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In the winter of 1896, an unidentifiable creature washed ashore Anastasia Island. Experts would try, and fail, to identify the beast, as speculation swirled and questions mounted. A century later, an answer. Make sure you are registered to vote!   Read more of my writing with the Community Paper right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   Read more about the St. Augustine Monster at the Smithsonian Institute or on JSTOR   All of the music was originally composed.

In 1915, millionaire and highway innovator Carl Fisher aimed to complete a new project: a highway that stretched from Chicago to Miami. States would be scorned, drivers would be lost, and a new folly would be born.   Read more of my writing with the Community Paper right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   Read more about the highway right here on Florida Memory!   I do not own the rights to the extra song used in this episode. Listen to the full track here: Dixie Highway by Journey. All of the music was originally composed.

Make sure you are registered to vote at Vote.org On your ballot in November is Amendment 3. If passed, it would have an immediate impact on every community in Florida by the start of 2027. This week, we're joined by A.G. Gancarski to discuss the amendment, the end of the DeSantis administration, and the bigger picture of the midterms this November.    Read more of my writing with the Community Paper right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   All of the music was originally composed.

Watch PANTHER PAT right here! In 1970, the first woman to take the field for a men's football team did so in Orlando, Florida. Dubbed "Panther Pat", she made history right as the sport of football was on the brink of permanent change.  Make sure you are registered to vote right here!   Read more of my writing with the Community Paper right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   All of the music was originally composed.

This week, we follow the story of the Brevard family, from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Coast of Florida to the Moon's surface and back again. Plus, we take a detour into the history of Woodsy Owl, the Blue Ridge Parkway and the mysterious white squirrels of North Carolina. Make sure you are registered to vote at Vote.org Read more of my writing with the Community Paper right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   Listen to the original Ballad of Woodsy Owl here Read more about Woodsy Owl here Visit the Cradle of Forestry here Explore the history of the Blue Ridge Parkway here   All of the music was originally composed.

Last month, hundreds of poets descended on downtown Orlando to compete at the Southern Fried Poetry Slam Festival. This week, we explore the art form and get an inside perspective on the festival, and how vulnerability leads to a greater connection through spoken word poetry. Get involved with Diverse Word in Orlando! Check out GrowHouse in Tampa!   Make sure you are registered to vote at Vote.org Read more of my writing with the Community Paper right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   All of the music was originally composed.

Orlando Fringe celebrated their 35th anniversary this year, and we spent the spring shadowing a production, from rehearsal to final bow. We explore the history of theatre in Orlando, the different paths to the stage for an improviser, and how to build trust within a cast. Make sure you are registered to vote at Vote.org Read more of my writing with the Community Paper right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   All of the music was originally composed.

America's 250th birthday has come and gone. It's time to start looking to the future. Today, we talk about the upcoming Florida midterm elections, the looming threat of data centers in our state, and the things we can learn from our favorite movie, 1975's JAWS. Make sure you are registered to vote at Vote.org Read more reporting about the data centers in Florida at the Tampa Bay Times Read more about the Florida gubernatorial candidates here   Vote for us as Best Local Podcast! All of the music was originally composed.

Pick up your tickets to The Python Hunt at Enzian Theater right here! This week, we chat with the director of a new Florida documentary called THE PYTHON HUNT, which tells the story of the people who come down to the Everglades to seek and hunt the invasive pythons that live in our swamps. Xander Robin takes through the production, the style of Florida filmmaking, and the unique things you find in the long nights of python hunting. Check out more from Xander Robin right here! Check out more from the musicians behind the film's score right here!   All of the music was originally composed.

Beginning in the 1930s, one of the most prolific architects in American history, Frank Lloyd Wright, brought his iconic style to Florida. A dozen buildings rise from the hills of Lakeland and reveal the details of Wright's Florida masterpiece, highlighting the unique qualities of our peninsula's singular nature. Plan your visit to the Frank Lloyd Wright buildings right here!   Read more of my writing with the Community Paper right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   All of the music was originally composed.

North of Tampa, a community was shocked to find their homes were built on a forgotten burial ground from our recent history. The Black Cemetery Network collects the stories of places just like this, and fights for their memories. Check out the work of The Black Cemetery Network here. Read more about New York's African Burial Ground   Read more of my writing with the Community Paper right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   All of the music was originally composed.

At the beginning of 1937, the popular mayor of Daytona Beach found himself clashing with the Florida governor who'd pulled the state out of the Great Depression. What followed next was a siege of city hall, and a forgotten war for the city by the waves. Read more of my writing with the Community Paper right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   Read more about Edward Armstrong in Leonard R. Lempel's piece right here!   All of the music was originally composed.

Florida has three National Parks, and eleven total NPS locations. One of which is the famous Ocala National Forest. This week, we chat with Ryan Smart of the Florida Springs Council about a plan to convert the Ocala Forest into a brand new National Park in our state, and why Ryan thinks that's a bad idea.  Read the story that inspired this episode on The Alligator   Vote for us as Best Local Podcast at Orlando Weekly! Read more of my writing with the Community Paper right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   All of the music was originally composed.

The 2026 Florida Film Festival has come and gone. From April 10th to the 19th, we spent most every day in screenings, seeing the tales of Floridians and Floridian filmmakers on the big screen. Today, we chat about the work from three of these films, focusing on art, protest, cryptids, poems, and belief. Frogtown, the story of a small Florida town finding meaning in the elusive Frog King. The Call, which details Morocco's historic Green March, hosted by Orlando's arts instigator. Welcome, profiling Shawn Welcome, Orlando's former poet laureate. Thank you to all of our guests!   Vote for us as Best Local Podcast at Orlando Weekly! Read more of my writing with the Community Paper right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   All of the music was originally composed.

Off a quiet road, east of Gainesville, a trio of oak trees tell the stories of those who have passed beneath their branches: soldiers, governors, trains and us. Two hundred years of history unfold in the ghost town of Rochelle, Florida. Vote for us as Best Local Podcast at Orlando Weekly! Read more of my writing with the Community Paper right here!   Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   Read more about the Rochelle witness trees here! Read more about the Patriot War right here. "Some Early Railroads of Alachua County" by Caroline Watkins   All of the music was originally composed.