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Transgender Inmates Treatment, Incoming Administration's Impact on Space Coast, 2024 CFPM Newsroom Review, Christmas Folklore Explained

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The Florida Department of Corrections put a policy into place earlier this year that has impacts on the state’s incarcerated transgender population. The impact of the incoming administration on the future of NASA’s programs and missions happening on our Space Coast. Lillian Hernández Caraballo provides a year-end wrap-up on her coverage of the region’s unhoused population. As Christmas draws nigh, we’ll look at the folklore that has brought us Santa, Belsnickel and Krampus.

Transgender Inmates Treatment

There are state laws in Florida that ban gender-affirming medical care for minors and restrict health care for transgender adults. In September, a prison policy was implemented that is impacting treatment of inmates diagnosed with gender dysphoria which is the distress that results from someone’s biological sex at birth not aligning with their gender identity. Beth Schwartzapfel uncovered the new policy in her reporting at The Marshall Project, a nonprofit organization covering the criminal justice system. She joins Engage to explain why the restrictions are being compared to conversion therapy by transgender inmates she interviewed.

Incoming Administration's Impact on Space Coast

Central Floridians can frequently look up and watch the bright lights trailing in the sky from the rocket launches that originated from our Space Coast. Cape Canaveral is home to one of NASA’s major field centers and their main launch site at the Kennedy Space Center. Our region is a hub for the future of space exploration. There are questions now about what that future could look like under a new administration. Central Florida Public Media’s Assistant News Director and Host of the podcast “Are We There Yet?Brendan Byrne joins Engage to parse out the significant developments that could have big implications for our Space Coast and space flight including NASA’s latest plans for sending people back to the moon.

2024 CFPM Newsroom Review

As we approach the end of the year, we are taking time to reflect on 2024 and the work that was produced by the Central Florida Public Media newsroom. We will take time to check in with our reporters and the impactful stories that moved them. Today Engage is joined by Lillian Hernández Caraballo, housing and homelessness reporter for Central Florida Public Media as a Report for America corps member.

Christmas Folklore Explained

The Christmas season is full of celebratory traditions. There are the obvious ones like decorating the tree, giving gifts, or hanging the stockings by the chimney with care. Some people host ugly sweater parties, bake cookies, or binge-watch holiday themed movies. What about the tale of the Yule Cat in Iceland or the festive witch in Italy, and when did Santa’s scary counterpart Krampus join the party? Natalie Underberg-Goode is Professor and Associate Director of Digital Media and Folklore in the UCF Nicholson School of Communication and Media. She joins Engage to discuss some of these Christmas customs. We noted that most figures of Christmas lore had a similar MO. They judged children on the conduct for the year and either meted out gifts or punishment.

Cheryn joined WMFE after several years as a weekend news anchor at Spectrum News 13 in Orlando.