The Oklahoma Today Podcast

You read it right. As Oklahoma Today magazine winds down in its final year of publication, we say goodbye to the Oklahoma Today Show, which has run in audio or video form for seven years. We could not think of a better way to close things out that with another visit from friend of the show Lucas Ross. While guest starring in our Braums farm and bakery tour, Lucas invited us to take a tour of the A...

The far northwest corner of Oklahoma is known for being open and desolate, which makes for incredible night sky conditions for star-gazing. This is no secret to the astronomy enthusiasts who have been gathering for the Okie-Tex Star Party since its first year in 1984. Star lovers of all experience levels are invited to come for a day or several days at this overnight camp in Kenton, which features...

Do you love supporting Oklahoma artists? Well, it doesn't get much bigger than the Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's annual 12x12 show. This annual fundraising event returns October 3, bringing works from 175 artists into one space at the Dunlap Codding building on Oklahoma City's Film Row. Attending the event not only helps support local artists, but it helps prop up the organization that spends 3...

Oklahoma can go toe to toe with any state in terms of musical talent and star power, making the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame in Muskogee a cultural heritage site for fans across the country and around the world. After such much-needed renovations, the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame is set for a grand reopening this Saturday. Executive Director Tony Corbell joins the show to talk about all the work tha...

It's back! The Oklahoma Today Show loves the Theatre Crude fringe festival, and we're continuing our preview coverage for another year. Theatre Crude is Oklahoma City's only fringe theatre festival, bringing a variety or unique, original, and sometimes one-off small productions through the city. Check their schedule because there truly is something for everyone. This year's performance venues for...

Football is back in Oklahoma! High school teams across the state recently kicked off the 2026 season. Who are the teams to watch for? Who are the future stars on the field now? And what are the gameday environments you have to see for yourself? Oklahoma television and radio personality Mark Rodgers, also the longtime publisher of the Oklahoma Pigskin Preview magazine, joins the Oklahoma Today Show...

Since 2022, Boom Town Creamery has been churning out some of the best small-batch frozen confections in Oklahoma City. And in a summer this hot, it’s never been a better time to visit. Boom Town founder Angela Muir is this week’s guest on the Oklahoma Today Show, talking about her inspiration for the business and all the thought behind their popular gourmet flavors. She even tries to teach Ben how...

Have you tried escargot before? Our host Ben hadn't . . . until he came to visit Alain Jeu at his new Oklahoma City restaurant Le Parisien. The iconic French snail dish stands out on the menu, but it is just one item on a long list of rich and cheesy creations right off the cobblestone streets of Paris. Ben gives it a taste test and learns more about what brought Jeu, a Los Angeles-based Frechman,...

Fans of the 2022 installment of the Predator film franchise Prey will not want to miss this year's Holba' Pisachi' Native Film Festival in Sulphur. The festival, now in its eleventh year at the Chickasaw Cultural Center, brings both producer Jhane Myers and lead actress Amber Midthunder to southern Oklahoma for the screening of the film. In addition to Prey, the film festival will present a variet...

The drive-thru sushi, hibachi, and bento box options at Oishii Express in The Village in northwest Oklahoma City is unlike most other roadside options diners have come to expect. The concept by Chef Ling Chi Wong (who also started Takaramono in OKC's Plaza District) opened earlier this year and has been greeted by great fanfare. Particularly popular are their sushi push pops—a clever contraption t...

With the Summer of Route 66 in full swing, Gathering Place in Tulsa is celebrating the centennial with a different kind of kicks. The Get Your Kicks shoe art competition pits more than twenty local area artists against each other to see who can create the most appealing work of art from a blank white tennis shoe. The results are quite impressive, and currently on display at Gathering Place's boath...

For those who have not been to MAHT in Oklahoma City yet, get in line now because there is a wait! Chef Kevin Lee's new American-style steakhouse with Korean flare in the Uptown 23rd District is as delicious as it is popular. Lee became a hot commodity locally with the buzz around the Birdie's Korean-style steakhouse in north Oklahoma City and grew in profile nationally with regular appearances on...

A longstanding tradition in Enid is the annual July 4 concert by Enid Symphony Orchestra, with gorgeous accompaniment by a spectacular fireworks display. As the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the United States' independence from England, the ESO is preparing an extra special production, titled The Night Sousa Came to Town. American composer and conductor John Phillip Sousa, known for h...

For travelers across Route 66, Meadow Gold Mack's in Tulsa is a must-stop. The twenty-foot-tall Bunyan-esque fiberglass muffler man out front is more than enough reason on its own, but head inside to see a collection of gifts and collectibles both quintessentially Oklahoma and unlike much else you'll encounter along your travels. Owner Mary Beth Babcock, Oklahoma Today's 2011 Oklahoman of the Year...

The Oklahoma Today Show is continuing its year-long celebration of the Route 66 centennial with a visit to an Oklahoma City boutique named, simply, Route 66. Owned and managed by Jeanette Koenig, the store inside the 50 Penn Place shopping center has been selling Mother Road and travel themed art and merchandise, among other carefully curated items like soaps and lavender, for years. We spoke with...

Much of this show's time and energy this year has been dedicated to honoring the hundredth birthday of The Mother Road, Route 66. This time, we are tipping our cap to a different sort of centennial. The historic Kumback Lunch in Perry observed its triple-digit birthday in April. In its day, the classic diner has seen everything from a legendary visit by Pretty Boy Floyd to the capture of Timothy M...

The El Reno onion burger is one of Oklahoma's greatest contributions to the American culinary landscape, and no trip down Route 66 is complete without trying at least one. The town of El Reno has no shortage of options, but Sid's Diner is one that is known worldwide for this regional burger variety. Adam Hall, owner of Sid's Diner, joins the show today to teach Ben and I Ate Oklahoma's Greg Elwell...

Recently named a top national cultural event by USA Today, the Black Wall Street Rally will bring thousands of motorcycles and motorcycle enthusiasts to the Tulsa area. But the event is so much more than just a motorcycle rally—it is a celebration of historic Black Wall Street's endearing entrepreneurial legacy and an opportunity to bring multiple communities together and stronger than ever. Organ...

You can't tell the Route 66 centennial story without talking to Michael Wallis. The Pulitzer-nominated nonfiction writer published Route 66: The Mother Road in 1990, and the start-to-finish guide to the highway is still considered an essential resource. His connection to the Route is so legendary he even earned a role as The Sheriff in the Cars movie when Pixar set out to make its own Mother Road...

Subscribers to Oklahoma Today have likely already seen our glorious new May-June issue celebrating all things Route 66 during this centennial year. The cover features a fantastic original work by Clint Stone jam-packed with all sorts of landmarks and Easter eggs from the state's stretch of the Mother Road. But it's much more than a magazine cover, it is a print you can treasure forever. A poster i...

One of Oklahoma City's favorite springtime traditions will celebrate its sixtieth year this week. The Festival of the Arts, organized by Arts Council Oklahoma City, will occupy downtown's Bicentennial Park April 23-26. Thousands of revelers will embark on the area near Civic Center Music Hall to peruse all the art vendor booths, enjoy live music, and sample delicious bites from the many food vendo...

Get ready for an inspiring and one-of-a-kind conversation on the Oklahoma Today Show as we welcome our first-ever international guest, Enric Casacuberta of Catalonia, Spain. Enric is taking on an extraordinary challenge—running the entire length of historic Route 66 over five months—not just for the adventure, but to honor a friend he lost to ALS and to raise awareness and funds for a devastating...

Traditionally, America's great stretches of rural highway have not been a haven for culinary conquest. You grab a soda and a bag of chips or maybe a hot dog from the easy mart and you hit the road again. Well, that norm is starting to change a bit. Fueling stations and truck stops are upping their food game, and those who once maligned the name of "gas station food" are starting to be more open mi...

For fifty years, the Tulsa-based nonprofit organization Up With Trees has been beautifying the community with thousands of trees planted annually. They not only put the tree in the ground, they are committed to the care of that tree for its entire life. On this week's Oklahoma Today Show, Up With Trees Executive Director Steve Grantham talks about the history and logistics of organizing Up With Tr...

Do heroes still exist? We can think of one. Oklahoma Today editor-in-chief Nathan Gunter reflects on his personal upbringing in Western Oklahoma and the inspiration he took from Thomas P. Stafford, the NASA astronaut who was born in the same town he grew up in. Today visitors to Weatherford, Oklahoma, can check out the Stafford Air and Space Museum, a loving tribute to the history of aviation and...