Intellectual Humility in a Polarized World

Airdate: May 2022 At a time when complex technology of all sorts is exploding, and voluminous information about the world is at our literal fingertips, one commodity in oddly short supply is intellectual humility. And in these polarized times, we’ve become shockingly convinced that somehow our political allies can decipher reality with utter clarity, and it’s only our ideological foes who are thoroughly, utterly, and so very dangerously WRONG. Turns

Traveling Down the Chitlin’ Circuit

Ocala blues musician Rev. Billy C. Wirtz explores the Florida clubs and artists that defined Black music during the days of Jim Crow. Muddy Waters stepped up to the mic and spit out the words, “You can’t lose what you ain’t never had.” Otis Spann hit a C major trill on the piano and somewhere deep inside me, a switch was thrown. It wasn’t just the music but the look

The Hitmaker

For 63 years, Miami’s Criteria Studios has recorded some of the country’s most popular albums and artists. By Janet Scherberger In 1977, “Hotel California,” the Eagles classic recorded at Criteria Studios in Miami, received a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. The album had topped the charts for eight weeks and would go on to be the third-best-selling album of all time. But the band lost the honor to

What 100 Coffees can teach us about being human

Airdate: May 2022 The Workmans, a husband-wife creative team in Tallahassee, help individuals, businesses, and organizations tell their story. Alex Workman has always had the goal of trying to have coffee with someone he’s never met once a week. In 2021 he embarked on a goal to meet 100 people by May. 163 coffees later he tells us what he learned. We think it will change your life. Find The

The Activist

A Marine Corps veteran who earned two Purple Hearts during the Vietnam War, Scott Camil returned to Florida after two tours of duty and became a leading activist in Veterans Against the Vietnam War. This is an edited excerpt from an interview the University of Florida’s Samuel Proctor Oral History Program conducted with Camil in 2005. To learn more about the project and access its thousands of interviews, go to

Florida offers a Wealth of Resources to Embrace and Enjoy our Rich Musical Heritage

Florida can proudly boast a diverse musical identity. Every new group that has set roots in Florida has shared its unique rhythm and sound, creating a harmonious blend of musical expression. From opera to gospel, Latin and bluegrass, we celebrate music as a bridge connecting our state’s unique cultures. At the Florida Department of State, we are excited to help you cultivate those connections by offering plenty of resources for

Sound Check

There may be a better job for a Florida-fanatic journalist than editing this magazine, but after five months on the job, I can’t think of one. Published by Florida Humanities, the council that helps support legions of deserving organizations across the state, FORUM has been the voice of the humanities in Florida for three decades. Along the way, it’s racked up numerous awards and attracted an exceptional audience of intellectually

Join Us on a Journey, Become a Florida Humanities Member

How often do you strike out, alone or with another, to ponder and explore the humanity of Florida? The many twists and turns, waterways, trails and roads contribute to the unique beauty of the daily life of a Floridian. What is much more intriguing are the stories behind the aesthetic. The literature, history, politics and cuisines tucked away beneath the surface of the roads we travel daily. Inside this magazine,

Lonely and Extreme: A conversation about how to address extremism

Airdate: April 2022 Given the dangerous rise of political extremism in America, it’s well past time we stopped wagging our fingers and do a bit of soul searching of our own about why our society is producing so many citizens unmoored from the connections that support moderation. Many experts point to the epidemic of loneliness or mass loneliness, what Hannah Arendt called “the seedbed of tyranny.” Others believe changes in

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