The Battle for Florida's State Bird

In the 1950s, a man named Fred Rogers would attend Rollins College here in Orlando. In the years after, he would revolutionize children's television, and become a champion for public media in the United States. Contact your Senators to protect public media. Contact Rick Scott and Ashley Moody. Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   I do not own the rights to videos used in this episode. They are linked below. Mr. Rogers on how crayons are made AFirst and last Mr. Rogers Neighborhood intro Mister Rogers - Bobby Kennedy Assassination May 1, 1969: Fred Rogers testifies before the Senate Subcommittee on Communications What do you do with the mad that you feel? Mister Rogers sings It's You I Like   Read more about Mister Rogers right here at the Fred Rogers Institute!   Besides the aforementioned videos, all of the music was originally composed.  

Should the flamingo become Florida's State Bird? Is the flamboyant bird even native to the Sunshine State? This week, with guest Dr. Steven Whitfield of the Audubon Nature Institute, we talk about the changes in our understanding of the flamingo, and how it effects our shared future.  Pick up your copy of FLORIDA! right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   I do not own the rights to the additional audio used in this episode. John Mellencamp - Pink Houses American Flamingo: Striking Straggler   All of the music was originally composed.

This week, we take a quick dive into the calendar, celebrate the champion Florida Panthers, and tell a quick tale about the importance of Pride Month.  Pick up your copy of FLORIDA! right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   All of the music was originally composed.

For a century, Florida has had the same state bird. Many Floridians would like that to change. But the path to change is rife with politics and lobbyists, and a debate over which bird should take the crown.  Pick up your copy of FLORIDA! right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   Thank you to Jackson Oberlink for bringing this story to the show! Learn more about Florida For All right here. Thank you to Gerald Thompson for help with this episode! Follow him on Instagram and participate in his polls!   I do not own the rights to the clip of the mockingbird used in this episode.  A Master of Song: Northern Mockingbird   All of the music was originally composed.

For this week's bonus episode, we chat with Joshua Bailey, the filmmaker behind the documentary Stolen Kingdom about the urban explorers of Disney, a crucial stolen animatronic, the forgotten island, and how he brought this film to life. Pick up your copy of FLORIDA! right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   All of the music was originally composed.

In the 90's, Disney was on a historic winning streak. But when they tried to open a historical theme park just outside of the nation's capital, they found themselves in a fight they could never win. Pick up your copy of FLORIDA! right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   I do not own the rights to the clips used in this episode. Check out the original videos here. CBS 6 Video Vault - 1994 - September 29 - Disney scraps plans to open Virginia theme park Original Disney's California Adventure Dedication in 2001   All of the music was originally composed.

On Marco Island, behind glass, sits a small figurine of a wooden cat. Its origins, its creator, its purpose, even its inspiration are lost to time. The clues we have are fascinating - but lead to even more questions about this unusual feline. Pick up your copy of FLORIDA! right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   Thank you to our friends from the Marco Island Historical Museum! Pay them a visit and see the Cat while you can!   All of the music was originally composed.

This week, we catch up on headlines from the last month, discuss the glory of hockey in the Sunshine State, and check in for the Baby Owl Shower at the Audubon Center for Birds of Prey. Check out the Community Paper here in Orlando!   Pick up your copy of FLORIDA! right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   All of the music was originally composed.

Around the turn of the century, Greek immigrants brought their remarkable ability to harvest sponges from the ocean to the Gulf of Mexico. The city of Tarpon Springs would flourish around their industry. Pick up your copy of FLORIDA! right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   Thank you to Eddie and Alex for their help with this episode! Check out the Tarpon Springs Area Historical Society right here.   All of the music was originally composed.

I spent the whole ten days at the Florida Film Festival this year and interviewed a dozen filmmakers on their movies, their messages, and the task of making movies in the Sunshine State.  Pick up your copy of FLORIDA! right here! Thank you to Chelsea Rice for her incredible design of our logo! Follow Chelsea on Instagram here!   Thank you to the filmmakers featured in this episode. Their movies, in order of appearance, are titled: The Bride's Curse Georgie The Little Brown Bird  The Paper Bear The Python Hunt Shade in the Sunshine State The Sky Was on Fire: Ballet and War in Ukraine Fatherless No More It Ends For The Culture   All of the music was originally composed.