The Florida History Podcast

On part 1 of our look at Donald Trump's Florida victory in a historical context, Kartik Krishnaiyer is joined by Dave Trotter of VotingTrend.com. Mr. Trotter had the most accurate modeling of Florida's elections in both 2018 and 2020.  Among the topics discussed are the GOP's turning of traditional Democratic areas, Trump's success with Latino voters and the rebuilt Republican horseshoe, a ke...

On the 50th Anniversary of the 1970 Election which saw the statewide elevation of Lawton Chiles and Reubin Askew as well as the defeat of prominent Republicans we look back at that crazy cycle in Florida. 

On this week's Florida History Podcast we discuss the oldest community of continued settled Floridians of European descent- the Minorcans of St Augustine. 

15 years ago this week, South Florida was devastated by Hurricane Wilma. 

Three Florida forts played critical roles in the Civil War. We discuss them on this week's podcast. 

Florida was one of the epicenters of the Centennial and Bicentennial year Presidential Elections.

Beginning with Harry Truman's Little White House through Mar-a-Lago and Donald Trump, Florida has since the 1940's been a frequent Presidential retreat. 

From the 1970's to the 1990's, Florida with its governing principles and quality of life amenities became a hub for tech innovation. the IBM PC was created in Boca Raton by a Florida-born and raised engineer. Also many other high tech startups and established companies called Florida home at the time. We discuss this history on this week's podcast.

In the late 1980's Florida saw two major film studio plan and build studio-related amusement parks in Central Florida. We discuss it here. 

In 1872, Florida in midst of Reconstruction was the site of great political intrigue as both the sitting Governor and sitting Lt. Governor claimed the office. 

The 1935 Keys Hurricane is the strongest on record to ever hit the United States. It was a tragedy that saw hundreds of World War I veterans lose their lives. We discuss the Bonus Army protest, the eventual deployment of many of the veterans to Florida and the tragic events of September 1-2, 1935. 

On the 15th Anniversary of Katrina we look back at the tragic storm's impacts on both south Florida and the Panhandle. . 

We look back at the history of EPCOT Center and the involvement of the state in the building of the Disney park. We also discuss Florida's heady days of the 1980's when the state was at the cutting edge of the technology and aerospace industries. 

We discuss bygone roadside attractions and amusement parks in this episode. 

The fight over the building and route of the Sunshine State Parkway (now Florida's Turnpike) were a major part of Florida politics from the late 1940's to the mid 1960's. In the end everyone wanted credit for helping to build the road that contributed to Florida's transformation from sleepy backwater to mega-state - but not everyone deserved credit. We discuss it on this podcast.  

With Black Lives Matter protests and controversies about Confederate statues dominating non-COVID headlines in Summer 2020, we revisit the Reconstruction Era in Florida. 

In Episode 64 we discuss Achille Murat, Florida's connection to Napoleon Bonaparte. 

1920's Florida was a violent place racially. The state which recorded the most per capita lynchings in nation between 1901 to 1950 is especially infamous for one particularly gruesome event - the Rosewood Massacre. Neil Blackmon joins us to discuss the horrible events. 

With 2020 raging we look back at Florida's political scene in a year 2020 has been compared to - 1968. 

On this week's edition of The Florida History Podcast, we discuss Governor Leroy Collins historic work after leaving the Governorship. Collins played a critical and often under-discussed role in ensuring the Selma to Montgomery march went ahead and ran in 1968 for the US Senate - a race where his moderate racial views ran head on into racially-conservative late 1960's Florida. 

In Episode 60 we look at how three very different governors handled race relations in the state. 

We discuss the history of lynchings in Florida and the debate over racial reconciliation in the 1990's and 2000's related to lynchings and racial violence.  NOTE: we plan to have individual podcasts in the future on specific events like Rosewood, this is a general narrative. 

In Episode 58 we discuss the Condo Commandos, a group of leaders that made and broke elections in Florida for decades. 

In this special episode of The Florida History podcast, released early this week due to the civil disobedience and protesting going on nationally in the wake of George Floyd's murder, we look back at Florida's history with urban racial strife in the 1980's and 1990's. The 1980 Miami riots were the worst urban riots in the United States between the end of the Civil Rights era and the 1992 post-Rodn...

On this week's edition of The Florida History Podcast, Brook Hines joins us to discuss the development of activism and community involvement around opposing expressway building in urban areas. A national movement that began outside Florida, expressway revolts broke out across the Tampa Bay area and south Florida in the 1970's and 1980's.