Here's What We Know

Send us Fan Mail For everyone who has ever sung “King of the Road” at the top of their lungs without knowing the second verse. This week on Once Around the Country , Gary Scott Thomas looks back at the remarkable life of one of the most unpredictable minds in country music, Roger Miller. He wrote “Dang Me” in four minutes, recorded 16 songs in a single day, won a Grammy for “King of the Road,” and...

Send us Fan Mail What can refugees teach us about resilience, gratitude, work, and starting over? This week on Here’s What We Know , we sit down with Dalton T. Sirmans, author of The Refugee Advantage , to talk about the incredible stories of people who were forced to leave their homes and rebuild their lives from almost nothing.  We’ll talk about resilience, entrepreneurship, gratitude, and why m...

Send us Fan Mail Before she was the First Lady of Country Music, Virginia Wynette Pugh was a little girl picking cotton in Itawamba County, Mississippi, raised by her grandparents while her mama worked in Memphis. Her daddy died before she turned one, leaving her only his instruments and stories told secondhand. Nobody looking at that childhood would have predicted Nashville. But Tammy Wynette&apo...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when a box of old family letters opens a window into one of the most dangerous chapters of World War II? This week on Here’s What We Know , we welcome author Jan Cress Dondi to talk about The Navigator’s Letter , a remarkable story built from letters, family memories, military records, and the lives of three young people whose paths were changed by war.  Listen in as...

Send us Fan Mail Our host, Gary Scott Thomas, has spent nearly 50 years in radio, and during that time he has met plenty of artists who went on to become stars. But there was one he never saw coming: Kenny Chesney. This week on Once Around the Country, Gary walks through Kenny's full journey, from a self-produced demo album sold out of the trunk of his car in Johnson City clubs to a publishin...

Send us Fan Mail Who has the best shot at making the Super Bowl this NFL season? This week on Here’s What We Know , longtime Bay Area sports radio host Mark Willard joins Gary Scott Thomas to talk 49ers, Rams, Chargers, Broncos, and the teams he thinks could make a serious run this season. Mark explains why he has the Rams as his favorite in the NFC, where he sees the 49ers in the NFC West, and wh...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when anger becomes funny? Alex Pearlman has built a following by saying the things many people are thinking but cannot always say themselves. His viral Mexican Pizza rant helped put him on the map, but there was a lot of work behind that moment. This week on Here’s What We Know , comedian and TikTok star Alex Pearlman talks about growing up outside Philadelphia, findi...

Send us Fan Mail We lost the biggest star country music has ever had. This week on Once Around the Country , our host, Gary Scott Thomas, takes you back to a Saturday afternoon in Red Level, Alabama, where an eight-year-old boy stood in a plowed field, fire ants and all, as Porter Wagoner performed on a flatbed trailer and a young Dolly Parton walked onto the stage. Gary had no idea then that he w...

Send us Fan Mail Middle Falls Time Travel series bestselling author Shawn Inmon has been on Here's What We Know twice before, and this conversation might be the most personal one yet.  In this episode, join us for a wide-ranging conversation about writing, love, creativity, and facing cancer. Shawn shares how the idea behind Middle Falls came from wondering whether we could go back in time an...

Send us Fan Mail Ronnie Dunn was studying to be a preacher while Kix Brooks was already a working Nashville songwriter with hits on the radio. Neither one planned on becoming half of the biggest duo in country music history, and neither one really wanted to be tied to a partner.  This week on Once Around the Country , our host, Gary Scott Thomas, walks through the real story of Brooks & Dunn,...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever wanted to reach out to someone you admire but talked yourself out of asking? This week on Here’s What We Know , Mark J. Carter has been asking people for their time since he was in college, when he started tracking down CEOs, authors, and other successful people simply because he wanted to learn from them. That curiosity eventually led to his work as an interviewer,...

Send us Fan Mail Before Taylor Swift, there was Shania Twain. This week on Once Around the Country , Gary breaks down the real story behind one of the most successful and most underrated careers in music history. Shania Twain grew up as Eileen Edwards in Windsor and Timmins, Ontario, raising money for her family by singing in bars from age 8. She lost both of her parents in a car accident at 21 an...

Send us Fan Mail What was it like to build a career in radio when every conversation had the power to bring people together? This week on Here's What We Know, we welcome veteran broadcaster George Lindsey, whose remarkable career began at just 15 years old behind a radio microphone.  George shares unforgettable stories from decades in broadcasting, remembers the legendary entertainers he met,...

Send us Fan Mail Long before Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson got credit for starting outlaw country, Johnny Cash was already living it.  This episode of Once Around the Country traces how a poor farm boy from Arkansas, born with only initials for a name, became the man behind one of the most legendary live albums ever recorded. The episode covers Johnny's growing outlaw reputation, his arre...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when two old friends reconnect after more than three decades? This week on Here’s What We Know, our host Gary Scott Thomas welcomes longtime Colorado radio personality Dave Jensen for a conversation filled with laughter, memories, and honest reflections about a business they both love. They revisit their days together at TRI 102.5 in Northern Colorado, swap stories th...

Send us Fan Mail If radio ever felt personal to you, this episode will bring back a lot of memories. This week on Here's What We Know , we sit down with Chicago radio legend Garry Meier, one half of the iconic Steve and Garry afternoon show that defined a generation of radio listeners.  Garry opens up about how Larry Lujack's sarcasm on WLS first pulled him toward broadcasting, what it w...

Send us Fan Mail What does it take to stay at the top of country music for five decades? This week on Here's What We Know , country music legend T.G. Sheppard joins us for a heartfelt conversation about the people, moments, and songs that shaped his remarkable career. T.G. shares unforgettable stories about his friendship with Elvis Presley, including the chance meeting that changed his life...

Send us Fan Mail If you grew up falling asleep to the radio under your pillow, hoping your parents wouldn't catch you, this one’s for you. This week on Here's What We Know , we welcome the legendary Mark Thompson of Mark & Brian for a conversation that goes way past the usual radio war stories. We’ll talk about the moment a program director named Bob Kagan changed Mark's entire...

Send us Fan Mail Most people expect a conversation about death to feel heavy. This one feels surprisingly hopeful. This week on Here's What We Know , we sit down with Mike Oppenheim, host of the podcast Coffin Talk, for a conversation about fatherhood, grief, faith, forgiveness, and the question every person eventually asks: What happens when we die? Mike shares the heartbreaking story of los...

Send us Fan Mail What really happened in the months leading up to the Declaration of Independence? Most of us learned the broad strokes of the American Revolution in school. Professor Robert G. Parkinson believes the real story is far more interesting and far more human. In this special episode of Here's What We Know , we sit down with the Binghamton University historian and author to explore...

Send us Fan Mail What keeps someone creating after the industry changes, the paycheck shrinks, and the path gets harder? This week on Here's What We Know , we welcome comedian, producer, and podcaster Deadair Dennis Maler for an honest conversation about radio, stand-up comedy, podcasting, and the lifelong search for your own voice. Dennis shares how growing up in punk rock shaped his do-it-y...

Send us Fan Mail What can golf teach you about life? This week on Here's What We Know , former PGA Tour professional Jay Delsing joins us to share lessons from 25 years competing at the highest level of golf. From stories about Tiger Woods and Jack Nicklaus to conversations about failure, resilience, mental toughness, and what separates elite athletes from everyone else. We also discuss why p...

Send us Fan Mail What keeps a person moving forward after loss, trauma, disappointment, and heartbreak? This week on Here's What We Know , we sit down with country music artist Michael Peterson, known for hits like Drink, Swear, Steal and Lie , From Here to Eternity , and When the Bartender Cries . Michael shares the story behind the music, how he survived a childhood marked by abuse, loss, a...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when the thing you love most becomes the thing you can never completely walk away from? This week on Here's What We Know, conductor and pianist Robert Emery returns for a conversation about creativity, music, and the curious ways our minds work. From practice rooms to Abbey Road Studios, Robert shares what life is really like for a professional musician, why crea...

Send us Fan Mail Why are people willing to spend thousands of dollars on concert tickets? Why do fans sit in online queues for hours, refreshing browsers and hoping they get lucky? And why do live experiences still matter so much when we can almost stream everything? This week on Here’s What We Know , Michael Dodsworth, CEO and founder of Fanfare, joins us for a conversation that starts with ticke...