Welcome to Florida

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 with Florida author and historian Gary Mormino, we discussed what else was going on across the state during the 1930s - the heart of the Great Depression.

If the Jeffrey...

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 Florida while being wiped out elsewhere, and the latest threat to its survival.

If you see a sawfish, call 844-472-9347 (1-844-4SAWFISH).

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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, podcaster, and newspaper publisher Cathy Salustri.

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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 War shaped Florida.

For only $5 per month, you can support "Welcome to Florida" by becoming a monthly patron. Patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly Florida Conservation Newsletter.

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 Redemption in the Heart of Florida."

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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."

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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's Black Fortress of Freedom," combines history and archaeology to provide as accurate an account of the Fort as exists.

Listen on: A...

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 time in Florida is Jason Daniels, editor of "Jonathan Dickinson's Journal or God's Protecting Providence, an Early American Castaway Narrative."

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's birth year with celebrations being held around the world. 

 Jade Dellinger is Director at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery at Florida Southwestern State College in Fort Myers and joins us to di...

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 as they unfolded. He dug back into the stories, and the story of Arcadia, in his newly released book for fall of 2025, "A Town Without Pity: AIDS, Race, and Resistance in Florida's Deep South."

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 Down music venue.

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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 the author of "American Scare: Florida’s Hidden Cold War on Black and Queer Lives," a book published in 2025 with newly discovered details about the assassination. 

Visit the Harry and Harriette Moore museum in Mims, FL.<...

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.

"Come to My Sunland: Letters of Julia Daniels Moseley from the Florida Frontier, 1882-1886."

"Welcome to Florida" patrons can watch a Labor Day 2025 speech given by Chadd Scott in Fernandina Beach along with accessing...

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 with shorebird monitoring or birding in Florida, look up your local Audubon Florida chapter.

"Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly conservation newsletter for only $5...

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 exclusive access to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter."

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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?" Blair joins the show to discuss his inspiration for the book and beachcombing finds. The couple have a new book, "Living Beaches of the Gulf Coast: A Beachcombers Guide including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida's Panhandle."

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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's "Flip My Florida" yard show focuses on using native and Florida friendly plants and landscaping designs to create a lawn that doubles as habitat for insects, birds, and animals, filters and cleans storm water, reduces...

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 episode is Ann Colby, author of "Wicked St. Augustine," who tells us all about the storied history of prostitution in the city. She also hosts walking tours in St. Augustine.

Find...

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. Robert Kesten, the museum's director, joins us to discuss its history, and the history of the LGBTQ+ movement in America.

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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 vegetables and how to incorporate them into your meals.

Friends of "Welcome to Florida:"

Jason Garcia's essential "Seeking Rents" podcast exposes the financial corruption inherent at the Everglades concentration camp.

Ryan Smart an...

Unsurprisingly, the Florida Department of Environmental Prostitution/Protection continues putting the interests of industry and developers ahead of the interests of our springs.

One expert source in Craig's latest Florida Phoenix article linked above is springs advocate Ryan Smart. Smart co-hosts an essential podcast for Florida conservationists called "As Bad As It Is." Two recent episodes highlighted the damage Florida's legislature has done to environmental causes through defunding conservation projects in the state budget.

Our guest this episode is author, historian, and lecturer Robert N. Macomber. Macomber has studied the Civil War and Reconstruction in...

The Manatee County Commission did what county commissions in Florida almost never do: it told a real estate developer "no."

Our guest this episode is novelist, playwright, and Cedar Key clam farmer Michael Presley Bobbitt.  Michael joins us to discuss Cedar Key history, his Cedar Key novel series, and clam farming in the Gulf of Mexico.

More Florida history can be found at our "Florida Black History" YouTube channel and on Facebook where our friends and fellow Florida podcasters Cathy Salustri and Ryan Worthington have started a Florida history group titled "Submerged Stories" which is f...

The governor wants to put a concentration camp for immigrants in the Everglades, following in the footsteps of "Florida's Worst Idea."

Previous “Welcome to Florida” podcast episode about "Florida's Worst Idea," the Everglades Jetport, which gave rise to conservation legend Marjory Stoneman Douglas. 

Our guest on that episode was Michael Grunwald, author of "The Swamp: The Everglades, Florida, and the Politics of Paradise," and he joins us again for this episode to discuss his new book about how the global agriculture system is destroying the planet. "We Are Eating the Earth: The Race to Fix Our F...

Florida has a sewerage treatment problem.

Our guest this week is Michael Adno who wrote a beautiful story about the life of north Florida native Ernie Mickler. Mickler became famous in the late 1980s for his offbeat Southern cookbook, "White Trash Cooking," which merged old country recipes with folklore, storytelling, and ethnography.

"Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter" for only $5 per month. The newsletter is a summary of the most important environmental stories from across the state and those across the nation impacting Florida.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has proposed listing the ghost orchid under the Endangered Species Act. Comment here in support of the proposal.

David Bulit is an urban explorer who visits and documents Florida's abandoned places. He tells us how he got into this unusual hobby and what he's seen.

"Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter" rounding up the top environmental stories from around the state and those from around the nation impacting Florida. Your $5 monthly support goes a long way toward helping production of the...

The Trump administration's tax bill is gutting funding for clean energy, national parks, science, climate resiliency, emergency weather information, and more, but it's increasing support for BIG SUGAR through additional subsidies. 

Rachel Silverstein is the CEO for the Miami Waterkeeper and after listening to this episode, you may think she has the most difficult job in Florida.

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Developers run Florida and the state legislature wants to keep it that way, even if municipalities would like less construction to safeguard themselves from hurricanes.

Julian Dimock photographed Southwest Florida in the early 20th century. His photographs depict Seminole Indians, African American laborers on Marco Island, and the areas remarkable ecology. Jerald T. Milanich has authored multiple books on Dimock's time in Florida and photographs and joins us on this episode.

"Welcome to Florida" patrons receive our weekly Florida Conservation Newsletter for only $5 per month. Thanks to all who support our efforts.

The people of Florida once again united against their governor and state agencies to protect the environment. 

"Welcome to Florida" Episode 1 was about alligators. Episode 257 is about crocodiles. Joining us in Frank "The Croc Doc" Mazzotti.

Show patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter." For only $5 per month, you'll be updated on the most important stories impacting the environment around the state.

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In Florida conservation, the old axiom holds true: an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Our topic for this episode is the Lake Wales Ridge. Our guest is Hillary Swain, Executive Director & CEO, and Senior Research Biologist at Archbold Biological Station.

"Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter" for only $5 per month.

Check out our "Florida Black History" YouTube channel!

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Anyone inspired by our previous episode with painter Christopher Still to go out and see some art can do so at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville where a fantastic show reassembling the first Modern art exhibition ever presented in Florida can be seen through November 23, 2025.

Our guest is Ken Meyer, executive director at the Avian Research and Conservation Institute. He's been studying Florida's swallow-tailed kites since the 1990s.

Help swallow-tail kites and all Florida birds by incorporating native plants into your yard. Find support from the Florida Native Plant Society and Florida Association...

The Florida legislature, the best legislature corporate money can buy, has done the bidding of phosphate giant Mosaic, endangering public safety and making the polluting company less accountable for the harm it creates.

Florida artist Christopher Still is best known for his Florida history mural cycle at the State House in Tallahassee. An exhibition of his paintings can be seen at the Tarpon Springs Heritage Museum in a permanent display.

"Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our "Florida Conservation Newsletter" each week for only $5. The newsletter rounds up the top conservation headlines from...

A federal judge ruled that the State of Florida and its Department of Environmental “Protection” violated the Endangered Species Act resulting in the mass manatee die-off of 2021. This occurred primarily in the Indian River Lagoon. 

Before Daytona Beach, auto racing's capital was one beach north, Ormond Beach. Ormond Beach Councilman Harold Briley is a student of this history and shares it with us.

Listen to our previous episode on the birth of NASCAR in Daytona Beach.

Learn more in the book "Beach Racers: Daytona Beach Before NASCAR" by Dick Punnett.

"Welcome to Fl...

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Rodney Barreto appears to have lied under oath during his senate confirmation hearing about a proposed development project he attempted.

Our guest this episode is Kristina Agard from the Florida Keys Eco-Discovery Center in Key West.  Since opening in 2007, Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary's Eco-Discovery Center has provided visitors and locals an opportunity to explore the sanctuary without getting their feet wet. 

Thanks to all of our patrons at www.patreon.com/WelcometoFlorida who support the podcast for $5 per month and receive exclusive access to our weekly "Florida Conservation Ne...

The Florida legislature is spending valuable time this session attempting to enact a law preventing chemtrails and human manipulation of the weather, something that doesn't exist except in the mind of loony right-wingers. 

Something that does exist in Florida is black bears. Arix Zalace is a long-time Panhandle resident and Co-Founder, Director & Board Member at The Paper Bear nonprofit which has produced a feature film of the same name. The movie is a love letter to the biodiversity of the Florida Panhandle as told through the story of a black bear. The film debuts at the upcoming F...

A proposed home development in Alachua County threatens the Floridan Aquifer. 

John Quarterman is the Suwannee Riverkeeper working with a group of concerned citizens in north central Florida and south central Georgia to protect a vast, interconnected basin of waterways flowing into the Suwanee River and ultimately to the Gulf of Mexico.

Check out our new "Florida Black History" YouTube channel with interviews from previous episodes related to Black History subjects in Florida.

Every Saturday morning, "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive our "Florida Conservation Newsletter," a roundup of environmental news and headlines from a...

A peanut farmer wants to swindle choice gopher tortoise land out of state conservation protection under the guise of a land swap, and Florida officials seem open to the idea. Voice your opposition. 

Craig's seventh book, "Welcome to Florida: True Tales from America's Most Interesting State" is now available. His former colleague at the "Tampa Bay Times," Colette Bancroft, and the paper's one-time book reviewer, joins us to discuss. Pick up Craig's book at your local, independent book store if you can.

Thanks to all of our new patrons who are supporting "Welcome to Florida" for...

Craig highlights the WORST bill working its way through the legislature this session. It's a "Christmas wish list" for developers and polluting industries.

Fernandina Beach vs. Rayonier.

Find you state senator and call him/her to oppose SB 1118.

Jason Garcia's GREAT newsletter and podcast about Florida politics.

Our guest this episode is Mark Mustian, founder of Word of South literary festival in Tallahassee. It take place every April and is mostly free to attend.

Thanks to all of our $5 per month patrons at www.patreon.com/welcometoflorida. Patrons receive...

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials are again pursuing a black bear hunt for the state. Citizens don't want it, and the last one was a disaster. Read Craig's column and send your comment to state officials in opposition.

The Palace Saloon in Fernandina Beach on Amelia Island is Florida's oldest bar. Thea Seagraves from the Amelia Island Museum of History joins us to discuss.

Every week, "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our "Florida Conservation Newsletter." For only $5 per month, you too can receive our roundup of the most important environmental...

Craig wants America's most hated man, unelected shadow president Elon Musk, to keep his hands off our National Parks. (Resistance Rangers)

Longleaf pine once covered an area of over 90 million acres from Virginia to Texas along the Southeastern coast and well inland. Today, only about 5% of that original habitat remains. Karl Etters works at Tall Timbers Plantation in Tallahassee, an organization committed to the use of fire ecology in land management. We discuss the history and biology of the longleaf pine, restoration efforts, and where to see longleaf pine today in Florida.

"Welcome to Florida"...

Alcoholic, womanizing, Islamophobe U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is also a climate denier. He has instructed the armed forces to ignore climate impacts and has demanded the Pentagon cut funding on military installations aimed at combating the effects of climate change, including at bases in Florida.

The Montbrook Fossil Site roughly 45 minutes south of Gainesville in Levy County has become one of the most globally significant paleontological digs in the world. Jonathan Bloch runs the site for the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida in Gainesville. He joins us on this episode...