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
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Elizabeth Randall, author of Florida haunted history books, joins the podcast — this week only, we've changed the name — to tell us some fantastic Florida ghost stories.
Links We Mentioned
Bosque Bello Cemetery in Fernandina
Amelia Island Museum of History (the old jailhouse)
Robert the Doll by David Sloan
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To celebrate the 25th annual issue of Saw Palm, the editors came on the podcast to talk about what sorts of things to expect in the anniversary issue, a book from the man who started Saw Palm, and things to do in Ybor City.
Links We Mentioned
Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.
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Can AI make Florida better? Bess Auer joins the podcast to talk about AI, being a UF cheerleader during the Danny Rollins serial killings, and her Orlando treasure hunt.
Links We Mentioned
"How Ted Bundy Ended Our Innocence" by Diane Roberts
The Secret: A Treasure Hunt (Byron Preiss)
...
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Haley Moody, the director of the Florida Springs Institute, joins the podcast to talk about the idea of creating a National Springs Heritage Area in Florida.
About Haley
Haley’s passion for the springs began during her first visit to the Ichetucknee River. Her love of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) was born during her time at the University of Florida, where she graduated with honors in Landscape ...
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Florida nature photographer Matt Keene talks about how he uses large-format film cameras to create his portraits. Matt has an exhibit at the Lightner Museum in St. Augustine (through Jan. 18, 2026), and this episode offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how much work, forethought, and effort goes into this extraordinary body of work.
Links We Mentioned
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Brandy Carlisle, a tour guide at St. Augustine's Fountain of Youth Park, is fascinated with the woman who bought the land that is now the park. So much so she's published a book about her: Luella. The trio talks about Luella, prostitution, and the Fountain of Youth.
Links We Mentioned
Fountain of Youth Park in St. Augustine
Find out more about Brandy — and her fascinating hobbies — on her...
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Rick and Cathy talk about Rick's trip to St. Augustine, then answer a letter from a listener about whether or not moving to Florida is a good idea.
Things To Do in St. Augustine
St. Augustine's Fountain of Youth (visit with a critical eye!)
The San Marco shops in St. Augustine, including Duddington's
Columbia Restaurant in the St. Augustine Historic District
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Mikita Brottman, author of Guilty Creatures, joins the podcast to talk about the Tallahassee murder that scandalized the town when Denise Williams and Brian Winchester plotted and executed the murder of Denise's husband, Mike.
Mikita Brottman is a writer and psychoanalyst. Her latest book Guilty Creatures was published by Simon and Schuster in 2024. She has a D. Phil from Oxford University and is ...
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The face behind the super-popular Florida's Folk History Instagram account joins the podcast this week. Aubrey Naulin talks about her art, her hopes for Florida's future, and Florida's Indians.
Links We Mentioned
Florida Folk History on Instagram
Islands of Cedars by Shana Smith
Submerged Stories: Florida's Other Histories on Facebook
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Mark Barrow grew up around gators — both the real one and a certain Florida college that pays homage to them. Now, he's written a book about alligators, and he joins Rick and Cathy to talk about why alligators deserve respect, not fear. The trio also talks about the gator's place in Florida's culture, roadside Florida gator attractions, and why gators are amazing creatures.
Links We Ment...
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This week Rick and Cathy talk about Punta Gorda
Links We Mentioned
Royal Order of Ponce de Leon Conquistadors
Radioactive Fountain of Youth in Punta Gorda
Revisiting Warm Mineral Springs
Old World Meets New Age at Warm Mineral Springs
(Image via Google Maps/Fair...
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Florida icon Lars Andersen joins the podcast to talk about his passion: Florida waterways.
Links We Mentioned
Payne's Prairie: A History of the Great Savanna by Lars Anderson
Book a river tour with Lars at Adventure Outpost or email him.
Lost Springs in one minute with Margaret Tolbert
Photo: Canon Springs during drawdown.
Que...
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Michael Grunwald talks about cattle ranching and why Floridians — and everyone — should eat more plants. He, Cathy, and Rick also talk about meat grown in a lab, why Grunwald thinks Michael Pollan gets things wrong, and Michael's new book, We Are Eating the Earth: The Race To Fix Our Food System and Save Our Climate.
Links We Mentioned
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Anna Cooke, editor-in-chief at The New Barker magazine, jons the podcast to talk about rescue work in Florida; the long-gone Florida roadside attraction, Dogland; and a few famous Florida dogs.
Links We Mentioned
Dave the Wonder Dog (Annie Oakley was a snowbird) (bonus link)
Brownie the town dog of Daytona Beach
Coonhound Cemetery in Alabama
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The Ocklawaha River in Central Florida has been dammed for decades. Now, there's a chance to tear down the dam and reunite the rivers. That's good news for bass, anglers, environmentalists, and the local economy. Margaret Spontak comes on the podcast to talk about why, and she encourages people to call their state legislators and ask them to support restoration of the Ocklawaha and reuniting...
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Ryan Worthington joins the podcast to talk about a new initiative he and Cathy are working on — a podcast to document and discuss history in Florida that doesn't get taught in schools. Submerged Stories is the name of the forthcoming podcast, and the Facebook group they've created to crowdsource information. Check out the link below, join the group, and share it with your like-minded friends...
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With Cathy traveling through what she calls "historic West Florida", she and Rick talk about forgotten parts of Florida's history — and geography, the War of 1812, and some less savory parts of the early history of the United States and why they get left out of history classes.
Links We Mentioned
Map showing Florida and a "contested" area "sold" to the US by France
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Did you know cattle ranchers were the "first intentional conservationists" in Florida? Annie Muscato does. She wrote her doctoral dissertation on it, and this week she joins the podcast to talk — passionately! — about research into how some Florida cattle ranchers are working to protect wild Florida, why Florida cattle ranching isn't nearly as cruel as it is in the rest of the country, ...
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Andrea Conover of Azalea City Brewing and Palatka Mayor Robbie Correa join us this week to help roadtrippers find Palatka's best-kept secrets.
Links We Mentioned
Send us your Florida questions!
Rick serves on the board of the Winter Park History Museum, and Cathy lived there for a time in the '90s (and loves to go back). That's why the book written by this episode's guest, Kim Michalak, was so appealing to both of them. Kim shares how she selected her 100 things for her book 100 Things To Do in Winter Park Before You Die.
Links We Mentioned
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