© 2024 WLRN
MIAMI | SOUTH FLORIDA
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Puerto Rico Cockfighting; Johns Committee; Elizabeth Bishop Key West Home

Courtesy Mark Hedden
The Key West Literary Seminar bought the home of award-winning American poet Elizabeth Bishop. The group plans to move its headquarters there.

On the Nov. 25 episode of Sundial:

Cockfighting in Puerto Rico

Cockfighting has been a tradition in Puerto Rico for hundreds of years. Now that practice is reaching its final days. Last December, Congress passed a bill ending the practice in U.S. territories. The ban takes effect Dec. 20.

Patricia Mazzei, Miami bureau chief for the New York Times, traveled to the island to report on how people are responding to the controversial sport’s final days.

Johns Committee

The Johns Committee was formed in the 1950s at the height of anti-communist politics and McCarthyism in the U.S. The group was tasked with finding LGBTQ people at Florida colleges and universities. Over a decade, the committee outed hundreds of students and professors, forcing them to lose their jobs or leave school.

Ranjani Chakraborti, a video producer for Vox, explored this chapter in Florida history for the latest installment of “Missing Chapter,” a mini-series that looks at under-reported stories in U.S. history.

Elizabeth Bishop Home

Award-winning American poet Elizabeth Bishop lived in Key West for a decade. Her house has been a registered national literary landmark since she sold it in 1946.

Earlier this month, the Key West Literary Seminar bought the home for $1.2 million. Arlo Haskell, the nonprofit’s executive director, said its headquarters will move to the Bishop home. On Sundial, he discussed the impact the southernmost city had on Bishop’s writing.

Alexander Gonzalez produces the afternoon newscasts airing during All Things Considered. He enjoys helping tell the South Florida story through audio and digital platforms. Alex is interested in a little of everything from business to culture to politics.