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The idea that Ukraine is an independent nation with its own national identity is one that Russian President Vladimir Putin has openly disputed since long before the invasion, and he’s not alone and this is not a modern idea but one that dates far back into history. Our guest today strongly disputes this claim, and his recent books offer direct evidence of a decades-long effort by the Soviet Union and then Russian to stoke divisions among the Ukrainian diaspora and people around the world, and cast doubt on the very idea of an independent Ukraine.

We meet Fran Mainella, the new Director of the Alliance for Florida's National Parks. The 20-year-old nonprofit works to promote the Everglades, Dry Tortugas and Biscayne National Parks, as well as Big Cypress National Preserve. Its website says their goal is “to instill in all people an appreciation of Florida's public lands and natural resources for what they are – the key to the sustainability and prosperity of the state - by enriching the park experience and connecting diverse communities to the nature that abounds in their backyards.”

We learn about a UF/IFAS Extension and Florida Sea Grant citizen science program called Eyes on Seagrass that has been collecting information about seagrasses in upper Charlotte Harbor and Lemon Bay since 2019 — and is planning to expand into Lee County next year. Citizen Science is the collection and analysis of data relating to the natural world by everyday people who aren’t necessarily scientists themselves, typically as part of a collaborative project with professional scientists. In other words — giving scientists more hands to collect the information they need to better understand whatever it is they are studying.

Neighborhood Nursing brings healthcare to people’s doorsteps in vulnerable communities

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.

My guest this episode is Lydia Black. I would say she’s a self-described “nonprofit junkie,” because that’s what her bio says, but in the interest of full…

Did you know that scientists are working on ways to CO2 into solid rock in order to sequester it? Or that the same things that make water so critical to our world is also what makes it so potentially dangerous to us? Those are just two of the interesting concepts revealed in the new NOVA and PBS series Out of Our Elements that explores the magic of molecules and how much of the modern world is built on the interesting ways they interact. We’re joined by the two people who make it.

The Baker Museum at Artis-Naples in Collier County recently hired award-winning curator, art historian, museum leader, lecturer and writer Courtney McNeil as its new Museum Director and Chief Curator. McNeil joins us to explore her professional background, her passion for helping people connect art with different perspectives and new ideas, and her vision for the Baker Museum going forward.

More than four thousand Southwest Floridians from all walks of life sat down together back in March to talk about the problems that are affecting our region and its residents. Spearheaded by the Collaboratory in downtown Fort Myers, in partnership with the Collier Community Foundation and Charlotte Community Foundation, this is a follow up to an On The Table event held back in 2019. People attended one of about 280 "tables" and about a quarter of them filled out a survey that asked them to rank the issues they thought were most pressing. We dig into the results.

Florida Gulf Coast University is hosting a virtual debate today on Affirmative Action in University Admissions and the Cost of Higher Education. The debate participants are Dr. Cornel West, he is a progressive professor and author, and currently an Independent candidate for president; and Robert George is a conservative legal scholar and political philosopher, and Founding Director of the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University. The debate is moderated by Dr. Christopher Phillips. Dr. Phillips has devoted his life to facilitating thoughtful and inclusive conversations among people of all walks of life, from all around the world, about deep and meaningful issues.