Gulf Coast Life

Voters choose Republican Byron Donalds and Democrat David Jolly as their parties’ respective nominees in the race for Florida Governor. In a surprise upset, Democratic State Rep. Angie Nixon defeated Lt. Col. Alex Vindman in the Democratic Primary for U.S. Senate. She now faces incumbent Ashley Moody in the November General Election. Primary contests for U.S. House seats in the sunshine state were loaded with candidates, but voters by-and-large choose to back incumbents. We’ll take a closer look at the results and what they’re setting up for the General Election in a conversation with FGCU Political Science Professor Sandra Pavelka, Ph.D., and UCF Political Scientist Aubrey Jewett, Ph.D.

Mac Stone is an award-winning conservation photographer and a National Geographic Explorer. His work focuses on swamps and wetlands — he says he's trying to change public opinion towards these often misunderstood and maligned ecosystems. We discuss his new book is "Cypress: The Last Old-Growth Swamps" which is filled with photographs of the American South’s ancient wetlands and intricate webs of life that grow beneath ancient cypress canopies, including Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary.

About 75% of the world’s flowering plants and about 30% of crops rely on pollinators. Things like habitat loss, pesticide use, climate change, and invasive species are all threats to pollinator populations, which are truly essential for both ecological balance and food security. On August 22-23 Floridians can do their part as citizen scientists to help researchers keep tabs on the health of pollinator populations by participating in the Great Southeast Pollinator Census. To participate, during those two days you simply pick one or more plants in your yard that attract pollinators and watch them closely for 15 minutes and count each time an insect lands on the plant, and then upload that information into a database.

The Cape Coral Art Center is featuring a retrospective exhibition of works by Pine Island-based painter Zan Lombardo titled “Larger Than Life Watercolors” in reference to the large-scale watercolor scrolls that Lombardo is perhaps best known for. We talk with Lombardo about her unique artistic practice, what inspires her paintings, and the evolution of her work over time.

Laurien Papa Bartuccio co-founded The Bridge for Women. It provides trauma-informed peer support for survivors of domestic abuse in Collier, Lee, Charlotte, and Hendry counties.

Since 1954 — during a time when public schools were not required to educate kids with intellectual and developmental disabilities, so many of these kids were institutionalized — a group of parents in Fort Myers came together to create what they called LARC which would work to empower and support young people with disabilities to achieve their full potential. They've continued that mission and grown over the decades. We learn about everything they do and how they've grown with Executive Director, Angela Katz.

The Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs has roots that date back to 1936. It was created as The Reptile Gardens by brothers Bill and Lester Piper and sat on the newly built Tamiami Trail. As it grew, and as the collection expanded beyond cold-blooded animals, the Pipers changed the name to The Everglades Wonder Gardens and their family ran it until 2013. These days is moved past its roadside attraction roots to become a modern 'zootanical garden. We meet its new President & CEO, Sally Mulvena.

On the heels of a currently running youth theater production of “Into the Woods” Players Circle Theater is preparing to perform “My Way: A Musical Tribute to Frank Sinatra.” We’ll talk with the directors and cast members from both shows.

Julie Buntin's new novel is called Famous Men. It’s the story of a young woman’s involvement with an older, famous writer.

Former global advertising executive Tim Love's 2025 book “The Medium is the Mirror: The Reformation of Truth Reshaping Our Relationships, Politics and Sacred Beliefs” explores the way our online world works, and how behavior data being collected on us is being used to shape our behavior. It was recently awarded first prize in the Business Marketing & Advertising category in the 2026 International Book Awards so we’re checking back in with him, and former Missouri Congressman and Democratic House Majority Leader, Dick Gephardt, who wrote the book's introduction.