The 2004 Hurricane Season was one of the worst ever experienced by the state of Florida...and coincided with a Presidential campaign centered largely on Florida and an open US Senate seat. How did it impact the election?

A record breaking tropical system, one of the strongest in the history of the Atlantic basin has just ravaged Florida. Kartik Krishnaiyer, Ryan Ray and Johnathan Starling give their take on the impacts, the devastation in the Tampa Bay and Sarasota areas, the Tornado outbreak in south Florida as well as some comments on the NHC forecasting and TV m…

Major Hurricane Milton is barreling toward the Sunshine State. A Cat 5 Hurricane with one of the lowest ever central pressures at the time of recording, we dive into some hurricane history in Florida and talk about the threats to the Tampa Bay and Orlando areas as well as the rest of the peninsula with longtime hurricane watcher Johnathan Starling.…

Millard Caldwell had one of the most distinguished careers of any public official in the state's history.

What was supposed to the "big one" for Tallahassee ended up being a "bigger one" for the storm-ravaged Big Bend and unfortunately a potential Katrina-like event for the Tampa/St Peterburg Metropolitan area. Helene delivered statewide impacts from Miami to Apalachicola. In a state littered with historic Hurricanes, this one has made immediate and un…

We discuss one of the giants of 20th Century Florida public life - Spessard Holland. Holland's career saw the transition of Florida from largely rural backwater to urban-driven megastate.

In this first edition of "Squeezing the Season" a special podcast we will run during Election season 2024, Democratic pollster and MSNBC contributor Fernand Amandi offers a frank look at why Florida's Hispanic vote has shifted heavily toward the GOP since 2016 as well as an in-depth look at Democrats success in North Carolina and what Florida Democ…

Arguably the most embarrassing figure in Florida History, Sidney J. Catts is probably the worst Governor that Florida ever had. The violently anti-Catholic and racist Governor was also inept at the actual art of Governance.

Napoleon Bonaparte Broward is one of the most famous Floridians ever- he drained the Everglades threaded the needle between Populist and Bourbon Democrats while maintaining a Teddy Roosevelt like-persona. He also was close to being on the Democratic ticket as VP in 1908.

Florida has never had a President, Vice President, Speaker of the House, Senate Majority Leader or Minority Leader or major party nominee for President or Vice President (excluding Donald Trump who wasn't exactly a Floridian). But when was Florida closest to real power? Fernand Amandi our guest argues it was during the Senate tenure of George Smath…

We discuss Governor Oshian B. Hart, the first Florida native to be Governor of the state.

We discuss Florida's first popularly elected Governor

The 1976 Florida Primary won by Jimmy Carter was among the most important in Presidential history.

We discuss Florida's most influential territorial Governor.

We discuss the end of the Second Seminole War and the decision to allow the Seminole that were in Big Cypress and the Everglades to remain in Florida.

We discuss Abiaka/Sam Jones entire life as a great war chief and negotiator for the native people's of Florida.

Major William Lauderdale claimed a March 1838 victory over Sam Jones at the Battle of Pine Island Ridge in what is now Broward County. But did the battle actually take place as described? Jones and the Seminole certainly lived on and fought on in the Everglades over the course of the next several years.…

We're joined by noted local historian Josh Liller to discuss what happened right after the Battle of Lake Okeechobee. Two battles effectively won by the remaining Seminole in Florida in January 1838 helped define the draw that was the Second Seminole War.

The 1837 Battle of Lake Okeechobee launched Zachary Taylor on his way to the White House. But did the US even really win the battle?

We discuss the Dade Battle, Wiley Thompson's murder by Chief Osceola and the Withlacoochee Cove

In Episode 262 we discuss the Second Seminole War producing a unique class of officers that served both the United States and Confederate States of America in the Civil War.

The Second Seminole War wasn't simply about removing the natives. It was about a lot more.

The 1832 Treaty of Paynes Landing was signed and designed to send the Seminoles to the Arkansas Territory and have runaway slaves returned to their owners. The Seminoles did not honor the treaty which they argue was misrepresented to them.

We introduce our new season on the Second Seminole War

We conclude our season on Amusement Parks and Florida in discussing EPCOT Center in the late 1990's and all the changes that turned many enthusiasts off.

We discuss the disastrous tenure of Michael Ovitz at Disney and the subsequent cost-cutting and ride-closing at the Magic Kingdom.

We pay tribute to the greatest Floridian of recent memory, Governor and Senator Bob Graham who passed away this week at the age of 87

We begin describing how Disney's amusement park business changed in the 1990's. We cover the period until the appointment of Michael Ovitz.

We discuss the opening of Universal Studios Florida in 1990 and the seismic events it created for the landscape in Central Florida.

We discuss a few other Central Florida amusement parks this week.

We discuss one of the most beloved attractions at the Magic Kingdom, the Country Bear Jamboree.

Disney is a media company and Florida wants more film and television in the state - so the simple solution is for Disney to be incentivized to build a film studio as a "third gate" on its property. However things don't go to plan as Disney itself is in a rotten period as a company.

EPCOT Center was a grand vision of Walt Disney. But the eventual park was not only not true to Walt's vision but dramatically scaled-down and over-budget from what had been planned in the 1970's. We discuss the original plans, then the plan for 30 nations in the World Showcase and where it went wrong. We also focus on Florida at the time, and how E…

This week we discuss the opening of Walt Disney World in 1971 including the popularity of some of its original attractions like its a Small World, Carousel of Progress and Country Bear Jamboree but also discuss the environmental and traffic impact of the park which angered local residents.

Walt Disney's Florida Project is thrown into doubt with Walt's untimely December 1966 passing, but brother Roy Disney keep pushing toward a 1971 opening of the Magic Kingdom. But EPCOT will have to wait.

In the first episode of our new season on Florida amusement parks, we discuss the years between 1959 and 1965 when Walt Disney began looking for a site for a second Disney park, and the process to finally arrive at a Central Florida site.

A new season of the Florida History Podcast begins next Tuesday as we take a deep dive into the history of Walt Disney World and other amusement parks in Florida.

We look at how the 3rd, 4th and 5th President interacted with Spanish Florida, from research Kartik Krishnaiyer conducted in writing his new book "The American Conquest of Florida."

We discuss the 1565 massacre of French protestants by the Spanish at the current site of Fort Matanzas.

Dr Angela Zombek joins us again to discuss and an area which she is working on a book related to - Key West in Civil War. Key West was central to union war planning and the city went through many trials and tribulations during the war as most residents were confederate sympathizers in a union-held town.…

On this episode we discuss Egmont Key with Dr Angela Zombek. Here is Dr Zombek's written work on Egmont Key's history: https://www.journalofthecivilwarera.org/2016/08/paradise-lost-floridas-egmont-key-civil-war/

We conclude our fort series by discussing the Spanish-American War fort that stimulated Miami's growth.

We discuss Fort Myers, the Third Seminole War and the unconquered Seminoles that survived FIVE attempts by the United States to conquer them or drive them west.

We discuss Fort King in Marion County and its role in the Second Seminole War.

Continuing our fort series we discuss Fort Gadsden" also know as the negro fort which was built by the British in 1812 and was the scene of the Americans slaughtering runaway African-Americans and Seminole during the First Seminole War.

Ryan Ray joins us to discuss Fort Jefferson, the latest stop on our tour of Florida forts.

Dr. Angela Zombek of UNC-Wilmington, who is one of the foremost experts on Florida and the Civil War joins us to discuss the pivotal role that Key West's Fort Taylor played in Union war planning at the very highest levels and in the Civil War in general.

We discuss Key West's Fort Taylor.

We discuss the batteries around Santa Rosa Island protecting Pensacola Bay

Pensacola's Fort Pickens was one of the key sites in the start of the Civil War.