Wait Five Minutes

When Henry Flagler died in 1913, his memory was preserved not just in legacy, but in the spirits that find themselves roaming the hallways of the places he held most dear. Why does Flagler continue to roam Florida? And what stories do we become when we're gone? Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@g...

Florida has more golf courses than any other state in the country. What happens when those courses fall apart? When the sandhill cranes reign, what place do humans have in that changing environment? Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com !   Thank you so much to Dr. Paul Gray from Audubon Fl...

In a special bonus episode, I chat with  Gabrielle Calise of the Tampa Bay Times  about our favorite fried food, the food we couldn't handle, and the food we would dream of seeing at the fair!  Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com !   Songs Good Thoughts by Lobo Loco Traveling Horse by Lob...

Tucked in a corner, at the back of the Florida Fairgrounds, there is a living museum. It is vibrant with artists, docents, historians and more, all who have gathered to tell the story of a very specific era in our Florida story. Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com !   Thank you so much to...

In August of 1992, a massive hurricane hit South Florida. The storm passed, and the damage was laid bare. It was clear things needed to change. When pythons ran loose in the Everglades, and our walls fells in on themselves, where did we go from there? Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com !...

Since 1927, four individuals have been chosen as the Poet Laureate for the state of Florida. Each one has brought something new to the position. The current laureate, Peter Meinke, has much to say on Florida, life and death, and the peculiar joys of the places we call home. Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show...

For the last thirty years, one community has been at the center of a neighborhood that today is a main street in Orlando. From its origins to the present day, Mills Avenue's community survived on optimism. Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com !   Thank you to Joanne Grant from Mills 50 for...

Thousands of rockets were launched from Florida's coast in the last seventy years. How did the space program come to Florida? And when will Americans return to space from our shores?  Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com !   Thank you to Brendan Byrne from WMFE for all of his help with thi...

At the beginning of next year, greyhound racing in Florida will be illegal, exactly ninety years after it was made legal in 1931. How did we get here? And what comes next for the industry?  Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com !   Thank you to Kate MacFall for her help with this episode. F...

Every border of Florida is defined by its connection to the water all around us. The lines they follow are set by human ingenuity and violence. But what will we be if water fundamentally changes our shape forever? Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com !   Thank you to Joe Knetsch for his he...

Gabrielle Calise refuses to be put into a box. She has written a wide variety of stories for the Tampa Bay Times, from haunted houses to city government, from local folklore to strip clubs. The unifying factor of all of her work is her desire for answers. Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.c...

Rachel Simmons collects the memories of the town she calls home. In the archive of the Winter Park Public Library, information about the history of this town is being cultivated and organized in order to tell its story. Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com ! Thank you so much to Rachel Sim...

Some final thoughts and a recap of the second season of Wait Five Minutes. Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com !   Songs Easy Night by Lobo Loco Good Thoughts by Lobo Loco Hear more music from Lobo Loco  here !

In the 1920s, the biggest celebrity in Orlando was a grumpy old swan. When he died, the city couldn't let him go. They had him stuffed and, to this day, he still exists in that taxidermy form. In the season two finale of Wait Five Minutes, we discuss taxidermy and memory with New York Times Best-Selling Author, Kristen Arnett, whose debut novel,  Mostly Dead Things , came out earlier this year.  F...

In 1972, the Miami Dolphins couldn't be stopped. At a time when America was facing uncertain futures, the hope of one team was enough to distract, for just one game every week, from the chaos everywhere else. Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com !   Songs Smuggler by Lobo Loco Brain - Inst...

Florida's state play, Cross and Sword, ran for thirty-two consecutive seasons. During that time, the production shifted and changed, finding brand new ways to remember the complex and untidy origins of our state. Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com !   Thank you again to Tom Rahner for al...

In the 1960s, politics in the South changed forever. Nowhere is that more evident than in the rivalry between two Democrats: the mayor of Miami and the mayor of Jacksonville. The fallout made history. Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com !   Songs Traveling to Lousiana by Lobo Loco Things...

The Annie Russell Theatre is almost ninety years old now, but the lore wrapped up in the building will stretch much, much longer. Every person who encounters it has something new to share, fracturing its ghost story more and more every time. CONTENT WARNING: This episode contains frequent discussion of death, and a brief mention of suicide.  Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Min...

The Florida Bonneted Bat exists nowhere else in the world. They are some of the most fascinating animals in the country and, thanks to a group of brilliant scientists, we have gotten to no them more and more before it's too late. Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com !   Check out more of D...

Every story we tell has some falsehoods. We complicate or muddle without meaning to and the story always changes. What happens, then, to the stories about grander concepts, mysteries beyond our understanding? When those urban legends start manifesting, what new shapes do our stories take? Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook...

Florida's egrets were on the brink of demise. Enter Guy Bradley, an outdoorsman who, for three short years, fought adamantly to keep the birds safe. Then, on one sweltering July day, his mission was violently cut short. Content warning: This episode makes frequent reference to death, and a brief reference to gun violence. Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Fo...

Growing your own plants is harder. Growing your own plants in Florida is even harder. We take inspiration from the professionals, but getting it right can be nearly impossible. Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com!   Find out more about Orlando's botanical garden, Leu Gardens ! Read Robert...

Authors leave a trail of legacy and memories behind them. They cannot control how their words will age or change, but, in the case of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, she created a new vocabulary to speak about Florida that we still use to this day. Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com!   The voi...

Nine months before Walt Disney World took Central Florida by storm, one unusual little theme park tried to leave an impact of their own. Why did so many parks try to take on the Mouse? And what do we get in return when we relish in nostalgia? Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com!   Songs T...

From our early Spanish years, to our secession from the United States, our flag has been a playground of ideologies. Why has our state struggled to find its own identity? And how can Floridians fight to control their own symbols and narratives? Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wfmpod@gmail.com!   Songs...