Advertise on podcast: Gulf Coast Life

With a measles outbreak ongoing in Florida and historically low rates of vaccination, we hear from Dr. Nicole Iovine, infectious disease expert as well as chief hospital epidemiologist at University of Florida Health Shands Hospital. She’ll discuss how vaccines—and our immune systems—work to keep us healthy.

Then President Trump recently posted “Based on the tremendous interest shown, I will be directing the Secretary of War, and other relevant Departments and Agencies, to begin the process of identifying and releasing Government files related to alien and extraterrestrial life, unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), and unidentified flying objects (UFOs), and any and all other information connected to these highly complex, but extremely interesting and important, matters." Some people believe there is evidence that can be produced that proves the existence of non-human life or intelligence present on planet Earth. Others believe this whole idea is either delusion or misinformation designed to distract.

Patrick Mork has spent more than two decades working in the tech world, building and leading marketing teams at tech startups and helping to launch numerous products and brands across 3 different continents. In 2011, he joined Google and led the team there that created the Google Play brand. But, in 2017, he had a major life crisis that led him to pivot toward coaching and developing leaders in startups across Latin America. He moved to Chile and launched LEAP, it’s a leadership development company. All of that inspired his first book, “Step Back and Leap: 9 Keys to Unlock Your Life and Make Change Happen.” He was on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus last week to give the final talk for the university's Provost's Seminar Series. The title of his talk was “Becoming Unstoppable: 5 Pillars to Build Resilience in the Age of AI.”

Kids Minds Matter is a program out of the Golisano Children’s Hospital that focuses on mental andbehavioralhealthcarehere in Southwest Florida.

Since 1970, the bird populations of North America have experienced a net loss of nearly 3 billion birds, and biologists say we are approaching "tipping points" that could fundamentally alter our ecosystems. More than one-fifth of native North American pollinators are at risk of extinction due to climate change, habitat loss, and pesticide use, including key species like monarch butterflies and various bumble bees that are declining even faster. While these large-scale problems might seem beyond the scope of what an individual can do in their own lives to help, a new campaign from Audubon Western Everglades called “Nature Where We Live” seeks to help people understand that the kinds of plants we use around our homes can make a real difference.

In January of 2023 Governor Ron DeSantis appointed six new trustees at New College of Florida in Sarasota, and they immediately set about to change the state’s public honors college. As this was playing out, a team of filmmakers which included New College alumni were documenting events on campus, from the Board of Trustee meetings to just students spending time on campus. Now, the new documentary film “First They Came for My College” is making the rounds at film festivals. We talk with the film's director and one of its producers.

Research into the science of kindness in recent decades has moved the conversation from kindness being a "feel-good" sentiment into a rigorous field of study that shows significant physiological and psychological benefits for people who practice it. At the same time, there is a growing global kindness movement comprised of a network of organizations dedicated to highlighting these kinds of benefits, and encouraging ways to embed the practice of kindness into our everyday lives. FGCU's Roots of Compassion & Kindness Center is hosting the first K20 Kindness Summit to kick off the "Kindness Without Borders" initiative.

Dr. Justin Garcia, the executive director of the Kinsey Institute, discusses his new bookThe Intimate Animal: The Science of Sex, Fidelity, and Why we Live and Die for Love.

The modern Generative AI revolution is built on what are called Large Language Models. If you think of Generative AI systems, like ChatGPT or Gemini or Claude, as ones that requires your input to move forward — you ask it a question and it give an answer; or you ask it to make a picture and it does its best — Agentic AIs are systems that allow you to give them a goal and they’ll figure out the steps themselves. We learn how Agentic AI systems are already being used by businesses, and what the future may bring, with the Head of AI Platform Services at Google Cloud, Sheri Senge Cunningham.

Since it was founded in 2023 the nonpartisan nonprofit Floridians for Democracy has grown to nearly 3000 members in Florida and beyond, and they’ve held many online events and have reached out across the political spectrum to provide educational programs, including some that featured traditionally conservative attorneys and leaders who share their concerns. With the third national No Kings Day protests coming up on Saturday, March 28 we invited two of the founding members back for an update on the work they’re doing, and to get their take on what’s unfolded over the past three years.

As Southwest Florida’s population has grown in recent decades, there have been efforts to find ways to diversify our regional economy beyond the staples of tourism & hospitality, healthcare and financial services, construction, and agriculture. The volunteer-driven nonprofit SWFL Tech recently released their first Tech Pulse report that breaks down the data and it shows that between 2019 and 2024 the tech industry here grew faster than other parts of our economy. The tech sector grew almost 39% over those five years. We break down the report and talk about the challenges this region faces in growing a tech sector.

State lawmakers closed Florida’s regular legislative session, March 13, without passing a budget and with several priority bills going down in defeat. We talk with UCF Political Science Professor Aubrey Jewett, Ph.D., and FGCU Political Science Professor Sandra Pavekla, Ph.D. about what, passed, what didn’t, and what it all means for Florida going forward.

Dr. Martínez-Fernández has published at least eight books, including “Key to the New World: A History of Early Colonial Cuba” in 2019, and “Revolutionary Cuba: A History” in 2014. He was also a nationally syndicated columnist for Creators Syndicate — it’s an independent media and syndication company. He was on the FGCU campus last week to give a talk titled “Chiseled out of stone and cast out of bronze: a history of the Caribbean as told by its statues.” But, because of recent events in South & Central America and the Caribbean — and in Iran and the Middle East and other parts of the world and how it’s all connected — we didn’t talk about statues, but instead began our wide-ranging conversation with his most recent book, “When the World Turned Upside Down: Politics, Culture, and the Unimaginable Events of 2019-2022."

Every year hundreds of thousands of students in dozens of countries act as delegates in a simulation of the United Nations. The 33rd annual Southwest Florida Model UN was held on the campus of Florida Gulf Coast University last week. This year’s keynote speaker was Andrea Bedoya. She’s a 2020 graduate of Florida Gulf Coast University, and since leaving FGCU with her Political Science degree her career has already spanned four continents and a wide range of global service experiences. She stopped by the studio while she was back on campus to chat.

When confronted with a difficult conversation – or person – it's often hard to contain our emotions and respond to the moment, rather than have a kneejerk reaction to it. But our guest today, legendary sports agent and negotiator Ron Shapiro, says it’s possible to learn. He was on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus last week to give a talk so stopped by our studio for a chat about his civil approach to difficult conversations.