Episode 56

Sex scandals and whistleblowers routinely make national headlines, but for years one Oklahoma whistleblower’s report has been swept under the rug. Dr. Whitney Louis was fired in January 2023 from her job as a prison psychologist at the Dr. Eddie Warrior Correctional Center in Taft, after she reported numerous instances of rape and sexual assault of inmates by prison staff. Jeremy Kuzmarov has the story.

In Oklahoma, just on the border of Kansas, stands a ghost town haunted not by ghosts or evil spirits but by extreme pollution. The abandoned town of Picher is part of the Tar Creek Superfund Site, so declared in 1983 due to contamination from mining operations. Over 40 years later, little cleanup progress has been made but two non-governmental organizations are working to change that. FBO’s Roma Carter has more.

In recent months the City of Tulsa has introduced myriad solutions to address the issue of homelessness. These programs and policy changes — ranging from additional shelters, increased access to services, and the installation of boulders at the Denver Avenue bus station downtown — have many Tulsans raising questions about how these decisions are made and whether they will achieve their intended outcomes. Listen to Carlos Moreno for more.

The third annual Legacy Open Rodeo will take place Saturday August 23rd in Purcell. Focus: Black Oklahoma is a sponsor of the Legacy Open Rodeo, which is the only rodeo in the state led by a woman. Jamie Glisson tells about this Oklahoma original.

It’s been said that "laughter is the best medicine," but when Sondra Slade was trapped at an airport gate with a loquacious lady, she had to come up with a new cure of her own.

 Focus: Black Oklahoma is produced in partnership with KOSU Radio & Tri-City Collective. Additional support is provided by the Commemoration Fund & Press Forward. Our theme music is by Moffett Music.

Focus: Black Oklahoma's executive producers are Quraysh Ali Lansana & Bracken Klar. Our associate producers are Smriti Iyengar, Jesse Ulrich, & Naomi Agnew.

Our production interns are Alexander Evans, Jordan Sinkfield, Jess Grimes, & Roma Carter.

You can visit us online at KOSU.org or FocusBlackOklahoma.com & on YouTube @TriCityCollectiveOK.

You can follow us on Instagram @FocusBlackOK & on Facebook at Facebook.com/FocusBlackOK.

You can hear Focus: Black Oklahoma on demand at KOSU.org, the NPR app, NPR.org, or wherever you get your podcasts.