Florida Spectacular

Send us your Florida questions! Chadd Charland fills in for Rick and talks about how Nassau County was able to stop AI data centers — and what every community can do to stop them! Cathy talks about why eliminating single-use plastics makes a difference and why July is the month to try it in your home, office, or school. Links We Mentioned Nassau County's temporary moratorium on AI data center...

Send us your Florida questions! Rick and Cathy showcase the state of journalism in Florida and talk about hyperlocal papers.  Five of our Favorite Hyperlocal Weekly Newspapers The Community Paper (Orlando area) The Gabber Newspaper (Gulfport and South Pinellas) Winter Park Voice (Winter Park) West Volusia Beacon (West Volusia) The Herald (Gadsden County) Keys Weekly (Florida Keys) Links We Mention...

Send us your Florida questions! Florida poet Heather Sellers joins the podcast to talk about why alligators are the best, her latest poetry book about Florida, Women in Tampa Talking About Alligators , and things she thinks everyone should do in Tampa. Links We Mentioned Eureka Springs Heather Sellers Hike Hillsborough Hillsborough Hiking Spree Buy Heather's book ! Former guest Mark Barrow&ap...

Send us your Florida questions! Lisa Moore, president of Save Crystal River, joins the podcast to talk about their efforts with the Kings Bay Restoration Project. Kings Bay is the second largest spring system in Florida. Links We Mentioned SaveCrystalRiver.com [a 501c(3) organization ] Three Sisters Mertailors Lisa's Three Things Must-Do Things in Crystal River Bird watching Manatee tours Sca...

Send us your Florida questions! Florida artist Blair Petersen Updike joins the podcast to talk about why she created the Florida Gallery, Florida art, and what she thinks everyone should do in Polk County. Links We Mentioned Wild Space Gallery at the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation Benjamin Dimmitt An Unflinching Look: Elegy for a Landscape Blair Petersen Updike website and Instagram George S...

Send us your Florida questions! Mark Mustian, author of Boy With Wings and founder of Word of South, talks about his book, the wildly popular Word of South festival, and what it means to be different. Mark's Top Five Things To Do in Tallahassee Go to Cascades Park Sausage Dog at Bradley's   Blue Tavern for music Bike trails at Piney Z Buy a book and eat pie at Midtown Reader Links We Men...

Send us your Florida questions! Rick talks about his new book, Shaping a Sense of Place .  Links We Mentioned: Shaping a Sense of Place  by Rick Kilby. Florida artist Joy Postle. More about Joy. Florida artist Sam Stoltz. Little Red Riding Hood mosaic mural in Winter Park. Why Mid-Century Modern matters in Florida. Hannibal Square in Winter Park. The Rhea Marsh and Dorothy Lockhart Smith Research...

Send us your Florida questions! Kristin Hemphill, the Creative Director for FloridaRAMA, an immersive Florida art experience with a conservation focus, joins the podcast to talk about the art, the artists, and why the experience focuses on Florida. Links We Mentioned FloridaRAMA Florida Wildlife Corridor Support the show Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com . Subscribe to...

Send us your Florida questions! Florida State Representative (District 60) Lindsay Cross joins the podcast to talk about Florida Forever, environmental challenges in Florida, and what she's doing to help make Florida a paradise for everyone instead of an elite few. Links We Mentioned Lindsay Cross Chadd Charland filled in for Rick Kilby on this episode, he is running for State House in Distri...

Send us your Florida questions! Florida lesbian author Kristen Arnett joins the podcast to talk about her favorite lizard, what led her to set her debt novel in a taxidermy shop, and other special Florida experiences.  Links We Mentioned Mostly Dead Things With Teeth Stop Me If You've Heard This One KristenArnettWriter.com   Support the show Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspect...

Send us your Florida questions! Dawn Shirreffs, with the Environmental Defense Fund, talks about Florida's Coastal Resilience Bill. The bill protects Terra Ceia, the Skyway Fishing Pier, and the Santa Fe, among others. Links We Mentioned Environmental Defense Fund Coastal Resiliency Bill Protect Florida's Future Florida's Climate Future Why mangroves matter Mangroves   FloridasClima...

Send us your Florida questions! Rick and Cathy talk about writing about Florida in front of an audience at their first-ever live podcast taping.  Support the show Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com . Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter , and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com . Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and g...

Send us your Florida questions! Cathy and Rick talk about only a few of the many Badass Florida Women in our history. Women We Mentioned Emateloye Commodore Rose May Mann Jennings Mary Lee De Pugh Mary McLeod Bethune Joy Postle (and more about her , too!)  Support the show Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com . Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter , and keep up...

Send us your Florida questions! Florida author John Fleming joins the podcast to talk about his latest book, Wonders of Shadow Key . Links We Mentioned Wonders of Shadow Key Review of Wonders of Shadow Key Connections TV show (BBC) John Fleming's website Follow That Dream (movie) The Legend of the Barefoot Mailman Fearsome Creatures of Florida (and the website ) Dave Barry's Swamp Story...

Send us your Florida questions! Hilary Flower, author of The Kite and The Snail: An Endangered Bird, Its Unlikely Prey, and a Story of Hope in a Changing World , joins the podcast to talk about what prompted her to write the book.  Links We Mentioned Review of  The Kite and The Snail Limpkins Snail kites Apple snails Slugs Merlin bird app iNaturalist app HilaryFlowerAuthor.com How To Spot a Snail...

Send us your Florida questions! Ryan and Cathy talk about Santos' Black history and how it's been erased, and put out a call for help from anyone who knows the history of the people displaced for the Cross Florida Barge Canal. Links We Mentioned The Zorg Santos historical marker Historic Santos Recreation Area Negro League Baseball Saving Santos Support the show Question or comment? Emai...

Send us your Florida questions! Springs artist and activist Margaret Ross Tolbert joins Rick Kilby and guest co-host Chadd Scott to discuss her artwork and advocacy on behalf of Florida's springs. Links we mentioned: Aquiferious.com AQUIFERious Facebook group Margaret Ross Tolbert on YouTube Proje SU coffee table book Support the show Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular....

Send us your Florida questions!  Cathy Salustri and Ryan Worthington talk about Sundown Towns, apologies, and the problems the racism of the past still creates. Links We Mentioned Tougaloo College's Sundown Town database Was Gulfport, Florida a Sundown Town? South Pinellas Sundown Towns Florida Sundown Towns   Support the show Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com . Su...

Send us your Florida questions! Rick and Cathy talk about gentrification, the difficult relationship white people have with Black history, its place in Florida's history, and how Florida's Black history impacts modern-day Florida. Links We Mentioned Lincolnville Fort Mose Axe Handle Saturday The Zorg Eatonville's Zora Neale Hurston Museum Kingsley Plantation Carter Woodson Museum Li...

Send us your Florida questions! Buckle in for a wild ride... this episode starts in Bithlo, detours through Orlando Speed World, gets chased by a cobra, and then goes on an adventure through the springs.  Links We Mentioned Bithlo Bithlo real estate Orlando Speed World Swampy St. Cloud Serpentarium Barberville Yard Art Emporium DeLeon Springs State Park Queenie the Waterskiing Elephant Ginger Ale...

Send us your Florida questions! Eliot Kleinberg, a journalist whose career spans five decades, has turned his talents to fiction. His first book, Hypocrite's Row, is due out February 26. From Eliot: Hypocrite’s Row , the first book of my “Adventures of Nate Moran” novels about the Roaring 20s Miami police detective, comes out next month. The setting is the real battle between gangsters and la...

Send us your Florida questions! Ann McCutchan's book, The Life She Wished To Live: A Biography of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, Author of The Yearling, focuses on Rawling's life. Ann, Cathy, and Rick talk about Rawlings' life, how she learned not to be a racist, her struggles with alcohol, and why The Yearling is not the best of her works. Links We Mentioned Ann McCutchan's website...

Send us your Florida questions! Author Holly Sprinkle joins the podcast to talk about her book, Florida Natural Springs: A History . The trio talks about — among other things — Naked Ed, the historic marker at Manatee Springs, and why fat mermaids are the best mermaids. Links We Mentioned The William Bartram plaque at Manatee Springs Buy Holly's book ! Support the show Question or comment? Em...

Send us your Florida questions! While working as a journalist, Pete Gallagher investigated Florida stories that made a difference. He joins the podcast this week to talk about two of those stories, people buried under Tropicana Field, and his book (in progress) about his life in journalism. Links We Mentioned James Richardson Emateloye Estenletkvte: Polly Parker Got Away Florida Folk Show radiostp...

Send us your Florida questions! Florida has a significant history with enslaved people escaping their oppressors in the United States. If you want to see history, these are places you can visit to learn the real history of Florida's underground railroad. Links We Mentioned Fort Mose Bill Baggs State Park Gulf Islands National Seashore in Pensacola  Podcast episode about Prospect Bluff Fernand...