About this episode

The episode discusses the Ma Barker shootout with insights from tour guide Wayne Hughes, while also touching on current environmental issues in Florida.

Invasive Burmese pythons continue swallowing the Everglades while the state wastes money on concentration camps. Ma Barker and one of her sons engaged federal agents in an hours-long gunfight near Ocala in the 1930s. Wayne Hughes is a tour guide at the Ma Barker House and tells us the story. "Welcome to Florida" patrons receive exclusive access to your Florida Conservation Newsletter, a weekly roundup of the top conservation stories from around the state.

People in this episode

Host: Chadd Scott

Guest: Wayne Hughes

Topics covered

• crime history
• federal agents
• gunfight
• Florida history
• Burmese pythons
• conservation

Keywords

• Ma Barker
• shootout
• Ocala
• Everglades
• Burmese pythons
• Florida history
• Wayne Hughes
• conservation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Florida Conservation Newsletter

Places: Florida, Ocala, Everglades

More episodes of Welcome to Florida

• Episode 315: Gulf Sturgeon · July 21, 2026 · 45 min
• Episode 314: Tom Gaskins Cypress Knee Museum · July 14, 2026 · 33 min
• Episode 313: Charles Broley and Bald Eagles · July 7, 2026 · 34 min
• Episode 311: The Revolutionary War in Florida · June 23, 2026 · 40 min
• Episode 310: Keys Wreckers · June 16, 2026 · 38 min

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