John Davis
Host, Reporter, Assistant News Directorjrdavis@wgcu.org
John Davis has been a Reporter/Producer for WGCU since 2007. For more than a decade he served as the local host for NPR’s Morning Edition. He currently serves as producer and host of WGCU’s radio talk program Gulf Coast Life Arts Edition with John Davis. Prior to joining WGCU, he worked at WDUQ-FM in Pittsburgh, PA (now WESA) covering local government and general assignments. John studied journalism at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Florida Gulf Coast University. His work has garnered awards from the Press Club of Western Pennsylvania, the Radio Television Digital News Association, and a first-place award and “Best in Show” from the Florida Associated Press for his investigative work in 2011. Davis helped lead news team coverage around the clock during Hurricane Irma in 2017, which won a National Edward R. Morrow Award. More recently, his election and political coverage has garnered awards from the Florida Association of Broadcast Journalists.
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Florida Repertory Theatre is mounting a production of playwright John Patrick Shanely’s Pulitzer Prize and Tony award-winning drama “Doubt, A Parable.” We take a deeper dive into the show in a conversation with cast members Matt Lytle, Taylor Reister, and Alia Shakira. -
In an historic election, Tuesday, residents of Fort Myers Beach voted to recall town council members John King and Karen Woodson, but whether or not King will actually be removed from office remains to be seen after a circuit court judge, on Nov. 3, ordered a stay on the recall results pending an appeals court decision. -
Residents of Fort Myers Beach head to the polls Nov. 4 for what could result in the first successful recall of elected officials in Lee County in nearly 75 years. Town council members Karen Woodson and John King are on the recall ballot, but judge’s decision, Nov. 3, leaves the vote on King’s recall in a kind of legal limbo. -
Ahead of Florida’s 2026 lawmaking session, which begins in January, members of the Lee County Legislative Delegation met, Tuesday, at Florida Southwestern State College. Over the course of the nearly three-hour long meeting, lawmakers heard from 58 local officials and members of the public on a broad range of issues including local appropriation requests, property tax reform, vaccines, water quality and home rule. -
Bruce Costella brings a limited engagement of his one-man show “MUTTNIK” at the Calusa Nature Center & Planetarium November 7 – 9. The performance tells the story of Laika, stray dog from the streets of Moscow, who was chosen by Soviet scientists to become the first living animal to orbit the Earth aboard the Sputnik 2 in 1957. -
Players Circle Theater in Fort Myers opens its 7th season this week with a production of playwright Neil Simon’s sophisticated farce “Rumors.” We explore the play in a conversation with director Bob Cacioppo and cast members Carrie Lund Cacioppo and Frank Blocker. -
The 17th annual Naples International Film Festival will feature 60 films, filmmaker panel discussions, and a special performance by the Naples Philharmonic Orchestra. We get a preview of the festival with producers David Filner and Shannon Franklin. We also talk with Mark Craig about his documentary film “Apollo 1,” which will have its Florida premiere at the festival. -
Players Circle Theater is preparing a robust seventh season, which kicks off next month. The season includes a fast-paced farce, a holiday musical revue, a musical adaptation of the classic novel “Little Women,” a family comedy, a romantic comedy, a dramedy and a one-woman show that includes a three-course meal prepared and served to a few lucky patrons. We’ll listen back to our season-preview conversation with Players Circle Theater co-founder and Artistic Director Bob Cacioppo. -
The Trump administration’s tariff war is hurting textile and fiber artists as well as their overseas suppliers. Many of the specialty items these artists use are not available domestically. -
Bridging the Gap Center for the Arts is Southwest Florida’s newest arts and culture nonprofit. The new organization is committed to providing support, education, community, and performance opportunities for BIPOC artists. We’ll learn about the new organization in an encore of our conversation this past summer with founder and executive director Sonya McCarter, board of directors member Cotrenia Hood, and dance instructor Eden Collier.
