WLRN Presents

Twenty-five years after the deadly terror attacks, South Florida still carries a unique scar from the hijackers who lived and trained here. This is South Florida Remembers 9/11. Reporter Danny Rivero helps us look back at the role our region played in one of the darkest days in American history.

We are sad to share news of the death of Aaron Willis. When Aaron was 15, he was shot off his bicycle by an unknown assailant. His injuries made him paraplegic and weighed heavily on his mental health. His story was part of a WLRN special production, Young Survivors: The Unspoken Trauma of Gun Violence reported by Sammy Mack, Nadege Green and Rowan Moore Gerety. The trajectory of violence can be long and complicated. Aaron’s family continues to be candid about his struggles. Aaron Willis died in February of 2026 by suicide, a complication from a 2012 gunshot wound to the spine. If you or someone you know is struggling, you can reach the national Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by calling 988 or visiting 988lifeline.org. WLRN is re-sharing stories from the series.

A WLRN investigation identified serious disciplinary issues and lax oversight by the West Palm Beach Police Department well before officers in an elite police unit called "GHOST" were indicted for allegedly covering up a chase that killed a pregnant woman and her mother in July 2024. The investigation comes as the department's new chief seeks to re-establish a street crimes unit, since GHOST was disbanded.

Last year more than 5,000 people in Haiti were killed in gang-related violence. The country has been in a political crisis for years. And for Haitians in America with feet in two worlds, reality in both countries is unstable. To better understand the story, public radio stations in the three cities with the largest Haitian populations in America teamed up to open the phones and hear from Haitian listeners.Brian Lehrer (WNYC, New York City), with Saraya Wintersmith (GBH News, Boston) and Tim Padgett (WLRN, Miami) hosted the 90-minute special, “Haiti on the Line,” which aired live across all three stations on Feb. 24, 2025. This call-in special highlighted the personal experiences of listeners in these communities, who shared their stories about their relationship to Haiti and the current crisis and explored the new realities migrants and refugees face here in America.The hosts were joined by special guests and experts on the situation, including:Widlore Merancourt, journalist and editor-in-chief of Haitian news outlet AyiboPostJacqueline Charles, reporter for the Miami Herald who was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for her work covering the 2010 Haiti earthquakeDr. Geralde Gabeau, executive director of the Immigrant Family Services Institute

A WLRN investigation found the nonprofit sold homes of clients to Express Homes — owned by Carlos Morales, husband of Miami City Attorney Victoria Méndez — which resold several properties within days.

Miami Beach is known for its colorful Art Deco buildings. But more and more, only real estate developers are willing to spend the money it takes to preserve them — if they can build a tall, high-end residential tower on the property. This strategy saves at least part of the old buildings but changes the skyline forever. Preservationists fear this will destroy what makes Miami Beach special. WLRN's Verónica Zaragovia reports on the simmering tensions over historic preservation in an evolving city — throughout the last century and today.

By Nadege Green

In this Florida Public Media production, journalists explore the high costs of the pandemic for children and young adults who faced some of the greatest obstacles to success in school well before COVID-19 upended public education. For the full series, visit classofcovid.org.

Life and loss in Little Haiti, where residents find themselves in the path of a land rush. WLRN and WNYC Studios present the final episode of a three-part series on climate gentrification.

The fear of mass displacement isn’t paranoia for black people in Liberty City. It’s family history. WLRN and WYNC studios present the second episode of a three part series on climate gentrification.

The sea level is rising--and so is the rent. WLRN and WYNC studios present the first episode of a three part series on climate gentrification.

Florida’s first all-charter school district was engineered by unelected state bureaucrats at then-Gov. Rick Scott’s Department of Education, funded by the state Legislature and carried out by a charter school network based in South Florida, nearly 500 miles away.

For the last couple of years, a school bus driver in Florida City has made prom possible for dozens of teenage girls in South Miami-Dade.

In collaboration with 70 Million, a national podcast that examines criminal justice reforms around the country, WLRN looked at the mechanisms of Miami-Dade County's Criminal Mental Health Project.

The grief and mourning continue for the 17 dead students and staff killed in last week’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland. But something else is happening among the anguish of the interrupted lives of the victims and survivors. Out of the agony — activism.

Hurricane Irma was the strongest storm to hit Florida in more than a decade. It set records on its way through the Atlantic and Caribbean: the longest sustained Category 5 storm of the satellite age, the fastest winds of any storm in the open Atlantic and enough energy for an entire hurricane season -- all in one storm.

Irma was an epic storm. It was stronger and bigger than almost all hurricanes on record and lasted longer than any storm on record. From the Lower Florida Keys to St. Augustine, the Gulf Coast across to I-95, it triggered the largest evacuation in Florida and left large swaths of the state without power for days.

As of March 13, 2017, Florida has a death penalty again.

Karson Turner reaches into a grassy row of sugar cane. He grips a stalk, jointed like bamboo, and breaks it, revealing the sweetness inside.

Among the cow pastures and citrus groves of Florida's heartland north of Lake Okeechobee, patches of wetlands serve as kidneys for the Everglades.

If you scoop a glassful of water from the heart of the Everglades, that water is as pure and clear as the water that flows from your tap.

Let’s start with what we’re losing:

John Broughton has contended with gun violence for as long as he can remember, as a witness, a loved one, and at times, a would-be shooter. Here, his grandfather Luis Gonzalez explains how gun violence has shaped John's life and those of three generations of their family in Miami.