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Winston Scott grew up in Miami and attended Florida State University to study music. While at FSU he started getting into engineering and at one point the word astronaut flashed briefly through his mind. So, after graduating in 1972, he entered Naval Aviation Officer Candidate School and two years later became a Naval Aviator and served as a production test pilot flying the F/A-18 Hornet at A-7 Corsair. Mr. Scott was then selected by NASA to become an astronaut and reported to the Johnson Space Center in 1992. These days he’s Director of Operational Excellence at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor’s Complex and in that role was touring last week so we brough him by the studio to talk about being an astronaut, and what goes on at the KSC Visitor’s Complex.

We get some insight into the long and challenging journeys dementia caregivers are on from two men who became caregivers themselves after their wives were diagnosed with dementia. Dan Moser’s wife Maria was diagnosed with what’s called Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD) in 2015 and he was her caregiver until she passed away about two years ago. During that time, he pivoted away from his work as a bike and pedestrian safety advocate toward dementia caregiving, a role he continues to this day. And Jeff Edwards’ wife Bunny was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2018 and he’s still taking care of her. Jeff retired from a 50-plus year in radio a couple of years ago and since then has been producing a podcast called GUTPUNCHED that explores the challenges of dementia caregiving, and shares resources they've found, and as he puts it “their heartbreaks and their little victories.”

Dr. Stephen Knott has spent his career learning about, teaching about, and writing about Presidents of the United States of America. He is a Professor of American History & Government at Ashland University in Ohio, and Emeritus Professor of National Security Affairs at the U.S. Naval War College. He is the author of eleven books dealing with the American Presidency, the early republic, and American foreign policy. His latest, which is due out in May, is “Conspirator in Chief: The Long Tradition of Conspiracy Theories in the American Presidency” which details through extensive research and citations the ways, according to his telling, eight United States Commanders in Chief used conspiracy theories to advance their causes. They were examples, Dr. Knott would say, of the kinds of demagogues the country’s founders were concerned could someday take on the role.

In March of this year, Governor Ron DeSantis signed HB1 into law — expanding the voucher program and significantly increasing taxpayer funding for private schools. The new law eliminates the current financial eligibility restrictions and allows any student who is a resident of Florida and eligible to enroll in K-12 public schools to participate. The new universal voucher program is estimated to cost $4 billion in the first year of implementation alone, according to a cost analysis by Florida Policy Institute and the Education Law Center. We get some context on the new law, and the history of how vouchers work in Florida, with Dr. Norín Dollard, Senior Policy Analyst and KIDS COUNT Director at the Florida Policy Institute; and Damaris Allen, Executive director of Coral Gables-based Families for Strong Public Schools.

Lee, Charlotte and Manatee counties are in the top 10 Florida counties for manatee deaths so far in 2025, a new report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission shows.The report shows that of the 148 manatees that have died this year in Florida as of Feb. 14, Lee County has had the most with 31 deaths.

Save the dates for two upcoming license-free fishing weekends hosted by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), a perfect opportunity to try fishing with your friends and family.This summer's license-free fishing weekends are on June 7-8 for saltwater and June 14-15 for freshwater.

It’s becoming increasingly common for conservative political leaders in the United States — including here in Florida — to use language and put forward policies that conflate American identity with religious identity. Many are focusing on issues like abortion, same-sex marriage, and trans rights — and critics say this trend represents a rise in what’s called Christian Nationalism. Christian Nationalism is best summarized as the belief that the history and character of the United States is defined by Christianity, and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way. Our guest counts himself among its critics, and says that while supporters of Christian Nationalism portray it as a social movement, it’s actually a well-organized political movement that seeks to gain political power and to impose its vision on all of society. Rev. Paul Raushenbush is an ordained Baptist minister, and he is President and CEO of Interfaith Alliance, a national nonprofit founded in 1994 to advocate for religious freedom and pluralism in the U.S.

Florida’s corals and coral reefs have been decimated over the past 40 or so years. Only a fraction of Florida’s corals remain, mostly due to diseases but also coral bleaching which is caused by warm water temperatures. The threshold for bleaching is around 86 degrees, and right now biologists are recording temperatures in the lower 90s offshore, and in the upper 90s and even over 100 in bays. Overall, south Florida water temps are about 4 to 5 degrees warmer on average right now than they were last year at this time, and this is leading to widespread bleaching events that are happening earlier than would be expected.

Florida Gulf Coast University is set to release its next Five Year Strategic Plan that will outline the institution's updated goals and priorities, and identify ways to achieve them. It includes updated Mission and Vision statements, and five main goals, which are to “Innovate in Academic Excellence,” “Enhance Student Success and Well-being,” “Elevate Partnerships for Regional Impact,” “Strengthen Organizational Culture and Commitment to Employees” and “Champion Sustainable Practices and Resiliency.” We talk with the three members of the Strategic Plan Steering Committee to get a sense of what the new plan contains, how it differs from the previous plan, and how the process of finalizing it worked.

According to 2024 data from the American Medical Association, around 40% of physicians surveyed indicated they were likely to reduce their clinical hours in the next year. One in 5 physicians say they intend to leave the profession entirely within the next two years, with nearly 28% of doctors surveyed reporting dissatisfaction with their current healthcare jobs. Our guest left direct patient care behind in 2022 after practicing as a Gynecologic Oncology surgeon for just four years. Dr. Wilbur then embarked on a project to conduct a series of one-on-one interviews with doctors like herself who had either recently left practice, or were strongly considering doing so, to shine light on this growing trend and what factors were driving it. We talk with her about her new book that came out of those conversations, “The Doctor is No Longer In: Conversations with U.S. physicians.”