Governor Ron DeSantis is running for president on the argument that he'll do for America what he's done for Florida. So what's it like in Florida? Prologue: Florida is now the fastest growing state, and DeSantis says people are moving there from all over because of him. We speak to people who did make the move, at least in part, for DeSantis’s policies. (6 minutes) Prescription for Freedom: Among the big items in DeSantis's run for president is medical freedom. Producer Zoe Chace wanted to understand its appeal and its growing popularity. So she spent some time in Sarasota County, where one man — at the side of former Trump appointee Mike Flynn — is creating a sort of little parallel universe for this very thing. (33 minutes) Their Eyes Were Watching Tallahassee: DeSantis has passed law after law about what can and can’t be taught in Florida classrooms, starting as early as elementary school. And last spring, Florida Republicans introduced a bill initially proposing to ban things like critical race theory and identity politics, or students majoring in things like gender studies in Florida universities. Reporter Emmanuel Dzotsi followed how things unfolded at one of the biggest universities there, Florida State, from the bill’s introduction all the way to its passage. He explains how professors and students have been preparing. (25 minutes) Goodbye Sunshine (podcast only): Among the legislation introduced by DeSantis that has passed is a ban on minors receiving transition care. The bill passed into law a few months ago. We speak with a teen whose family has since had to flee the state in order to access the care they needed. (2 minutes)
A quick warning.
There are curse words that are unbeeped in today's episode of the show.
If you prefer a beeped version, you can find that at our website, thisamericanlife.org Justina Tedesco knows exactly when she got the idea to leave suburban New Jersey and move to a different state.
It was still at the height of COVID Her second grader was doing remote learning.
The vaccine had barely been introduced.
Most people couldn't get it.
She was working from home, and her son's class took a snack break.
So we would usually go into the kitchen, grab a snack.
And on the TV was, of course, Fox News.
And Desantis was on the TV talking about the pandemic and how he disapproved of how other states were handling things.
And he said, he goes, well, you know, we're handling things so differently.
If you're not happy in the state you live in, come to Florida.
We welcome you here.
If you look at home sales, I mean, it's pretty clear that people are viewing Florida as a landing pad.
But when we looked up the clip, census didn't exactly tell people to move to Florida.
But you can see how just took it that way.
You know, Tucker, it's interesting.
As this went on, I would encounter people, particularly in September, that would move from parts of the country, say, look, they closed our schools.
I want your schools are open.
I'm going to come here because you guys are doing it right.