Gulf Coast Life

Mike Kiniry · wgcu.org

Monday through Thursday at 1 & 9PMHosted by Mike KiniryGulf 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 KiniryContributing Hosts: John Davis, Cary Barbor, and Tara CalliganFacebook: WGCU Public MediaTwitter: twitter.com/wgcu - #GCL

20 episodes

11d ago latest

3x a week cadence

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Episodes 20

What are the benefits of cold plunging?
4d ago · 23:31
Cold water swimming and plunging have gotten a lot of attention lately. Chris Ballard is here to tell us all about them.
What are 'cottage foods' and what's allowed under Florida law?
5d ago · 24:04
Cottage food laws are what create the rules under which people can make certain kinds of food products in their home kitchens and then sell them without a commercial kitchen license or a state inspection or traditional food permits. Primary examples are baked goods like bread, or jams or honey. A 2021 law expanded the rules, and the cottage food industry nationwide has grown in the past decade or so, wo learn about how Florida's laws work, what people interested in selling their home homemade products should know, and why more people are choosing cottage food sales as a side hustle. Our guests
Floridians for Democracy hosts Rally for Hope to promote voter participation & civic engagement
6d ago · 23:59
The nonpartisan nonprofit, Floridians for Democracy, is holding a Rally for Hope on Saturday, Aug. 29. They chose the date to coincide with the anniversary of the historic March on Washington that brought about 250,000 people to Washington, D.C. in 1963 to advocate for the civil and economic rights of Black Americans. Organizers say it’s meant to be a nonpartisan gathering rather than a protest, with a focus on promoting voter participation & civic engagement, and the moral traditions of the civil rights movement. We talk with FFD co-founder, Jim Nathan, and one of the event planners, Sonya Mc
Florida 2026 Primary Election Analysis
11d ago · 24:31
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 Pol
New book highlights the 0.1% of old-growth cypress swamps left in the American South
12d ago · 23:36
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.
Support your local pollinator during the Great Southeast Pollinator Census
13d ago · 29:34
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 the
The Bridge for Women: Peer support for survivors of domestic abuse
18d ago · 23:53
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.
LARC: supporting individuals with special needs in SWFL since 1954
19d ago · 24:25
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.
Meet the new President & CEO of Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs
20d ago · 24:54
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.
Authors weigh in on $1.5 billion Anthropic AI copyright settlement
27d ago · 22:24
A wave of copyright lawsuits brought by authors and publishers hinge on whether downloading and ingesting millions of copyrighted books without explicit permission to train Large Language Models constitutes copyright infringement or is protected as fair use. The AI Company Anthropic recently agreed to pay $1.5 billion dollars in a landmark copyright infringement settlement. There are other similar high-profile cases, including two against Meta and Google being led by bestselling novelist and part-time Naples resident Scott Turow. We talk with Mr. Turow, and local author Marty Ambrose, to learn
Why mangroves are so important for our ecosystem & coastal living
1mo ago · 25:16
Up until the early 1900s about three-quarters of Florida’s southern coast, from about Tampa Bay on the Gulf side around to The Indian River Lagoon on the Atlantic Ocean, was covered with, and protected by mangroves. After coastal development took off in the 1900s hundreds of thousands of acres of mangroves were removed in urbanizing coastal regions. Mangroves are important for many reasons, so we have a Mangroves 101 conversation to learn about the role they play in our coastal ecosystems. Our guests are Dr. Brian Bovard, Wetland Plant Ecologist in the Department of Ecology and Environmental S
Researchers develop tools to test for airborne blue-green algae toxins in Southwest Florida
1mo ago · 22:43
The Florida Department of Health says contact with water from areas with blue-green algae can make people and animals sick, and it advises people to stay away from these waters. Brand new research found cyanobacterial and algal toxins in low concentrations in the majority of air samples taken around SWFL. We dig into this new research and its implications with the study's lead scientist, Dr. James Metcalf, from Brain Chemistry Labs in Jackson Hole, WY; and Jason Pim, Board President of Calusa Waterkeeper.
A.N.A.'s Friends helps kids & foster families through difficult times
1mo ago · 25:40
A Guardian ad Litem is a legally appointed, trained volunteer who represents the best interests of children who have become involved in court proceedings, often in cases related to abuse, neglect, custody disputes, and other situations where a child's welfare is at stake. There are more than 500 court certified Guardian ad Litem volunteers in the 20th Judicial Circuit. On any given day in Southwest Florida, more than 1,000 children are displaced due to abuse, abandonment, or neglect in their home. We learn about the nonprofit A.N.A.s Friends with Executive Director, Jessica Kaestner; and Board
Sarasota docs discover way to diagnose lung cancer earlier, improving treatment odds
1mo ago · 24:30
Lung health specialists at Sarasota Memorial Health System have discovered a detection program that can catch lung cancer early – at Stage I or Stage II --when patients have the best chance of survival from the disease.
Free online Active Parenting program begins soon at David Lawrence Centers in Naples
1mo ago · 23:11
Active Parenting education programs have been around since the early 1980s. They are evidence-based, meaning they use research-backed curriculum that teach techniques and approaches that have been studied and shown to provide benefits including lowering household conflict and improving child behavior. We learn about a new series of free Active Parenting courses that begin soon through the David Lawrence Centers for Behavioral Health in Collier County from Jasmine Pagano, Wellness Program Supervisor at the DLC Wellness Institute.
Compassionate SWFL celebrates one year of working toward a more compassionate community
1mo ago · 24:02
Since 2008, more than 100 cities have officially declared that they are "Compassionate Communities" which affirm the Charter for Compassion. In Florida, St. Augustine signed on in 2013 and St. Petersburg did as well in 2018. One year ago, a group of southwest Floridians held their first ‘shaping a compassionate Fort Myers’ event to start building momentum toward imbedding compassion into our local community. Compassionate Southwest Florida is holding its 12th Community Conversation on Saturday, July 25 and we get a preview.
Uncommon Friends Foundation - supporting students & preserving local history since 1993
1mo ago · 25:39
The Burroughs Home & Gardens in downtown Fort Myers was constructed in 1901 so is celebrating its 125th birthday this year, with the help of the Uncommon Friends Foundation — part of their mission is preserving the historic home. Alongside historic preservation, the Uncommon Friends Foundation’s mission also includes promoting good character and ethics, and providing scholarships to local students. We get an update on what the foundation is up to, and get a bit of history on the Burroughs Home and the namesake 'uncommon friends'.
Lee County School Board candidate forum
1mo ago · 56:29
The League of Women Voters of Lee County, in partnership with WGCU and the News-Press held a forum, July 9, with Lee County School Board candidates. Six of the 11 qualified candidates participated including Carl Baxter, Crystal Johnson, Debbie Jordan, Jenn McDaigle, India Palencia, and Carline Saintilus. We will listen back to a condensed version of the 90-minute forum in a special hour-long episode of Gulf Coast Life.
What are Data Centers and how do we all use them even if we don't use Generative AI?
1mo ago · 25:35
Data Centers are all over the news lately because AI companies are building them, apparently as fast as they can manage. They take up huge amounts of resources, including electricity and water and hardware and all of the things building huge facilities requires. But what exactly is a data center, and why do we need so many of them? And why do they consume so much electricity and water and other resources? What are they doing? Are they all doing the same thing or are there different kinds? We discuss these questions, and some of the ways we all use data centers every day even if we don't use Ge
Dr. Grace Farris illustrated med school and residency with a graphic memoir
1mo ago · 25:00
Dr. Grace Farris is a practicing physician in Austin, Texas. Her graphic memoir, See One, Do One, Teach One: The Art of Becoming a Doctor traces her path through medical school and residency with very candid and funny comics.

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Episodes 20

What are the benefits of cold plunging?

What are 'cottage foods' and what's allowed under Florida law?

Floridians for Democracy hosts Rally for Hope to promote voter participation & civic engagement

Florida 2026 Primary Election Analysis

New book highlights the 0.1% of old-growth cypress swamps left in the American South

Support your local pollinator during the Great Southeast Pollinator Census

The Bridge for Women: Peer support for survivors of domestic abuse

LARC: supporting individuals with special needs in SWFL since 1954

Meet the new President & CEO of Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs

Authors weigh in on $1.5 billion Anthropic AI copyright settlement

Why mangroves are so important for our ecosystem & coastal living

Researchers develop tools to test for airborne blue-green algae toxins in Southwest Florida

A.N.A.'s Friends helps kids & foster families through difficult times

Sarasota docs discover way to diagnose lung cancer earlier, improving treatment odds

Free online Active Parenting program begins soon at David Lawrence Centers in Naples

Compassionate SWFL celebrates one year of working toward a more compassionate community

Uncommon Friends Foundation - supporting students & preserving local history since 1993

Lee County School Board candidate forum

What are Data Centers and how do we all use them even if we don't use Generative AI?

Dr. Grace Farris illustrated med school and residency with a graphic memoir

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Episodes 20

What are the benefits of cold plunging?

What are 'cottage foods' and what's allowed under Florida law?

Floridians for Democracy hosts Rally for Hope to promote voter participation & civic engagement

Florida 2026 Primary Election Analysis

New book highlights the 0.1% of old-growth cypress swamps left in the American South

Support your local pollinator during the Great Southeast Pollinator Census

The Bridge for Women: Peer support for survivors of domestic abuse

LARC: supporting individuals with special needs in SWFL since 1954

Meet the new President & CEO of Wonder Gardens in Bonita Springs

Authors weigh in on $1.5 billion Anthropic AI copyright settlement

Why mangroves are so important for our ecosystem & coastal living

Researchers develop tools to test for airborne blue-green algae toxins in Southwest Florida

A.N.A.'s Friends helps kids & foster families through difficult times

Sarasota docs discover way to diagnose lung cancer earlier, improving treatment odds

Free online Active Parenting program begins soon at David Lawrence Centers in Naples

Compassionate SWFL celebrates one year of working toward a more compassionate community

Uncommon Friends Foundation - supporting students & preserving local history since 1993

Lee County School Board candidate forum

What are Data Centers and how do we all use them even if we don't use Generative AI?

Dr. Grace Farris illustrated med school and residency with a graphic memoir