pride celebrations take on added significance for LGBTQ+ Floridians who have been the focus of restrictive new laws in recent years. And for Black and LGBTQ + residents, June takes on extra significance. On this episode of Florida Matters, we speak with leaders in the greater Tampa Bay region’s Black LGBTQIA community about representatio...

On this episode of Florida Matters, we talk with two people involved in the Sunshine Skyway Bridge documentary, including one of the divers who helped recover the victims. The collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, after it was hit by a cargo ship, has rekindled interest in the Sunshine Skyway bridge disaster that happened 44 years ago. A documentary screening this month in Tampa a...

On this episode of Florida Matters we talk with two experts about the health impacts of vaping- both on adults and youth. We discuss the role of e-cigarettes as an alternative to conventional smoking for adults who want to quit and we take a look at a new Florida law aimed to stop children from vaping. We talked with Yiota Kitsantis, professor and chair of the Department of Population Health and S...

In this episode of Florida Matters, we speak to Florida historian Raymond Arsenault about his biography of the late Congressman John Lewis. Lewis spent a lifetime fighting for equality. When the Georgia representative died in 2020, aged 80, America had changed profoundly from when Lewis fought for desegregation as a young civil rights activist. Lewis himself sometimes marveled at the remarkable jo...

Forecasters are predicting an extremely active hurricane season, with 23 named storms and 11 hurricanes, including five major hurricanes. We talk with Megan Borowski, the interim chief meteorologist and director of the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network about the season ahead. Also joining the show to discuss hurricane preparedness are Tim Dudley, the Hillsborough County Emergency Management D...

When extreme weather hits Florida, the destruction can be immense. Hurricane Idalia caused $3.6 million in damage when it barreled into the Big Bend last year. That’s according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s estimates. Cleaning it up is tough, dirty and dangerous work. The workers are often left without adequate protection as they deal with toxic mold, dust and other haza...

This week, we speak to WUSF reporters about their experience covering the pro-Palestinian protests on the USF campus, along with two local historians who talk about the history of protests in Tampa and at USF. College campuses around the country are witnessing a surge of protests against the war in Gaza. Some of the demonstrations have been marred by violence as pro-Palestinian demonstrators have...

In this episode, we’re talking about Bob Graham’s environmental legacy - including his efforts to protect wild places like the Everglades and other waterways - and wildlife, like the manatee. Bob Graham knew how to rally people to a cause, no matter their political affiliation. He died this month at the age of 87. The Democrat from South Florida had a profound influence on state politics during hi...

This November, Floridians will vote yes or no on allowing adults 21 and older to use recreational marijuana. On this episode of Florida Matters, we discuss how the proposed amendment could change life in the Sunshine State. Joining the conversation: Tampa Bay Times/Tallahassee correspondent Romy Ellenbogen, who covers state government, with a focus on criminal justice and health. And Richard Blau,...

Teachers have been navigating challenging and confusing times since education laws rolled out in 2022. In this episode, we get an update on what their classrooms have been like since. For the past couple of years, public school teachers in Florida have navigated some challenging, and at times confusing, changes to what they teach and how they teach it. Legislation was rolled out in 2022 with restr...