Gulf Coast Life

We’ll hear a selection of jazz classics performed live in studio ahead of the “Halloween Retro Dance Costume Party” on Oct. 30 at the Spatini Teabar on Sanibel Island. Concerts at the venue raise funds to support students studying jazz at FGCU’s Bower School of Music & the Arts through the Sanibel Jazz Society, LLC.

Starting in the late 2000s, environmental engineers and policymakers began talking about taking "nature-based" approaches to protect ourselves from storms. Concepts like 'living shorelines' were developed, where planners would work with nature. Think planting seagrasses and protecting or restoring dunes along the beach, or strategic mangrove placement as examples. But those approaches are still far from standard. The Conservancy of Southwest Florida has created a new Flood Resilience Blueprint called Working with Nature that uses the City of Naples as a test-site to show just what's possible, and what approaches would work best and where. We learn more from their Climate Resilience Advisor, Dr. Carrie Schuman.

Whether or not we'll ever find irrefutable proof that humans are not alone in the universe is something that has been speculated about since the dawn of humanity. As the scientific age arose — from first crude telescopes to modern space exploration — the idea that actually finding real proof has seemingly come into closer reach. But what happens then? And will irrefutable still be refuted by some? And what would the implications be, from shaking the foundations of some faiths, to adding a new global dynamic to an already tense world? We talk with two people who are part of a new limited-run podcast called "When We Find Them" that talks to people from all backgrounds to try to approach these questions and more.

In 1989, a nonprofit was founded to help people learning English as a second language thrive here in Southwest Florida. It’s called Literacy Council Gulf Coast and it helps both adults and children strengthen their English skills. Last month, it won the Non-Profit or Charity Organization of the Year award in the Bonita Springs Community’s Choice Awards, so we sat down with their Executive Director and Operations Manager to learn about the Council's local impact.

Players Circle Theater opens its 8th season with a production of the Broadway farce “The Nerd.” Through comic chaos, physical comedy, and escalating absurdity, the play poses the surprisingly relatable question “What do you owe someone who once did you a great favor, especially when that person makes your life miserable?”We’ll explore the play in a conversation with director Bob Cacioppo and actor Ted Wioncek.

Hope Eternal Gardens in Punta Gorda became Southwest Florida's first natural burial cemetery when it opened in 2024. Now, it's also Charlotte County's first accredited Level One Arboretum. That means they've met specific professional standards for curating, maintaining, and labeling the trees and woody plants on site for public benefit, research, and education. We learn about the cemetery, what it means to be an arboretum, and how the Museum of Trees works and where it fits into the story of gaining Level I Arboretum accreditation.

An exhibit featuring large format prints of Mac Stone's photographs goes up next week along the boardwalk at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. It's one of the remaining old-growth swamps the award-winning conservation photographer and a National Geographic Explorer featured in his new book is "Cypress: The Last Old-Growth Swamps." We revisit our conversation with him about the new book recorded in August.

Nick Penniman passed away on Sept. 29 at the age of 88. Mr. Penniman began his career as a journalist, first at the Illinois State Journal-Register before joining the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in 1975, where he rose to be publisher for 14 years. Here in Southwest Florida, Penniman was chair emeritus of the Conservancy of Southwest Florida and a trustee of the Everglades Foundation. He was also chair emeritus of the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and a Florida Master Naturalist, and he served on 33 nonprofit boards over the course of his life, including the Florida Center for Government Accountability. He was also a lifelong advocated for freedom of the press and the crucial role trustworthy news was to maintaining a healthy democracy. We revisit a conversation we had with him in 2021 when he released his book, “On the Knife: A History of Sugar in Florida.”

The Florida Philharmonic kicks off its third season with a concert celebrating the mystery, magic and macabre of Halloween with a program titled “Masquerade: Symphony of Shadows.”The concert features well-known works by composers from the Romantic Era along with more contemporary pieces by Emmy award-winning composer Anthony DiLorenzo. We’ll get a preview in a conversation with Maestro Richard Stoelzel and Concertmaster Ming Gao.

Neurologist Ray Dorsey is a leading advocate and educator on Parkinson’s disease. He offers explanations for causes and descrobes treatments.