craig pittman

This week's episode is devoted to Craig Pittman's new non-fiction book, "The State You're In: Florida Men, Florida Women, and other Wildlife."

Joining Chadd Scott this week to talk to Craig about the book is environmental journalist and author of The Sound of the Sea: Seashells and the Fate of the Oceans. Also: Mirage; Blue Revolution; and Rain: A Natural and Cultural History, long-listed for the National Book Award. 

Cynthia was our guest on "Welcome to Florida" episode #55 all about her seashell book.

Today the Florida Spectacular welcomes Craig Pittman, Florida environmental reporter, columnist, and author of many books – most recently, The State You're In.  

Get Craig's book for a discounted price – $20 – plus free shipping when you order from upress.ufl.edu or call 800-226-3822 and use the code FLMAN. Valid through September 30, 2021.

Stories from Craig mentioned in this episode:
Hunting Pythons with the Ladies of the Glades

A Tale of Two Toms and Three Ks

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Premium, biweekly episodes of "The Florida Keys" Spectacular are co-hosted by Brad Bertelli. Find Brad's column in The Keys Weekly newspaper, ch...

This week's episode begins with good news for conservationists in Florida from a most unlikely place: the Florida state legislature.

Craig also updates on a scary development regarding Florida's coral reef.

Our guest this week is Dr. Cynthia Heil, Director of the Red Tide Institute at Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota.

In the episode, Heil mentions resources available for Florida residents and tourists regarding the health of our beaches including:

visitbeaches.org (updated twice daily with current beach conditions)

myfwc.com/redtidestatus (current sample/cell concentrations of Karenia)

ore info on the Mote Marine website: mote.org/redtidefaq

This week's episode begins by discussing a puzzling decision by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to recommend opening a fishing season on goliath grouper.

Our guest is Jono Miller, author of "The Palmetto Book: Histories and Mysteries of the Cabbage Palm." The Cabbage Palm is Florida's state tree and essential to understanding its history. What makes this tree unique? How has it influenced Florida history? What does it have to do with Elvis and gangsters? We get the lowdown from Jono who you can find online, here.

At the end of the episode, Craig mentioned the Gizella Kopsick Arboretum in St. Petersburg which has examples of every palm species growing on Earth. You can learn more about them here.

This week's episode is presented by Eco-Pathways.com, a Florida company that has developed an engineered material for use in dune walkovers, boardwalks, docks and piers that will stand up to our harsh conditions for decades longer than plain wood or pressurized lumber. Eco-Pathways modular design makes it easy to install and the engineered material doesn't splinter or fade like wood, there are no rusty nails sticking up like wood has, and it doesn't contain the toxic chemicals of pressurized lumber.

This week's episode begins with Craig's latest "Washington Post" article where he writes about Miami making history in hiring the nation's first Chief Heat Officer.

Our guests are Susan Fernandez and Bob Ingalls, authors of "Sunshine in the Dark: Florida in the Movies." We'll trace Florida's history in film from the silent area when Jacksonville was Hollywood, all the way through 2016's "Moonlight" which won the Academy Award for best picture.

We'd like to welcome Eco-Pathways as our latest sponsor. Eco-Pathways is a Florida company that designs and constructs beach walkovers, boardwalks, trail bridges, docks and piers out of a proprietary engineered material which lasts longer and requires none of the maintenance of wood while not containing any of the chemicals found in pressurized lumber. Visit eco-pathways.com to learn more.

This week's episode begins with discussion of Craig's latest Florida Phoenix column and the "solution" for what to do with all of the toxic waste from the Piney Point phosphorus plant.

Our guest is Nancy Klingener, Florida Keys reporter for WLRN - South Florida's Public Radio - and a 30 year Key West resident. We dig into the history, culture and weirdness that is Key West with stops along the way talking about Conchs, Earnest Hemmingway, Bum Farto, Jimmy Buffett, cats, chickens and Fantasy Fest.

Consider Amelia Island for your next long weekend or family vacation. The picturesque barrier island in the northeast corner of Florida with the state's best protected natural dune system, miles of uncrowded beaches and a historic Victorian downtown welcomes you for beachcombing, fishing, camping at Fort Clinch State Park (one of four state parks in the area), birdwatching, Southern food and hospitality and relaxation from the mania often associated with Florida vacations. Learn more at www.AmeliaIsland.com.

Property owners across Florida are earning up to $1,000 a month listing their spots with Hipcamp. Hipcamp is a growing community of members looking to enjoy outdoor experiences and Hipcamp wants to help connect them to those experiences, but they need property owners willing to share their places. If you own land - even a little - anywhere in Florida that helps people connect with nature, Hipcamp wants to hear from you. Visit Hipcamp.com/land to get started.

This week's episode begins with Craig's ongoing reporting of the environmental disaster at the Piney Point phosphate plant where hundreds of millions of gallons of toxic wastewater has been diverted into the Tampa Bay estuary to avoid a collapse of the gypsum stack there. Craig has reported on this coming apocalypse for decades, highlighting how the Florida Department of Environmental "Protection's" history of favoring industry over the environment and its lack of serious regulation put us here.

This week's guest is Florida's state climatologist David Zierden. We talk about our state's climate, how it's changing, what can be done to protect the state from climate change, hurricanes and... machetes?

"Welcome to Florida" welcomes our newest sponsor, Amelia Island! Located in the very northeast corner of the state, Amelia Island and Fernandina Beach is a nature lover's paradise with miles of beaches, four easily accessible state parks, the state's best protected natural dune system and an extraordinary tree canopy of Live Oaks. Amelia Island makes for the perfect destination for you next family vacation. Learn more at AmeliaIsland.com.

"Welcome to Florida" is also sponsored by Hipcamp, the growing community of respectful people looking to get outside for camping, glamping and RV stays on private land. Anyone with a property that helps people connect with nature can be a Hipcamp host. Learn more by visiting Hipcamp.com/land. 

This week's episode begins with Craig Pittman's latest Florida Phoenix column highlighting the disastrous environmental impacts of the widely used herbicide/poison glyphosate, commonly known as Roundup.

Our guest is author, veterinarian and professor Mark Jerome Walters whose latest book, "Florida Scrub-Jay: Field Notes on a Vanishing Bird" was released in March of 2021. Mark has also authored "Six Modern Plagues and How We Are Causing Them" and "A Shadow and a Song: The Struggle to Save an Endangered Species," both of which are referenced in the episode.

For more information about the effort to save birds in Florida and what you can do to help, visit Audubon Florida.

"Welcome to Florida" is presented by Hipcamp. Consider Hipcamp Airbnb for campers. If you have a piece of land in Florida that would be good for pitching a tent or parking an RV, then Hipcamp wants to hear from you. They take care of all the details, you collect side income. Learn more by visiting Hipcamp.com/land.

If you or your business would like to sponsor "Welcome to Florida," email Craig and Chadd Scott at welcometofloridapodcast@gmail.com.

This week's episode begins with a look at why Florida's manatees are dying this winter at a rate which threatens the survival of the species. Craig Pittman's latest column for the Florida Phoenix digs in deep on the reasons, which are preventable.

Craig's 2010 book "Manatee Insanity" goes even further in detailing the decades-long conservation effort in Florida to protect manatees, as well as calling out the people working against manatee protection.

Our guest is Stephen Leatherman who you probably know as Dr. Beach. Each year he compiles a list of the 10 Best Beaches in the U.S. which leads to a tremendous amount of pride for those named, jealousy for those not named, and arguments among everyone.

"Welcome to Florida" is presented by HipCamp. If you are a landowner in Florida with a flat spot large enough to pitch a tent or park an RV, HipCamp needs you to help host its growing community of nature-lovers looking to find quiet spots across the state. You can begin earning side income adding your property to the HipCamp portfolio and HipCamp will take care of all the details, including insurance. Learn more and start earning money today at Hipcamp.com/land.  

If your business would like to help sponsor "Welcome to Florida," reach out to Craig and Chadd Scott at welcometofloridapodcast@gmail.com.

This week's episode starts with Craig Pittman sharing some of his favorite Florida Women from the state's history in recognition of Women's History Month. Follow Craig on Twitter and Facebook @CraigTimes and on Instagram @CraigPittman78 for more.

Our guest this week is Amy Green, author of "Moving Water: The Everglades and Big Sugar." Amy's book, which published in March of 2021, takes a look at Big Sugar's influence on Everglades pollution and degradation, as well as Big Sugar's influence on Florida and national politics and efforts to repair the Everglades.

If this topic interests, you, Craig suggests further reading of Michael Grunwald's "The Swamp," and, of course, Marjory Stoneman Douglas,' "Everglades: River of Grass."

To keep up to date with conservation efforts for the Everglades, visit the Everglades Trust and the Friends of the Everglades. Florida Conservation Voters works to hold state politicians accountable for our environment. Additional information about pre-harvest sugar cane field burning can be found here.

"Welcome to Florida" is presented by Hipcamp. Landowners across Florida are earning up to $1,000 per month by placing their properties on Hipcamp where Hipcamp's growing community of campers, glampers and RVers are renting those properties when they visit Florida to enjoy the state's natural beauty. Hipcamp handles all the details including book and insurance. To learn more, visit Hipcamp.com/land. 

If you or your business is interested in sponsoring "Welcome to Florida," send Craig and Chadd Scott an email at welcometofloridapodcast@gmail.com.

This week's episode begins with a song from Zora Neale Hurston, "Shove it Over." Throughout this week's show we'll be hearing songs from Hurston which can be found in the State Archives of Florida.

Up next: cruise ships. Craig Pittman wrote recently how Republican state legislators are contradicting their so-called principles of "home rule" and "small government," trying to take away Key West's ability to limit the number of cruise ship passengers it receives in the future. In their haste to bow to the cruise ship industry's big money, however, they forgot one key point.

To learn more about Zora Neale Hurston, Craig and Chadd Scott talk to Kristy Anderson, writer and director of the documentary film, "Zora Neale Hurston: Jump at the Sun," which you can watch on Amazon. Zora Neale Hurston was a Florida author and anthropologist. While a key figure in the Harlem Renaissance, she spent little time there, Her novels explored the lives of ex-slaves living in the Deep South.

Although she died penniless with her books out of print in Ft. Pierce, Florida in 1960,  Black feminists resurrected her work, particularly the 1937 novel, "Their Eyes Were Watching God."

This week's episode of "Welcome to Florida" is sponsored by Hipcamp. Hipcamp is a growing community of outdoor enthusiasts who want to experience the natural side of Florida. That's where you come in. Hipcamp needs landowners in Florida to open their property up to Hipcamp members for camping, glamping and RV stays. If you have a flat piece of land large enough to pitch a tent or park an RV near a natural setting anywhere in Florida, Hipcamp wants to help you turn that property into side income. Contact them today at Hipcamp.com/land.

If your business would like to learn more about a sponsorship with "Welcome to Florida," email Craig and Chadd at: welcometofloridapodcast@gmail.com.

This week's episode begins with Craig Pittman's latest story for the Florida Phoenix about the remarkable discovery of a new whale species in the Gulf of Mexico. The whale was washed up on a beach near the Florida Everglades allowing scientists to study the animal. In doing so, they determined it had died as the result of a piece of plastic cutting through its stomach.

Single use plastics have become one of the greatest threats to the environment and animals globally, particularly fish and marine mammals. Learn more about the growing epidemic of plastic pollution and what is being proposed at a federal level to combat it. Make your voice heard. Amazon.com is increasingly coming under fire and being pressured to reduce the amount of plastic it uses.

Oceana is a conservation group doing good work globally to protect our oceans.

This week's guest is Gavin Naylor, director of the Florida Program for Shark Research at the University of Florida.

"Welcome to Florida" is presented by Hipcamp! Consider Hipcamp Airbnb for campers. Hipcamp members around the country want to visit Florida to experience our mild winter climate and beautiful natural scenery. If you are a landowner in Florida, Hipcamp would like to work with you to generate extra money by hosting Hipcamp members on your property. Hipcamp takes care of all the work and details. All you need is a flat spot large enough to pitch a tent or park an RV. Visit Hipcamp.com/land to learn more.

If your business would like to help sponsor "Welcome to Florida," email Craig and Chadd Scott at welcometofloridapodcast@gmail.com, or reach either of them on Twitter @CraigTimes or @ChaddScott.

Craig Pittman and Chadd Scott begin this week's episode discussing Craig's hope for a modern-day Richard Nixon (???) to save Florida from the disastrous M-CORES project, better known as the "Roads to Ruin." He explains the connection.

Chadd highlights a project working to secure American Beach's historic character and how you can help.

This week's guest is Neal Thompson, author of "Driving with the Devil: Southern Moonshine, Detroit Wheels, and the Birth of NASCAR."  Neal talks about Bill France, how France organized NASCAR in Daytona Beach in 1947 from its bootlegging roots, and how it's evolved since then.

"Welcome to Florida" is sponsored by Hipcamp which needs your help welcoming guests to our state. If you are a landowner in Florida, Hipcamp can put extra money in your pocket while using your land to host visitors. Hipcamp features simple plots of land, developed cabins, and everything in between. No matter what you have, you’re ready to get started today. Host when you want, get paid every week, and Hipcamp takes care of all the details, including insurance. Learn more today by visiting Hipcamp.com/land. 

One of the many histories explored in Craig Pittman's great book on the state of Florida, "Oh, Florida!," is Florida's checkered history of religion. Billy Graham found his calling here. Martin Luther King was arrested here. Jim Bakker visited Florida for illicit sexual affairs.

Craig and Chadd Scott discuss these events on their way to being joined by this episode's guest, Lyn Millner, author of "The Allure of Immortality: An American Cult, a Florida Swamp and a Renegade Prophet." Millner's book recalls the Koreshan cult, which, among other things, believed the earth was hollow and that their founder, Cyrus Teed, was immortal.

Spoiler alert: he wasn't.