Best WGCU Podcasts (2025)

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Episode 378 - Petar Kodzas 1:09:29

1d ago1:09:29

1:09:29

Petar Kodzas was born in what’s now Serbia but was, at the time, Yugoslavia. During college, Petar toured and recorded as a lutenist with an early music ensemble; he played over 100 shows at the professional musical theatre, sat in jazz sessions, and performed throughout the former Yugoslavia as a musical ambassador for the international organizati…

1
Episode 377 - Jameson Yingling 1:16:43

9d ago1:16:43

1:16:43

Episode 377 - Jameson YinglingBy WGCU

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Episode 376 - Desmond Meade 1:21:09

16d ago1:21:09

1:21:09

Desmond Meade is a MacArthur Genius Grant Fellow; a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and having been named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time Magazine. He's also’s author of the 2020 book “Let My People Vote: My Battle to Restore the Civil Rights of Returning Citizens.” Desmond is President of the Florida Rights Restoration Coali…

1
Episode 375 - Teddy Byrne 1:29:18

23d ago1:29:18

1:29:18

Edward “Teddy” Byrne is a Producer and Writer at WGCU on the “Southwest Florida in Focus” TV show team. After earning degrees in Journalism and Psychology from Keene State College Teddy settled in Southwest Florida starting with a job with WINK News. As a Sports Producer there, he had the opportunity to tag along with the FGCU Men’s Basketball team…

1
Episode 374 - Lainey Schooltree 1:21:29

30d ago1:21:29

1:21:29

Lainey Schooltree is a musician, comedian, streamer, and former half of the musical comedy duo The Steamy Bohemians. She then formed the solo art rock project Schooltree. When the pandemic hit, she began performing on Twitch and found that live-streaming offered the interdisciplinary playground she'd been after. What began as a temporary pivot beca…

1
Episode 373 - Joshua Conyers 1:22:23

1M ago1:22:23

1:22:23

Joshua Conyers is an Assistant Professor of Voice at the Eastman School of Music at the University of Rochester, and a Grammy-nominated Baritone who is known for his captivating performances and recognized as one of the leading dramatic voices of today. He has performed with The Metropolitan Opera, Seattle Opera, Washington National Opera, Lyric Op…

1
Episode 372 - Bill Bowen 2:20:21

1M ago2:20:21

2:20:21

Bill Bowen is a singer/songwriter/computer engineer who grew up in Fort Myers but headed off to New York City in the 90s, in part to live the big city life and in part to be able to see Moxy Früvous shows. Bill is also the former roommate and Foosball partner of WGCU’s own Mike Kiniry. SONG 1: "Garden Party" released in 1972 by Rick Nelson & The St…

1
Episode 371 - Andrew Lipke 1:07:30

2M ago1:07:30

1:07:30

Andrew Lipke is a composer, producer, arranger, conductor, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, and educator who has toured for more than a decade with the Led Zeppelin tribute band Get The Led Out and performed as a vocalist with Steve Hackman's Brahms V Radiohead symphonic synthesis; and he collaborates with World Café Live on music education program…

1
Episode 370 - Mickela Mallozzi 1:22:22

2M ago1:22:22

1:22:22

Mickela Mallozzi is host and Executive Producer of Bare Feet with Mickela Mallozzi, a PBS travel series that showcases the diversity of dance from around the world Mickela is a professional dancer and trained musician who had a dream in 2010 about travelling the world with a camera while dancing in the lives of everyday people. Since dreaming that …

1
Episode 369 - Christina Goh 1:10:15

2M ago1:10:15

1:10:15

Christina Goh is a French composer, poet, and vocalist whose multidisciplinary universe includes digital art, poetry and musical creation. She’s the initiator of a vocal technique for accompanying high range percussion and she’s a member of the Board of Directors of the French Association for Percussion. Christina has performed her music from Indon…

1
Episode 368 - Kim Dunham 1:09:36

2M ago1:09:36

1:09:36

Kim Dunham was born in Pennsylvania but grew up in Michigan. She moved to Connecticut after high school and lived there for about six years before moving to Florida in 1999. Kim’s been working at WGCU since 2019 as part of the membership team. SONGS AND LINKS The original opening 20th Century Fox intro into the original theatrical release of Star W…

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Episode 367 - Madison Morris 1:17:01

3M ago1:17:01

1:17:01

Madison Morris is a singer-songwriter who focuses on bringing his storytelling nature to light over top of an Americana sound - playing more than 200 live performances throughout the year as a full-time musician. He co-wrote "We're All Still Here" with his wife in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian after they were displaced from their home and lost so …

1
Episode 366 - Scott Turow 1:26:06

3M ago1:26:06

1:26:06

Scott Turow is a writer and attorney. He is the author of fourteen works of fiction, including Presumed Innocent, and most recently, Presumed Guilty, which hit the shelves in January of this year. All of his novels have been New York Times bestsellers. His works have been the basis for film and television projects…last year Apple TV+ released an ei…

1
Episode 365 - Tom Bayles 1:13:33

3M ago1:13:33

1:13:33

Tom Bayles is Senior Environmental Reporter at WGCU. A lifelong Florida journalist, Tom has covered stories in 67 counties, including plenty of hurricanes. Tom covers climate change, biodiversity, water quality and quantity issues, Everglades restoration efforts, endangered and invasive species, beach and coastal issues, and the intersections of gl…

1
Episode 364 - Mary Bichner 1:07:13

3M ago1:07:13

1:07:13

Mary Bichner is an orchestral composer with synesthesia - that’s the neurological condition that allows her to see splashes of specific colors in her mind’s eye when she hears their corresponding pitches. Mary has served as composer-in-residence at The Vasilicos of Santorini in Greece, for which she composed a new string quartet work inspired by th…

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Episode 363 - Randy Kambic 1:09:45

4M ago1:09:45

1:09:45

Randy Kambic has written hundreds of articles for The Fort Myers News-Press, Southwest Florida Parent & Child Magazine, The Banner, Florida Weekly and now The Naples Press. He compiled a regular weekly section on recreational tennis and golf for the Coastal Life section of the News-Press for more than two years; Prior to that, he working in public …

1
Episode 362 - Jeff James 58:34

4M ago58:34

58:34

Jeff James is a Director of Professional TTEC Digital - and he's also the author of a self-published children's book called Brainbows: A First Reference Book for Very Young Minds. He describes himself as a music geek who spends his spare time listening to music, playing music (guitar mostly), or exploring music and looking for songs and artists tha…

1
Episode 361 - Renée Benmeleh 1:15:51

4M ago1:15:51

1:15:51

Renée Benmeleh is a multi-cultural vocalist, composer, instrumentalist and teacher. She has been joyfully singing Improv, Jazz, World, Ritual, and her own Original music for more than 20 years in the San Francisco Bay Area. She’s the founder and agile facilitator at Sound Nourishment where she leads monthly classes, workshops, and events. She is al…

1
Episode 360 - Chris Keys 59:14

4M ago59:14

59:14

Chris Keys has been in the restaurant business for just over 30 years and has spent almost 18 of those years with Melting Pot. He’s been an Owner/Operator of the Fort Myers restaurant since 2018. Before he settled in with Melting Pot, Chris worked with a few different national restaurants that include Checkers, Lonestar Steakhouse, and TGIFriday's.…

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Episode 359 - Judge Michael Cicconetti 1:26:18

4M ago1:26:18

1:26:18

Judge Michael Cicconetti is a retired Municipal Court Judge who served for more than 25 years in his hometown of Painesville, OH. He gained a nationwide reputation during his time on the bench for handing down sentences that could be accurately described as unique in certain cases. For instance, teenagers who flattened tires on school buses were or…

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Episode 358 - Shirlette Ammons 1:03:25

5M ago1:03:25

1:03:25

Shirlette Ammons is a Durham, NC-based musician, writer, and producer who grew up in rural Eastern North Carolina in an area called Beautancus near the little town of Mount Olive (where they make the pickles). As a musician, Shirlette has released four albums including her latest, called Spectacles which came out in April of 2024. She’s published s…

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Episode 357 - Mark Rodriguez 2:14:22

5M ago2:14:22

2:14:22

Mark Rodriguez is a stonemason who was born and raised and still lives in Sante Fe, NM. Mark is on a very short list of people who have received two double lung transplants. Mark’s experiences and trials have brought him to a place where bringing a message of resilience, perseverance, and great faith has become central to his perspective, which he …

1
Episode 356 - Matthew Sabatella 1:10:32

5M ago1:10:32

1:10:32

Matthew Sabatella is a Hollywood, FL-based musician who performs regularly, both as a solo artist and as the leader of the Rambling String Band. He earned first-place ribbons in the 2019 Florida Folk Festival’s Old-Time Banjo Competition and the 2023 Florida Old-Time Music Championship’s Old-Time Banjo and Singing competitions. Matthew also teaches…

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Episode 355 - Dr. Mark Schulman 1:04:05

5M ago1:04:05

1:04:05

Dr. Mark Schulman is an award-winning pollster and was co-founder & CEO of one of the nation’s largest survey research & polling firms, SRBI. He's has worked with news media, major corporations, foundations, and government. For news organizations he has tracked presidential job ratings, political campaigns, analyzed election results, and probed pol…

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Episode 354 - Dr. Joe Kiniry 1:38:58

6M ago1:38:58

1:38:58

Dr. Joe Kiniry (Mike's big brother) - is a Principal Scientist at a Portland, Oregon-based technology company called Galois. He’s also the Principled CEO and Chief Scientist of a Galois spin-out company called Free & Fair that works on high-assurance election technologies and services. Prior to joining Galois in 2014, Joe was a Full Professor at th…

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Episode 353 - Jeff Marks 1:12:21

6M ago1:12:21

1:12:21

Jeff Marks is a retired journalist and television executive who grew up and started his career as a radio reporter in Kentucky. He's held senior management positions in television newsrooms in Kentucky and Washington, D.C. including serving as general manager for television stations in Maine, New Jersey, Georgia and Virginia. Jeff became known worl…

1
Episode 352 - 3SS LIVE! Marc Collins 51:47

6M ago51:47

51:47

Marc Collins serves on The City of Ft. Myers Planning Board, the Ft. Myers Charter Review Committee, and since late 2022 he’s been the Executive Director of the Uncommon Friends Foundation. The list of the nonprofits and other local organizations he’s either directly involved with or that he supports somehow is far too long to list here. Marc is ve…

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Episode 351 - Griogair Labhruidh 1:44:38

6M ago1:44:38

1:44:38

Griogair Labhruidh is a Scottish singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist whose distinct musical stylings merge Scottish Gaelic language, music, and cosmology with modern influences like analog boom-bap, hip-hop and soul-inflected jazz, creating a truly unique sound. Griogair has gained international recognition for his voice as a featured sou…

1
Episode 350 - Tracy Waugh 1:02:32

7M ago1:02:32

1:02:32

Tracy Waugh is co-founder of a dark wave cover band called the Lovecats with her best friend Missy Balsam. These days, she sings in the cover band Rockadelic with Joe Palumbo and Dan Wolkoff. Tracy has been in a series of original bands since high school, she says her favorite being Space Vacuum (From Outer Space). They released their album Starcad…

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Episode 349 - Eric King 1:25:15

7M ago1:25:15

1:25:15

Eric King s a senior interpretive naturalist with the Miami-Dade County Parks, Recreation, and Open Spaces Department. He manages and conducts nature-based education at Castellow Hammock Nature Center & Preserve in Redland Eric is also an avid butterfly and vegetable gardener as well as an eclectic musician who writes and produces everything from f…

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Episode 348 - Paula Poundstone 1:14:43

7M ago1:14:43

1:14:43

Paula Poundstone is well-known to NPR listeners - especially those who tend to tune in on the weekends to catch Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me, on which she’s a regular and beloved panelist. Beyond Wait Wait, Paula is a legendary stand-up comedian, author, actress & voice actor, interviewer, and commentator. She was introduced to the world at large in the…

1
Episode 347 - Daniel Donlan 56:34

7M ago56:34

56:34

Daniel Donlan was born in Narragansett, Rhode Island but his family moved to southwest Florida when he was just five so pretty much considers himself a Florida man. He graduated from FGCU in 2021 and then taught high school algebra (where he was in charge of his students’ DND club) for two years before deciding that was enough of that -- he now wor…

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Episode 346 - Guest Music Show Vol. 5 25:45

8M ago25:45

25:45

It's time for another throwback to the songs our musician guests played for us. Bulletproof Heart by Dan Navarro (Ep 309) Lucky to Find Love Again by Tim McGeary (Ep. 323) Hills by Coyote Island from the Sugarshack Sessions (Ep. 311) Preston Rumbaugh Maggie Campbell Blues (Ep. 314) Favorite Things by DAVE!Ja!Vu! (Ep. 326) Buzzcut by Charlie Pace (E…

1
Episode 345 - RAZZLE DAZZLE Showcase 1:24:54

8M ago1:24:54

1:24:54

This week, we're featuring 3 clips from the podcast hosted by our audio producer, Jared Gonzalez - The RAZZLE DAZZLE Show. First up, a look back at Guitar Hero, then an with renowned music composer and writer, Adam Gubman, and finally, THE DELTA QUEST, their monthly D&D campaign! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.…

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Episode 344 - Laura Kiniry 1:10:04

8M ago1:10:04

1:10:04

Laura Kiniry (no relation by the way) is a freelance journalist specializing in travel, food, and culture. Laura has gone on numerous adventures including a six-month solo journey across Australia, New Zealand, and Thailand - she spent a summer working in Montana's Glacier National Park, and has visited all seven continents. Laura’s work can be fou…

1
Episode 343 - Lauren Robie 1:21:11

8M ago1:21:11

1:21:11

Lauren Robie co-founded Hope Eternal Gardens in Punta Gorda with her husband Chris Alonso. It’s a licensed natural burial cemetery with planting forests and meadows where people can celebrate loved ones in a park-like setting. The dream of creating Hope began with the last wish of Lauren’s mother-in-law, and she and her husband have kept that promi…

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Episode 342 - Jessica Lindsey 1:02:29

8M ago1:02:29

1:02:29

Jessica Lindsey is System Director for Performance Excellence at Lee Health (the largest public health system in Southwest Florida). She has her master's in healthcare administration but has held all sorts of roles with Lee Health over the years. Jessica also serves as treasurer on the SWFL Inc. Board of Directors and is an Advisory Board Fellow. B…

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Episode 341 - JP Soars 1:06:26

9M ago1:06:26

1:06:26

JP Soars is a Boca Raton-based multi-instrumentalist who’s been releasing his music with his powerhouse trio The Red Hots since 2008, when he released his debut album Back Of My Mind. JP has won the Blues Foundation’s International Blues Challenge in 2009 and the prestigious Albert King guitar award. In 2012, he was named a Blues Music Award Nomine…

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Episode 340 - Casey Kalmenson AKA Little Monarch 1:17:36

9M ago1:17:36

1:17:36

Casey Kalmenson is a Los Angeles-based singer, writer, and producer who makes music under the moniker Little Monarch. She’s also an integral member of Gracie Abrams' band and played a pivotal role in the highly acclaimed Taylor Swift The Era's Tour in 2023, showcasing her exceptional talent on a global stage. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…

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Episode 339 - Vivian Howard 1:27:55

9M ago1:27:55

1:27:55

Vivian Howard is the chef at the center of A Chef’s Life, which ran on PBS from 2013 to 2018 - and 2020’s Somewhere South. Vivian won a Peabody, Emmy, and James Beard award for A Chef’s Life. She also runs three restaurants: Lenoir and Handy & Hot in Charleston, South Carolina, and The Kitchen Bar at Chef & the Farmer in Kinston, NC. Vivian is auth…

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Episode 338 - Kelsie Watts 1:01:17

9M ago1:01:17

1:01:17

Kelsie Watts is a singer-songwriter based in Nashville. Raised in a musical family, she went on to study opera, vocal performance, and commercial music. Following her collaboration with AJ McLean from the Backstreet Boys and her appearance on The Voice, she released original songs in 2021 and 2022. When not writing and performing, Kelsie is a menta…

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Episode 337 - Jay Allison 1:09:37

10M ago1:09:37

1:09:37

Jay Allison is host and producer of The Moth Radio Hour, host, curator, and producer of This I Believe on NPR, and creator/producer of hundreds of documentaries, essays, and special series for national and international broadcast. Jay has won virtually every major industry award for his productions and collaborations, including six Peabodys. He was…

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Episode 336 - Tara Lynn Rye 1:04:05

10M ago1:04:05

1:04:05

Tara Lynn Rye is a musical artist and filmmaker from New Jersey who calls southwest Florida home these days. She spent time in New York City and Los Angeles honing her craft in film - she directed, produced, shot, and edited short films, documentaries and episodics. Tara’s played shows with her band at Rockwood Music Hall, the Peppermint Club, and …

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Episode 335 - Mitchell Austin 1:21:37

10M ago1:21:37

1:21:37

Mitchell Austin is the Urban Design Manager at the City of Punta Gorda, where he is responsible for long range planning and capital projects planning and design. Since arriving on August 16, 2004 (three days after Hurricane Charley devastated Punta Gorda), Mitchell has focused on the art and science of urban place-making in Punta Gorda. See omnystu…

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Episode 334 - Courtney McNeil 1:04:54

10M ago1:04:54

1:04:54

Courtney McNeil is museum director and chief curator at the Baker Museum at Artis—Naples. She’s an award-winning curator, art historian, and museum leader with more than two decades of museum and gallery experience. Prior to joining Artis—Naples, Courtney served 15 years in the curatorial department of Telfair Museums in Savannah, ultimately holdin…

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Episode 333 - Missy Balsam 1:15:04

11M ago1:15:04

1:15:04

Missy Balsam is a yoga teacher, singer-songwriter and recording artist. Missy began teaching yoga in 2007, after spending her 20s and 30s in a stressful, high-level sales and marketing career in New York City and Los Angeles. Missy began her music career by blending elements of alternative rock with Sanskrit mantras from the yogic tradition called …

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Episode 332 - Chuck Garfien 1:08:43

11M ago1:08:43

1:08:43

Chuck Garfien is an Anchor and Reporter for NBC Sports-Chicago - he hosts White Sox Pre and Post-Game Live with Ozzie Guillén, Frank Thomas, and other former White Sox players. He also writes for nbcsportschicago.com and hosts the White Sox Talk Podcast. Chuck basically gets to live and breathe Chicago White Sox for a living. See omnystudio.com/lis…

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Episode 331 - Sean Dunnigan 2:01:17

11M ago2:01:17

2:01:17

Sean Dunnigan is Owner of Ollie's Pub in Cape Coral, FL, a punk venue located on Cape Coral Pkwy. Ollie’s was one of the few venues in Southwest Florida that hosted live, original rock, metal, punk, and experimental concerts and events. Following a challenging 2020 and weathering the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, Ollie's, unfortunately, had to make t…

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Episode 330 - CLAY 59:36

11M ago59:36

59:36

CLAY is a Los Angeles-based alt-pop musical artist who has amassed more than 45 million streams across her platforms, and just wrapped up her “Waiting for God in the Garden” tour, which was her first full headlining run across the U.S. with performances in Los Angeles, Phoenix, Chicago, New York, Nashville, Denver, and San Francisco. She joined us …

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Episode 329 - Ken Wells 1:10:20

11M ago1:10:20

1:10:20

Ken Wells is vice president and general manager of Cabbage Key. His family has owned Cabbage Key since 1976. As a young boy he collected and sold shells to visitors out of a cardboard stand along Cabbage Key’s shoreline. In October of 2023, Ken was diagnosed with stage 4 prostate cancer at the age 44. He turned to making music as an emotional outle…

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