Let's Pod This

It's been a busy week! Andy summarizes several recent, relevant stories: Proposal to eliminate requirement for sex education  Grocery sales tax reduction & its impact on the state budget OK County selects location for new jail Drummond dismisses suit against ClassWallet, again Edmond School Board fights back against State Dept of Education Proposed changes to the ballot initiative process...

Andy is joined by James Davenport , Associate Dean for Social Sciences at Rose State College and noted Libertarian, to discuss governance, civility, and what civic engagement really means.

Governor Stitt delivered his sixth annual State of the State address to joint session of the Oklahoma legislature and we noticed a higher-than-usual amount of religious content. Given our conversation last week with Rev. Dr. Shannon Fleck and the rise of Christian nationalism across the country, we felt it important to highlight those excerpts for you. You can also listen to the full speech at the...

We're joined by Rev. Dr. Shannon Fleck, executive director of the Oklahoma Faith Network , to discuss how they bring together the interfaith community and how to understand white Christian nationalism so that we can fight it together.

We're joined by Arielle Mizrahi, Partnerships Manager for Unify America , a national nonprofit that creates interactive experiences to help people bust out of their bubbles, build civic muscles, and work together to tackle our country’s biggest challenges.

Recorded with a live studio audience, Andy and Scott reflect on 250 episodes , engage the audience with some Oklahoma history trivia, and are joined on stage by Labor Commissioner Leslie Osborn and state Senator Julia Kirt.

We're joined by Colleen McCarty from the Oklahoma Appleseed Center for Law and Justice about their work on criminal & juvenile justice, education justice, elections justice, and pretty much every other kind of justice. Click here for tickets to our 250th Episode party!

Andy is joined by LFT policy fellow Cooper Marshall to for a round-robin update on federal government gridlock, Oklahoma legislative special session, and upcoming elections.

Andy visits with Brad Senters from ShelterWell , an Oklahoma City-based nonprofit fostering a spirit of connected community that is centered on the belief that housing is a human right.

Andy visits with Dr. Emily Stacey, professor and program director of political science at Rose State College. Check out the Oklahoma Voice !

In the gap between elected officials, citizen activists, and professional advocates, there exists another way you can shape policy: serving on a board or commission. In this episode, Andy speaks with Constanzia Nizza, chief of staff at the Oklahoma Office of Juvenile Affairs, about the hundreds of boards and commissions in our state on which people can serve, how to apply, and why it's necessary f...

Andy visits with Nicole Bauman, Advocacy Coordinator at CAIR Oklahoma , about her role at the organization and her perspective on advocacy more broadly.

Andy visits with local rapper, restauranteur, activist, and now, nonprofit leader, Jabee about the launch of Live Free OKC , an organization addressing gun violence in our community, and Jabee's very personal connection to the cause.

The battle over tribal gaming compacts heats up, Oklahoma County Commissioner Brian Maughan discusses the SHINE Program , and even some throwback theme music! Links mentioned: Treat formally requests Drummond intervention in tribal gaming lawsuit Second time a charm: Senate overrides Stitt to extend two sets of tribal compacts ‘An extraordinary act’: Drummond enters lawsuit over tribal gaming comp...

We visit with Bruce Caplinger, one of our supporters who teaches U.S. citizenship classes in the OKC metro area, about the citizenship process. Below are links to the citizenship test and mock interview questions. For Bruce's contact info, visit this blog post on our website. 100-question citizenship test Mock citizenship interview questions

Visit CivicsCon.com to get tickets and see the full, amazing speaker lineup. Don't miss it.

Andy and Scott discuss today's federal indictment of former president Donald Trump and do a quick wrap-up of the first regular session (and part of the first special session) of the 59th Oklahoma legislature. Will more happen next week? Yes, but we'll address that then. Former president Donald Trump has been indicted on 38 federal counts of obstruction of justice and other charges. Read the indict...

If you feel like life is really hard right now, you're right, and you're not alone. This episode is a quick PSA from Andy, less about politics and more about being resilient.

Andy is joined by Pastor Mac from First AME Church in OKC to discuss public policy, religion, community, and our collective power to reshape our state.

Andy & Scott discuss the legislature's agreement on education funding, the State Treasurer's performative (and hurtful) ban on banks with ESG funds, and AG Drummond doing the bare minimum to win hearts & minds. Education deal: Teacher pay, maternity leave and formula tweaks to unlock tax credit bill (NonDoc) OK Senate leader offers hope OETA will be funded despite Stitt veto controversy (T...

With just two weeks until sine die , Andy and Scott are joined by Emma Morris , fiscal policy analyst at Oklahoma Policy Institute, to discuss how the state budget is shaping up, why the process is so secretive, and how the state could (and should) do it differently. Links discussed: Superintendent Ryan Walters Calls Oklahoma Teacher Unions a ‘Terrorist Organization’ ( The Oklahoman ) Five transge...

It's a McCall vs Treat vs Stitt cage match and the losers are all of us - Oklahomans at home who just want to watch OETA and send our kids to public school. Is that too much to ask?

Andy & Scott get a little spicy discussing Governor Stitt's comments to a reporter how he plans to address homelessness, how he chose not to re-appoint Ryan Walters as Secretary of Education, and how he wants to give Panasonic $245M in free, up-front money to lure them to our state (after they already walked away once). Other things you should watch & read: Last Week Tonight with John Oliv...

Another week, another story (or two!) about Attorney General Gentner Drummond. First, we discuss how Drummond "clapped back" at Ryan Walters and the State Board of Education for approving rules without legal authority to do so, and then we analyze why Drummond dropped charges against state Rep. Terry O'Donnell while also calling him guilty. And finally, we discuss how high turnout in Edmond dashed...

Trump is indicted, another state rep was arrested, and is Ryan Walters distracting us from what the legislature is doing with education funding? Also: let's dream big dreams together!