A new daily talk show, “Florida Matters: Live & Local," has debuted on WUSF 89.7.
For more than two decades, “Florida Matters” brought newsmakers and others to your radio for a half-hour each week. Well, now an hour of “Live & Local” will air Monday through Thursday at noon.
In addition to interviewing studio guests, host Matthew Peddie will take calls and emails so you can be part of the discussion.
On the premiere, we get into the latest on the Tampa Bay Rays, then tag up to talk about pro wrestling’s place in local culture.
Rays’ sale rounds third, heads home
We may hear about the deal being finalized at any moment. But the end of Stuart Sternberg’s tenure comes with plenty of questions. Such as, why sell now? And what does this mean for the team’s future in Tampa Bay? Our guests have been covering every twist, from the yearslong quest to replace Tropicana Field to the hurricane that led to the end of the Sternberg era.
GUESTS:
- Colleen Wright, Tampa Bay Times reporter
- Steve Newborn, WUSF reporter
Our deep rasslin’ roots
Pro wrestling has a big following and long history in the area. Why is that? To learn more, we chat with two former wrestlers who live locally, Titus O’Neil (real name Thaddeus Bullard) and Jody Simon. O’Neil turned to the ring after playing football at the University of Florida and went on to become an ambassador for World Wrestling Entertainment. Simon was a legacy performer (his dad was “The Great” Malenko), who started in sweaty, smoky Fort Homer Hesterly Armory before grappling with World Championship Wrestling.
GUESTS:
- Titus O’Neal, former professional wrestler and Tampa Bay area philanthropist
- Jody Simon, former professional wrestler (as Joe Malenko)
The great office comeback
How do you feel about ditching remote work? Are you fighting for desk space? Dueling with traffic? What does returning to our workstations mean for the Bay area? To answer those questions and more, we turn to an economics expert from UTampa.
GUEST:
- Abby Hall, University of Tampa associate professor of economics
