Marley & Me: The South Florida Story of the World’s Worst Dog
Before it was a bestselling memoir and a hit movie, Marley & Me was just a young couple, a wild yellow Labrador, and a sunny stretch of South Florida.
-
-
Carl Fisher: The Indiana Daredevil Who Dredged Miami Beach Out of a Mangrove Swamp
He co-founded the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, built the first road across America, then dredged a mangrove island into Miami Beach. Carl Fisher saw the future before anyone else.
-
Seminole Patchwork: The Geometric Art Stitched Into Florida’s Identity
Born from hand-cranked sewing machines in remote Florida camps, Seminole patchwork became one of the most recognizable textile traditions in North America. The geometric art is still stitched today.
-
Jackie Gleason: The Great One Who Moved His Whole Show to Miami Beach
In 1964, Jackie Gleason convinced CBS to move its biggest variety show from New York to Miami Beach. For six years, he called it “the sun and fun capital of the world” on national television, and tourists believed him.
-
Swamp Story: Dave Barry’s Most Florida Novel Yet
Dave Barry’s hilarious Everglades novel follows a single mom who finds buried treasure, a fake swamp monster that goes viral on TikTok, and a presidential campaign that goes sideways.
-
Bright Lit Place: The Podcast That Tells the Whole Everglades Story
WLRN reporter Jenny Staletovich traces the tangled history of the Everglades, from early drainage schemes to the largest hydrological restoration effort in American history. Essential listening for anyone who wants to understand South Florida.
-
Venetian Pool: The Limestone Quarry That Became a Venetian Lagoon
Coral Gables’ Venetian Pool holds 820,000 gallons of spring water, refilled daily from artesian wells. It has waterfalls, a swim-through cave, and a coral rock grotto, all carved from a limestone quarry in the 1920s.
-
Airboat Rides: The Flat-Bottomed, Fan-Powered Way Florida Does a Boat Tour
No rudder, no propeller in the water – just a giant fan and a flat bottom that skims across the Everglades at 40 miles per hour. Airboat rides are one of Florida’s most iconic and exhilarating ways to see the wild interior.
-
The Florida Python Challenge: Where Amateurs Hunt 20-Foot Snakes for Cash Prizes
Every summer, hundreds of hunters fan out across the Everglades to catch invasive Burmese pythons for cash prizes. The 2025 winner was a first-timer who bagged 60 snakes in ten days.
-
Addison Mizner: The Untrained Architect Who Built Palm Beach
Addison Mizner had no architecture degree, a pet monkey, and a wild vision. He invented Palm Beach’s Mediterranean look and nearly built Boca Raton into a paradise.
