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A natural part of living in Florida is sometimes interacting with wild animals — including Florida black bears. Wildlife officers trapped and tranquilized a black bear on Monday near downtown Fort Myers. Bears are pretty wily and mostly move around at night so most people have probably never even seen one, or even know that we have black bears in this part of Florida, let alone wandering through our neighborhoods. We talk with a bear expert with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission about bears in Florida, how they behave, and what we can do to minimize neighborhood interactions with them.

On Saturday, July 19 there will be a daylong gathering in Fort Myers to begin a conversation about moving the City of Palms toward openly becoming a Compassionate City. One that holds empathy, dignity, and care at the core. The organizers are calling for educators, civic leaders, healthcare workers, artists, entrepreneurs, faith voices, and anyone really, who want to join the conversation about the importance of compassion and empathy and how to find ways to build them into the community. We talk with three of the people involved with Saturday’s event to get a preview and to talk about compassion.

Over the decades, the nonprofit Calusa Nature Center and Planetarium has introduced countless people of all ages to the natural world, and the cosmos, through educational programs. Their 105-acre site features a natural history museum with live native and teaching animals, a butterfly garden and raptor aviary, as well as exhibits about the animals, plants, and environment of Southwest Florida. And they host events like music under the stars, paint and sips, night hikes, summer camps, and even an event called Potter in the Park. We sat down in their planetarium on a Saturday morning to shine some light on the work they do and the resources they provide to the community.

In 2016 the nonpartisan global policy think tank RAND Corporation published a piece called "The Russian "Firehose of Falsehood" Propaganda Model: Why It Might Work and Options to Counter It" that outlined ways Russia was flooding the internet and social media with false claims, and why this technique — which featured a lack of consistency or relationship to truth — was effective in both creating confusion and getting people to tune out because there was just too much information swirling around. We talk with one of the researchers behind the 2016 perspective to learn how it came about, how they did their research, and what it means through the lens of today, far beyond Russian propaganda.

Florida Gulf Coast University and its partner, the FutureMakers Coalition at the Collaboratory in downtown Fort Myers, has been awarded a $22.9 million dollar grant. The grant will help fund an effort to fundamentally change how people are trained and jobs are filled in Southwest Florida and beyond.

In the leadup to the midterm elections Governor Ron DeSantis announced that the state of Florida’s new Office of Election Crimes and Security had arrested 20 people who allegedly had knowingly registered to vote illegally during the previous election in 2020. He said this was the first step in addressing wide-scale voter fraud — despite there being no evidence of such fraud in Florida. The problem is, there is no straightforward way for former felons — or for election officials — to determine whether someone who has completed their sentence for a felony conviction has satisfied all requirements to be eligible to vote.

Players Circle Theater is mounting the Southwest Florida regional premiere production of “Vanities: The Musical.” Adapted from Jack Heifner’s stage play, it’s a coming-of-age story exploring the joys and challenges of long-term friendships through the lives of three women as they navigate high school, college, and into adulthood, where they’ve grown into very different people. We’ll explore the show in a conversation with director Ted Wioncek, and actors Elizabeth D’Aiuto, Natalie Brouwer, and Kimberly Suskind.

If asked “What plant best symbolizes the winter season?”, most people might say “Christmas trees”, but a fair number might instead suggest holly. Several species of holly are native to North America. Most are evergreen, have thick, somewhat shiny leaves that are resistant to colder climates, and are bordered and tipped with sharp points that protect the leaves from winter plant “munchers”, and in winter bear small red fruits that add to their winter holiday appeal. The fruits are eaten by many bird species and the seeds inside the fruits are deposited with a bit of fertilizer to begin growth in the spring. Some holly species grow into large trees.

We explore 'Political Stress Disorder' and the dynamic of Outrage Addiction with Dr. Damir Utrzan, manager of Mental Health Services with Hazelden Betty Ford.

The day after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination, an Iowan schoolteacher conducted a lesson on discrimination she called the "Blue eyes–Brown eyes" exercise.