Naples resident Joanne Huskey lived abroad for decades as part of a diplomatic family – her husband Jim was a U.S. Foreign Service officer for almost 30 years. And their time overseas intersected with some historic events: they were in China when the Tiananmen Square massacre happened in 1989; and they were in Nairobi, Kenya when the U.S. Embassy there was bombed in 1998. Throughout her time abroad, her efforts were always aimed at "Promoting intercultural understanding and education." She joins us to talk about her life promoting intercultural understanding and the need for more of it in today’s world.

Florida is home to more than 500 nonnative species, more than 50 of which are reptiles. Current monitoring techniques depend on visual surveys by scientists, and this is far from an exact science because reptiles — particularly snakes — are extremely elusive. A new technique being developed by scientists at University of Florida's Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) can identify DNA traces of Burmese pythons — as well as northern African pythons, boa constrictors, and rainbow boas — weeks after they have left an area using soil or water samples.

Dr. Christopher Landsea is Chief of the Tropical Analysis and Forecast Branch at the National Hurricane Center in Miami, where his team generates wind and wave forecasts for the Caribbean Sea, Gulf of Mexico, tropical North Atlantic Ocean, and tropical northeastern Pacific Ocean. He was on the Florida Gulf Coast University campus last week to give a talk so we brought him by the studio to talk about hurricane meteorology and forecasting and how it’s evolved over time and what lies ahead as technology advances.

While using nuclear fission has been well established and used commercially for decades to generate electricity, nuclear fusion has remained out of reach because of the extremely complicated engineering, and extraordinary power and resource needs required. There’s another branch of fusion research known as 'cold fusion’ which takes a different approach to fuse atoms together that does not require huge amounts of energy and resources. Our guest is working on his own approach to cold fusion and has achieved interesting, early results that have now been published in the May, 2024 edition of the journal Nature Scientific Reports.

Research shows that suppressing melatonin production through excessive night lighting, especially blue light, leads health effects including an increase in certain endocrine-related carcinomas. It is now well known that circadian disturbance causes a 20–30% increase in breast cancer rates, and a similar increase in prostate cancers. We discuss the nexus between light pollution and human health, the environment, and public safety with part-time Naples resident, Dr. Mario Motta.

Here in Southwest Florida about 30% of the population is 60 and older. That translates to about 1.3 million people, and this population and percentage is growing. Demographic trends show an expected 38% increase in adults over 60 by 2040 and a 62% increase in adults over 70 by that same year. While southwest Florida has been a destination for older people when they retire for decades, this area’s aging population is chronically underserved. We learn about the work being done to address the need at Florida Gulf Coast University’s still relatively new Shady Rest Institute on Positive Aging.

We get some insight into the world of dementia caregiver support — and we we learn about a relatively rare form of dementia called Frontotemporal Degeneration (FTD). It’s a type of dementia that affects the areas that control behavior, personality, language, and decision-making. People with FTD might start acting differently, like becoming rude or impulsive, or they may have trouble speaking and understanding language. It usually appears in people younger than 65, and unlike other forms of dementia, memory problems aren't usually the first sign, but instead changes in behavior or communication skills are more noticeable early on.

The United Nations 2024 global climate conference, COP 29, kicked off in Baku, Azerbaijan on Monday, Nov. 11 and runs until Friday, Nov. 22. It's a chance for leaders and delegates from nearly 200 countries to talk about, and make plans for action around, the global climate crisis. Timed to coincide with COP 29, Florida Gulf Coast University and The Water School have kicked off “Two Weeks of Climate Change.” It's a series of events that explore local and global challenges, and solutions for our changing climate. We get preview of it, and a chance to better understand what happens at these global COP conferences.

Veterans Day is a federal holiday honoring all U.S. military veterans who have served in the nation's armed forces. It was originally known as Armistice Day commemorating the end of World War I, which formally concluded 106 years ago today on Nov. 11, 1918. We meet a Gulf War Veteran-turned professional photographer who visited the overseas cemeteries where soldiers — and others — who served in World War I and World War II were laid to rest.

Tuesday’s election marks an historic red wave here in Florida from the Presidential race to constitutional amendment proposals, down to local political contests. WGCU Southwest Florida in Focus host Sandra Viktorova provides some post-election analysis in a conversation with FGCU political scientist Dr. Sandra Pavekla and WGCU host/reporter John Davis.

While lots of research has been conducted on how being in space affects plant biology, no research had ever been done on exactly what the trip up into space does to a plant and its genes. That is, until Aug. 29, 2024 when UF Space Biologist, Dr. Rob Ferl, loaded himself and some small tubes with plants in them that are specially designed to allow him to freeze their genes in place at specific times — which he did at certain points of the flight on the Blue Origin New Shepard rocket. This process will allow him and his research team to see exactly how that transit up into space, and then back down again, causes the plants to turn certain genes on or off to adapt to that voyage. We talked with him just a few hours after he returned to Earth.

It’s not uncommon for hurricanes to spawn tornadoes. For instance, according to the National Hurricane Center, in 2022 Hurricane Ian produced 14 tornadoes in Florida, mostly with magnitudes of EF0 — that’s the lowest — but one that was an EF2. Hurricane Ivan in 2004 holds the record for the most tornadoes spawned by a hurricane in the United States, with 118 confirmed twisters, but that was across nine states. When it comes to hurricanes spawning tornadoes just here in Florida, then Hurricane Milton on Oct. 9, 2024 is record breaking. We learn what about Milton led to both a record number of tornadoes, as well as more stronger ones than we typically see during strong tropical storms.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month was first observed in October of 1985 with the goal of promoting awareness of breast cancer, encouraging early detection, and helping to raise money for research. Data from the CDC shows that in the U.S., 42,211 women died from breast cancer in 2022. It’s the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the U.S., after lung cancer. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation 1 in 8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. In 2024, an estimated 310,720 women and 2,800 men will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.

The 2010 Citizens United decision by the U.S. Supreme Court fundamentally changed U.S. campaign finance laws by saying that corporations, unions, and other organizations have a First Amendment right to spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns, as long as the spending is independent and not directly coordinated with candidates or political parties. It allowed for the creation of Super PACs and 501(c)(4)s which can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to support or oppose candidates. We get an overview of the recent history of campaign finance rules and spending patterns, and learn what campaigns spend all of that money on.

Maternity group homes for young pregnant women and mothers who are homeless or lack support have existed in the United states since the 1800s. The number of these group homes declined starting around 1970 after the U.S. Supreme Court made birth control legal through two landmark decisions. But the number of maternity homes has grown by nearly 40 percent in the past two years. We talk with the reporter whose recent feature in the New York Times “These Maternity Homes Offer Sanctuary, but It Can Feel Oppressive” highlights how some of these homes in Florida are licensed and regulated, and are subject to oversight and inspections — while others don’t face oversight or inspections that are made public.

Conservation photographer Ian Wilson-Navarro was born in Miami but has lived his entire life in Key Largo. He got his first camera as a teenager, and first visited the Dry Tortugas around that same time camping and fishing with his father. In 2021, he and a friend were chosen for a National Parks Arts Foundation artist residency in the Dry Tortugas on Loggerhead Key. His proposal for the residency pitched the idea of capturing images to create a book, and that book is now out. "Dry Tortugas: Stronghold of Nature" was published last month by University Press of Florida. It features about 200 of his photographs along with essays by people with intimate knowledge of the park who explore its history, culture, and environment.

Project 2025 is not an entirely new concept. The Heritage Foundation has published what it calls Mandate for Leadership policy blueprints since 1979. The first one preceded the first Reagan administration. Over the decades they have outlined what conservatives hope to see out of a Republican administration, if that’s who wins the election. But, Project 2025 has a different tone and nature — and is far more detailed when it comes to exactly what policies it’s calling for, and just how they can be achieved.

The first documented use of a robot in surgery dates back to 1985 when doctors used what was called a PUMA 560 to conduct a neurosurgical biopsy. The robotic arm was originally designed for industrial use. The technology advanced through the 1990s and then in 2000 the da Vinci Surgical System received FDA approval for general laparoscopic surgery. It had a console the surgeon would use to control robotic arms and they could see what they were doing with 3D visualization and this became a cornerstone of modern robotic surgery that’s still being built upon today. In order to learn more about this not entirely new, but certainly cutting edge field of medicine, we talk with two people who oversee robotic surgery and surgical services at Lee Health.

Tim Love spent his career in advertising, and he says there are correlations between the early days of that industry and mass media, and where we find ourselves today with our wide open and unregulated online world. He was Vice-Chairman of Omnicom Group, it’s a global advertising and marketing services company. But since retiring in 2013, he has focused his attention on our online world, and how, he says, it’s being openly used against us to sow division and uncertainty.

Next month, Florida voters will decide whether to approve Amendment 4 to the state constitution. It is a response to SB 300, which was approved by Florida lawmakers last year. On Sunday, Oct. 27 the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Greater Naples is hosting a “Forum on Four” community conversation to provide clarity on Amendment 4, and details on SB 300. It will be moderated by a woman who grew up in the Right to Life Movement but now hosts a podcast called “Right to Life” in which she’s been seeking clarity for herself and her listeners about these extremely complicated issues. We talk with the forum's moderator and two of its panelists.

Hurricane Milton made landfall on Wednesday night around 8:30 p.m. as a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour near Siesta Key in Sarasota County. Milton spawned scores of tornadoes left more than 3 million utility customers without power. The AP reports at least five people died due to Milton's impacts. While there has been significant flooding along the coast — and hundreds of thousands of people remain without power — Milton did not turn out to be as damaging as projections showed as it approached the peninsula. We debrief the storm with a meteorologist with the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network. We also check in with someone from Sarasota County, where Milton made landfall. And we check in with FPL and LCEC to see how their power systems fared and how many people are still without power.

Hurricane Milton continues its approach and will be making landfall this evening or early Thursday morning as a major hurricane with extreme storm surge levels and damaging winds. Projections show Milton’s landfall somewhere between Sarasota and Tampa Bay. The latest projections show storm surge levels between 8-12 feet from Bonita Beach to Boca Grande — and 10-15 feet from Boca Grande to Anna Maria Island, which is on the southern end of Tampa Bay. That means more than 150 miles of coastline experiencing storm surge that could top 8 feet and be as high as 15 feet. We get an update from Tim Miller at the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network. We also check in with the Salvation Army of Collier County to learn about the preparations they're making for after Milton passes through. And we get some tips on staying calm and maintaining peace of mind during these tense times.

As of 2:00 p.m. Hurricane Milton is a Category Five storm with maximum sustained winds of 175 miles per hour. This storm has intensified more quickly than the models predicted over the weekend — and it could intensify further as it continues its path toward Florida’s west coast. Its current projected path shows Hurricane Milton making landfall north of Tampa on Wednesday afternoon or early evening. Some models show it arriving to shore early Thursday morning. We check in with Tim Miller at the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network — and get a bit of historical context on similar storms that have hit southwest Florida in the past from WGCU’s Tom Hall, author of Historic Hurricanes of Fort Myers: How Three 19th Century Hurricanes Influenced the Town's Development.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month was first observed in October of 1985 with the goal of promoting awareness of breast cancer, encouraging early detection, and helping to raise money for research. Data from the CDC shows that in the U.S., 42,211 women died from breast cancer in 2022. It’s the second leading cause of cancer death among women in the U.S., after lung cancer. According to the National Breast Cancer Foundation 1 in 8 women in the United States will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime. In 2024, an estimated 310,720 women and 2,800 men will be diagnosed with invasive breast cancer.

When Dr. Nadine "Deanie" Singh founded Premier Mobil Health Services in 2018 as a mobile clinic operating out of an RV she bought with her own money on eBay. They serve uninsured and underinsured children, families and individuals at multiple locations across Lee County, as well as at a walk-in, bricks-and-mortar clinic in Fort Myers. Dr. Singh recently traveled to Boston to attend an executive education course for nonprofits at the Harvard Business School — which was supported by a scholarship from the Harvard Club of Naples — so we brought her into the studio to talk about her path that led to founding Premier Mobile Health Services, the work they do, and what she took away from her trip to Boston.