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We explore global trends for democracy and authoritarianism with with Michael Abramowitz, President of Freedom House and the former director of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Levine Institute for Holocaust Education, and a former national editor and White House correspondent for The Washington Post.

While visitors to Koreshan State Park in Estero have often asked whether there was any connection between Cyrus Teed Koresh — the man who founded The Koreshan Unity which called the land home beginning in the early 1800s, and David Koresh — the man who led the Branch Davidians in Waco, Texas from the mid 1980s until the group’s fiery demise during an FBI siege gone wrong on their Mount Carmel compound on April 19th, 1993 — the answer was always no, there is no connection between the two and the similarity between their names is purely coincidental. Well, new evidence has come to light that seems to prove there was most certainly a connection of some kind.

Found on the northern end of Marco Island in 1896 during an expedition led by a renowned archeologist named Frank Hamilton Cushing, the Key Marco Cat is considered a true gem — a once in a lifetime, or more, find — discovered during the early days of the science of archeology. Just six inches tall and carved out of some sort of hardwood, the Cat, and the many other objects that were discovered alongside it, represent the most comprehensive and spectacular collection of pre-Columbian Native American material culture ever discovered in Florida.

In the weeks after Hurricane Ian a year ago, Florida deployed the first-ever State Emergency Response Mental Health Task Force. It was comprised of mental health professionals including therapists, counselors, and massage therapists who worked directly with residents and first responders who were still in the midst of recovery. Now, almost exactly one year post-Ian, the Task Force has been deployed a second time to help people in the panhandle who were impacted by Hurricane Idalia.

Dr. Aysegul Timur officially took the reins in her new role as president of Florida Gulf Coast University on July 1, 2023. Prior to serving as president she was Assistant Vice President of Strategic Initiatives, Strategy and Program Innovation. Overall, she’s been a part of the FGCU community since 2019. Dr. Timur is the FGCU’s fifth president, and she is the university’s first female president since its founding in 1997. We sit down with her as she approaches her first year as president to get an update on how things are going so far.

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.

Hurricane Milton continues its approach and will be making landfall this evening or early Thursday morning as a major hurricane with extreme storm surge levels and damaging winds. Projections show Milton’s landfall somewhere between Sarasota and Tampa Bay. The latest projections show storm surge levels between 8-12 feet from Bonita Beach to Boca Grande — and 10-15 feet from Boca Grande to Anna Maria Island, which is on the southern end of Tampa Bay. That means more than 150 miles of coastline experiencing storm surge that could top 8 feet and be as high as 15 feet. We get an update from Tim Miller at the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network. We also check in with the Salvation Army of Collier County to learn about the preparations they're making for after Milton passes through. And we get some tips on staying calm and maintaining peace of mind during these tense times.

Project 2025 is not an entirely new concept. The Heritage Foundation has published what it calls Mandate for Leadership policy blueprints since 1979. The first one preceded the first Reagan administration. Over the decades they have outlined what conservatives hope to see out of a Republican administration, if that’s who wins the election. But, Project 2025 has a different tone and nature — and is far more detailed when it comes to exactly what policies it’s calling for, and just how they can be achieved.

This summer brought higher than normal temperatures both on land and in the oceans. According to NASA, July was the hottest month on record, more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the historic average for the month, and warmer than any other month in the 143-year record. And those temperatures, at least in part, contributed to this hurricane season tying with 1933 for the 4th most named storms on record. There were 20 named storms, with seven becoming hurricanes, three of which were major hurricanes — including Hurricane Idalia which made landfall in the Big Bend Region on August 30 as a Category 3 storm, bringing significant wind damage and storm surge of 7 to 12 feet to Keaton Beach and surrounding areas. We wrap up the 2023 season, and learn about a project in Cedar Key that's testing what are called 'living shorelines'.

According to a recent report from PEN America — it’s a century-old nonprofit that works to protect free expression through literature — Florida overtook Texas during the last school year for the number one spot when it comes to the number of books banned in public schools. There’s been a 33% spike in book bans nationally, and Florida now accounts for more than 40% of all documented bans. In response to these trends, PEN America just named its first-ever Florida Director, Katie Blankenship. She’ll be overseeing advocacy in defense of free expression across the state. Her office is being funded by a group of bestselling writers who have come together to fight censorship in Florida.We meet Ms. Blankenship, and learn about the work being done by what’s called The Purple Group to push back against issues like book bans. It’s a nonpartisan group of Lee County residents who believe high quality public schools that welcome all students and their families are the bedrock of our multicultural, multi-ethnic democracy.