Voices of OKC

Chris Beall remembers believing his ministry was over. After admitting years of hidden behavior and infidelity, he resigned and began a long process of rebuilding his marriage and life. One part of that process took place in a small car outside Home Depot, preparing himself to walk into an ordinary workday. In this conversation with Jed Chappell, Chris describes what changed when honesty became a...

Ariel Moore, author of Divine Authenticity, joins Jed Chappell to reflect on addiction, motherhood, faith, and rebuilding a life. She describes the practical support that gave her room to change, the spiritual life she developed, and the freedom of bringing her whole story into the open. Together, they consider how relationships, opportunity, and a safe place to belong can change what someone sees...

Jacobi Winslett reflects on Oklahoma City mentorship and the adults who helped him see more possibilities for his life. From an after-school program at Novo Ministries to changes in education and work, he considers what that early attention means now. His conversation with Jed Chappell connects leading by example at TimberCraft Homes with a renewed desire to give younger people his time. Content n...

Joey Chappell of Open Vessels Oklahoma City talks about practical care—and why helping a neighbor cannot depend on being thanked. A home repair may look like a small job from the street. For the person living there, it can change daily life. Joey Chappell joins his brother Jed to talk about the people behind those needs and the work of Open Vessels. Their conversation moves from family and persona...

Kristina Mills, an educator and Survivor contestant, talks about living with grief while making room for laughter, family and new challenges. She joins Jed Chappell to explore what supportive friendship can look like, how the game changed her sense of identity, and why moving forward does not mean leaving the person you miss behind. What this conversation explores - Laughter and ordinary family li...

Dr. Paula Brown, an author and Oklahoma City parent, examines generational curses and the family patterns people can mistake for normal. Drawing from her Trinidad and Tobago roots, motherhood, faith, education, and lived experience, she and Jed Chappell consider how honest recognition, safe adults, counseling, and practical choices can help interrupt a cycle without reducing a family to its hardes...

Scott Jones, CEO of Husky Fat Promotions, is building a path for Oklahoma kickboxing from local gyms toward the international stage. He talks with Jed about turning a memorial show into a growing fight promotion, the discipline that separates trained fighters from bravado, and the pressure of building something ambitious with a small team. What this conversation explores: - The origin and growth o...

Artie Brylev left Russia to escape religious persecution and built a career at Battison Honda. He talks work, family, reputation and making opportunity intentional in Oklahoma City. Artie grew up in the former Soviet Union, where his religious family practiced under a system that restricted public faith. In New York, $20 in spending money gave him an early reality check. Later, a busboy job at Jun...

Chris Crook, founder of the Chris Crook Foundation and an Oklahoma City youth mentor, uses basketball mentorship to meet middle school boys on common ground. He traces the path from Millwood and McPherson College to an Oklahoma City Blue workout opportunity, then speaks candidly about entitlement, gratitude, faith, and the work of rebuilding authentically. In this conversation: - The childhood cam...

Les Thomas Sr., Urban Bridge's Executive Director of Community Engagement and Oklahoma State's Hype Man of Hope, shares what it took to move from anger without a blueprint to a life of mentorship and service. The conversation explores fatherhood, emotional growth, afterschool access, and why Oklahoma City must see potential before problems in its young people. What this conversation explores: - Th...

An apartment fire can take a home in minutes. Recovery takes much longer. Sabrina Smith joins Jed Chappell to talk about losing her home, business equipment, and irreplaceable family memories in a devastating apartment fire. With her daughters depending on her, Sabrina moved into crisis mode before she had time to process what had happened. She shares the practical and psychological realities that...

Caitlin Ferguson spent years trying to understand where she belonged. Growing up biracial, navigating different faith traditions, and later surviving sexual assault, addiction, and mental-health crisis, Caitlin often felt unseen and uncertain about her identity. In this honest conversation, Caitlin shares how faith, healthy relationships, and serving others helped her begin rebuilding her life. Sh...

Lydell Rhodes is 33-9 with 17 knockouts. He fought a world title eliminator his opponent's own coach told him he'd won, watched the fighter ranked seventh skip past him to the belt, and came home to Oklahoma City to build the thing he never had growing up. This is a conversation about obsession, being robbed, and what you do next. What this explores: - The Pepsi warehouse job at 4 a.m. that turned...

Lee Roland led a school turnaround through relationships at Tulakes Elementary - starting with trust, adult culture, and the belief that families had already sent the best children they had. He says the school's final two years under his leadership saw one student suspended, stronger achievement, and teachers waiting for openings. Summary Lee sits down with Jed to trace the roots of that leadershi...

Zack Davis — OKC realtor, investor, and host of the Keep Going Podcast — is a direct descendant of Quanah Parker. He shares the story of his first Comanche gourd dance, two years after losing his grandfather, and the $300-paycheck low point that nearly ended his real estate career before it started. What this conversation explores: - Growing up in Del City and Moore with a single mom and "a lot of...

Blake Raney expected aviation to be about flying. Over time, it became a way to serve people who often feel unseen. Blake, founder of SPAIRROW, joins Jed Chappell for a conversation about aviation, calling, business as service, prison ministry, fatherhood, and building a foundation before the storm. He shares how an unexpected appointment to Oklahoma’s aerospace and aeronautics work challenged his...

Chef Andrew Black, Oklahoma City restaurateur and 2023 James Beard Award winner, traces the discipline behind his work - from Saturday mornings in his grandmother's Jamaican kitchen to building restaurants in the city he now calls home. He and Jed Chappell talk about consistency, mentorship, staying present, handling roadblocks, and creating businesses that serve more than the people at the table.

Brad Carter, Oklahoma City’s Ward 1 Councilman, joins Jed Chappell to ask what the city must protect as it grows. They discuss transparent public service, listening across political divides, jobs and AI, recovery, homelessness, and the Oklahoma Standard Carter hopes will still define OKC for the next generation.

Kristina Mills did not apply for Survivor because she loved camping. In fact, she had never been camping before. She applied because she felt stuck. After walking through postpartum depression, losing her mother to a fentanyl overdose, and realizing her kids could see the sadness she was carrying, Kristina knew something had to change. So she recorded a simple 60-second audition video and sent it...

Most people see after-school programs as activities, games, and homework help. Christian Matthews sees something deeper. As Program Coordinator at City Center, Christian spends his days helping students navigate challenges that often have nothing to do with academics. Behind many behavioral issues are stories of loneliness, bullying, family struggles, anxiety, and a longing to be understood. In th...

Brooke Freeman never planned to become a farmer. After years working as a NICU nurse, she found herself wrestling with a simple question: How do we truly help people become healthier? That question eventually led to the creation of Natural Freedom Farm, a nonprofit farm dedicated to growing fresh, nutrient-dense produce for families who might not otherwise have access to it. In this conversation,...

There’s a line Daniel Haynes says in this conversation that quietly captures the entire heart of the episode: “When something is led by love, no one gets left behind.” Daniel is the founder of Skyward Financial Solutions, a Certified Fraud Examiner, and co-founder of Live Full alongside his wife, Raven. But more than titles, Daniel is someone deeply committed to stewardship, integrity, family, and...

Some students are carrying pain they do not yet have words for. They may not know if they are angry, sad, scared, overwhelmed, or simply tired. They just know something feels off. And too often, the adults around them rush to correct behavior before they understand what is underneath it. In this episode of Voices of OKC, Jed Chappell sits down with Jordan Miller and Stuart Bennett from Generation...

Some people feel behind before they have even had a fair chance to begin. Behind in their career. Behind financially. Behind relationally. Behind the version of life they thought they were supposed to have by now. Carey Conley hears that often from young adults. And in this episode of VOICES of OKC, she talks with Jed Chappell about why vision matters so deeply in that season of life. Carey is an...