Welcome to Florida

The people of Palm Beach County are fighting a proposed data center . Learn more about data centers by subscribing to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter." Clarence Earl Gideon was tried and found guilty of burglary in 1961 in a circuit court near Panama City. He was poor, and despite asking for legal counsel, was denied that request. At the time, Florida was one of 13 states tha...

Craig wraps up 2025 with his weirdest Florida headlines of the year . Our patrons at Patreon have exclusive access to an interview Craig did with the co-curator of "It's Florida, Man," on HBO. Our guest this episode is Jessica Pate from the Florida Manta Project who tells us all about one of our most remarkable endangered marine species: manta rays.

In the upcoming legislative session, Florida politicians will be considering a bill which would give the biggest Florida land developers and land developments the least oversight and opportunity for public input. Jason Garcia's fantastic "Seeking Rents" podcast episode about the scheme. This week's episode focuses on who Craig considers to be the ultimate Florida man: James Wel...

Drawing down the Rodman Reservoir proves how a free-flowing Ocklawaha River would benefit Florida. Free the Ocklawaha ! Amazingly, a distinct species of whale lives year-round in the Gulf of Mexico that until the last decade was largely a mystery to biologists: the Rice's whale. Former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientist and Rice's whale expert Laura Engleby joins u...

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is proud to acknowledge that it didn't follow science when recommending a black bear hunt. Our guest this episode is documentary filmmaker Rob Hoovis. In November of 2025, he premiered "Outlaws of the Everglades," a film detailing the marijuana smuggling pipeline from Central America and the Caribbean that flowed through the 10,0...

With the gubernatorial election less than a year away, now is the time to ask the crowded field of candidates about their positions on conservation and the environment. Three episodes ago, we discussed the impact America's lead-up to World War II had on Florida, bringing hundreds of thousands of servicemen and dozens of military installations to the state. That was the 1930s. In this episode...

Residents in Crystal River are worried about a sand mine disrupting their drinking water and springs. The smalltooth sawfish is one of the most unusual looking animals in the animal kingdom. Tonya Wiley has been studying the species for more than 25 years, most recently with her Havenworth Coastal Conservation organization. Tonya joins us to discuss this endangered species, how it has hung on in F...

Folks in the Panhandle are upset about a scheme to swap 200 acres of National Forest land to build a county recreation area. Our guest this episode is Patrick Manteiga, second generation owner, publisher, and columnist at the Tampa-based La Gaceta newspaper . La Gaceta is the state's - and the nation's - only trilingual newspaper. Filling in for Chadd Scott his episode is Florida author...

The local Audubon Society chapter and residents in Sarasota took on the country's largest homebuilder - and WON ! Florida was an essential training and support location for military operations during World War II. Anthony D. Atwood is a military historian who authored "State of War: A History of World War II in Florida." He joins us to discuss how Florida shaped the War and how the...

Former unelected shadow president and super-villain Elon Musk wants to close public beaches and pollute an estuary near Cape Kennedy on the Space Coast so he can play astronaut. Pulitzer Prize winning author Gilbert King is back on the show to talk about his latest book, and podcast , both focused on an outrageous miscarriage of justice in Lakeland: "Bone Valley: A True Story of Injustice and...

It's Halloween and "Welcome to Florida's" favorite spooky co-host, Cathy Salustri , is back, filling in for Chadd Scott. Cathy is a Halloween FANATIC and author of "It Came from Florida: The Best of Florida's Worst B-Movies." Cathy hosts her own Florida podcast, "The Florida Spectacular."

Fort Mose roughly 1 mile north of St. Augustine has the distinction of being the first free Black settlement in what is now America. Despite that august history, the site remains little known inside or outside of Florida.  Kathleen Deagan and Jane Landers have spent the last 40-plus years attempting to uncover and promote the history at Fort Mose. Their book, "Fort Mose: Colonial America&apos...

Lake Okeechobee is the most polluted lake in the United States as a result of the governor's inaction on cleaning up the state's water. Jonathan Dickinson only spent about a year in Florida, stranded here after a shipwreck on his way to Philadelphia from Jamaica, but his name lives on with the Jonathan Dickinson State Park in Martin County. Joining us to detail Dickinson's life and...

A scam of epic proportions has been perpetrated by the governor upon the people of Florida. Land conservation used an excuse to pay off political bribes. Robert Rauschenberg is arguably the most influential American artist of the 20th century. He moved from New York to Captiva Island in 1970 and would spend the rest of his life there, more than 30 years. 2025 is the centennial of Rauschenberg&apos...

In little Arcadia in southwest Florida in the 1980s, two tragedies became national news: the exoneration of a Black father wrongfully convicted in 1968 for the death of his seven children, and three little white boys being ostracized from the community after contracting the AIDS virus through blood transfusions.  Jason Vuic grew up in nearby Ponta Gorda and remembers following these events closely...

This episode centers on music icon and Winter Haven native Gram Parsons . Parsons career took off in California, but his life began in Florida. Bob Kealing, author of "Calling Me Home: Gram Parsons and the Roots of Country Rock" joins us to discuss. Catch Bob October 9, 2025, at Florida Southern College in Lakeland for a lecture about Elvis' time in Florida. Gram Parsons' Derry...

More incontrovertible evidence of climate change: Florida stone crabs are living in the Chesapeake Bay.  On Christmas Eve, 1951, central Florida civil rights activists Harry and Harriette Moore were assassinated via bomb blast by Orlando members of the Ku Klux Klan in their home. The married couple became America's first civil rights martyrs.  Robert W. Fieseler is a journalist, scholar and t...

Ron DeSantis is using his personal version of a Department of Government Efficiency to harass areas that didn't vote for him; he should turn the magnifying glass on the state's Everglades immigrant concentration camp . Mark Proctor leads the trust in charge of overseeing the historic Moseley Homestead in Branden. Proctor joins us to discuss the property's history and future. "...

The villains running British Petroleum - BP - want to drill in the Gulf again . Their last effort in the Gulf resulted in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Our guest this week is Eckerd College professor of environmental science and biology Beth Forys. Forys is also active with the Florida Shorebird Alliance , and that's our topic this episode: shorebirds. If you'd like to get involved wi...

A lawsuit seems to be all that now stands between Florida and a lot of dead black bears. Paynes Prairie Preserve just south of Gainesville has a fascinating ecological history and history of human habitation as well . Lars Anderson guides tours throughout Paynes Prairie and wrote "Paynes Prairie: The Great Savanna: A History and Guide." "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive excl...

A new law purporting to ease recovery from hurricane damage for Florida homeowners may have been a Trojan horse from developers looking to get around local growth ordinances. "Florida's Living Beaches: A Guide for the Curious Beachcomber," by Blair and Dawn Witherington, is a fantastic resource for anyone walking on a beach in Florida and wondering "what's that?" Blai...

Cedar Key is running out of drinking water and wants to take some from their neighboring communities. Our guest Chad Crawford is a Florida native and creator and host of the popular "How to do Florida" TV Show. He also created the "Flip My Florida Yard" show and "Protect Our Paradise" docuseries. Check out Chad's new podcast, "Sunshine Junkie." Chad&apo...

Chadd Scott visited DeSantis and Trump's immigrant concentration camp in the Everglades as far as the public is allowed to go. It was worse than he imagined. $5 per month "Welcome to Florida" patrons can watch a video of what he saw. Jason Garcia's exceptional "Seeking Rents" podcast and website are a great source for more information about the camp. Our guest this ep...

How is human waste from Miami ending up polluting the St. Johns River? Craig explains. The Stonewall Uprising in New York in 1969 can be viewed as the start of the modern gay rights movement. A teenager in Hollywood, FL was inspired and started a small library to recognize the gay community. That effort gradually evolved into Fort Lauderdale's Stonewall National Museum, Archives and Library ....

The Trump regime's attempts to destroy the federal government and sell off the pieces to private business is impacting Florida's public lands.   Our guest this episode is Dalia Colón, author of the award-winning "The Florida Vegetarian Cookbook" and host of "The Zest," a Florida cooking podcast produced by WUSF radio in Tampa. We discuss popular Florida fruits and veg...