Florida Spectacular
Take a weekly trip across Florida with authors Cathy Salustri and Rick Kilby and discover a side of Florida you never knew existed. From the scallops in Panhandle bays to the Hemingway cats in Key West, every week's a Florida adventure. Get more Florida goodness with greatfloridaroadtrip.com and rickkilby.com.
Episodes
Send us your Florida questions!
Inspired by the cooler weather — well, cooler for Florida! — Rick and Cathy talk about Florida's passionate college football scene.
Links We Mentioned
Servant of the Bonesby Anne Rice
Coalition of Immokalee Workers
University of Tampa football (historic)
Rick and Cathy's Top Five Favorite Florida Sports Things
Send us your Florida questions!
Steve Barlow, a former US Fish and Wildlife Services wildlife biologist pilot and co-host Palm and Pine podcast, joins the podcast to talk about one of the least-known Florida critters.
Links We Mentioned
Native Tongue by Carl Hiaasen
Podcast about fossils near Suwannee
Want a bat house Steve built? Reach out to him at biologistbarlow@gmai...
Send us your Florida questions!
Ryan Worthington grew up in Florida's State Parks and loves Florida's wild spaces. And he's the subject of an FWC investigation — but no one will tell him why.
Links We Mentioned
Craig Pittman's reporting on the secret investigation
Ryan's Top Five Things To Do in and Near Green Cove Springs
- Ocala National Forest — Salt Springs, Alexander Springs, Juniper...
Send us your Florida questions!
Jen Bannan, author of Tamiami Trail: Miami Stories, joins the podcast to talk about her book, Miami, and the Taimiami Trail.
Links We Mentioned
Buy Tamiami Trail: Miami Stories
Five Things To Do in Miami that are Less "Miami"
Send us your Florida questions!
Rick and Cathy talk about what it costs to live in paradise, whether they'd do it all over again, and what Florida's "brand" is.
Links We Mentioned
Scott Maxwell's column in the Orlando Sentinel (note: this link is behind a paywall)
Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.
Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up ...
Send us your Florida questions!
Doctor Tom Hoctor joins the podcast to talk about the Florida Wildlife Corridor's origins, how money flows to conservation lands, and how people can learn more. Then they talk Florida birds and birding.
Links We Mentioned
Florida Ecological Greenways Network
Center for Landscape and Conservation Planning
Hub for the maps at Center for Landscape and Conservation Plan...
Send us your Florida questions!
Rick and Cathy meet fans and talk roadside Florida attractions at FloridaRAMA, one of the most interesting pro-natural-Florida, immersive art experience in Florida.
(About that episode art: Do not ever feed a monkey. Do not ever pet a monkey. Do not ever attempt to interact in any way with any monkey.)
Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.
Subscribe to The F...
Send us your Florida questions!
Links We Mentioned
Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.
Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studioho...
Send us your Florida questions!
Angela Sayre brings crabs to the podcast! She's with Crustacean Plantation and wants to encourage people to "leave the shell — take the memory when you visit the Florida Keys (or any coastal community).
Links We Mentioned
An example of a "broken home" for a hermit crab
Cynthia Barnett's Sound of the Sea
Jonathan Livingston Hermit Crab
YouTube live feed of hermit crabs
Things to Do...
Send us your Florida questions!
Cozy mystery author Lucy Burdette joins the podcast to talk about her Key West Food Critic Mysteries, her favorite places in Key West, and yes, how she figures out how and where to kill people.
Don't forget — Orange Blossom podcast members have their members-only t-shirt, created by Rick and printed by Yaint Local in production. We need your size!
Links We Mentioned
Send us your Florida questions!
While Cathy's camping lagoon-side in Brevard County, she and Rick talk about what they love about the Indian River Lagoon area and things to do while you're in town.
Links We Mentioned
Did Ponce de León land in Melbourne instead of St. Augustine?
Send us your Florida questions!
Stephen Cabebe, of Fit for the Magic, joins the podcast to talk about how to enjoy Florida's natural spaces without withering in the heat — even in the summer months.
Stephen's Top Five Disney-Adjacent Things To Do
Paddle the canals in Winter Park (Dinky Dock)
West Orange Trail (And Cathy's travel article about Oakland Nature Preserve along the trail)
Send us your Florida questions!
Rick and Cathy talk about Florida mystery writers. Curl up with your next summer read after listening!
Links We Mentioned
Striptease (also a book; this links to info about the film)
Carl Hiaasen (website has links to Striptease, Tourist Season, Squeeze Me, and Stormy Weather)
Cathy's 2017 interview with Carl Hiaasen
Randy Wayne White (website has link to Dark Light)
Send us your Florida questions!
Chadd Charland fills in for Rick and talks about how Nassau County was able to stop AI data centers — and what every community can do to stop them! Cathy talks about why eliminating single-use plastics makes a difference and why July is the month to try it in your home, office, or school.
Links We Mentioned
Send us your Florida questions!
Rick and Cathy showcase the state of journalism in Florida and talk about hyperlocal papers.
Five of our Favorite Hyperlocal Weekly Newspapers
The Community Paper (Orlando area)
The Gabber Newspaper (Gulfport and South Pinellas)
Winter Park Voice(Winter Park)
West Volusia Beacon (West Volusia)
The Herald (Gadsden County)
Keys Weekly (Florida Keys)
Links We Mentioned
Send us your Florida questions!
Florida poet Heather Sellers joins the podcast to talk about why alligators are the best, her latest poetry book about Florida, Women in Tampa Talking About Alligators, and things she thinks everyone should do in Tampa.
Links We Mentioned
Former guest Mark Barrow's book about alligators
Heather's Favorite Five Thing...
Send us your Florida questions!
Lisa Moore, president of Save Crystal River, joins the podcast to talk about their efforts with the Kings Bay Restoration Project. Kings Bay is the second largest spring system in Florida.
Links We Mentioned
SaveCrystalRiver.com [a 501c(3) organization]
Lisa's Three Things Must-Do Things in Crystal River
Question or comment? ...
Send us your Florida questions!
Florida artist Blair Petersen Updike joins the podcast to talk about why she created the Florida Gallery, Florida art, and what she thinks everyone should do in Polk County.
Links We Mentioned
Wild Space Gallery at the Florida Wildlife Corridor Foundation
Benjamin Dimmitt An Unflinching Look: Elegy for a Landscape
Blair Petersen Updike website and Instagram
George Snow Hill — WPA muralist
Hollerbach's...
Send us your Florida questions!
Mark Mustian, author of Boy With Wings and founder of Word of South, talks about his book, the wildly popular Word of South festival, and what it means to be different.
Mark's Top Five Things To Do in Tallahassee
- Go to Cascades Park
- Sausage Dog at Bradley's
- Blue Tavern for music
- Bike trails at Piney Z
- Buy a book and eat pie at Midtown Reader
Links We Mentioned
Send us your Florida questions!
Rick talks about his new book, Shaping a Sense of Place.
Links We Mentioned:
Shaping a Sense of Place by Rick Kilby.
Little Red Riding Hood mosaic mural in Winter Park.
Why Mid-Century Modern matters in Florida.
Hannibal Square in Winter Park.
The Rhea Marsh and Dorothy Lockhart Smith Research Grant.
Question or com...
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