Right now our public debt is about 97% of our GDP. The last time we had a ratio that high was around World War II. A key number that economists are focused on right now is how much interest the U.S. Government is paying to manage the national debt. Right now, we’re paying almost $1 trillion dollars per year in interest. That is more than we spend on the military budget and almost as much as we spend on healthcare, including Medicare and Medicaid, every year. So, in order to get an overview of how the U.S. national debt works, how the government borrows money to service the debt or even pay it back, how we’ve found ourselves in a place with such a high debt to GDPT ratio, and how concerned we all should be, we talk with the author of a recent piece in The Journalist’s Resource titled “The national debt: How and why the US government borrows money.”

The Green Heron is hardly green at all, but has a green tint reflected from the black as a result of its feather structure. This diminutive heron is with us year round and can often be seen at water’s edge, standing on floating debris, or on a low limb. While its legs are short, its neck is relatively long. It can be extended instantaneously to seize a small fish or other creature or to gain a better view of its surroundings or potential prey.

The new Florida Philharmonic arose after the closure of the Punta Gorda Symphony in January 2024. Ahead of the Florida Philharmonic’s second performance season, we talk with Music and Artistic Director Richard Stoelzel about his plans for the future of the symphony and his personal life journey through music.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has floated the idea of Florida following Texas and California in drawing new Congressional districts mid-decade, breaking with norms. But what do the 2010 Fair Districts Amendments to Florida’s constitution have to say about mid-decade redistricting being done for openly partisan reasons? We talk with the leader of the Fair Districts Coalition when it helped to create and advocated for the passage of the Fair Districts Amendments to find out.

We learn about a nationwide clinical trial, funded by the National Institute of Aging, that's trying to determine if high doses of a synthetic form of Vitamin B1 called benfotiamine might be an effective treatment for mild cognitive impairment or early Alzheimer's Disease. Also known as thiamine, Vitamin B1 is important for brain health, and it's known that people with Alzheimer's have a thiamine deficiency.