Wait Five Minutes

This is the prologue to the Conservation Season, where we'll spend all autumn talking about the nature of Florida and the experts fighting to protect it.  Get your WFM Merch at  Cast & Clay Co.  on Etsy! Go to the  Wait Five Minutes website  for more!   Featuring clips from: Michelle Nijhuis, Author Neil Maher, Professor Max Chesnes, Journalist Toni Westland, Ranger

The Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow was Walt Disney's greatest dream: a city focused on innovation and problem-solving. When the Magic Kingdom opened in Orlando, Florida, EPCOT was part of that original design -- until it wasn't. Thank you to  A Trombo Creative  for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes!  Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at  Cast & Clay Co.  ...

The Land Boom swept through Florida in the 1920s, and big dreams soon followed. Hollywood tried to make a mark on the Sunshine State, but the tides of history had other plans. Thank you to  A Trombo Creative  for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes!  Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at  Cast & Clay Co.  on Etsy! Go to the  Wait Five Minutes website  for more!   Thank yo...

The Havana Sugar Kings were a unique minor league team in the time they existed, in the way they came to be, in the way they reached their ending, and the way they are still being remembered. Thank you to  A Trombo Creative  for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes!  Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at  Cast & Clay Co.  on Etsy! Go to the  Wait Five Minutes website  for...

A collection of wood-carved birds. The unique stylings of racing cars through the generations. An island retreat for newlyweds. We're nearing the end of summer, so it's time to collect some stories from the season that we couldn't fit in before -- and celebrate the museums that tell the tales.  Thank you to  A Trombo Creative  for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes!  Book your first appoi...

In the summer of 1998, a perfect storm of environmental conditions led to Florida's ecosystem facing a dire situation. How does a wildfire begin? How do we prevent them? How did the firestorm change the way we think about fire? Thank you to  A Trombo Creative  for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes!  Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at  Cast & Clay Co.  on Etsy! Go to...

All across Florida, from the Keys to the Panhandle, people have been finding their own version of Bigfoot. The Skunk Ape hides in all of our forests and, if the stories presented within are true, some of us have found evidence of them. Thank you to  A Trombo Creative  for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes!  Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at  Cast & Clay Co.  on Etsy...

Our beaches are unique, a defining characteristic of our entire ecosystem. What sets them apart? What unites them? For the three year anniversary of Wait Five Minutes, we talk to Dr. Beach about his iconic Top Ten Beaches list, his origins in the field, and humanity's draw to our coasts. Thank you to  A Trombo Creative  for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes!  Book your first appointment...

At the turn of the 20th century, rich adventurers would roar down the sands of Daytona Beach in motorized vehicles. Over the following several decades, the sport grew, from land speed records to the very first NASCAR race. Thank you to  A Trombo Creative  for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes!  Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at  Cast & Clay Co.  on Etsy! Go to the ...

After the massive success of Jaws in 1975, sequels were quickly put into production. Two of the three sequels were partially filmed in Florida and, though they are less than perfect, they can teach us a lot about creating -- and failure. Thank you to  A Trombo Creative  for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes!  Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at  Cast & Clay Co.  on Et...

Florida is mostly coastline, and for centuries, our lighthouses guided sailors to safety. Today, they are falling into antiquity. Despite that, an organization of vigilant enthusiasts are trying to keep the lights lit. Thank you to  A Trombo Creative  for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes!  Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at  Cast & Clay Co.  on Etsy! Go to the  Wait...

As Prohibition came to the United States, the people of the Florida Keys fought back. With their knowledge of the waters and their proximity to neighboring countries, the Keys became a hub of all sorts of rum running characters -- and dangerous consequences.   Thank you to  A Trombo Creative  for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes!  Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at ...

When the sun sinks to the edge of the horizon, incredible things are happening. The environment is telling us about itself, and all we have to do is look up and see. Thank you to A Trombo Creative for sponsoring this season of Wait Five Minutes! Book your first appointment here! Get your WFM Merch at Cast & Clay Co. on Etsy! Go to the Wait Five Minutes website for more!   Thank you to Steve Corfid...

In January of 1985, a blizzard struck the city of Buffalo, New York. The mayor had an unusual suggestion on how to get through it. Three Buffalonians made a vow to never spend a winter in the snow again.  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 ! Read more about the Six-Pack Storm right here!...

An epilogue for season six - of haunted hallways, familiar songs, and the buildings we leave behind.  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 Streetlight Silent Film Good Thoughts Hear more music from Lobo Loco here!

When the Florida Keys became the Conch Republic, there was only really one person who could be their ambassador: Monroe County Mayor, and True Conch, Wilhelmina Harvey. This is her 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 Tom Hambright! Check out more from the M...

One spring day, in 1982, the Florida Keys seceded from the United States and formed the Conch Republic. Centuries of history led up to that moment, involving our neighbors in the Bahamas and Cuba. How did the Conchs get their name, and what even is a conch in the first place? Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the sh...

The history of the chickee, how the Seminole ancestors developed the structure, and how generations of usage transform an essential building into the modern age.   Thank you to Dave Scheidecker and Carrie Dilley for their assistance in the creation of this episode! Read more about their work at the links below Learn more about Ah-Tah-Thi-Ki Museum right here! Learn more about the Tribal Historic P...

Within a year, the new program to bring Americans to the moon will have begun. This week, we discuss the future of the Artemis Program with Brendan Byrne from Are We There Yet?   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 !   Watch Brendan's 5 Year Anniversary show here!   Listen to the other Br...

A birder who quits his job. A band that caused a riot. An explorer bent on finding the mouth of the Mississippi River. It's spring, which means it's time to explore some stories left on the cutting room floor from our season so far! 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 !   Read about the S...

The show was just featured in the New York Times! When it comes to Florida strawberries, there is no town more responsible for their presence than Plant City in Hillsborough County. And every year, for nearly a century, the city of Plant City has nominated a Strawberry Queen. Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the sh...

The show was just featured in the New York Times! In the city of Jacksonville, two entrepreneurs brought the original Burger King to life. In a much smaller town, nearly a thousand miles away, another family opened the original Burger King. Both shops were the first. Follow Wait Five Minutes on Twitter Follow Wait Five Minutes on Instagram Follow Wait Five Minutes on Facebook Email the show at  wf...

Support your local bookstore! Looking for some new bookstores? Want to share some of your favorite local spots? This episode is just for you, about the amazing local bookstores in Florida that mean so much to us. 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 Frozen Creek Traveling Horse H...

Many Florida books have been lost to time. In a tiny shop on the Atlantic Coast, one family has spent the last several decades saving these books from the brink of extinction. 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 Julie Alexander for her time and assistance! Find out more a...

Outside of Alaska, the state of Florida is home to one of the densest populations of nesting bald eagles in the United States. There was once a time, however, when we almost lost our eagles. Today, everyday Floridians keep them safe.  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 S...