Gulf Coast Life

Today’s episode is something special. For the first time, we hear from an audiobook narrator. If you listen to audiobooks, you’ve probably heard the voice of Edoardo Ballerini. In the world of audiobooks, winning an Audie is like winning an Oscar, and Ballerini has won several of them, including Best Male Narrator, twice.He talks to us about how his background in acting helps his performances, how he began recording classic texts just for fun during the pandemic, and whether he has time to read for fun.

Governor Ron DeSantis, on Monday, signed into law Florida’s new congressional district map approved by the state legislature in last week’s special session. Just hours later, lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the new map were filed. FGCU Political Science Professor Sandra Pavelka, Ph.D., and UCF Political Science Professor Aubrey Jewett, Ph.D., weigh in on what this means for candidates and voters, and what’s next for the Florida legislature.

Florida Gulf Coast University professor, Dr. Jo Muller, has spent much of her career studying the history of hurricanes and tropical storms, from how frequently they occur to how damaging they are. For instance, she studies past tropical cyclone activity using geological evidence found in core samples taken from lagoons and bays behind barrier islands. She her team have created a comprehensive database of Atlantic tropical cyclones that impacted the continental United States since 1963, with a focus on how many people died as a direct result of storms, and what caused their deaths.

A solo exhibition of works by Southwest Florida-based painter, illustrator, writer, and designer Kathleen Kinkopf opens May 1 at the Sidney & Berne Davis Art Center.Ahead of the opening, we’ll talk with Kinkopf about her striking works, often described as “magical realism” with highly detailed realistic imagery infused with dreamlike symbolism and fantasy elements.

Dr. Karen Tang is the author of the new book It’s Not Hysteria: Everything You Need to Know About Your Reproductive Health (But Were Never Told). It’s a comprehensive guide to treatment options and common conditions, many of which are under-discussed and misunderstood.

Whether you’re an absolute newbie with no experience yet hoping to catch up, or if an educator or researcher, or industry professional or nonprofit leader, the Summer AI Academy is offering more than 30 sessions totaling more than 150 hours, with topics ranging from basic AI literacy and using image generation tools, to things like programming with AI and doing data analysis. They even have sessions aimed at certain industries like one called Hands-On AI Workshop for Construction Professionals. The Summer Academy kicks off on May 4.

Outside/In was launched by New Hampshire Public Radio as a podcast in 2015 as “A show where curiosity and the natural world collide.” WGCU recently added it to our radio schedule, so we learn about what they do and how they do it, we meet Nate Hegyi, he’s been Outside/In’s Host and Senior Producer for about four years. He was previously a reporter for the Mountain West News Bureau, based at KUER Public Radio in Salt Lake City, Utah covering federal land management agencies, indigenous issues, and the environment.

The Naples-based nonprofit House of Gaia hosts the “Bee Gaia Bloom Art Show” April 25, 2026, featuring works created by artists within the neurodivergent community. House of Gaia Founder and Director Lulu Carter joins us to explore the sensory, multimedia exhibit and the organization’s broader focus on arts education, social inclusion, community building and kindness.

With a measles outbreak ongoing in Florida and historically low rates of vaccination, we hear from Dr. Nicole Iovine, infectious disease expert as well as chief hospital epidemiologist at University of Florida Health Shands Hospital. She’ll discuss how vaccines—and our immune systems—work to keep us healthy.

Florida’s climate is getting warmer and warmer each year. It's rapidly intensifying hurricanes, decreasing the number of safe, workable days in the state, and making flooding worse. Southwest Florida’s coastal positioning doesn’t help in the case of hurricanes and storm surge. These challenges call for solutions— including ones that use the resources we already have here on Earth. They’re called nature-based solutions.