Renzo Downey
As Chris Sprowls nears the end of his final Legislative Session as House Speaker, the Palm Harbor Republican is launching a podcast featuring authors who have shaped his worldview — and Florida law.
Sprowls, a member of the House since 2014 and Speaker since 2020, says reading has always been a part of his career, be it policy briefs now or court cases and police records when he was a prosecutor. With “Read, White & Blue,” Sprowls will host authors to provide some insight into how the books he’s read have impacted his public service.
The Speaker made reading a central point of his legislative agenda. Last year, Sprowls drove the “New Worlds Reading Initiative,” a $200 million free book delivery program for disadvantaged students. The program began rolling out this school year, but officials in the Department of Education and at the University of Florida, who helped create the multilingual reading program, are hoping more students take advantage of the monthly book deliveries.
“I believe books are the doorway to new ideas. Over the years, many of those ideas have leaped off the printed page and into public policies that have shaped the future of Florida,” Sprowls said. “This podcast gives listeners a chance to connect with some of the accomplished authors whose ideas are not only intrinsically interesting but also have something important to say about the great challenges facing the United States in the years ahead.”
Sprowls’ first guest will be the author who helped inspire Sprowls’ vision for last year’s workforce and education bill, Todd Rose. Sprowls and the Wall Street Journal bestselling author, whose works include “End of Average” and “Dark Horse,” will discuss how to end “average results in education.”
The Reimagining Education and Career Help (REACH) Act, signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis last year, created a REACH Office within the Governor’s Office to streamline access to education and career help across Florida’s workforce resources. The REACH Act also requires Florida’s workforce agencies to collaborate with business and industry leaders to create a state-approved list of credentials to align training with workforce demands.
Other Season One guests will include “Win The Day” author Mark Batterson, “High Conflict” author Amanda Ripley and others.
Episodes will premier each Tuesday at 6 a.m. Episodes will be available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify and other platforms.
One comment
ScienceBLVR
February 28, 2022 at 6:32 am
Wow, Chris, what an insight! Reading is important and can change the course of your life! Of course, if you are disadvantaged and living in your car, or your power is shut off, or your Mom is being told how many children she can have, and she lives in a right to work state with no insurance and low wages.. well, I guess it doesn’t really matter how many books are in your home.. maybe Chris and the legislature can handle some of those issues, the ones that really do make a difference to children’s in poverty. Oh and don’t forget to buck up those Dads, too, they need a lot of support.
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