The Cooper Cast Podcast

Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship and Producer Kodi , who once again reports for duty... provided there are enough treats to justify his appearance. This week, Dale and Kodi kick things off with a look at a brand-new, ultra-limited MINI edition created exclusively for one lucky country. Unfortunately for the rest o...

Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship and faithful Producer Kodi , who is once again AWOL...probably on the hunt for more treats. This episode finds Dale and Kodi taking another stroll through the ever-active world of the MINI Facebook groups , where the questions, advice, and occasional head-scratchers never seem to s...

Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship and Producer Kodi , who once again lends his quiet supervision from Cooper Cast HQ. This episode tackles a topic that's becoming all too common across social media: scammers infiltrating Facebook groups and the challenges of keeping online communities safe. Dale shares his fir...

Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship and Producer Kodi , who once again faithfully supervises the operation from his preferred spot somewhere near the nearest Milk Bone. This episode is all about the Cooper Cast Question of the Week ... although thanks to preparations for the Blue Ridge Parkway Tour , it gradually evo...

Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship and Producer Kodi , who are both happy to be back behind the microphone after a brief hiatus surrounding the Blue Ridge Parkway Tour. This episode brings us to the conclusion of our multi-part look at Holger Hampf’s vision for the future of MINI . Over the past several episodes, we...

 Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship and a surprisingly well-behaved Producer Kodi , who kept the interruptions, snoring, and snack negotiations to a minimum for this episode. This time around, we pick back up with our ongoing discussion about the state of the MINI brand and where it’s headed . In the last episode, w...

Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship and faithful sidekick Producer Kodi , once again helping oversee operations at Cooper Cast HQ. This episode starts with a story that perfectly captures something Dale has talked about for years: a new MINI owner accidentally discovered the real MINI community . Until recently, she...

Episode 134 – Dragon Rookie Question of the Week and a MINI that didn't wanna play well.  😄 This time around, Host Dale Blankenship and Producer Kodi dive into another great Question of the Week and hear some fantastic stories from Cooper Casters about their very first trip to the Dragon — whether it happened this year or more than 20 years ago. From nervous first runs to unforgettable mount...

Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship and a surprisingly quiet, well-behaved Producer Kodi , who chose professionalism over chaos for this episode… at least temporarily. This week, we take a look at the latest announcements coming from MINI Global , as MINI boss Jean-Philippe Parain lays out plans for the MINI lineup h...

Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship and Producer Kodi , who has finally recovered from his recent pharmaceutical adventures and resumed his important supervisory duties around Cooper Cast HQ. This episode serves as a general wrap-up of another successful MINIs On The Dragon , one of the most iconic gatherings in the...

Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship … and Producer Kodi , who is technically present but once again leaving the heavy lifting to Dale. In this episode, we kick things off with a look at a truly obscure MINI edition that most people have probably never even heard of—the MINI 1499 GT . It’s one of those limited-run mod...

Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship … who’s working hard this episode, while Producer Kodi is once again asleep on the job. And just to make matters worse, HR has reviewed the situation and is firmly on Kodi’s side , so don’t expect any disciplinary action anytime soon. In this episode, we kick things off with a look...

Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship and Producer Kodi , back on duty and ready to dig into another round of MINI chatter. This episode kicks off with a walk through the MINI Facebook groups , where the questions keep coming—fast, furious, and sometimes very familiar. Some are brand new, others have been floating arou...

Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship … and a completely out-of-it Producer Kodi , who is currently on doggy downers ahead of a vet appointment and contributing absolutely nothing except a slow, confused walk around Cooper Cast HQ. So with Kodi temporarily off duty, Dale is flying solo for this episode—and what better...

Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship and Producer Kodi , who is present… but currently contributing via light snoring in the background. This episode gets right to the point as Dale lays out real-world advice to help you avoid getting ripped off by the growing number of scammers infiltrating MINI Facebook groups. And...

  Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship and a silent Producer Kodi , who this week chose to supervise operations without offering any on-air commentary… for once. This episode is all about one of the most iconic events in the MINI world: MINIs On The Dragon . Dale gives a full rundown on what makes this event so specia...

 Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship and a well-behaved Producer Kodi holding down the control panel… also known as his doggy bed. This episode kicks off with a deep dive into the always enlightening Cooper Cast Question of the Week , and once again, the Cooper Casters delivered . Thoughtful, funny, and sometimes sur...

  Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , (after a brief hiatus) the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community with host Dale Blankenship and Producer Kodi , who is once again on duty… mostly supervising. Dale is powering through this episode while recovering from what can only be described as a triple threat combo —sinus infection, respiratory funk, and a full-on pollen invasion at Cooper Cas...

 Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community with host Dale Blankenship . This week, however, Producer Kodi is AWOL . He was feeling pretty rough Monday night but bounced back by the following evening—back to whatever “normal” looks like for an 85-pound Staffordshire Terrier who believes he owns everything he can see . In this episode, Dale kicks thing...

Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , the FUN podcast for the MINI motoring community, with host Dale Blankenship and his faithful sidekick Producer Kodi , who remains fully committed to quality control… as long as treats are involved. This episode kicks off with the unveiling of a new limited edition MINI Cooper . Dale walks through what makes this one special, what MINI got right (and maybe...

Episode 121 of the Cooper Cast podcast with host Dale Blankenship and Producer Kodi. For some weird reason, Dale is the voice of reason, and it's unfamiliar territory. MTTS isn't what a lot of people were looking for. But it's far from the end of the world. MTTS has had several versions over the 20 years of MTTS, and this really isn't as bad as all the doom and gloomers are whi...

Welcome to our Breaking News segment. Host Dale Blankenship, along with a sleeping Producer Kodi, tells us about a new name at the head of MINI USA. Sean Green. A 30+ year BMW/MINI employee. Started turning wrenches at a dealership and was previously with MINI China. Mike Peyton is gone, and Sean Green officially takes over officially May 1, 2026.  Good luck Sean, we're here to help. Just let...

 Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , with host Dale Blankenship and fur-covered, Milk Bone–chewing Producer Kodi , who continues to contribute commentary between snack breaks. This week, we kick things off with a quick but important conversation about an announcement concerning MINI Takes The States… maybe. Is it concrete? Is it speculation? Is it MINI being MINI? Dale breaks down what we kn...

 Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , with host Dale Blankenship and Producer Kodi , who slept through the entire episode, but will likely still want a treat.  This episode starts with a look at MINI’s decision to discontinue the diesel power plant , marking the end of an era for MINI’s evolving lineup. From there, we talk about something that many drivers will be happy to hear— the return of...

  Welcome back to The Cooper Cast Podcast , with host Dale Blankenship and the ever-intrepid Producer Kodi , who continues to earn speaking parts and snack privileges in equal measure. This episode kicks off with some exciting news: MINI is returning to professional rally racing—and in a big way. Dale talks about what’s happening, why it matters, and why seeing MINI back where it made so much of i...