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Florida Gulf Coast University’s new president, Dr. Aysegul Timur, officially took the reins from Dr. Mike Martin on July 1. Dr. Timur is the university’s fifth president, and first female president since in its 26 years. And she is the school’s first immigrant president. She was born in Turkey and received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in business administration at University of Istanbul before heading to the U.S. in the late 90s to pursue her PhD, which she received from University of South Florida in 2006. She joins us for our first sit-down with as president.

There is a movement underway to pass an amendment to Florida’s Constitution that would create a fundamental right to clean and healthy waters in the state. If it makes it to the ballot and is approved by 60% of voters during the 2024 Election, the ‘Right to Clean Water’ amendment could be used to sue State executive agencies for harm, or threatened harm, to Florida’s waters and aquatic ecosystems. To learn more we talk with Joseph Bonasia, he is Chair and Southwest Florida Regional Director of the Florida Rights of Nature Network, and a board member of Southwest Florida RESET.

There’s a brand new exhibition on display on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University called “They Were Children: Rescue as Resistance.” It brings the story of the Oeuvre de Secours Aux Enfants’ (OSE) — amazing group of everyday people who worked at great risk to themselves to rescue Jewish children in Nazi-occupied France during World War Two.

The Lee County Legal Aid Society is a private nonprofit that’s been providing no-cost civil legal aid to low-income residents of Lee County since 1967. And starting last year, they’ve expanded their efforts to assist immigrant children – including those who have been abandoned, entered the country alone, or are victims of human trafficking – establish a pathway to legal citizenship. We talk to the organization’s Executive Director, and one of their staff attorneys who is leading this immigration work, to learn more.

The Lastinger Center for Learning at University of Florida uses data-driven approaches to create programs and systems that can help teachers across Florida be more effective in their jobs. It’s basically an education innovation incubator whose work primarily focuses on impacting achievement across three educational milestones: kindergarten readiness, third grade reading, and algebra. We talk to its director, Dr. Phillip Poekert.

Florida’s Supreme Court recently ruled that the state’s constitution does not protect abortion, allowing the state law passed in 2023 that bans abortion after six weeks to take effect next month. But in a separate decision, the Florida Supreme Court also just ruled that an amendment to guarantee abortion rights in the state’s constitution can go on the November ballot. As all of this unfolds we listen back to a conversation from 2021 when the first modern bill to restrict abortions in Florida was filed, to get a big picture history of the legality, and criminality, of abortion in America.

As of this morning, President Donald Trump has signed 35 executive orders since his inauguration, setting a record for the most executive orders issued by a president within the first week of a term. They encompass a range of directives, and several underscore the administration's commitment to tightening immigration policies and enhancing border security. And the president says he intends to implement 25% across-the-board tariffs on all goods from Mexico. So, we get some context on all of this from an FGCU political science professor who focuses on Mexican politics and history.

We took the show on the road to the Edison & Ford Winter Estates in downtown Fort Myers because they were marking the 100th anniversary of professional baseball in the City of Palms. They have an exhibit up in the museum there called “Fanatics: Thomas Edison, Connie Mack and Spring Training in Fort Myers” and on Feb. 20 Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson officially proclaimed that day to be “Spring Training Day in Fort Myers.”

We talk with a political scientist who has been collaborating on a project to explore how minority parties are able to accomplish their goals. Dr. Andrew Ballard is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Florida State University. His forthcoming book distills research that he, and his co-author have been doing that looks at U.S. Congressional power dynamics in history to see just how minority parties approach getting their goals into legislation, or in some cases obstruct the majority party’s efforts.

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