Florida’s Fourth Estate

Alex Pring was born with one arm. His other extends to his forearm and stops. As he started growing up and going to school, he had some questions about his limb difference. “I kinda asked the question, ‘Why can’t I have an arm? Everyone else has an arm, why don’t I,’” Pring said. He said his mom loves solving problems, so she reached out to the University of Central Florida and a student helped to...

In June, the Florida Department of Health issued a statewide mosquito-borne illness advisory after four confirmed cases of malaria in Sarasota County. They were the first cases in the state in 20 years. Then, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 159 new cases of leprosy in the U.S. in 2020, with Florida among the top reporting states. “Some Biblical diseases started making a com...

Even though theme park attendance is down this year, the companies are investing more than ever. According to the International Association of Amusement Park and Attractions, which is the global association for the theme park industry, American theme parks are expected to invest $1.5 billion in attractions this year alone. IAAPA’s CEO Jakob Wahl spoke with Florida’s Fourth Estate about some fascin...

From book bans to changing classes and educational requirements, what children are learning in the classroom will be different this year. “I think this is going to be a very strange year, simply because people do not know what’s happening,” University of Central Florida history professor and News 6 Political Analyst Jim Clark said. “Teachers are unsure. Administrators are unsure. You have one dist...

Instead of vacationing or partying, a group of students from the University of Central Florida set out for the U.S.-Mexico border this summer. They wanted to learn more about the people working to call America home and bring those stories back to students at UCF. Amy Diaz and Ian Rodriguez both said they brought a unique perspective to the trip. “Even though we are in Florida and we are far away f...

Amy Siewe goes out at night, sometimes alone, to hunt pythons. She said it’s a passion that started when she was a child, but it’s not without risk. The python huntress talked to Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsdenon Florida’s Fourth Estate about her mission to rid Florida’s Everglades of the invasive reptiles. Siewe has bagged several Burmese pythons and knows how to “work the animal.” “They could eas...

It was a typical spring afternoon in southwest Florida’s Myakka River. Jeffrey Heim strapped on his mask, fins and head-mounted GoPro and eased into the murky water to begin his favorite hobby: hunting for massive megalodon shark teeth. The hobby would later become a career for Heim, who now owns a company called SHRKco which collects and sells the ancient shark teeth and donates profits for ocean...

On July 24, 2015, Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen left on a fishing trip. The two 14-year-olds took off from Jupiter Inlet on a 19-foot fishing boat. When they didn’t return, the Coast Guard started a massive search but never found them. Both of their families were left devastated. Perry Cohen’s Dad, Phil Cohen, recently discussed how he has dealt with the grief of losing his only child in a Ted...

It’s been a week and a half since Miki Sudo dominated the Nathan’s hot dog eating contest, downing 39.5 franks in 10 minutes. Now she is coaching two fellow Floridians, telling them what it takes to rise to the top of the competitive eating circuit. Sudo talked about her craft with Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden during an episode of Florida’s Fourth Estate. “You want to minimize chewing,” she said...

Twiggy the waterskiing squirrel got her start in Sanford in 1979. Since then she has appeared in several movies and a music video and performed at the X Games. She retired in 2018, but not she is back. Chuck Best Jr. told Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida’s Fourth Estate it all started when someone gave his mom and dad, Chuck and Lou Ann Best a baby squirrel. Learn more about your ad choic...

Wolves are beautiful animals, but if you want to have one as a pet, like the popular show “Game of Thrones,” you need to make sure you meet the minimum requirements. Deanna Deppen, executive director of Shy Wolf Sanctuary Education and Experience Center in Naples, recently talked to Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida’s Fourth Estate about the challenges she faces when people are not able to...

Alex Schulze has collected plenty of cell phones from the ocean, but only one has turned on. “Most of the time, the [phones] are basically locked up or the salt water has kind of destroyed them,” Schulze said. Schultze is the co-founder and CEO of ocean cleanup company 4ocean and was recently looking for trash in the Boca Raton Inlet in South Florida when he came across an iPhone in a clear waterp...

The world cheered when Joseph Dituri beat the world record for living underwater without depressurization. Now that he’s back on dry land he said he lost something when he was down there. “I shrunk about half an inch,” Dituri said. He compared the height he lost to the height astronauts gain when they are in space. “Astronauts are in tension, so they are basically being flung apart and I’m being c...

Axiom-2 pilot John Shoffner recently returned to Earth after spending 10 days in orbit on the International Space Station. He said he learned a lot and is excited to share his passion for space exploration with young people. “I have dreamed of space since I was a young boy. The space race was starting in the 60s when I was growing up and it was easy to be captivated by it and I certainly was. So I...

If you have ever wanted to get a bird’s eye view of Florida, now is your chance. You can soar through the sky on a hang glider at Wallaby Ranch. Malcolm Jones said he bought the property in 1991 so he could bring his favorite sport back to Florida. He told Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida’s Fourth Estate his love for the sky started when he was growing up in Tampa. Learn more about your a...

With the kids off of school for the summer, some families think now is a good time to get a dog. But Kiersten Benitez with Bark Orlando said it’s important to consider what kind of breed you adopt. Benitez started Bark Orlando in 2016 as a dog training company and eventually expanded it to a full-service pet care company. Every day she comes in contact with different breeds of dogs. She shared her...

A walk with family turns into an epic discovery. Paleontologist Jonathan Bloch with the Florida Museum of Natural History said his team would have never uncovered a prehistoric site filled with fossils if it weren’t for a 5-year-old little girl. “She was walking on this property up around Williston and she was there with her family, and they were looking for arrowheads, taking a walk,” he said. “A...

He is almost 95 years old, but the original Mickey Mouse from “Steamboat Willie” is starting to pop back up on clothes, rides and other merchandise. Copyright Attorney Aaron Moss said that’s because Disney is trying to keep the original Mickey out of the public domain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Leland Kent says he loves exploring abandoned properties. If you check out his social media pages you will see an abandoned casino boat, funeral homes, a juvenile detention center and so many other parts of Florida history, now falling into disrepair. That includes a house once owned by Osama Bin Laden’s brother, Khalil. It sits on a lake in Oakland, near Clermont. Kent said he originally visited...

Zhen Tang said when he put his cars on Turo he thought he would just make enough to pay for the maintenance, then it turned into a full-blown side gig. He said he put three cars on the car rental app about a year ago and since then he has grown his fleet to seven vehicles and said that they stay rented out about 60-70% of the time. At that rate, he said each of his luxury vehicles brings in about...

Nick Radner went from teaching at a Pinellas County high school to competing on the Netflix show “Outlast.” He was also the wrestling coach and said he was used to cutting weight but didn’t expect to lose a whopping 48 pounds during taping. Radner joined Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida’s Fourth Estate to talk more about his experience on the reality show. Learn more about your ad choices...

The battle between Governor Ron Desantis and The Walt Disney Company continues to heat up. University of Central Florida History Professor and News 6 Political Analyst Dr. Jim Clark said it may not end until it gets to the Supreme Court. Clark recently joined Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida’s Fourth Estate to talk about the governor’s ongoing battle to strip Disney of some of its self-go...

As you plan your summer vacation Florida’s Fourth Estate is helping you go beyond the theme parks and beaches. Hosts Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden are breaking down their top five roadside attractions in the sunshine state. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

University of Central Florida student Jack Sweeney recently sat down for an interview with Florida’s Fourth Estate hosts Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden. He said he didn’t mean to start a battle with one of the most powerful men in tech, but that’s exactly where he has found himself. Sweeney said it all started when he was just a child. His dad worked in the airline industry, so he would track plan...

There is a new affordable approach to taking a vacation in Florida and it allows you to bring the comforts of home with you. The owners of Florida Van Life renovate vans and turn them into a vacation on wheels. Lebelo Mosehle said he and Estelle Bain wanted to make travel more affordable. Instead of buying a brand-new RV which could cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars, Moshele told Florida’s...