Welcome to Florida

We begin our episode with a Florida location we've not discussed previously: Alva . Our guest is JB Miller , a Mennonite who grew up in Pinecraft next to Sarasota in the 60s and 70s. A community of Mennonite and Amish farmers started coming to the area to farm in the 1930s and has persisted ever since. No longer farming, tourism is now the top draw. "Welcome to Florida" is presented...

We begin with a follow-up to last week's episode in which we talked to legendary Florida conservationist Jack Rudloe. Our guest this episode is author and historian Robert Bucellatto whose book "Rumrunners and Moonshiners of Old Florida" recalls the Prohibition era in Florida. If you'd like to personally support the production of "Welcome to Florida," you can do so by...

What is "environmental racism?" It goes on all over Florida (BIG SUGAR). Craig Pittman explains. Jack Rudloe has been observing marine life on the Gulf of Mexico around Panacea, FL since the 1950s. He's an author . An environmental activist . And founder of the Gulf Specimen Marine Laboratory. We mention Jack's abuse at the hands of law enforcement; here's more information...

Not only is climate change adversely impacting those of us on land, it's warming waters around Florida taking a toll on marine life. Our guest this episode is Kevin Sheilley, president and CEO of the Ocala Metro Chamber and Economic Partnership. Ocala is "the Horse Capitol of the World." Kevin explains how the city earned that moniker, when Florida became a horse destination, and we...

This week's episode begins with a look at the series of disastrous bills signed into law by Ron DeSantis that will imperil Florida's environment for decades to come, if not forever. Our guest this week is author Michael Tougias whose book "Above & Beyond: John F. Kennedy and America's Most Dangerous Cold War Spy Mission" centers around the Cuban Missile Crisis. His mos...

We begin today's show with some shady developer dealings in Captiva . Florida is as well-known as a haven for retirees as anything. Helping people make that transition is the American Association of Retired Persons - AARP. Jeff Johnson is the state director for AARP Florida and he joins us to discuss AARP's work in Florida. Thanks again to Windstorm Products for supporting the podcast. W...

We have hit the 3rd anniversary of the "Welcome to Florida" podcast and we want to thank you for listening. If you'd like to take your support of the show further, you can do so by becoming a patron at www.patreon.com/welcometoflorida . For as little as $5 a month you'll help us continue producing the show and have access to exclusive bonus episodes. Our guest this week is Laur...

What's weird? A Florida city council suing its citizens over the topic of clean water. Eliot Kleinberg is the father of "weird Florida." In 1998, he published "Weird Florida," a compilation of Florida oddities which would eventually spawn the weird Florida and Florida man genres. Eliot joins us this week, his second appearance on the show . Thank you "Welcome to Flori...

"What the f*uck happened here!?!" If you're a nature lover in Florida, chances are you've said - or screamed - these words upon discovering a beloved tree or beach or meadow destroyed without warning by your city or county, a developer or a resident. We begin the episode exploring "what the f*uck happened here" in Port St. Lucie. Our guest is writer John Birdsall who...

You can't tell the story of Florida without the story of Hurricane Andrew. That's what we're doing on this episode with the help of longtime University of Miami professor, Hurricane Andrew survivor, and author of "In the Eye of Hurricane Andrew," Eugene Provenzo. "Welcome to Florida" is presented by Windstorm Products , a Florida small business and the world&apos...

We start the episode discussing the "Path of the Panther" documentary which you can see now on Disney+. Our guests are authors Anders and Beverly Gyllenhaal whose book "A Wing and a Prayer: The Race to Save our Vanishing Birds" takes special interest in the Florida Seaside Sparrow. Follow the Gyllenhaal's on their blog, flyinglessons.us . On this episode, we mentioned Whit...

At "Welcome to Florida" we love celebrating Florida's ecology and wild animals as well as educating and introducing people to the same. That is much the same mission as the Florida Master Naturalist program . If you love this podcast, chances are, you'd be interested in taking one or more of their courses. Jeanne Murphy from Sensing Nature ecotours in Pinellas County is a long...

Lawn "care" giant TruGreen used its bought and paid for Florida legislators to sneak through a provision in the state budget forbidding cities and counties from regulating the use of fertilizer in summer months, fertilizer often spread by TruGreen, fertilizer which contains phosphorous and leads to blue-green algae blooms and the poisoning of Florida's water. Our guest this week is...

Another episode, another example of trouble with the water in Florida . Our guest is Florida native, author, historian and professor Sara McNamara whose recently published book, "Ybor City: Crucible of the Latina South," details how the enclave of Cuban migrants evolved through the years and how it is distinguished from Cuban communities in Miami. If this subject interests you, previous...

This week's episode takes us back to 1998 when wildfires ravaged Florida . Our guest is Florida State professor, journalist, author and 8th generation Tallahassee resident Diane Roberts. Her book, "Dream State: Eight Generations of Swamp Lawyers, Conquistadors, Confederate Daughters and other Wildlife" details her family's history across the backdrop of the state capital. She i...

The state's elected officials continue ignoring the causes of climate change to the peril of everyone living in Florida. This week's episode focuses on oysters and a new documentary from a pair of native Floridians about the collapse of oyster reefs globally, Apalachicola Bay in particular. We mentioned the Chiles Hospitality Group's conservation efforts including its oyster shell r...

We discuss Florida's water quality problems in almost every episode of the show. Here's a new one: lead pipes . Did you know Florida receives only 5% of its electricity from solar power? Not good for the Sunshine State. That's why we receive an "F" from the Center for Biological Diversity when it comes to solar generation. Our guest this episode is James Fenton , Director...

Following the terrible manatee die off in 2021, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service decided to take the drastic measure of supplementing the mammals' diet with human provided lettuce. How is the program working ? Speaking of manatee, the reason they're dying is because blue green algae blooms are preventing the seagrass they feed o...

What is ESG ? It's Florida Republicans latest effort to distract from the spiraling living conditions in the state created under their watch by scaring white voters into believing a "woke agenda" threatens their way of life. This week's episode centers on Eatonville, the first all-Black town in America , incorporated in 1887. Craig recently focused one of his Florida Phoenix co...

Runaway, reckless development in Florida not only threatens the state's beautiful land, but its sky as well . Our guest is Julie Albert, right whale conservation program coordinator for the Marine Resources Council. To volunteer for whale watching, contact the Marine Resources Council above, or the Blue World Research Institute here . Information on the Right Whale Festival in Fernandina Beac...

A state legislator wants to take away the ability to manage water quality from local governments and give it to the state because the current law disadvantaged his nephew . Seriously. Our guest this episode is Zach Zacharias, history curator at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Daytona Beach. He recalls for us the story of the discovery of The Daytona Beach Mastodon . Journey with us to Ice Age F...

Martin Luther King Jr.'s time in St. Augustine, and St. Augustine's central place in the Civil Rights Movement, are among the most important and least discussed aspects of Florida history and civil rights history. There are obvious and surprising reasons for that. Flagler College history professor and civil rights author Michael Butler helps us understand what happened in St. Augustine d...

Advocates for Florida Springs had to take the state Department of Environmental Protection to court for the terrible job its been doing protecting the state's drinking water from polluters. This week's guest Bob Kealing has joined us before to talk about Tupperware and Elvis . His latest book, "Good Day Sunshine State: How the Beatles Rocked Florida" takes us back to 1964 and t...

Florida's State Attorney General is a villainous political hatchet queen . As Agriculture Commissioner, Nikki Fried was the last Democrat elected to a statewide office in Florida. We discuss the role of the state Agriculture Department from concealed carry firearm permits to state forests, invasive species, gasoline and Big Sugar. Fried was elected on February 25, 2023, as chair of the state...

This episode begins in Eatonville, home of Zora Neale Hurston, where, not surprisingly, developers are up to no good . Our guest is lifelong Pensacola resident and longtime Pensacola newspaper reporter and editor Carl Wernicke. We discuss Pensacola's past, present and future, Matt Gaetz, what he loves about Pensacola, and how the city is, and isn't, changing. Craig's from Pensacola...