Speaker’s Podcast: Read, White, & Blue

Bestseller “End of Average” author Todd Rose dropped out of high school with a 0.9 GPA, struggled to pay the bills, and ended up on welfare before going to Harvard and changing the course of his life forever. On the inaugural episode of “Read, White and Blue,” Speaker Sprowls dives into Rose’s story and how his theories on how individualism in education ending “average” results helped inspire some of the Speaker’s landmark workforce revamp legislation for Florida.

Today we're talking to Mark Batterson, DC pastor and author of 19 New York Times bestsellers, including "Win the Day." From getting in shape to getting out of debt to planting a church, achieving God-sized dreams starts with daily habits and building endurance. Speaker Sprowls and Batterson discuss how "running toward the roar" and embracing adversity lead to opportunities for greatness -- in faith, family and policy making.

Speaker Sprowls sits down with New York Times bestselling author and renowned investigative journalist, Amanda Ripley. Discussing her latest book, "High Conflict: Why We Get Trapped and How We Get Out," the Speaker and Ripley explore how conflicts of opposite extremes extort the reality that lies somewhere in the middle of most situations. In a culture that rewards polarization, politicians and journalists alike could stand to escape the echo chamber of our own perspectives.

David Mearns, Guinness World Records holder and award-winning author of "The Shipwreck Hunter," joins the Speaker to talk about some of Mearns' most notable deep-sea shipwreck discoveries and investigations. Mearns' expertise served in the historic conviction of an Austrian businessman who planted a time bomb on the Lucona, which killed half the crew, in a conspiracy to commit murder and collect millions in insurance. Mearns also shares how shipwreck hunting has allowed him to bring closure to families who have lost loved ones out at sea. Listen to the end of the episode for an exciting update about a famous shipwreck discussed in the conversation, Sir Ernest Shackleton's Endurance.

Dr. Jack E. Davis, University of Florida professor and Pulitzer Prize Winner for his book “The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea,” joins the Speaker to discuss the history and impact of the Gulf of Mexico on Florida’s environment and economy. They talk about their shared optimism for Florida’s future thanks to the State Legislature’s efforts toward coastline restoration and resiliency. Dr. Davis also previews his newest book, “The Bald Eagle,” which tells the story of the heroic repopulation of bald eagles in the Southern United States in the 1980s and Florida's unique role in that effort.

On this week's episode of "Read, White, and Blue," Speaker Sprowls is joined by Dr. Warren Farrell, author of "The Boy Crisis." When teachers in Dr. Farrell's circle began to share with him that boys in their classrooms were falling behind, Dr. Farrell set out to understand why; his research found that the common root cause was the lack of an involved father. In this conversation, Speaker Sprowls and Dr. Farrell dig into the research behind the importance of having two involved parents for many societal outcomes, and what community groups and the Florida Legislature are doing to reclaim responsible fatherhood for future generations.

This week, Speaker Sprowls interviews bestselling author and political commentator, Michael Knowles about his book, “Speechless: Controlling Words, Controlling Minds,” in which he tackles how free speech has been redefined by the left and what conservatives can do to take back the truth. They discuss how definitions and facts are foundational to moral standards and dive into how the media manipulated words to distort the truth about Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill, dubbed as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

On the final episode of Season 1 of "Read, White, and Blue," Speaker Sprowls sits down with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Gilbert King to discuss his book, "Devil in the Grove," a tragic historical account of Jim Crow-era Florida and the false accusation and sentencing of the Groveland Four: Charles Greenlee, Walter Irvin, Samuel Shepherd, and Ernest Thomas. King recounts his research into the prejudice in rural Florida in the 1940s and 50s and the horrible miscarriage of justice that followed the false accusations against these four young Black men. Speaker Sprowls and King discuss how "Devil in the Grove" brought awareness to this tragedy and the instrumental role it played in the Florida Legislature's decision to pursue the long overdue pardon and exoneration of the Groveland Four beginning in 2017.

A special message from Speaker Chris Sprowls as Season 1 comes to a close, including an exciting update for the future of “Read, White, and Blue!”