Mike Kiniry
Producermkiniry@wgcu.org
Mike Kiniry is producer of Gulf Coast Live, and co-creator and host of the WGCU podcast Three Song Stories: Biography Through Music. He first joined the WGCU team in the summer of 2003 as an intern while studying Communication at Florida Gulf Coast University.
He became the first producer of Gulf Coast Live when the show launched in 2004, and also worked as the host of All Things Considered from 2004 to 2006, and the host of Morning Edition from 2006 to 2011. He then left public radio to work as PR Director for the Alliance for the Arts for five years, and was then Principled Communicator at the election integrity company Free & Fair for a year before returning to WGCU in October, 2017.
In the past Mike has been a bartender and cook at Liquid Café in downtown Fort Myers, a golf club fixer/seller at the Broken Niblick Golf Shop in Fort Myers, and a bookseller at Ives Book Shop in Fort Myers. He lives near downtown Fort Myers with his daughter, and their dog and two cats.
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We get some insight into the long and challenging journeys dementia caregivers are on from two men who became caregivers themselves after their wives were diagnosed with dementia. Dan Moser’s wife Maria was diagnosed with what’s called Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) in 2015 and he was her caregiver until she passed away about two years ago. During that time, he pivoted away from his work as a bike and pedestrian safety advocate toward dementia caregiving, a role he continues to this day. And Jeff Edwards’ wife Bunny was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2018 and he’s still taking care of her. Jeff retired from a 50-plus year in radio a couple of years ago and since then has been producing a podcast called GUTPUNCHED that explores the challenges of dementia caregiving, and shares resources they've found, and as he puts it “their heartbreaks and their little victories.” -
A propulsive novel from the point of view of a man convinced of his own cleverness and appeal. -
In 2023, Florida received $205.7 million dollars as part of a multistate settlement with the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma. It was distributed by the Florida Department of Children and Families and Lee County received about $5,500,000. Last summer, the Lee County Board of Commissioners approved a pilot phase of what's called a Paramedicine Program using some of that opioid settlement funding. That program was a success and last month, Lee Commissioners approved an agreement with Lee Health to create an expanded Community Paramedicine Program. It provides in-home care to individuals to reduce ambulance trips to emergency departments at hospitals for illnesses or injuries that are less likely to progress or develop complications. -
The fear of deportation is growing for hundreds of thousands of immigrants across the country after a recent ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court, which allows the Trump administration to revoke their Temporary Protected Status (TPS). The Trump administration also continues efforts to make good on its pledge to deport 3,000 people per day. Florida leads the country in the number of local law enforcement agencies partnering with ICE to deport undocumented people. And recently, the Trump administration has enacted sweeping travel bans and restrictions on citizens from some countries in Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean. To help us understand these new immigration policies and the impact here in our state, we talk with Fort Myers Immigration Attorney Ricardo Skerrett. -
Technological advances have brought much good to the world. But as ways to communicate have diversified and led to anyone being able to get their message out to the entire world, it seems undeniable that society has taken a turn toward hyper-polarization and partisanship – and the number of people – especially young people who are experiencing mental health issues has increased and the trendline is heading in the wrong direction. Our guests are part of a cross-partisan political reform group comprised a wide range of people, from elected officials and national security experts to mental health professionals and technologists who are trying to encourage change and find ways to address the negative effects of our online world. -
This Thursday, June 12 WGCU’s Documentary Unit will premiere the new film “Rising: Surviving the Surge.” It features dramatic storm footage, powerful stories of resilience, and insights from scientists, first responders, and community leaders to provide a wake-up call to the reality of storm surge that we all now know is possible on a very personal level. And it offers a vital reminder to be prepared for when it matters most. We discuss the making of Rising and some of the lessons we've learned from the storm that forever changed Southwest Florida. -
A Physical Education: How I Escaped Diet Culture and Gained the Power of Lifting is part memoir and part scientific exploration of nutrition and weight-lifting for women. -
President Trump has signed 157 Executive orders since taking office in January. Many of them are well-within the authority of the President. But our guest is sounding the alarm about what he says are actions that exceed the authority given to the Executive Branch under the U.S. Constitution — powers meant to be shared with other branches of government, or that defy Supreme Court interpretations of what the law and the Constitution mean as historically understood. -
Back in the 1990s, as the southwest Florida population grew, it became apparent that local water bodies and waterways were being impacted — and impaired — by nutrient pollution. So, in the late 2000s several local governments began implementing ordinances that prohibited the application of lawn fertilizer during the rainy season, which generally speaking runs from June first through September or so. We learn about Lee County’s ordinance, and the importance of complying with these rules to benefit our waters and ecosystems. -
Back in the 1990s, as the southwest Florida population grew, it became apparent that local water bodies and waterways were being impacted — and impaired — by nutrient pollution. So, in the late 2000s several local governments began implementing ordinances that prohibited the application of lawn fertilizer during the rainy season, which generally speaking runs from June first through September or so. We learn about Lee County’s ordinance, and the importance of complying with these rules to benefit our waters and ecosystems.
