Tampa Bay Times launches podcast with USF called ‘Florida in Depth’
News about Florida and Tampa Bay can be intense.
From our governor running for president to hurricanes fueled by rising temperatures to the $6.5 billion redevelopment of the Trop, the news cycle moves fast but the issues are complex.
To make sense of this continual churn of headlines, the Tampa Bay Times is launching a new podcast called “Florida in Depth” that dives deeper into the stories that matter.
Starting this month, the Times will air semiregular episodes produced in partnership with the University of South Florida that will spotlight key issues and newsmakers.
“We’re excited about this new podcast and our partnership with USF,” said Mark Katches, editor and vice president of the Times. “Florida in Depth will be another way that the state’s most essential and largest news organization can reach a broader audience with our most consequential journalism.”
In each episode, a Times reporter will discuss their reporting on a big story with Elliott Wiser, an instructor at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg in the department of journalism and digital communication. Each episode will be produced by a USF student.
“It is a privilege to partner with the Tampa Bay Times while providing an exceptional education experience for our students,” Wiser said.
The podcast debuts with a three-part series focusing on climate change and its effects on Florida.
• Episode 1, available now: Weather and breaking news reporter Michaela Mulligan discusses how warmer water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico are stoking more intense hurricanes that will pose growing risks to communities along Florida’s west coast.
• Episode 2, airs Oct. 16: Pinellas County reporter Jack Evans talks about how climate change is eroding Florida’s beaches at a higher rate, and what’s being done to replenish them.
• Episode 3, airs Oct. 23: Environment reporter Max Chesnes explains how the heat is changing our underwater ecosystem by bleaching coral and threatening the wildlife that depends on it.
Producers on the series are students Kelsey Foresta, Jordan Kalajian and Alexander Logue.
Listen to the latest episode on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.
