Florida Matters

Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham talks to Steve Bousquet, Tallahassee bureau chief for the Tampa Bay Times, and Zac Anderson, political editor of the Sarasota Herald Tribune, about what changed -- and what didn't -- as a result of this year's legislative session. Bousquet says the new law that generated the most passionate debate gives private school vouchers to kids who have been bullied so they can leave their public schools.

Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham talks to producer Stephanie Colombini and reporter Daylina Miller about their experiences with live music around Tampa Bay. Stephanie says she's hardly missed a beat since moving from New York City; and Daylina tells us about why she loves death metal. Did you know that Tampa is the center of the world for death metal music?

This week's Florida Matters features highlights from a recent town hall meeting in Tampa about school safety. The discussion took place in the wake of the school shootings at the high school in Parkland, and focused mainly on violence and gun control. But one entrepreneur on the panel had a fascinating view on innovations in school safety. On today's podcast, we hear from Pat Bhava, the creator of the app PikMyKid, which uses technology to streamline the process of the school car line.

This week on Florida Matters, we're talking about the fact that every public high school student in Florida must take an online class in order to graduate, but some students and parents say it's not a good fit for everyone. Should an online class really be mandatory? We continue the conversation on the podcast, with Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham talking to the President and CEO of Florida Virtual School, Dr. Jodi Marshall; Joanne Glenn, principal of Pasco County's eSchool; Carol Crawford, director of Club Z! In Home Tutoring Services; and Adam LeMee, Physics Teach-In-Residence for the University of Central Florida.

On this week's podcast, we carry forward the conversation started at the St. Petersburg Conference on World Affairs about the connection between international tourism and arts and culture in St. Petersburg. We hear about the Tampa airport's importance to the effort, and WUSF News Director Mary Shedden talks to Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham and producer Stephanie Colombini about the three new museums coming on line in St. Petersburg. Also, the meaning of "City of Green Benches" is explained.

After the horrific shooting at the Parkland high school, Florida Democrats have made gun control their political rallying cry. What will the fallout be -- in our schools and in our politics? Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham talks to WUSF's Steve Newborn, Zac Anderson of the Sarasota Herald Tribune, and Florida Matters producer Stephanie Colombini. Plus, can the upset win by a Democrat in a Sarasota House Seat be seen as a bellwether?

In this podcast, WUSF's Robin Sussingham, Stephanie Colombini and Julio Ochoa break down the recent Florida Matters Town Hall that was recorded in front of a live audience (but what audience isn't live?) in St. Petersburg. The topic was healthcare for the uninsured, and it came about after a series of stories that Julio produced on the free clinics around the Tampa Bay area. We discuss the common perception that people without insurance use the emergency room a lot, and that's driving up the cost of care. But is that really the case?

Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham sits down with St. Petersburg, Florida, Mayor Rick Kriseman, who's starting his second term. Mayor Kriseman worries about the "crazy stuff" going on in the Florida House, whether cities like his may lose their home rule authority to the state, and the possibility of taking a ferry to work.

The state's lawmakers are hard at work in Tallahassee. What are their priorities, and how will those affect you? On the podcast with Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham are producer Stephanie Colombini, Zac Anderson, political editor of the Sarasota Herald Tribune, and William March, longtime reporter on Florida Politics.

WUSF reporter Bobbie O'Brien knows her ice hockey, and she joins Robin Sussingham and Stephanie Colombini of Florida Matters for this week's podcast. Bobbie has looked into whether Tampa has truly become a hockey town, and gives us her findings. Plus, the gross things drunk people do during the Gasparilla festival will probably not surprise you.

We've got the highly-regarded political analyst Susan MacManus in the studio with us to unpack Governor Rick Scott's last State of the State address. MacManus also answers the question of why Florida's national elections are so closely divided between Republicans and Democrats, while our state representatives are overwhelmingly Republican. With WUSF's Florida Matters co-host Robin Sussingham and producer Stephanie Colombini.

WUSF Public Media's Robin Sussingham, host of Florida Matters, along with Florida Matters producer Stephanie Colombini and WUSF News Director Mary Shedden discuss the historic community newspapers that report on ethnic audiences, like La Gaceta -- the tri-lingual paper that's approaching a century of publication in Tampa, and The Weekly Challenger, which has been serving the black community in St. Petersburg for 50 years. These papers have survived in proximity to larger, more mainstream newspapers, because they knew their audience and covered stories that other publications did not. But can they remain profitable in the age of the internet?

Florida Matters Host Robin Sussingham is joined by Zac Anderson, political editor of the Sarasota Herald Tribune; Steve Newborn, WUSF reporter and assistant news director; and Florida Matters producer Stephanie Colombini. They discuss the most interesting political figures of 2017 and the most under-reported stories of the year, and they argue about whether mass transit is a boondoggle or not.

University of South Florida journalism instructor Jeanette Abrahamsen joins Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham and producer Stephanie Colombini to talk about the making of Telling Tampa Bay Stories. Jeanette and Stephanie spoke to longtime residents of Progress Village, Tampa's first affordable housing suburb for black residents, who described fond memories of growing up in the tightly-knit community, but worried about recent growth and demographic changes.

Progress Village was Tampa's first affordable housing suburb, and this week on Florida Matters we'll learn about its story and hear from residents who share their memories of growing up there. On this podcast, Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham talks to WUSF News Director Mary Shedden and to Florida Matters Producer Stephanie Colombini about the people who agreed to tell their stories. We hear more about the pioneering families of Tampa's Progress Village, and why the sense of community was so strong in that neighborhood. We ask whether the Progress Village elders have a lesson for us in how to build the bonds of community.

Florida Matters host Robin Sussingham talks to producer Stephanie Colombini and reporter Daylina Miller about their experiences with live music around Tampa Bay. Stephanie says she's hardly missed a beat since moving from New York City; and Daylina tells us about why she loves death metal. Did you know that Tampa is the center of the world for death metal music?