The Florida History Podcast

Reubin Askew originally didn't want to run for re-election. He eventually choose to run for a second term as Governor. In the race, he overcame a well-funded Democratic primary challenge from the right and a party-switching former Senate President in the General. 

On Episode 127 we discus Florida's first African-American statewide elected official, Jonathan Clarkson Gibbs. 

On today's episode we debut our new audio studio mixing setup - Kartik Krishnaiyer flies solo in discussing the career of Josiah Walls, Florida's first African-American member of Congress who served the state in Washington during the 1870's. Smalls was a freed slave who won the Republican nomination for House in 1870 after serving briefly in the State Senate. He returned to the State Senate after...

We give an audio update on improvements we are currently undertaking to the podcast. 

We discuss one of Florida's greatest authors, Patrick D. Smith author of A Land Remembered and more. 

On this week's Florida History Podcast we discuss the devastating 1926 hurricane that (adjusted for inflation) is the most costly hurricane in terms of economic damages in American history. 

The Florida land boom and bust of the 1920's led directly to the Great Depression. 

Why are a group of parishes in Louisiana called "The Florida Parishes?" We answer that question and discuss the short lived Republic of West Florida in this episode. 

We discuss some of the greatest Florida artists, the African-American Highwaymen this week. 

We discuss the decision to secede from the union and the politics of Florida during the Civil War in this espisode.

On this episode we discuss railroads during the Civil War period in Florida 

We discuss former Florida LT Governor and Governor Wayne Mixson who recently passed away.

We discuss the great freeze of 1894-95 it’s impact on the citrus industry and it triggering a growth of citrus in California while also promoting Henry Flagler to extend his railroad to Miami. Florida’s citrus industry recovered eventually but citrus production was cut by almost 600% at one point due to the freeze’s impact and even five years later Florida was only producing 20% of the citrus crop...

Memories of the recently departed Ralph Turlington

We look back at the career of former Speaker of the House and Commissioner of Education Ralph Turlington. 

In Episode 114 we talk about Great Depression era Florida governance. 

We conclude our series on the first Underground Railroad, Freedom in Florida with a look at the 1784 to 1821 time period when the Spanish again ruled East and West Florida. 

On Episode 112 of the Florida History Podcast, Kartik Krishnaiyer gives his own views on Critical Race Theory and the teaching of history in Florida schools. His view is nuanced but also very critical of Governor DeSantis and the myths of American History, but also critical of the narrative that eliminates Florida's importance and discounts the importance of Anti-Semitism and Anti-Catholicism...

In Part III of our series on runaway slaves finding freedom in Florida we cover the American Revolution and slaves from southern plantations escaping the newly-declared independent United States to the British Colony of East Florida. We also discuss the efforts of the British to arm slaves and strike terror into the hearts of patriot plantation owners by sending brigades of slaves and former slave...

This episode covers the period between 1739 and 1763. In 1740, Britain and Spain were once again at war.  For the British in London, knocking Spain out of the war was strategic in a larger global conflict. For the Anglo-American colonists in Georgia and the Carolina’s invading Florida was more about crushing black freedom and extending slavery.  Another clear motivation was the hostility...

Spanish Florida had been a thriving colony in the early 1600’s but beginning around 1650, measles outbreaks, raids from the English, the French and from Pirates began weakening the mission-based economy of the region. This culminated with Queen Anne’s War which decimated Florida. Absent the gold of other Spanish colonies in the Americas, Spain actively looked for those who would “serve” the crown...

On this week's podcast, Robert Buccellato remembers his friend, the late Jim Williams who served in the State Senate, as Lt. Governor and as Deputy US Secretary of Agriculture under Jimmy Carter. 

In 1539 Hernando De Soto landed on the west coast of Florida and made history as the first European to explore the future United States of America. 

In Episode 106 we discuss Dempsey Barron, the most powerful Florida Senator in modern history. 

We discuss Angola, a settlement of runaway slaves that existed between 1810 and 1821. The settlement was destroyed on the orders of Andrew Jackson.