The South Florida Roundup
The South Florida Roundup
WLRN News
Each week, journalists and newsmakers from South Florida analyze and debate some of the most topical issues from across the region.
Lubby Navarro's arrest, WLRN's 'Never Drop the Ball' documentary and gang violence in Latin America
On the South Florida Roundup, we discussed more 'Miami mess': the arrest of former Miami-Dade County School Board Vice Chair Lubby Navarro for allegedly stealing tens of thousands of dollars from the school system (01:03). We also talked to the makers of “Never Drop the Ball,” WLRN-TV’s new documentary about America’s pioneering 20th-century Negro baseball leagues (18:25). And we tried to make sense of the new outburst of narco-cartel violence plaguing Ecuador and Latin America (35:12).
Jan 12
50 min
'Miami mess' for its city manager, the homeless seek a home in Cutler Bay and Venezuela’s alleged crime mastermind gets released
In the first show of 2024, we discuss WLRN's investigation into Miami's hiring of the city manager’s wife for office remodeling. We look at a proposal to place homeless seniors and veterans into transitional housing in Cutler Bay that is being met with resistance (18:37). And we examine President Biden’s decision to free Venezuela’s alleged corruption mastermind, Alex Saab, from his Miami jail cell (35:29).
Jan 5
50 min
Everglades restoration, the future of Palestinians in Florida and the Latino vote
On the South Florida Roundup, we close out 2023 by looking at how tough the year was for South Florida’s most critical commodity: its environment. And that includes the Everglades, whose revival feels dangerously dormant (01:03). We also examine the face and the future of the Palestinians, both in Gaza and here, amid the brutal Israel-Hamas war (17:58). And we discuss new polls that suggest President Biden and the Democrats are in more trouble with Latino voters next year than they thought (34:00).
Dec 29, 2023
51 min
The year in review: Education, affordable housing and Latin America.
On The South Florida Roundup, with the year nearing its end, we look back at some stories that helped define 2023 in South Florida. First, education — and the often bitter debate here involving diversity, parental rights versus LGBTQ+ rights and book-banning (01:01). We also discuss how the affordable housing crisis finally took center stage across the region (18:01). And we examine the American immigration crisis — and the Latin American leaders, like Venezuela’s, who made it worse (33:04).
Dec 22, 2023
18 hr 43 min
Miami's budget dysfunction, farewell to a Miami Herald leader and the Venezuela-Guyana territorial dispute
On the South Florida Roundup, we looked at the holiday edition of the Miami mess: embattled City Attorney Victoria Mendez gets to keep her job — for the moment — while the city commission corrects all the multi-million-dollar mistakes it’s made with the budget (01:01). We also spoke with Nancy Ancrum, the Miami Herald’s editorial page editor who is retiring after leading the paper to two Pulitzer Prizes (18:39). And we examined why Venezuela claims it should have two-thirds of neighboring Guyana (35:19).
Dec 15, 2023
50 min
Art transforming a local community, a former diplomat allegedly spied for Cuba and a potential building boom in the Keys
On the South Florida Roundup, we looked at how Miami Art Week and events like it are now a development engine for some of South Florida’s once struggling communities like Opa-Locka (1:00); a retired U.S. diplomat and former ambassador to Bolivia who was charged with spying for Cuba (8:40); and how the state of Florida may soon loosen development restrictions in the Florida Keys (22:48).
Dec 8, 2023
35 min
Transgender athlete controversy in Broward schools; Big sugar; Puerto Rico's healthcare system
On the South Floria Roundup, we discussed the Broward County controversy over whether a transgender student can play girls’ volleyball (01:03), the new WLRN Everglades podcast Bright Lit Place – and Big Sugar’s role in blocking the cleanup of one of our key eco-treasures (18:35) , and we examine how Puerto Rico’s mortality rate is going up as its healthcare system tumbles down (34:16).
Dec 1, 2023
50 min
Holiday travel; Food insecurity across South Florida; Univision going Trumpista?
On the South Florida Roundup, we examine how our region’s three major airports are likely to perform amid what’s likely to be record holiday traffic in the skies (01:03), we also look at a more unsettling aspect of the holidays: the fact that a larger share of people here are experiencing food insecurity than the rest of the country (18:45), and we ask if the country’s largest Spanish-language TV network is suddenly cozying up to Donald Trump (33:57).
Nov 24, 2023
51 min
The launch of the Better Bus Network; Citizens Insurance's home inspections; Argentina's presidential election
On the South Florida Roundup, we discussed Miami-Dade’s new public bus system that launched this week (01:02), a WLRN investigation that finds Citizens Property Insurance is using unlicensed inspectors as it moves to drop homes from its burgeoning coverage rolls (16:38), and Argentina's presidential election (33:39).
Nov 17, 2023
50 min
Palm Beach County sugarcane burning protest; Coral Gables could annex Little Gables; Sunken treasure off the coast of Colombia
On The South Florida Roundup, we looked at South Florida’s sugarcane harvest season – also known as the sugarcane burning season – and asked just how dangerous it is to the health of nearby residents (01:01). We also examined affluent Coral Gables’ renewed effort to annex the low-income Little Gables neighborhood – where many residents fear they’ll just be booted out (17:54). And we discussed the latest dispute over a sunken ship – this one containing an estimated $20 billion, found off Colombia’s coast (33:56).
Nov 10, 2023
49 min
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