It’s time for some REAL journalism on the podcast. This week, Steph and Eddie welcome veteran independent journalist, Jason Garcia. We invited Jason to give us an overview of some of the most enraging scandals to come out of the DeSantis administration starting with Hope Florida (12:45). But things get more juicy—just a few days before recording the podcast, another shoe dropped with an incredible investigative piece from the Tampa Bay Times, which we spent some time digging through (25:13). Afterwards, we explore its impacts, why DeSantis was so desperate to beat Amendments 3 & 4, and then we touch on the $84 million dollar land purchase blessed by the Florida legislature (47:10). Finally, we asked Jason about what’s coming ahead in the 2026 legislation session, and listener, we were not happy about what we heard (58:10)!

Tampa Bay Times: DeSantis admin diverted child welfare and medical funds for consultants, ads

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This week, our duo starts off by discussing Steph’s exploits at the FSBA (Florida School Board Association) Conference and who got booed during their speech. Eddie and Steph also share their (wildly differing) athletic exploits. Then, we get to Steph’s first solo interview (!) with Hillsborough County School Board member, Jessica Vaughn. Jessica and Steph follow up on a thread from a previous episode: Does Florida want public education to fail (20:09)? Then, on an incredibly related topic, they discuss the disaster that is Schools of Hope, and importantly, what it means when schools are under-enrolled (30:26). Jessica then addresses her latest thinking on running for Governor of Florida, along with a discussion of the top two candidates in the race (43:47). Finally, Jessica lays out the one thing she would do to improve public schools in Florida if she had the chance (55:33).

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We’re back after digesting our Thanksgiving dinner and ready to pod! Before getting into the interview, Steph and Eddie discuss the latest with school start times and where we think the community stands (8:40)—and then also a discussion on whether Trump is cooked (15:07).

After the initial chatter, we bring on Eddie’s favorite guest ever to join the pod—Eddie’s dad, Richard Geller (21:22). Born in the Silent Generation, Richard has seen a lot both in America and in Florida. We delved into his time as a history teacher, and then what he sees as the similarities and differences between what’s come before, and where we’re at now (37:06). And finally Richard explains why the Trump administration is indeed the most frightening administration he’s ever lived through (45:48).

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