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The future of the Bonita-Estero rail trail, known as BERT, will depend on a vote of Bonita Springs residents in August. The Bonita Springs City Council approved a referendum to be held at the time of the primary elections on Tuesday, August 18.

U.S. military veterans often face challenges when transitioning to civilian employment after leaving the service. Sometimes their skills and experiences don’t directly translate to civilian jobs — and employers might not fully understand the value of military experience or how it applies to their industry. Some veterans may need to undergo additional training or education to meet the standards required for civilian jobs, which can be time-consuming and costly. To help with the transition, government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and some employers offer programs to help veterans find a new career by providing training, resources, and support specifically tailored to veterans' needs. We learn about one here in Florida that began in 2016 when two employees with the University of Florida Institute of Food & Agricultural Sciences decided that helping veterans possibly find a path to a new career in agriculture would be a great fit, so they created the Veterans Florida Agriculture Program.

In the late 2000s several local governments in Southwest Florida began implementing ordinances that prohibited the application of lawn fertilizer during the rainy season. Lee County’s ordinance, which was passed in 2008, just took effect again. As of June 1, it is prohibited to apply lawn fertilizer containing nitrogen or phosphorus anywhere in unincorporated Lee County until the beginning of November. Most municipalities in southwest Florida have similar ordinances, including Cape Coral, the City of Fort Myers and Fort Myers Beach, and the City of Naples. Charlotte, Sarasota, and Manatee counties have similar rainy season bans. We get an overview of Lee County’s ordinance, and the importance of complying with these rules to benefit our ecosystems.

When OpenAI released the first publicly available, so-called ‘generative AI chat bot’ called ChatGPT, it didn’t take long for users — especially tech-savvy ones — to realize it was a game changer. While forms of artificial intelligence have been used in systems and applications for decades they weren’t this new form of generative AI that were being powered by what are called Large Language Models — or LLMs. As these systems have quickly become more powerful companies and organizations are finding ways to integrate them into all sorts of applications. We talk with two people from the Lastinger Center for Education at University of Florida to find out they’re using these rapidly advancing Large Language Models in the work they do.

When Governor Ron DeSantis announced he was using his emergency powers to have the State of Florida build a detention facility on a relatively unused airbase in Big Cypress National Preserve in Collier County the idea immediately drew criticisms, including the cost and the environmental impact. But there is another aspect of this camp and the name Alligator Alcatraz that has drawn another kind of criticism: echoes of racist language that bring to mind the trope of ‘alligator bait’ that dates back to the late 1800s and the days of Jim Crow. We explore that history with a reporter from the Miami Herald and a Naples Rabbi whose recent sermon titled “A Fence Around Compassion” went viral on Facebook.

Florida Gulf Coast University’s 2025-26 Provost’s Seminar Series kicked off last Friday with renowned infectious disease expert, Dr. Michael Osterholm. He is considered to be one of the nation's foremost experts in infectious diseases – and has dedicated his career to advancing global efforts to prepare and respond to emerging infectious disease threats. We normally interview speakers for the Provost’s Seminar Series in-studio while they’re on campus to talk, but we’re kicking off this year with a special on-location recording of a conversation with Dr. Osterholm, and Dr. Steve Mason, he’s a cardiologist and a member of the Naples Discussion Group’s Executive Committee.

Dr. Stephen Knott has spent his career learning about, teaching about, and writing about Presidents of the United States of America. He is a Professor of American History & Government at Ashland University in Ohio, and Emeritus Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College. He is the author of eleven books dealing with the American Presidency, the early republic, and American foreign policy. His latest, which is due out in May, is “Conspirator in Chief: The Long Tradition of Conspiracy Theories in the American Presidency” which details through extensive research and citations the ways, according to his telling, eight United States Commanders in Chief used conspiracy theories to advance their causes. They were examples, Dr. Knott would say, of the kinds of demagogues the country’s founders were concerned could someday take on the role.

When developer Syd Kitson purchased the 91,000-acre Babcock Ranch in northeast Lee & southeast Charlotte counties in 2005 he said he was going to create a sustainable community and preserve most of the land. While many people were skeptical at the time, Kitson has gone on to build pretty much exactly what he said he would. About 67,000-acres became the Babcock Ranch Preserve, and more than half of the rest of the land has been preserved amidst the growing number of smart homes with high speed internet built to Florida Green Building Coalition standards. Mr. Kitson joined us on this show quite a few times during the early days of its development, long before groundbreaking and the first homes were built. We look back on the picture he painted back then, and how well it aligns with what's there today.

It’s becoming increasingly common for conservative political leaders in the United States — including here in Florida — to use language and put forward policies that conflate American identity with religious identity. Many are focusing on issues like abortion, same-sex marriage, and trans rights — and critics say this trend represents a rise in what’s called Christian Nationalism. Christian Nationalism is best summarized as the belief that the history and character of the United States is defined by Christianity, and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way. Our guest counts himself among its critics, and says that while supporters of Christian Nationalism portray it as a social movement, it’s actually a well-organized political movement that seeks to gain political power and to impose its vision on all of society. Rev. Paul Raushenbush is an ordained Baptist minister, and he is President and CEO of Interfaith Alliance, a national nonprofit founded in 1994 to advocate for religious freedom and pluralism in the U.S.

While the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences — or IFAS — is probably most often associated with ‘growers and farmers and issues around agricultural’ their work goes far beyond that, including helping individuals and businesses, as well as growers, before, during, and after natural disasters like Hurricane Ian. We sit down with David Outerbridge, director of the UF/IFAS Extension office in Lee County to talk about the work they’re still doing helping people recover from Ian’s landfall last September. We also check in with Asmaa Odeh, Project Director for the Southwest Florida Regional Planning Council to learn about SWFL Fresh: Choose Local, Choose Fresh.