Mary Shedden

Despite not being officially allowed to live in Florida until 1763, Jewish people escaping expulsion and exclusion were among the earliest settlers of the state.

A new comprehensive history – "Jews of Florida: Centuries of Stories" – takes a look at that historic individuals who include politicians, business leaders, artists and Nobel Prize winners.

Earl Lennard, a longtime educator who served as Hillsborough County’s Superintendent of Schools and as its Supervisor of Elections, died Monday after a long illness. He was 77.

Lennard became a teacher in Hillsborough schools in 1963, working his way up to the top post in 1996. He held that position nine years, and was appointed as Elections Supervisor from 2009 to 2012 after the death of Phyllis Busansky.

Florida's coral reefs are in trouble. Scientists say they've been declining for decades.

But researchers have very recently come up with some exciting results that they say show promise in restoring these beautiful and important marine communities.

This week on Florida Matters we talk about what communities are doing to keep from releasing sewage and other contaminants into our local waterways. Part of the problem comes from aging wastewater and stormwater systems. 

CBD is showing up more and more in Florida, from gas stations to grocery stories. It was being sold long before it became legal in the state on July 1. But there is a lot of confusion about whether it’s safe and what is legitimate.

This week on Florida Matters, we talk about zoning and how it affects the way our state manages growth.

It may sound mundane, but zoning and building regulations affect us intimately because they hit us where we live.

It’s been a year since Hurricane Maria ravaged Puerto Rico. Recovery continues on the devastated island, but transitions are also happening here in Florida, where many residents evacuated and some have chosen to stay.

NPR recently received a firestorm of criticism for the way it handled an interview with the leader of a recent Unite the Right rally in Washington D.C. And it’s raising questions about how and why newsrooms make decisions about covering controversial sources.

Carson Cooper was a radio guy, through and through.

While most people know him best as the longtime host of WUSF’s Morning Edition and Florida Matters, his sonic roots ran deep. This week on Florida Matters, we’re remembering our friend and colleague who died recently at the age of 58 – and the stories he shared with all of us.

We've all gotten an email or seen something online that seems a bit fishy.

Some people take the bait, but some check it out and often rely on a well-known online mythbuster called Snopes.com.

President Donald Trump attracted plenty of praise and criticism from people flocking to the Florida State Fairgrounds Tuesday.

WUSF reporters spoke with supporters attending his campaign rally and protestors outside. What they had to say showed exactly how divided Floridians are about topics ranging from immigration to the environment to Trump himself.

A civil rights attorney best known for representing the family of Trayvon Martin said Thursday that prosecutors should not apply Florida's Stand Your Ground law in a recent shooting death near Clearwater.

The most famous crossword puzzle in the world may belong to the New York Times. For more than 75 years, vocabulary junkies have been grabbing the paper and a pencil and taking a stab at the grid of empty squares.