Florida Spectacular
Take a weekly trip across Florida with authors Cathy Salustri and Rick Kilby and discover a side of Florida you never knew existed. From the scallops in Panhandle bays to the Hemingway cats in Key West, every week's a Florida adventure.
Get more Florida goodness with greatfloridaroadtrip.com and rickkilby.com.
Florida Spectacular
Episode 219: Alligators: Florida's Swamp Puppies
Send us your Florida questions!
Mark Barrow grew up around gators — both the real one and a certain Florida college that pays homage to them. Now, he's written a book about alligators, and he joins Rick and Cathy to talk about why alligators deserve respect, not fear. The trio also talks about the gator's place in Florida's culture, roadside Florida gator attractions, and why gators are amazing creatures.
Links We Mentioned
Mini-Lights and Black children used as gator bait?
Mini Lights proof of concept trailer from Vitale Brothers
Nature's Ghosts (this is the one we mentioned with the dead Carolina Parakeet on the cover)
"Alligator Capital of the World": A post by Rick Kilby
The alligator engravings some call DeMoyne, but are not
Question or comment? Email us at cathy@floridaspectacular.com.
Subscribe to The Florida Spectacular newsletter, and keep up with Cathy's travels at greatfloridaroadtrip.com. Keep up with Rick at studiohourglass.blogspot.com and get his books at rickkilby.com.
Find Cathy on social media: Facebook.com/SalustriCathy and everywhere else as @CathySalustri; connect with Rick Facebook.com/floridasfountainofyouth, Bluesky (@oldfla.bsky.social), and IG (@ricklebee).
NEW: Florida landscape questions — Send us your Florida plant questions and we'll have an expert answer them on the show! Use this link!
