Ryan sits down with author Kent Wascom to discuss his novel, “The Great State of West Florida.” The story is a beautiful tribute to what makes Florida unique and features a villainous far-right politician who leads a movement to turn the panhandle into a white Christian ethnostate. Too soon? Raised in Pensacola, Kent takes us through the plights and gripes of a mystical figure called simply the Governor and a fictitious West Florida that, much like real life, has always been up for grabs.

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Fresh off the heels of being published in The Paris Review, Alec Niedenthal returns to the show with a deep dive into the themes of “Schändung (Desecration)” and how the act of writing can help process memories and experiences.

Read Alec’s story, Schändung (Desecration) in The Paris Review: https://www.theparisreview.org/fiction/8363/schandung-desecration-alec-niedenthal

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This week, Ryan met with Kaitlynn Black & Dean Fraser of the newly-formed Florida Keepers, a nonpartisan group dedicated to ethics and environmental conservation. We talked about how the Keepers came to be, as developers and real estate interests destroy Florida’s wetlands and wild places.

We also delved into Florida’s newest law HB 1205 – the state government’s attack on the last way for everyday Floridians to have a say in the policies that govern our lives.

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