Florida’s Fourth Estate

Latest Episodes:

Florida man describes moment shark bit him while surfing Apr 07, 2023

Show notes

Matt Picarelli has a long road to recovery.

He said he was only in the water for about 15 minutes when a shark chomped down on his foot while surfing in Fort Pierce.

“Something grabbed my foot and right when it bit me I saw the shark, it kind of flailed in the water and swam away from me really quick,” he said.

Right after that, he said he told a friend he was with that he had been bitten.

“We gotta get out of the water, I got bit. She thought I was joking, I literally grabbed her and said ‘Get out of the water, get out of the water.’ She still thinks I’m joking, I get to the shore, we both look down and it was horrible,” Picarelli said.

He said the four to five-foot-long shark did a lot of damage.

“The scene of it was brutal. There was blood everywhere when I got onto the beach,” Picarelli said. “It was a fully opened wound, I almost lost all of my toes, 50 stitches, broken tendon, chipped bone.”

The surfer, who lives a very active life, said the attack — which happened in early March — will take several more weeks if not months to recover from, but he believes he will make a full recovery.

However, the experience has been challenging emotionally.

“That first week of it happening, I couldn’t process it for a few days,” Picarelli said. “I was having some nightmares, I was having some terrors. Then some of the dreams I was having — it turned into like me being in that same situation getting bit by a shark, then it eventually turned into me sitting at home in my bed and a shark blasting through the door, it was crazy.”

He said he does want to get back in the water, but moving forward he will be more careful.

Picarelli has started a GoFundMe to help with his medical bills.

You can learn more about Picarelli’s shark encounter and why he believed the water was clear of sharks on the day he was bitten. Listen to the full conversation on Florida’s Fourth Estate. You can download the podcast from wherever you listen to podcasts or watch anytime on News 6+.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Savannah Boan wanted to be a Disney Princess, became a gator expert instead Apr 03, 2023

Show notes

When many people think of wildlife experts in Central Florida, they think of Savannah Boan.

She is the Park Director and Crocodilian Enrichment Coordinator at Gatorland.

But, if you ask her, what brought her to Central Florida was the allure of Disney World.

“(I) ran away to Florida when I was 16 years old because I wanted to be Cinderella,” she said. “Of course, Disney doesn’t hire 16-year-old runaways and I was way too tall to be Cinderella.”

So she started applying to work at Gatorland. The gator pro said it took seven years to get a gig at the wildlife park and once she came on board she never looked back.

“I’m so honored every day that I get to come to work with these amazing dinosaurs,” she said.

Boan now focuses her time caring for alligators and crocodiles, working to protect their habitats and educating the community about the reptiles.

She recently took Florida’s Fourth Estate hosts Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden around the wildlife park to talk about gator mating season.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

‘We’re No. 1:’ Florida leads nation in toll roads Mar 27, 2023

Show notes

Do you feel like you are being nickeled and dimed every time you get behind the wheel? If you use toll roads in Florida, you might be right.

Trucker Employment site, TransForce states Florida has “over 719 miles of toll roads crisscrossing the state”.

Researchers say Orange County has the most, with 150+ miles of toll roads.

UCF History Professor Jim Clark joined Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida’s Fourth Estate to talk about why traveling on so many of Florida’s roads comes at a cost.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

UCF student risks life in Ukraine to help others Mar 24, 2023

Show notes

The war in Ukraine has been raging for over a year now.

For people here in Florida, it can feel like it is a world away. But for one University of Central Florida student, it has been her reality daily.

Mia Willard lives in Kyiv and attends classes virtually. Her dad lives in Lake Nona. Since Russia’s attack on Ukraine began, Willard has focused on humanitarian efforts and helping those who have lost so much during the war.

Within the last few weeks, she flew back to Florida to spend some time with her dad. While here, she talked to Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida’s Fourth Estate about what it has been like helping survivors across Ukraine.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Orlando columnist breaks down Florida’s top 5 special interest groups Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

Nobody goes to Tallahassee wanting to get elected thinking, “You know what my goals are? It’s not schools, it’s not education, it’s not better roads: I want homeowners to get less credit for the clean energy that they generate.”

But Orlando Sentinel columnist Scott Maxwell said lawmakers can get pulled into some pretty strange positions by Florida’s special interest groups.

The Cambridge Dictionary describes a special interest group as “a group of people who have particular demands and who try to influence political decisions involving them.”

Recently, Maxwell sat down with Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida’s Fourth Estate to break down his top five list of special interests influencing how our government works.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Central Florida mom finds success voicing popular video game characters Mar 20, 2023

Show notes

She is used to bringing stories to people in Central Florida on the radio and TV, but now Sandra Osborne is using her voice in a new way.

After stepping away from journalism, Osborne took up voice acting and is getting her son involved in the fun, too.

The former newscaster recently sat down with Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on the Florida’s Fourth Estate podcast to talk about her new career.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Florida's wealthiest residents & Dr. Abigail Disney talks about her family's legacy Mar 13, 2023

Show notes

On this episode of Florida’s Fourth Estate, hosts Ginger Gadsden and Matt Austin speak with Dr. Abigail Disney, whose grandfather was Roy Disney and great-uncle was Walt Disney. They are the two men who built Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and Disney World in Orlando, Florida.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Orlando teen invents device with potential to help 2.2 billion people Mar 10, 2023

Show notes

At age 16, most kids are thinking about getting their driver’s license or making TikToks, except for Tiffani Gay, who is focused on changing the world with her award-winning invention.

By combining two technologies used in everyday life, Gay is striving to get results for the over 2.2 billion people worldwide with visual impairments.

The Orlando Science Schools sophomore joined Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida’s Fourth Estate to explain the story and the science behind an electronic headset she created.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Florida radio host dodges fire, crime and murder controversy Mar 06, 2023

Show notes

Russ Rollins has been the voice behind ‘Monsters in the Morning’ for decades, but he says the radio show was almost snuffed out before it ever became a true staple in Central Florida.

He told Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida’s Fourth Estate he didn’t understand the weight of his words when he first began his career.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mom 'devastated' she can't volunteer at kids' school because of OnlyFans account Mar 03, 2023

Show notes

Victoria Triece is suing Orange County Public Schools because, she claims, the district banned her from volunteering in her child’s classroom due to her participation on adult websites.

Triece and her attorney Mark Nejame joined Matt Austin and Ginger Gadsden on Florida's Fourth Estate to talk more about the case.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected