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For large mammals like the Florida panther and Florida black bear, large tracts of contiguous land are crucial to their ability to live and thrive. To that end, in 2021 the Florida legislature passed — with bipartisan support — the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act, and Governor Ron DeSantis signed it into law. The Act outlines about 18-million acres of land in the state that comprise a corridor of sorts stretching from the Everglades to the panhandle that would support animals like the Florida panther. About 10-million of those acres are already preserved, so the goal is to encourage the owners of the remaining 8-million acres to either sell their land to the state or an organization that would protect it, or get a conservation easement that would allow them to continue farming or ranching operations, but ensure the land isn’t developed. We talk with investigative journalist, Jimmy Tobias, to try to understand the Florida Wildlife Corridor Act better.

Right now our public debt is about 97% of our GDP. The last time we had a ratio that high was around World War II. A key number that economists are focused on right now is how much interest the U.S. Government is paying to manage the national debt. Right now, we’re paying almost $1 trillion dollars per year in interest. That is more than we spend on the military budget and almost as much as we spend on healthcare, including Medicare and Medicaid, every year. So, in order to get an overview of how the U.S. national debt works, how the government borrows money to service the debt or even pay it back, how we’ve found ourselves in a place with such a high debt to GDPT ratio, and how concerned we all should be, we talk with the author of a recent piece in The Journalist’s Resource titled “The national debt: How and why the US government borrows money.”

In January of 1742, while sailing around waters south of Florida in search of Spanish vessels to "sink, burn or destroy" the British Royal Navy’s HMS Tyger ran aground at Garden Key in what’s now Dry Tortugas National Park. What unfolded after the Tyger ran aground at Garden Key is a fascinating narrative that is compiled in a new paper published in the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology titled “Hunting HMS Tyger, 1742: Identifying a Ship-of-the-Line in Dry Tortugas National Park” co-authored by Andrew Van Slyke & Joshua Marano. To get a sense of the Tyger and its crew's story, and the archeological efforts that go into this kind of identification, we talk with the team lead for the HMS Tyger identification effort.

A storytelling festival takes place over four days at the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers.

When the lights go out, WGCU Public Media remains committed to bringing you important, up-to-date information no matter what’s happening outside.

Lewis Black’s voice has become synonymous to comedy after 30 years in the business. Before he leaves the stage, shares what fans can expect from his final shows in Florida.

While many Southwest Floridians locals will be out and about enjoying Fourth of July celebrations, including fireworks, the festivities can take a toll on nature.

A number of Southwest Florida offices of the state department of health have back to school wellness activities remaining on their schedules for the 2025-2026 school year.Information and other safety topics include dental hygiene, immunizations, and proper installation of child seats.

The FGCU Eagles women's basketball team, winner of a ninth straight ASUN championship Saturday, were selected as the 14 seed to play against 3 seed Oklahoma Sooners during Sunday's 2025 NCAA DI women's basketball tournament bracket selection show.The game will be Saturday in Norman, Oklahoma.

To help area residents get ready for the 2025 storm season, Fort Myers will hold a Hurricane Preparedness Expo June 7 at the Collaboratory, 2031 Jackson Street.