Episode 343 - Lauren Robie

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-i…

Episode 342 - Jessica Lindsey

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. Bo…

Episode 341 - JP Soars

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 awa…

Episode 340 - Casey Kalmenson AKA Little Monarch

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 g…

Episode 339 - Vivian Howard

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 …

Episode 338 - Kelsie Watts

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.…

Episode 337 - Jay Allison

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 production…

Episode 336 - Tara Lynn Rye

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 ba…

Episode 335 - Mitchell Austin

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 scien…

Episode 334 - Courtney McNeil

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 departmen…