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Welcome to Florida

Chadd Scott

Best selling author, award winning reporter and Florida native Craig Pittman is joined by radio personality and Florida transplant Chadd Scott to discuss the state's history, people, politics, environment, animals, current events and weirdness. You'll hear great storytelling and have great fun in each weekly episode.

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Avg 41 min
English

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S7 · E326
Today · 34 min
Episode 326: Romper Room
Congressional Republicans are trying to make it easier for developers to pave over wetlands in Florida. Byron Donalds is attempting to do the same thing from inside the state. "Romper Room" was a wildly successful television show that attempted to bring kindergarten to TV. It ran more than 40 years on station's across the country. Wayne Hicks, author of "Did All My Friends Have Fun at Play: An Oral History of Romper Room," joins us to discuss the program.
S7 · E325
September 29 · 42 min
Episode 325: Cave diving
The Boy Scouts organization in Hernando County wants to sell roughly half of a 1300 acre natural area it owns and uses for outdoor recreation for potential development. Our guest this week is long-time Florida cave diver Tom Morris. Morris was featured in the famed "Water's Edge" PBS cavediving documentary. Morris tells us about the volume of caves in Florida, what causes them, and what's down there. "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly Florida conservation newsletter for just $5 per month.
S7 · E324
September 22 · 42 min
Episode 324: Roseate Spoonbills
Lee County planning officials wanted to exclude public comment from rezoning decisions; residents laughed out loud! Roseate spoonbills are one of Florida's iconic wading birds. Florida Audubon Executive Director Julie Wraithmell joins us to discuss the gorgeous pink bird.
S7 · E323
September 15 · 33 min
Episode 323: Flamingo Magazine
On this episode we celebrate Florida's lifestyle magazine, 'Flamingo' magazine, as it enters its next 10 years of publication. Our guest is the magazine's founder and editor Jamie Rich.
S7 · E322
September 8 · 50 min
Episode 322: 'Bodega Stories'
The Hope Florida scandal involves Ron DeSantis, Casey DeSantis, and Ashley Moody, but the figure at the center of the theft is Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier. Amaris Castillo's parents run the Orlando Latin Market bodega in St. Pete. Several years ago, she began sharing stories of the bodega online; that effort has become a new book, "Bodega Stories," published in September of 2026.
S7 · E321
September 1 · 42 min
Episode 321: Saltwater Underground Railroad
Florida's public school textbooks downplay the impacts of climate change and protect industry from blame. Between the late 1600s and the U.S. Civil War, freedom seekers from across the South fled south, and by sail, to the Bahamas and Caribbean. This escape route from slavery is what is known as the Saltwater Underground Railroad. Our guest this episode, Stefan Moss, is a historian researching the Saltwater Underground Railroad and has developed a website and app sharing what he's learned. Learn more about Florida's Black history through our "Florida Black History" YouTube channel.
S7 · E320
August 25 · 40 min
Episode 320: Hurricane Safety
A Florida university wants to build an airstrip in the Ocala National Forest. George Siegal is a former weatherman turned documentary filmmaker. Upon moving to Florida, he was shocked by the state's casual attitude toward hurricane preparedness. His documentary, "Built to Last: Buyer Beware," catalogues the numerous ways in which Floridians ignore hurricane preparedness and how you can make yourself and your home safer from storms.
S7 · E319
August 18 · 34 min
Episode 319: Lovebugs
The super wealthy have found a new way to exploit Florida's undeveloped land: private auto racing clubs. You know them, you probably hate them, they're lovebugs - the little black bugs that get all over your car during spring and fall. Our guest on this episode, Norman Leppla, University of Florida professor of integrated pest management and biological control, is the nation's leading expert on lovebugs. For only $5 a month, you can support the production of "Welcome to Florida" and receive our weekly Florida Conservation newsletter.
S7 · E318
August 11 · 48 min
Episode 318: Florida's Notorious Jailhouse Snitch
Florida wants to take almost $200 million from the federal government earmarked for electric vehicle charging stations and instead waste the money pursuing flying cars. Seriously. Pamela Colloff spent a decade investigating the life and crimes of Paul Skalnik. Skalnik, among other things, was a longtime jailhouse snitch whose phony testimony was relied upon by Pinellas County prosecutors for decades. Colloff shares what she discovered in a new book out this summer, "Catch the Devil: A True Story of Murder, Deception, and Injustice on the Gulf Coast."
S7 · E317
August 4 · 43 min
Episode 317: Bob Ross
The Florida Department of Environmental "Protection" refuses to investigate a Key West utility company that has been injecting waste water underground only to have it surface elsewhere. Everyone knows 1980s PBS TV painter Bob Ross, but most people don't associate him with Florida. Ross was born, raised, lived and died in Central Florida. The Bob Ross Art Workshop & Gallery in New Smyrna Beach is open to the public and carries on his legacy. Our guest this episode, Nicholas Hankins, carries on Ross' legacy through a new version of Ross' "Joy of Painting" TV show. Ross mostly painted woodland and mountain scenes, but he did paint Florida on the show one time.
S7 · E316
July 26 · 46 min
Episode 316: Florida's Independent Bookstores
The state kept an "enemies list" of outspoken environmental advocates with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission using government and law enforcement databases to illegally track and investigate the citizens. This shocking abuse of power demonstrates how developers and industry run this state and the degree to which the ruling party in Tallahassee will go to maintain that power imbalance. If you'd like to inquire with the state about your DAVID driver's record to see if the state has been investigating you, do that here. Despite leading the nation in book banning, Florida has wonderful independent bookstores. One of the best is Tombolo Books in St. Pete. Alsace Walentine opened Tombolo Books just before the pandemic and tells us about the business of owning a bookstore.
S7 · E315
July 21 · 44 min
Episode 315: Gulf Sturgeon
Ron DeSantis first ran for governor promising to solve Florida's water quality problems. Every day in office since then, up nearly to his last, he has broken that promise. Kenneth Sulak joins us on this episode to talk about gulf sturgeon. Sulak spent decades researching this ancient and endangered fish in the Suwanee River and Gulf of Mexico.
S7 · E314
July 14 · 33 min
Episode 314: Tom Gaskins Cypress Knee Museum
Craig takes us to the little fishing village of Cortez on the Gulf side for his latest "Florida Phoenix" column. Tom Gaskins Cypress Knee Museum was a popular roadside attraction in Palmdale during the 50s, 60s, and 70s. The business hung on until 1998, but Disney and the interstates have mostly disappeared these quirky, small, once-cherished tourist stops. Writer Amy Bennett-Williams from the Fort Meyers News-Press visited many times and met Gaskins. She shares her memories of the Cypress Knee Museum. Bennett-Williams mentioned a Florida land conservation program called Preservation 2000. A recent episode of "As Bad As It Is In Florida" details the history of land conservation funding in Florida and how in this millennium, state government has mostly disobeyed the will of the people in defunding conservation land acquisition. Fabulous background for anyone passionate about conservation in Florida.
S7 · E313
July 7 · 33 min
Episode 313: Charles Broley and Bald Eagles
Craig Pittman surveyed a variety of Florida water experts with advice for the dictator about his algae problem. In the 1940s, 50's, and 60's, bald eagle populations nationally were collapsing. The poison DDT, widely used in crop dusting, was eventually determined to be the culprit. A retired man in Florida, Charles Broley, banded bald eagles throughout mid-century; his research was essential in establishing that the birds were in trouble. Barbara Walker from Tampa Bay Raptor Rescue joins us on this episode to discuss Broley's efforts to understand bald eagles. Volunteer with Audubon Florida Eaglewatch. Here's a link to our previous bald eagle episode with Jack Davis. "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our "Florida Conservation Newsletter" for only $5 per month.
S7 · E312
June 30 · 45 min
Episode 312: Ma Barker Shootout
Invasive Burmese pythons continue swallowing the Everglades while the state wastes money on concentration camps. Ma Barker and one of her sons engaged federal agents in an hours-long gunfight near Ocala in the 1930s. Wayne Hughes is a tour guide at the Ma Barker House and tells us the story. "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to your Florida Conservation Newsletter, a weekly roundup of the top conservation stories from around the state.
S7 · E311
June 23 · 40 min
Episode 311: The Revolutionary War in Florida
A species of moth thought to be extinct was rediscovered by researches in Florida. Florida's role in the American Revolution is little known or discussed. That is our topic for this episode with historian David Head. "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive our weekly "Florida Conservation Newsletter" for only $5 per month.
S7 · E310
June 16 · 37 min
Episode 310: Keys Wreckers
Our friend Jason Garcia from "Seeking Rents" takes a first look at everything wrong with the legislature and governor's proposed property tax break. Florida Keys historian Brad Bertelli joins us on this episode to talk about the old wrecking industry that made Key West one of the wealthiest cities in America at the turn of the 19th century. "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to our weekly Florida Conservation Newsletter for only $5 per month.
S7 · E309
June 9 · 40 min
Episode 309: Devil Crab
The state is about to miss a critical deadline by which it was supposed to have cleaned up water flowing out of the Big Sugar plantations into the Everglades. Join Craig, Chadd and Jason Garcia from the "Seeking Rents" podcast for their next live, in-person event June 12th at Happy Medium Books Cafe in the Riverside neighborhood of Jacksonville. The event is free and begins at 6:30. RSVP if you can. Our guest for this episode is photographer and food writer Chip Weiner. Chip went across Tampa looking for the best devil crab. What is devil crab? We're glad you asked. Chip had so much response to his initial ranking of the 12 best devil crab restaurants in Tampa, he went back for Round 2.
S7 · E308
June 2 · 41 min
Episode 308: Gatorade
Seafood dealers, commercial fisherman, and conservationists came together to stop the governor's reckless plan to extend the recreational red snapper fishing season. Independent local journalism is a pillar of democracy. American democracy has evaporated in conjunction with a rapid decline of local media sources in the past 25 years. One of those local media sources in Florida, The Gabber newspaper in south Pinellas County, needs your help to continue its 60-year tradition of local news. Join Craig Pittman, Chadd Charland, and Jason Garcia from the "Seeking Rents" podcast and Substack newsletter for our next in-person event Friday, June 12th, from 6:30-7:30 PM at Happy Medium Books and Cafe in Jacksonville/Riverside. Our guest for this episode is CD Davidson-Hiers who recently wrote a story chronicling the history of Gatorade for Flamingo magazine.
S7 · E307
May 26 · 44 min
Episode 307: The Chitlin' Circuit
Florida didn't always used to be this way. Unregulated development. Runaway sprawl. Developers controlling the state. What happened? Chadd Charland is running for State House in District 15 (all of Nassau and parts of Duval counties). "Welcome to Florida's" next live event comes Friday, June 12th, from 6:30 to 7:30 PM at Happy Medium Bookstore Cafe in Jacksonville! It's a free event. Come out and say "hello." Joining us today are Bob Kealing and Rev. Billy C. Wirtz to discuss the Chitlin' Circuit in Florida. The Chitlin' Circuit was a network of Black live music establishments during the mid-20th century around which all the greats played. Bob and Billy have produced a documentary about the Circuit in Florida. If you'd like to book a screening of the documentary in your community, contact Bob Kealing at: callingmehomebook@gmail.com. If this subject interests you, check out our Florida Black History YouTube channel for our previous episodes related to Black History in Florida.

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