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In the late 2000s several local governments in Southwest Florida began implementing ordinances that prohibited the application of lawn fertilizer during the rainy season. Lee County’s ordinance, which was passed in 2008, just took effect again. As of June 1, it is prohibited to apply lawn fertilizer containing nitrogen or phosphorus anywhere in unincorporated Lee County until the beginning of November. Most municipalities in southwest Florida have similar ordinances, including Cape Coral, the City of Fort Myers and Fort Myers Beach, and the City of Naples. Charlotte, Sarasota, and Manatee counties have similar rainy season bans. We get an overview of Lee County’s ordinance, and the importance of complying with these rules to benefit our ecosystems.

On Thursday, March 30 the Collaboratory in downtown Fort Myers is partnering with the Collier Community Foundation, and the Charlotte Community Foundation, to host a region-wide “On the Table” event with locations in all three counties. The aim is to facilitate conversations between people of all walks of life, on one day and often around meals, to try and generate authentic dialogue between people, some of whom may just be meeting for the very first time, about what issues or problems we’re facing, and how best to try and address those issues or overcome those problems.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and the state legislature — which is dominated by Republicans who have supermajorities in both chambers — have implemented a series of policies and laws in recent years that critics say are demonstrating tendencies toward autocracy. We speak with three people who count themselves among the critics who are decrying what they see as autocratic tendencies in Tallahassee and here in Florida. They are all members of the nonprofit, Floridians for Democracy, which was formed in April, 2023 to bring together voices from across the political spectrum to push back against this rising trend.

The Philadelphia A’s were the first Major League Baseball team to spring train in Fort Myers, beginning in 1925. Over the decades were followed by teams from Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Kansas City. The Minnesota Twins arrived in 1991, and the Boston Red Sox moved their spring training operations here two years later in 1993. We dig into the City of Palm’s rich baseball history with two men who just love digging into rich baseball history. They’ll be two of the presenters at the upcoming fundraiser for the Southwest Florida Historical Society called “What it was, was baseball. An evening of Fort Myers history as told through the prism of diamonds…baseball diamonds.”

We remember Bob Graham, and get a glimpse into our nation's history, through the lens of a conversation that happened on this show on Thursday, Oct. 14, 2004. Governor Graham had just published a book titled “Intelligence Matters: The CIA, the FBI, Saudi Arabia, and the Failure of America's War on Terror.” This show launched in the Spring of 2004 as a live, hour long call-in show. Our founding host was Ryan Warner. Today we listen back to excerpts from that show with Ryan behind the mic.

Bertha Vasquez spent most of her career in the classroom teaching science to middle schoolers in Miami-Dade County. She’s a passionate advocate for the scientific method and the many ways it’s made life better for humanity. And she’s a strong believer in skepticism when it comes to understanding the world around us, especially when extraordinary claims are made. These days Ms. Vasquez has taken on the role of Director of Education at the The Center for Inquiry, and Director of its Teacher Institute for Evolutionary Science. The CFI’s roots go back to the 1970s when Carl Sagan, Isaac Asimov, and other critical thinkers began seeing the need to mitigate growing belief in pseudoscience and paranormal claims using rational means and methods.

Conservation photographer Ian Wilson-Navarro was born in Miami but has lived his entire life in Key Largo. He got his first camera as a teenager, and first visited the Dry Tortugas around that same time camping and fishing with his father. In 2021, he and a friend were chosen for a National Parks Arts Foundation artist residency in the Dry Tortugas on Loggerhead Key. His proposal for the residency pitched the idea of capturing images to create a book, and that book is now out. "Dry Tortugas: Stronghold of Nature" was published last month by University Press of Florida. It features about 200 of his photographs along with essays by people with intimate knowledge of the park who explore its history, culture, and environment.

Next month, Florida voters will decide whether to approve Amendment 4 to the state constitution. It is a response to SB 300, which was approved by Florida lawmakers last year. On Sunday, Oct. 27 the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Naples is hosting a “Forum on Four” community conversation to provide clarity on Amendment 4, and details on SB 300. It will be moderated by a woman who grew up in the Right to Life Movement but now hosts a podcast called “Right to Life” in which she’s been seeking clarity for herself and her listeners about these extremely complicated issues. We talk with the forum's moderator and two of its panelists.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month was first observed in October of 1985 with the goal of promoting awareness of breast cancer, encouraging early detection, and helping to raise money for research. Data from the CDC shows that in the U.S., 42,211 women died from breast cancer in 2022. It’s the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the U.S., after lung cancer. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation 1 in 8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. In 2024, an estimated 310,720 women and 2,800 men will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.

We get some insight into the world of dementia caregiver support — and we we learn about a relatively rare form of dementia called Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD). It’s a type of dementia that affects the areas that control behavior, personality, language, and decision-making. People with FTD might start acting differently, like becoming rude or impulsive, or they may have trouble speaking and understanding language. It usually appears in people younger than 65, and unlike other forms of dementia, memory problems aren't usually the first sign, but instead changes in behavior or communication skills are more noticeable early on.