Let's Pod This

It seems that once a decade, a major state agency has a mysterious budget crisis. In 2012 it was OKDHS, in 2018 it was OSDH, and in 2025 it's ODMHSAS. What is going on? And what can we do about it?

Sure, the stock market's in free fall and the First Amendment is under attack, but sometimes you gotta pull back from that and focus on the good stuff - like when a regular, everyday woman decides to run for city council. We visit with Valerie Moore, recent candidate for Harrah City Council, to hear what she learned along the way.

When people show you who they really are, believe them. Especially if they can't work a group chat.

Ryan Walters pays the piper, politicians don't want Oklahomans to propose ballot initiatives, and we discuss how well the parties are (or are not) connecting with voters. Links mentioned: Walters settled with Ethics Commission for social media violations But…a lawmaker, Ellen Pogemiller, has asked the Attorney General to weigh in on Walters’ connection to a new “professional association” called “T...

Supt. Ryan Walters is facing his third ethics violation in as many years, the future of the Judicial Nominating Commission is again uncertain, and Governor Stitt wants to have a say in federal funding decisions.

Oklahoma Labor Commissioner Leslie Osborn returns to the show to discuss childcare, maternal health care, and how Oklahoma can - and should - properly invest in the future of our state's workforce.

We're joined by Rep. Andy Fugate (HD94-Del City) to discuss his priorities this session and the lawsuit he recently filed against Governor Stitt regarding his executive order that all state employees must end remote work and return to the office.

Every day I get asked "Wtf are we supposed to do?!" Thankfully, our friend, Eric Liu, with Citizen University , has a helpful framework: the "Five P's." Let's talk through them.

Andy discusses what happens when DOGE cuts federal programs AND DOGE-OK wants to cut state programs AND Governor Stitt wants to cut revenue. With all those cuts, Oklahoma will bleed out. We plead again: discuss the state budget more than one year at a time.

Governor Stitt delivered his State of the State, which calls for tax cuts and dipping into the state's savings account again. Haven't we been here before? Also, a reminder that elections occur all year, every year. Governor gave annual State of the State address, called for $1.4B in tax cuts Legislative leaders not so sure Sen. Dusty Deevers retracts bill in response to public pressure Great op-ed...

Uh...can we vent for just a sec? This week has been *a lot* and we all need to let it out a little bit, because next week is the Governor's State of the State address and the start of the legislative session. Deep breaths, friends. OCC investigation into Todd Hiett ends, says behavior was isolated. Ethics Commission investigation about conflict of interest is ongoing.  SCOTUS taking up St. Is...

We discuss the three ethics investigations being made into two statewide elected officials, and then Minority Leader Julia Kirt joins us to give a preview of her priorities for the upcoming legislative session.

With more than 3,200 bills filed this year, the hard work begins: sorting out the good, bad, and the ugly. Oh, and all of that while the Governor wants his own little military and Ryan Walters is...doing typical Ryan Walters stuff. Articles discussed: Oklahoma House Speaker outlines his goals for legislative session Oklahoma Senate Democrats to focus on wages, schools, basic needs in 2025 Oklahoma...

The 60th Oklahoma Legislature has officially convened, bill writing is underway, and session will be starting in just a few weeks. Let's get caught up on where things stand as we enter the next few months. Transcript: Hello and welcome to Let’s Pod This, my name is Andy Moore and we have a jam-packed episode for you today. At the end I will highlight some important upcoming events, so while you’re...

This year has been a lot. Too much, actually. So let's go ahead and start looking toward 2025, the 60th Oklahoma Legislature, and the future we want to create for our state.

Andy discusses results from the November 2024 election and what comes next...but mostly how he's feeling right now.

A few reminders about elections, outcomes, and self-care before the election. Oh, and here's this in case you need it: Election Protection Hotline: 1-866-687-8683 or 866OurVote.org

Scott's back, and so is Dr. Keith Gaddie, and together we discuss the presidential race, democracy, and everything in between.

With 3 weeks until election day, the team discusses the state of the presidential race, the role of prediction markets , and what Oklahomans will find on their ballots this year. League of Women Voters' 2024 Voter Guide Let's Fix This' Voter Hub FiveThirtyEight's election dashboard Nate Silver's substack, Silver Bulletin , and podcast, Risky Business Freakonomics Radio episode "How to Predict the...

Yesterday, Governor Stitt and state election officials released a  statement  about election security and the state's efforts to maintain accurate voter rolls. While accurate, the way the Governor presented the data has caused concern, so we want to clear up a few things. Oklahoma did  not  purge 453K voters  this week.   The way this has been presented made some peop...

We visit with our fall policy fellows, Ava Woodall and Preston Salameh, for their Gen Z perspectives on the 2024 election and what they're looking for during the presidential debate.

Republicans want to investigate State Superintendent Ryan Walters and it seems he wants them to investigate him, too, which is weird. But...why? Here is the NonDoc article referenced gratuitously throughout the episode. There's more in the article; you should read it.

Another week, another news story about something going wrong at the OK State Department of Education. KFOR news story Email your legislators here !

It feels like everything in the world has changed, so let's recap: an assassination attempt on Trump, Biden dropped out, Harris tagged in, Ryan Walters flaunts the law, and, well, Andy's father died.

Tuesday's primary elections brought several legislative upsets that are causing some voters to scratch their heads while others celebrate. Let's talk about what that means for Oklahoma moving forward.