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 This week, Craig and Chadd discuss Florida's state symbols with Mark Lane, Daytona Beach News Journal columnist and author of "Roaring Reptiles, Bountiful Citrus & Neon Pies." Did you know Florida has a state song and a state anthem? A state reptile, state mammal, marine mammal, saltwater fish, freshwater fish, tree (which is actually a grass) and a remarkably unremarkable state bird due to the lobbying efforts of one of Florida's most villianous influence peddlers. And a...
Aug 27, 2020•36 min•Ep 10•Transcript available on Metacast Craig and Chadd begin this week's episode discussing a recent list of Florida's "secret" tourist destinations. This week's interview is with Colette Bancroft, editor and contributor to Tampa Bay Noir , a collection of fictionalized crime short-stories set in the Tampa Bay area.
Aug 20, 2020•29 min•Ep 9•Transcript available on Metacast This week's episode begins with a conversation surrounding the loss of a great fall tradition in Florida before transitioning into a recent story Craig wrote in the Florida Phoenix about Governor Ron DeSantis' failure to fill vacant positions on the state's five water management districts . What are water management districts? Why are they critically important to life in Florida? We discuss. This week's guest is Erich Schutthauf, Executive Director of the American Association...
Aug 13, 2020•34 min•Ep 8•Transcript available on Metacast Craig and Chadd begin this episode looking at Florida's checkered history of hosting political conventions. Craig wrote about the topic for Politico.com earlier in the summer as the Republicans were supposed to nominate Donald Trump in Jacksonville in late August before the event was cancelled due to COVID-19 health concerns. This episode's guest is author Sarah Gerard who penned a series of essay's collectively titled "Sunshine State: Essays." One of the essays shares t...
Aug 06, 2020•40 min•Ep 7•Transcript available on Metacast Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott recall the story of former Florida governor "Walkin'" Lawton Chiles and how he helped inspire author Kent Russell to similarly walk across Florida. Russell shares the story of his journey in the new book, "In the Land of Good Living: A Journey to the Heart of Florida." This episode also features Craig explaining old-time Florida lingo such as "Florida cracker," "he-coon," and "worm gruntin.'"...
Jul 30, 2020•37 min•Ep 6•Transcript available on Metacast Craig and Chadd begin this week's episode discussing the collapse of the Apalachicola Bay oyster fishery which is likely to prevent the harvesting of any oysters there for the next five years. This week's featured guest is Cathy Salustri , author of "Backroads of Paradise," a book detailing her 5,000 mile road trip across Florida highlighting the strange, kitschy and wonderful roadside attractions throughout Florida including Weeki Wachee Springs and the Skunk Ape Research Ce...
Jul 23, 2020•45 min•Ep 5•Transcript available on Metacast Craig and Chadd begin this week's episode with follow ups to Episode 3 on invasive species and Episode 2 regarding American Beach and Evan's Rendezvous. Also discussed was Craig's recent story from the Florida Phoenix about the Stillwright Point neighborhood in Key Largo and how Florida continues pushing for more development in areas especially prone to flooding. This week's guest is Andrew Blechman, author of "Leisurland: Adventures in a World Without Children," wh...
Jul 16, 2020•42 min•Ep 4•Transcript available on Metacast This week's episode begins with Craig discussing his recent Florida Pheonix column about an experimental program releasing genetically modified mosquitos in the Keys. Also from the Florida Phoenix, Craig has a story about the longest running environmental battle in the state, the fight over the Kirkpatrick Dam . Most of the episode, however, is spent with Burmese python hunter Donna Kalil who shares her harrowing adventures of python encouters in South Florida. For more than 10 years, Donna...
Jul 09, 2020•55 min•Ep 3•Transcript available on Metacast 
