The Oklahoma Today Podcast

At this point, hip-hop artist Jabee is an Oklahoma City icon, but it's about time to take his profile to a more national level. Thankfully he is in good company to do just that. Earlier this year Jabee announced his signing to hip-hop's prestige indie music label, Mello Music Group. His first release with MMG, the eight-song mini-album The Spirit Is Willing But The Flesh Is Weak—featuring a guest verse by underground rap sensation Quelle Chris and production from the likes of Conductor Williams, Evidence, and Apollo Brown—debuted on streaming services this past Friday. Jabee, fresh off a West Coast flight following a marathon weekend at his Peace Needs OKC conference that included the legendary Chuck D as speaker, graced the Oklahoma Today Podcast with an interview previewing the new release.

 

Also on this week's episode, the editors get cute about their favorite at-home animals, and podvents shows us why Merle Haggard will now forever be an Okie in Muskogee. You won't want to miss it!

For many, thoughts of stage performances churn up images of tear-jerking musical numbers, Shakespearean soliloquies, and highly structured dramas of literary significance. While this type of theater is awesome, the truth is there are no limits to what a stage production can be. Fans who want to experience some truly unique performances would be wise to head to the Theatre Crude Fringe Festival October 10-19 in Oklahoma City's Paseo Arts District. Festival co-founder Adam Brand joins the show to tell us what exactly fringe theater is and what unique productions fans can expect to see this year.

Also on this week's show, the editors share their favorite karaoke tunes and podvents shows us why books are still superior to social media. You won't want to miss it!

Ferris wheels, fried foods, and farm animals—you know where to go to find them all. The State Fair in Oklahoma City is over, but fair season lives on in Oklahoma as the Tulsa State Fair begins September 26. Amanda Blair, the Tulsa fair's vice president and chief operating officer, joins this week's podcast as our featured guest to talk about what people can expect from this year's fall-time festival and why she thinks state fairs never go out of style. 

Also on this week's show, the editors share their favorite thing about the fall season, and we welcome videographer Chris Cook to the OKT Pod crew. You won't want to miss it!

Sometimes things we think will be temporary stops in our life turn into lifelong fixtures. This is exactly what happened to Brandy Adkins, who opened Flo's Burger Diner in Catoosa with the intention of building up her culinary career and eventually selling it off—not realizing she would fall in love with the place. Brandy, who also runs Flo's Smokehouse Eats in Tulsa and the catering company Yes Chef Tulsa, joins this week's podcast to talk about how her food career has taken off in the past several years. A fair warning: Descriptions of Flo's creative burger menu may cause sudden feelings of intense hunger.

Also on this week's episode, the editors discuss their favorite child-approved travel destinations in the state, and podvents gives us two Bobs for the price of one. You won't want to miss it!

Any and every good restaurant starts with good people, and few realize that more than Kindt Myers, newly appointed Vice President of People for Oklahoma City-based The Social Order restaurant group. Myers joins the podcast as this week's guest to discuss his new role with the group and its brands, which include the Jones Assembly, Spark, Dave's Hot Chicken, and Fuzzy's Tacos. We're already getting hungry! 

Also on this week's show, the editors discuss their favorite food trucks around the state, and podvents takes us back to the Oklahoma State Fair. You won't want to miss it!

Art museums are primarily known as spaces to view art, and the OSU Museum of Art in Stillwater certainly has thought-provoking works to capture the imagination of guests. However, the university museum also aims to provide a space for the community to engage with their own creativity. Marketing coordinator Casey Ihde joins this week's podcast to discuss the facility's unique programming and any-time ArtLab that help visitors discover their inner artist. 

Also on this week's show, the editors discuss their own creative hobbies, and Ben proves himself the master of illusion in podvents. You won't want to miss it!

A new season of college football is finally upon us—practically an annual holiday in the state of Oklahoma. Every new season brings a new sense of excitement and opportunity, but it's perhaps never been more true than this year. OU and Texas are leaving the Big 12 conference for the SEC, leaving OSU to hold down the fort in a conference that has newly added Utah, Arizona, Arizona State, and Colorado. What will life be like for the Sooners in their new home? We're bringing on none other than the Sooner Football radio voice himself, Toby Rowland, on as our guest of the week to discuss just that. This is college football's season of change across the board, and by proxy it's bringing some changes into Toby's life as well. Hear Rowland take us behind the scenes on how the new league effects his work, preview upcoming opponents, and pine for the much-anticipated arrival of an overhauled postseason.

Also on this week's episode, the editors reminisce on their own Oklahoma alma maters, and Ben brushes up on facial hair for podvents. You won't want to miss it! 

There is no doubt that Oklahoma City's food profile nationally has risen in the past several years—in no small part due to the contributions of the James Beard Award Southwest winning chef Andrew Black. We recently caught up with Chef Black at his newly opened restaurant Perle Mesta, located inside Oklahoma City's historic Skirvin Hilton hotel, which is the same location the chef got his culinary start in Oklahoma at the former Park Avenue Grill. In this new interview, Chef Black discusses the fresh and stellar menu at Perle Mesta and characterizes his other proven local concepts such as Black Walnut and Grey Sweater.

Also on this week's podcast, the editors reveal the most delicious thing chilling in their fridge at home, and podvents brings us friends in show places. You won't want to miss it!

What started as a story in Oklahoma Today is now a full-fledged book. Writer Susan Dragoo—a frequent contributor to Oklahoma Today magazine—published her new historical nonfiction account of the Butterfield Overland Mail stagecoach route, titled Finding the Butterfield: A Journey Through Time In Indian Territory, in July. The old mail route stretched from St. Louis, Missouri, to San Francisco, California, cutting through the Rocky Mountains and a stretch of modern-day Oklahoma in Indian Territory. Dragoo joins this week's podcast to shed some light on the history of the short-lived route and tell us what remains for the curious to see today. Visit susandragoo.com/butterfield-oklahoma for purchasing information. 

Also on this week's podcast, the editors discuss the oft-debated topic of Oklahoma's best burger, and in podvents Karlie tells us about a week-long paint party in OKC. You won't want to miss it! 

When it comes to states with wild historic stories, Oklahoma can go toe-to-toe with any. From Indigenous dwelling pre-contact to land runs and oil booms, this state has produced a lot of big moments and unforgettable characters. Thankfully, we have the Oklahoma History Center Museum in Oklahoma City to document all those twists and turns. As summer break ends and schools return to session, the History Center plays a big role in stimulating young minds. Museum Deputy Director Sarah Dumas joins this week's podcast to discuss all the exciting exhibits and programming going on in August and the coming months.

Also on this week's show, the editors discuss which past or present Oklahoman they'd most want to have dinner with, and Karlie spins a convincing yarn in podvents. You won't want to miss it!