About this episode
This episode explores the dramatic decline of Florida's orange production and the various factors contributing to its demise.
Like the palm tree, the Everglades, Disney World, and the “Florida Man,” the orange is a classic symbol of the Sunshine State. But maybe not for much longer. Production has declined to catastrophic levels, a decrease of more than 95% in less than 25 years. It’s a produce murder mystery—and Decoder Ring is tagging along with reporter Alex Sammon to crack the case. The suspects include insects, hurricanes, mortgage-backed securities, and the American habit of not reckoning with enormous, load-bearing flaws until it’s way too late. In this episode, you’ll hear from Alex, a feature writer at Slate, who visited Florida to check on the orange and write about its demise . You’ll also hear from Gary Mormino , Florida lover, expert, and professor emeritus of Florida Studies at the University of South Florida. This episode was produced by Katie Shepherd and Evan Chung, Decoder Ring’s supervising producer. It was edited by Josh Levin. Decoder Ring is also produced by Willa Paskin and Max Freedman. Merritt Jacob is Senior Technical Director. If you have any cultural mysteries you want us to decode, email us at DecoderRing@slate.com or leave a message on our hotline at (347) 460-7281. Get…
People in this episode
Guests: Alex Sammon, Gary Mormino
Topics covered
- Florida orange
- agriculture decline
- cultural symbols
- environmental issues
- economic factors
- produce mystery
Keywords
- Florida orange
- decline
- produce murder mystery
- agriculture
- environment
- economic issues
- cultural symbols
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Slate, University of South Florida, Decoder Ring, Slate Plus
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