Miami, Florida news and analysis from The Conversation

Highlighting emerging research and expert analysis on issues important to Miami and South Florida.

Part of a pilot project funded by the Knight Foundation.

Latest news

Dengue-carrying mosquitoes expand their reach into new territories – including Florida

Andrés Henao, University of Colorado Anschutz

Mosquitoes are picky eaters – we studied 3 common South Florida species to learn why they like some people more than others

Kaylee Marrero, Florida International University and Matthew DeGennaro, Florida International University

person's arm inside a plastic box with mosquitoes flying toward it

Florida lost 450,000 ACA enrollees in 2026 as premiums rose an average of 37% nationally, new data shows

Robert Applebaum, Miami University

woman standing at a microphone in front of a sign that reads, Affordable Care Act premiums will rise more than 75%

Florida’s proposed property tax amendment will require trade-offs – and some residents could end up with higher costs

Abigail Hall, University of Tampa

The forgotten racial history of Alligator Alcatraz

Mark V. Barrow, Jr., Virginia Tech

black and white photo of several alligators clustered together on the grass

an older couple unloading boxes out of a moving truck

Florida’s proposed property tax cuts rely on a population boom that has slowed dramatically

Matt Brooks, Florida State University and Karin Brewster, Florida State University

parade of people holding a sign that says 'Tumba El Bloqueo'

Cuba’s future remains in limbo while Trump’s unpredictable foreign policy offers no clear path forward

Juan Carlos Albarran, Miami University

Environment

How young coquí frogs balance the competing demands of growth and fighting disease

Zuania Colón-Piñeiro, University of Florida; Ana V. Longo, University of Florida; Miguel A. Acevedo, University of Florida, and Nich W. Martin, University of Florida

Home insurance and the unraveling of Florida communities

Zac Taylor, Delft University of Technology

Florida neighborhood with the street completely underwater

A newly rediscovered moth species in Florida may already be at risk

Ryan St Laurent, University of Colorado Boulder

Many of the Caribbean’s most important reefs are going unprotected

Sara M. Melo Merino, Smithsonian Institution; Lorenzo Alvarez-Filip, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), and Steven Canty, Smithsonian Institution

A diver over a coral reef with many types of corals.

How a new mapping tool helps Florida planners protect wildlife corridors as the state grows

Sarah Lockhart, University of Florida and Thomas Hoctor, University of Florida

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Florida politics and history

Fewer cheap flights, more international suitcases – South Florida’s tourism outlook for 2027

Michael Cheng, Florida International University

How a tiny Caribbean island made American independence possible

R. Grant Gilmore III, College of Charleston

painting of a ship approaching St. Eustatius

US Supreme Court opens the courthouse door to lawsuits tied to Cuba’s property seizures 6 decades after the fact

Manuel A. Gómez, Florida International University

Two cars, one very old and the other new fill up their tanks.

AI-generated fantasies of US intervention reveal how desperation has narrowed Cuba’s political horizons

Michael J. Bustamante, University of Miami

cartoon on the left and AI image on the right showing Americans as Cuba's liberators

Inflation and immigration fears threaten to dampen Miami’s economic benefits from the World Cup

Hunter Kim, College of Charleston and John Nauright, Louisiana State University

Sign at a stadium reads 'Full Capacity 88,966'

Health and Education

Florida’s school choice program offers universal vouchers but cannot show systemwide academic improvement

Kendall Deas, University of South Carolina

Earthquakes in Venezuela expose a severely under-resourced and unprepared healthcare system

Hermes Florez, Medical University of South Carolina and Zeina Hannoush, University of Miami

People digging through the remnants of a collapsed building

For Haitian women in Florida, the loss of TPS is more than an immigration law issue

Ammcise Apply, Binghamton University, State University of New York

Women holding candles and Haitian flags at a community gathering

Florida’s proposed cuts to AIDS drug program threaten patient care and public health

Jonathan Appelbaum, Florida State University

free HIV testing booth at Pride Festival in Miami

How transparent policies can protect Florida school libraries amid efforts to ban books

Abigail Leigh Phillips, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

School librarian speaking to a student while other students around them read.

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Sorry, Tampa Bay, mixed-use districts don’t reverse the dismal economics of sports venues

J.C. Bradbury, Kennesaw State University

illustration of a stadium surrounded by trees, businesses and high rises

Gerrymandering is unpopular with Florida voters – my recent survey shows why DeSantis pushed it through anyway

Daniel A. Smith, University of Florida

Woman speaks into a megaphone on the floor of the Florida House of Representatives.

Federal judge overturns part of Florida’s book ban law, drawing on nearly 100 years of precedent protecting First Amendment access to ideas

James B. Blasingame, Arizona State University

Librarian with a book cart restocking shelves in a school library

We teach at a Florida university that agreed to cooperate with ICE – and we worry that it is making our students feel less safe

Anindya Kundu, Florida International University and Ryan W. Pontier, Florida International University

People are seen in shorts and shirts and backpacks walking along a cobblestone path with trees around them.