John Davis has been a full-time Reporter/Producer for WGCU since 2009. He is the local host for NPR’s Morning Edition and producer and host for WGCU’s radio talk program Gulf Coast Life! John came to WGCU as an intern in 2007, and is now reporting on a broad spectrum of topics of interest to Southwest Florida. Prior to joining WGCU, he worked at WDUQ-FM in Pittsburgh, PA 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. Send news pitches to wgcunews at wgcu.org
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The Alliance for the Arts in Lee County is hosting a solo exhibition of works by Florida-based abstract painter Margaret Schnebly Hodge. Ahead of an opening reception, Friday May 5, we sit down with the artist to explore paintings in the exhibit, her inspirations and insights into her creative process. -
Players Circle Theater in North Fort Myers closes the season with a production of the comedy, “The Foreigner.” We’ll talk with the lead actor in the show Dennis Delamar. After the show ends, Players Circle Theater will begin moving into the New Phoenix Theatre space along McGregor Blvd. We talk with Players Circle Theater co-founders Robert Cacioppo and Carrie Lund Cacioppo about an exciting change of venue for the theater company and what it will mean for theater-goers. -
A conversation with director Ron Lagomarsino about Florida Repertory Theatre’s season-closing production of Kenneth Lonergan’s dark comedy “Lobby Hero.” -
Theatre Conspiracy at the Alliance for the Arts is mounting a production of August Wilson’s play “The Piano Lesson.” Ahead of opening night, we explore the play in a conversation with director Sonya McCarter and actor Renee Freeman. -
Southwest Florida-based abstract painter Maria Collier has a solo exhibition called “Sound & Color” coming to the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center. Collier’s distinctive, intuitive style is often driven by the music she listens, and dances, to while creating in her studio. -
Theatre Conspiracy at the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers will deliver the final performances of its production of “The Hatmaker’s Wife,” March 30 – 31. Playwright Lauren Yee whimsical and poignant comedy includes talking walls, conjuring the spirit world and includes themes of love, marriage, memory, aging, family and fairy tales. We explore the play with two actors in the production: Joanne Hailey and Jim Yarnes. -
Southwest Florida musicians Claire Liparulo and Caleb Neff talk about their efforts to elevate the craft of songwriting and feature local great musicians’ original work through Claire’s “High Lonesome Sound” performance series and Caleb’s “In the Pool” recording sessions. -
We listen back to one of the very first episodes of the WGCU podcast “Three Song Stories,” featuring Florida Gulf Coast University professor and founder of the school’s Journalism program, Lyn Millner. -
A conversation with Southwest Florida Symphony Maestro Radu Paponiu and Community Outreach Ambassador Robert Van Winkle about the orchestra’s upcoming concert featuring Cuban-American cellist Thomas Mesa performing Antonín Dvořák’s Cello “Concerto in B Minor, Op. 104. The Masterworks series concert, Saturday, March 11, also includes a piece by contemporary American composer Jessie Montgomery and Edward Elgar’s “Enigma Variations.” We’ll take a deeper dive into these compositions. -
Filmmaker, director, producer, photographer, and “Godfather of the music video” Chuck Statler joins the show ahead of a film screen and Q&A at the Bob Rauschenberg Gallery to talk about his pre-MTV era music video work, particularly with the seminal new wave band Devo.
