Extracurricular with Stephanie Vanos and Eddie Geller

Steph and Eddie open the pod talking about a wide range of issues, from pumpkin dates, to whether yoga causes flat tires, to a brief explanation of Florida’s Sunshine Laws (7:55). They then welcome Chris Mitchell of Statecraft Media to the pod again to discuss his thoughts on the recent election (13:41). He noted that this was the first election in several years where candidates did not overly focus on President Trump’s actions and rhetoric and instead put forth solutions and a resonant vision for the future (25:43). They talked about what this may mean for Florida in 2026 (34:09) and the entry of Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings into the Governor’s race (45:46). They concluded the conversation by highlighting the importance of elected officials standing strong against the attempts by the federal and state governments to usurp power and trample laws and rights (54:20). A special guest discusses a few missing items and brings the episode to a close (1:06:13).
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The government may be shut down but Steph and Eddie are still podding. This week, Steph and Eddie bring Stephana Ferrell to the pod (12:25). Stephana is the Director of Research & Insight at Florida Freedom to Read Project and a tireless public school advocate. Stephana was one of the first to flag the new Florida standards for teaching the evils of communism coming to public schools across Florida (18:01). The new standards have been called "propaganda" and a “rewriting” of history. After going through an overview of the new proposed standards and how they came into being, Steph outlines what can be done on a local level to fight back against this indoctrination (32:07). Finally, Stephana gives us the most recent update regarding book bans in Florida (44:31).
 
Head here to leave a comment about the communism standards: https://flrules.org/gateway/View_Notice.asp?id=30130642
 
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Eddie and Steph welcome Daryl Perritt to the pod this week to discuss Florida's "Free Kill" law. This carve out in Florida's Wrongful Death Act limits the ability of family members to file lawsuits for medical negligence, or malpractice, for adults who are 25 years or older and do not have a spouse of children. Daryl begins by sharing a bit about himself and the business he and his son, Cameron, have run for over a decade (6:07). He then talks about Cameron's medical history and the events surrounding his last visit to the hospital (10:43). They discuss the history and broader ramifications of the Free Kill law (18:38) and round out the episode by talking about Daryl's goals in educating people about the law, and his advocacy efforts to repeal it during this legislative session. 
Support Daryl: https://www.floridafreekill.org/Orlando Sentinel: Grieving father erects billboard welcoming motorists to ‘free kill’ Florida Follow Us:
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Eddie and Steph welcome Liz Barker, School Board Member for Sarasota County Public Schools, to the pod. The topic of conversation is the sneakily named Schools of Hope: the latest rendition of privately owned and operated schools funded by our public tax dollars. Liz begins by defining Schools of Hope (20:17) and shares more information from her recent Opinion Piece in the Herald Tribune titled, Sarasota schools could become rent-free spaces for others. We must act now. (30:07) They discuss the ramifications of Schools of Hope being allowed to co-locate in any of our traditional schools, not just the schools that have been labeled as “persistently low performing,”  and the Hope operators’ stated intention to ultimately take over the entire school. Liz inspires us all to take action and to fight back against these Schools of Hope (50:43). We bring the episode to a close by discussing Liz’s newest neighbor on the dais - the School Board Member she defeated in 2024 (55:10) - and how Liz maintains her mantra of community over chaos even in the most challenging times. 
 
2026 Sarasota Legislative Agenda 
 
Liz’s Op-Ed: “Sarasota schools could become rent-free spaces for others. We must act now.”
 
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It’s our post-Yom Kippur edition of Extracurricular and Steph and Eddie are ready to atone (but mostly Eddie). 
Steph and Eddie welcome an activist, OCPS parent, and dear friend: Elly Kennedy (14:30). Elly has been supporting students in and out of the classroom since her now-high school daughter was in kindergarten. We begin by explaining the work Elly did to get her a Volunteer of the Year award and why it matters to find the students that the system is missing. Then, we dive into how a parent sees what OCPS is (and isn’t) doing for our students, and how much pressure kids and parents are feeling (35:35). Towards the end, we do a rapid fire round on a range of topics (1:00:43), before having a substantive discussion on the punk and hardcore scene, and how to know when it’s the right time to buy a house (1:21:42).
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It's Stephanie's birthday! We celebrate by complaining about food and a certain car manufacturer that shall not be named. And if that wasn't enough to be excited for, we interview two folks from Second Harvest Food Bank of Central Florida, Briana Rebello and Erika Spence to talk about food insecurity and the work Second Harvest does (11:11). We dig into why the work of feeding our neighbors is more important than ever (17:04), some not-so-obvious effects from the Big, Ugly Bill (23:15), and the work Second Harvest does in schools and why preventing stigma is such a key part of their job (31:17). 
Support or get involved with Second Harvest Central FL: https://feedhopenow.org/Follow us:
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Eddie Geller

What a week! Eddie and Steph recap their time in Washington, D.C., this week including Steph’s testimony at the Economic Growth, Energy Policy, and Regulatory Affairs Subcommittee where she urged the members to invest in public schools, and Eddie’s unexpected sighting at Compass Coffee (3:40). They then discuss the controversy surrounding the discontinuation of Jimmy Kimmel Live! and implications to the First Amendment (18:30). Our resident comedian (Eddie) shares his take on the historical role of comedians in authoritarian regimes, and Steph and Eddie talk about the culture of fear takeover that is being felt from boardrooms to nonprofit spaces to elected officials (25:40). They end with some encouragement and ways to fight back (40:00).  
Watch: Opening Doors to Opportunity: The Promise of Expanded School Choice & Alternatives to 4-Year Degrees (Steph @ 46:30)
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This week, Steph and Eddie begin with some unusually substantive banter. Steph starts off by addressing a recent letter from the State Board of Education threatening teachers and calling into question their First Amendment rights in the wake of Charlie Kirk’s assassination (4:15). Afterwards, Eddie rants about OCPS’s decision to join in the appeal with the Florida State of Board of Education. 
But then they get to the heart of the podcast: Making Florida Actually Healthy with Dr. Jaime Candelori. We start by getting Dr. Candelori’s take on Florida’s intention to repeal vaccine mandates, what actually happens when someone gets the measles, and how it all connects to the dangers of MAHA (19:35). They then move on to a discussion of two enormous scourges of the 21st century: social media and gun violence (44:55). Finally, Dr. Candelori makes the affirmative, data-backed case for later school start times (1:08:17).
 
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In his solo podcast debut, Eddie asks Judi Hayes why she is suing Steph (13:02)! Judi Hayes, a public education advocate and mom of two OCPS students, is the Plaintiff in a lawsuit that sues the State Board of Education and the Orange County and Volusia County School Boards, which includes Steph in her official role (not in her unofficial role as a co-host of this podcast).
Judi provides some answers, discusses the importance of having a broad array of books that serve all students on school library shelves, and describes how the State is trying to redefine well established First Amendment law (20:47). Eddie and Judi then discuss the broader implications of banning books and quashing free expression (26:21). Judi relates the State's argument that school library books are "government speech" and therefore not subject to the First Amendment, and how Judge Mendoza thoroughly crushed that argument in his Order. (36:19). Judi and Eddie discuss their thoughts on how OCPS should respond and its options as it relates to this Order (41:03). They end the episode sharing the potential outcomes of this lawsuit (48:20). 
 
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This week, Steph and Eddie bring on Orlando City Commissioner, Shan Rose. Shan was just elected in 2024 but has been working on making Orlando better for many years prior. As we like to do, we began by giving Commissioner Rose an opportunity to explain what she does for the city (13:20). Shan explained why safety is her number one priority but how that doesn't always look the same for every constituent (16:20). We then dove into the ongoing Pulse crosswalk controversy, and how an under discussed aspect is the loss of home rule (25:53). That brought us into how federal directives attacking DEI are hurting communities and businesses (37:07). We end on a discussion of Shan's favorite book, The Color of Law, and all the ways racism is still shaping policies and behaviors (45:10).
The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America
 
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