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Gulf Coast Life Book Club
Gulf Coast Life
Monday through Thursday at 2 & 7PM

Gulf Coast Life is a locally produced talk show that strives to connect listeners to the people, places, and things that make Southwest Florida unique.

Produced & Hosted by: Mike Kiniry
Contributing Hosts: John Davis, Cary Barbor, and Emma Rodriguez

Facebook: WGCU Public Media
Twitter: twitter.com/wgcu - #GCL

Latest Episodes
  • We hear from the Florida Health Professionals for Scientific Integrity. It is a group of healthcare workers who are concerned about trends in public health in Florida, particularly the end of vaccine mandates in schools.
  • The Center for Inquiry was founded in 1976 by the likes of Carl Sagan and Isaac Asimov to investigate what they called ‘extraordinary claims’ being made about things like paranormal activity and UFO abductions — things that fall into the category of pseudoscience. We talk with the center's Director of Education, Bertha Vasquez, about the work she does and the role of science in our lives, and the crucial need for a skeptical mind in the face of information overload.
  • Long form journalism and deep dive investigative reporting on local issues have historically been the domain of local newspapers. But as newsrooms have shrunk, gaps have been created — and a new model for local journalism has emerged in response: nonprofit newsrooms, mostly comprised of reporters who once worked for newspapers and other forms of commercial media. We meet the Executive Editor-in Chief of Suncoast Searchlight which focuses on Sarasota, Manatee, and DeSoto Counties to get a sense of their origin story and mission — and reflect on the state of local news that’s led to the rise of these online, nonprofit news organizations.
  • Ahead of the Feb. 3, 2026, Naples City Council election, the League of Women Voters of Collier Council organized a candidate forum for all eight candidates seeking three open seats on the council. We’ll hear a condensed broadcast of the forum moderated by Naples Daily News Executive Editor Wendy Fullerton Powell and WGCU’s John Davis.
  • New David Lawrence Centers program, Pathways to Healing, helps people undergoing behavioral health treatments with transition after hospitalization.
  • As Jan. 13th marks the start of Florida’s 2026 legislative session, we’re exploring bills and issues likely to take center stage over the course of the 60-day session in a conversation with Florida Gulf Coast University Political Science professors Roger Green, Ph.D., Sandra Pavelka, Ph.D, and University of Central Florida Political Science professor Aubrey Jewett, Ph.D.
  • Despite record high stock markets, the Harry Chapin Food Bank of SWFL and its partners are busier than ever because of factors like high food, housing, and health insurance costs — along with cuts to federal programs that help people in need including $186 billion in cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in the so-called Big Beautiful Bill. The Harry Chapin Food Bank distributed 38.7 million pounds of food last year. And to keep up with the growing need, they have begun construction of a new 110-thousand-square-foot distribution center and warehouse being built in Fort Myers that will be their new Hunger Action Center. We sit down with the food bank's president and CEO to get a sense of what they’re experiencing right now, and what the new facility will mean for their operations. We also meet the director of one of their partner agencies.
  • It’s well-known by now that invasive Burmese pythons have become established in the Florida Everglades. And you may have heard of the state’s annual Python Challenge, when hunters compete to remove as many Burmese pythons from the Everglades as possible with prizes going to whoever is most successful. But you may not be aware of the South Florida Water Management District’s Python Elimination Program, which has been around since 2017. This Friday, the head of the district’s Python Program will kick of the Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife's 2026 speaker series with a talk all about the program and the impact these large snakes have. We get a preview.
  • Narratives of public education in the early United States generally describe the building of a public system designed to allow people to gain knowledge and access to advancement in their lives. But, what’s often left out is the role race has always played at the root of education in America. The new book, “America Grammar: Race, Education, and the Building of a Nation” makes the case that the exploitation of Black and Indigenous people played an essential role in building American education systems all the way back to this country’s founding. We talk with its author to dig into this aspect of American history.
  • A recent op-ed in the Wall Street Journal opens with the story of a man who believed his 83-year-old mother was plotting to assassinate him. His conversational partner and sounding board — in that case ChatGPT — told him he wasn’t crazy and his instincts were sharp, and that vigilance was fully justified. Not long after the man killed his mother before taking his own life. This is an example of what’s been dubbed ‘AI Psychosis’ — that’s when people are if not encouraged to cause harm to themselves or others, at least are not discouraged to do so by chatbots like ChatGPT or Gemini, or others. We talk with its author, who is co-founder of a nonprofit that's creating tools and demos to help people understand AI systems on a visceral level.