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Here in Southwest Florida about 30% of the population is 60 and older. That translates to about 1.3 million people, and this population and percentage is growing. Demographic trends show an expected 38% increase in adults over 60 by 2040 and a 62% increase in adults over 70 by that same year. While southwest Florida has been a destination for older people when they retire for decades, this area’s aging population is chronically underserved. We learn about the work being done to address the need at Florida Gulf Coast University’s still relatively new Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging.

Joan is an ICU doctor in a busy New York City hospital. She’s extremely devoted to her work and interested in little else, which causes people around her to try to steer her toward other things in life. We talk to Weike Wang about her new novel, Joan is Okay.

Kirsten Hines started out as a wildlife biologist, but pretty early on found herself drawn to telling stories with images and words about the natural world, rather than collecting data about it. Her photographs and writings have since appeared in numerous exhibitions and publications, including eight books — the latest of which is “Wild Florida: An Animal Odyssey.” It’s like a conversational field guide that explores ecological concepts like the “why” behind Florida’s animal diversity, and its blending of critters from the tropics with those from North America.

Kirsten Hines started out as a wildlife biologist, but pretty early on found herself drawn to telling stories with images and words about the natural world, rather than collecting data about it. Her photographs and writings have since appeared in numerous exhibitions and publications, including eight books — the latest of which is “Wild Florida: An Animal Odyssey.” It’s like a conversational field guide that explores ecological concepts like the “why” behind Florida’s animal diversity, and its blending of critters from the tropics with those from North America.

Players Circle Theater kicks off the performance season with playwright Tom Dulack’s mafioso-style comedy “Breaking Legs.” The show will mark the company’s first production in its newly renovated theater space in the heart Fort Myers’ McGregor corridor. We preview the show and learn about the new theater space in a conversation with Players Circle Theater co-founders Bob Cacioppo and Carrie Lund.

Earlier this month there was an event at Florida Southwestern State College called ‘Normal is Overrated.’ It's essentially an effort to remove the stigma of talking about mental and behavioral health issues among teens. We talk with one of the organizers, and three of the teens who told their stories at the event.

Dr. Christopher Landsea is Chief of the Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, where his team generates wind and wave forecasts for the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, tropical North Atlantic Ocean, and tropical northeastern Pacific Ocean. He was on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus last week to give a talk so we brought him by the studio to talk about hurricane meteorology and forecasting and how it’s evolved over time and what lies ahead as technology advances.

Since OpenAI released ChatGPT in November of 2022 there has been a surge in public awareness about, and use of, Artificial Intelligence. And this represents both a leap forward in technological capability, and the possibility for massive disruption in many fields including education. We learn about efforts at Florida Gulf Coast University to stay on top of this new learning curve we’re all facing on some level.

Stuart Eizenstat met Jimmy Carter when he was running for Governor of Georgia in 1970 and remained a central figure of Carter’s team until he left the White House in 1980. During President Carter’s administration Eizenstat served as Carter’s Chief Domestic Policy Adviser, and throughout his career and life Ambassador Eizenstat remained a close advisor to President Carter. We speak with him about his career in politics and the changes he's witnessed over the decades, and about his longtime colleague and friend Jimmy Carter.

Regular listeners of this show will be familiar with the podcast series, The Last Ride, which we’ve been airing in serial since the first episode released in early April. It uses extensive reporting done over two decades to tell the story of two young men of color who disappeared in Naples — both of whom were last seen with the same Collier County Sheriff’s deputy, Steven Calkins, who is now retired. Deputy Calkins was fired for giving inconsistent statements about the cases, but was never formally accused of any wrongdoing in their disappearances. We sit down with three of the four-member team who reported on this story, and worked together to produce the podcast, to talk about that process and whether The Last Ride has brought forth any new information that might illuminate just what happened to Filipe Santos and Terrance Williams.