This week's episode begins with a look at why Florida's manatees are dying this winter at a rate which threatens the survival of the species. Craig Pittman's latest column for the Florida Phoenix digs in deep on the reasons , which are preventable. Craig's 2010 book "Manatee Insanity" goes even further in detailing the decades-long conservation effort in Florida to protect manatees, as well as calling out the people working against manatee protection. Our guest is S...
Mar 23, 2021•54 min•Ep 40•Transcript available on Metacast This week's episode starts with Craig Pittman sharing some of his favorite Florida Women from the state's history in recognition of Women's History Month. Follow Craig on Twitter and Facebook @CraigTimes and on Instagram @CraigPittman78 for more. Our guest this week is Amy Green, author of "Moving Water: The Everglades and Big Sugar." Amy's book, which published in March of 2021, takes a look at Big Sugar's influence on Everglades pollution and degradation, as ...
Mar 16, 2021•54 min•Ep 39•Transcript available on Metacast This week's episode begins with an update on the disastrous "Roads to Ruin" M-CORES toll road proposal and efforts in the state legislature to adjust it. Our guest this week is historical reenactor Ersula K Odom who has been portraying Mary McLeod Bethune at events across Florida for many years. Odom's performances see her dress in period appropriate costumes and take on the personality of the famed educator, voting rights advocate, civil rights activist, feminist, stateswoma...
Mar 09, 2021•39 min•Ep 38•Transcript available on Metacast This week's episode begins with Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott discussing the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's unanimous ruling to ban the possession of a large number of non-native snakes and lizards in the hopes of avoiding their introduction into the state's ecosystem like as happened with the Burmese python and tegu lizard. Our guest is Jack Davis who won the Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for nonfiction with his book, "The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea.&q...
Mar 02, 2021•49 min•Ep 37•Transcript available on Metacast This week's episode begins with a song from Zora Neale Hurston, "Shove it Over." Throughout this week's show we'll be hearing songs from Hurston which can be found in the State Archives of Florida . Up next: cruise ships. Craig Pittman wrote recently how Republican state legislators are contradicting their so-called principles of "home rule" and "small government," trying to take away Key West's ability to limit the number of cruise ship passenge...
Feb 21, 2021•51 min•Ep 36•Transcript available on Metacast This week's episode begins with Craig Pittman's latest story for the Florida Phoenix about the remarkable discovery of a new whale species in the Gulf of Mexico. The whale was washed up on a beach near the Florida Everglades allowing scientists to study the animal. In doing so, they determined it had died as the result of a piece of plastic cutting through its stomach. Single use plastics have become one of the greatest threats to the environment and animals globally, particularly fish...
Feb 16, 2021•46 min•Ep 35•Transcript available on Metacast This week's episode begins with Craig Pittman putting Ron DeSantis in the crosshairs over the governor's big talk and small action on protecting the state's water. If you'd like to learn more about the state's water quality problems, what causes them, what can be done to fix them, a previous episode all about the Floridan Aquifer does so in depth . This week's guest is artist Kelvin Hair. Kelvin is the son of Alfred Hair, one of the original, legendary, Florida High...
Feb 09, 2021•41 min•Ep 34•Transcript available on Metacast This week's episode focuses on two of Florida's - and the nation's - most endangered species. First up, Craig Pittman tells us about recovery efforts for the Florida grasshopper sparrow which he detailed in a recently released story for "National Geographic." From the very small to the very big, Craig and Chadd Scott are then joined by Florida panther biologist Deborah Jansen, a key figure in Craig's book about the heroic efforts to save the panther against the forc...
Feb 02, 2021•44 min•Ep 33•Transcript available on Metacast Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott begin this week's episode discussing Craig's hope for a modern-day Richard Nixon (???) to save Florida from the disastrous M-CORES project , better known as the "Roads to Ruin." He explains the connection. Chadd highlights a project working to secure American Beach's historic character and how you can help. This week's guest is Neal Thompson, author of "Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NA...
Jan 26, 2021•44 min•Ep 32•Transcript available on Metacast In what is sure to be the grossest episode of "Welcome to Florida" yet, Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott begin by discussing Craig's latest story for the Florida Phoenix which focuses on a toxic sludge disposal facility in Lakeland , aptly called the BS Ranch, that has neighbors upset and is looking to renew its permit to handle 5,000 tons of sludge PER DAY! From there, Dr. Roberto M. Pereira joins us. He specializes in urban entomology, conducting research on different aspects of th...
Jan 19, 2021•32 min•Ep 31•Transcript available on Metacast Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott begin this week's episode talking briefly about the history of con men in Florida, the attempted overthrow of the federal government last week by white nationalists which prominently featured a Florida Man, and Craig's latest Florida Phoenix article about ecological catastrophe caused by a paper mill on the Fenholloway River in Perry. This week's guest is Jeff Testerman, a now-retired former investigative reporter at the St. Petersburg Times (before i...
Jan 12, 2021•46 min•Ep 30•Transcript available on Metacast This episode begins with exciting news about "Welcome to Florida's" first sponsor, Hipcamp. Hipcamp is a growing community of respectful people looking to get outside for camping, glamping, and RV stays on private land. Anyone with a property that helps people connect with nature can be a Hipcamp Host. Landowners across Florida are earning up to $1,000 a month. It’s free to list and Hipcamp takes care of everything including liability insurance! All you need is a flat spot where s...
Jan 05, 2021•52 min•Ep 29•Transcript available on Metacast This week's episode of "Welcome to Florida" begins with great news for Florida's critically endangered grasshopper sparrow . Being Florida, the story of course involves a long and twisty road with no shortage of "colorful" characters who Craig Pittman introduces us to. Craig and Chadd Scott's guest this week is Les Standiford, author of "Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean." Sta...
Dec 29, 2020•38 min•Ep 28•Transcript available on Metacast Merry Christmas everyone. Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott begin this week's episode of "Welcome to Florida" with unusual ways in which the holiday has been celebrated around the state. 20 years ago, a multi-billion dollar, bipartisan, multi-agency, decades-long plan to restore the Everglades to a more natural water flow and ecology was signed by President Bill Clinton and hailed as a fix for what ailed the 'Glades and a model of future ecosystem-scale conservation and environme...
Dec 22, 2020•42 min•Ep 27•Transcript available on Metacast This week's episode begins with Craig Pittman offering advice to Governor Ron DeSantis . Craig and Chadd Scott are joined by Nicholas Griffin, author of, "The Year of Dangerous Days: Riots, Refugees and Cocaine in Miami 1980." Griffin's book shares the remarkable, harrowing and history-altering interconnected stories of Cuba's Marielitos, the largest mass migration event in U.S. history, the explosion of the cocaine trade, and the race riots spawned by the acquital of fo...
Dec 15, 2020•55 min•Ep 26•Transcript available on Metacast Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott begin this week's episode talking about the return of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to public view following a month in hiding. Craig and Chadd discuss the governor's handling of the Coronavirus pandemic. This week's guest is renowned Florida landscape photographer Clyde Butcher , Clyde has been photographing the state for 30 years and shares his favorite spots to shoot, tips for hobbyist photographers, and how his career led him into environmental ac...
Dec 08, 2020•43 min•Ep 25•Transcript available on Metacast Craig Pittman shares good environmental news with Chadd Scott to begin this episode and the two discuss a quirky feature of Fernandina Beach's local government. This week's guest is best-selling author Monte Burke whose latest book, "Lords of the Fly: Madness, Obsession, and the Hunt for the World Record Tarpon," dives into the tarpon fly fishing craze around Homosassa in the early 1980s. From Flip Pallot, to Ted Williams, Jimmy Buffett to a hardened gangster, everyone wanted...
Dec 01, 2020•36 min•Ep 24•Transcript available on Metacast Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott begin this Thanksgiving Week episode discussing their favorite holiday traditions before engaging in a conversation with historian and author Gary Mormino about the influence immigrants have had, and continue to have, on Florida. Mormino is the author of "The Immigrant World of Ybor City: Italians and their Latin Neighbors in tampa, 1885-1985."...
Nov 24, 2020•37 min•Ep 23•Transcript available on Metacast Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott take a break from the anxiety of 2020 to discuss their favorite Florida TV shows and the shows which have shaped the state's image . NPR TV critic Eric Deggans joins to discuss everything from "I Dream of Jeannie" to "Miami Vice," "Golden Girls," "Dexter" and "Siesta Key." Remember to follow Craig on Twitter and Facebook @CraigTimes and Chadd on Twitter @ChaddScott....
Nov 17, 2020•43 min•Ep 22•Transcript available on Metacast Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott begin this episode of "Welcome to Florida" discussing the 2020 election in Florida, why Trump took the state, where the Democrats failed and what it means moving forward. This week's guest is Mitchell Kaplan , co-founder of the Miami Book Fair which begins November 15, the most prestigious litterary event in the country. Mitchell is a long-time Miami resident and owner of Books and Books bookstore. We discuss Miami's turnaround, why the fair and ...
Nov 10, 2020•49 min•Ep 21•Transcript available on Metacast This week's episode of "Welcome to Florida" releases on Super Tuesday! As Floridans go the the polls and await the outcome, Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott share their voting experiences from this year and years previous. This week's guest is UCF historian Jim Clark. Jim has authored several books on Florida history, including "Presidents in Florida." That's what we're talking about this week. From Andrew Jackson to Donald Trump, Harry Truman's "Li...
Nov 03, 2020•37 min•Ep 20•Transcript available on Metacast On this week's Halloween-themed episode, Craig Pittman shares Florida ghost stories before Craig and Chadd Scott talk with Tampa Bay Times reporter Paul Guzzo who has done outstanding work finding lost cemeteries in the Bay Area. The episode wraps up with a discussion of Craig's recent " National Geographic" article surrounding the end of greyhound racing in Florida....
Oct 27, 2020•38 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week's episode, unfortunately, begins with bad news as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has decided to begin water releases from Lake Okeechobee. Why does this happen and what makes this decision so environmentally ruinous? Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott explain. Gary Fineout from Politico.com is this week's guest. He has covered government and politics in Florida for almost 30 years. Gary discusses many of the key issues impacting how the presidential race in Florida will turn out...
Oct 20, 2020•48 min•Transcript available on Metacast Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott begin this week's episode talking about a strange obsenity case from Florida's past which is back in the news. They also help you make sense of the proposed amendments to the state constitution on this year's ballot. They're guests this episode are Sandra Friend and John Keatley. Sandra has written numerous guide books to hiking throughout Florida, she's logged almost 10,000 miles across the state on foot herself, and is the founder of Flori...
Oct 13, 2020•44 min•Ep 17•Transcript available on Metacast In 2007, astronaut Lisa Nowak drove 900 miles to confront her lover's new lover in the parking lot of the Orlando airport. Then things really got weird, especially with the discovery of used diapers in her car. This episode of "Welcome to Florida" features Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott discussing the NASA love triangle which fed the tabloids and legitimate media for weeks, cast a harsh spotlight on NASA, and changed the way it psychologically profiles astronauts with Kimberly Moor...
Oct 07, 2020•45 min•Ep 16•Transcript available on Metacast One of the many histories explored in Craig Pittman's great book on the state of Florida, "Oh, Florida!," is Florida's checkered history of religion. Billy Graham found his calling here. Martin Luther King was arrested here. Jim Bakker visited Florida for illicit sexual affairs. Craig and Chadd Scott discuss these events on their way to being joined by this episode's guest, Lyn Millner, author of "The Allure of Immortality: An American Cult, a Florida Swamp and a Re...
Sep 30, 2020•37 min•Ep 15•Transcript available on Metacast Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott begin this week's episode discussing the latest environmental nightmare Floridians, and Florida Panthers, have to worry about. This week's guest is Scott Deitche, author of "Cigar City Mafia" and numerous other books about the mob. He shares details and stories about the Mafia's involvement in Florida politics and gambling. The Mob was big in Tampa and South Florida, starting in the 1930s when they moved in on the locals who were bootlegging...
Sep 24, 2020•29 min•Ep 14•Transcript available on Metacast This episode of "Welcome to Florida" was recorded hours after the attempted murder of Jacob Blake by police officers in Chadd Scott's home state of Wisconsin. Chadd and Craig Pittman discussed the shooting and their reactions to it, how Trayvon Martin's murder was the catalyst for Craig's book "Oh, Florida!" and why the Florida Department of Environmental Protection doesn't protect Florida's environment. This week's guest is Diana Beckman, execut...
Sep 17, 2020•36 min•Ep 13•Transcript available on Metacast The Floridan Aquifer is one of the most amazing natural resources in the world, producing eight billion gallons of fresh water daily! Julie Hauserman joins Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott to discuss her book, "Drawn to the Deep: The Remarkable Underwater Explorations of Wes Skiles," which examines the aquifer, one of it's greatest champions - Wes Skiles - and the threats it faces.
Sep 10, 2020•37 min•Transcript available on Metacast Multi-time best-selling author, Florida native and resident, Carl Hiaasen , joins us to discuss his latest book, Squeeze Me, a satire not-so-loosely based on Donald Trump. We also shout out another of our favorite Florida-focused podcasts, "Wait Five Minutes," great work being done to restore coral reefs by the Mote Marine Laboratory & Acquarium and Craig shares exciting news on his writing career....
Sep 03, 2020•47 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
