Latest Stateimpact Podcast Episodes
Oklahoma immigrant communities rally in face of state policy to arrest people in country illegally
StateImpact Oklahoma - April 25, 2024 11:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsAs a crisis continues on the U.S. Southern Border, Oklahoma lawmakers are among counterparts from about a dozen states taking things into their own hands. For StateImpact, Lionel Ramos reports on their efforts and the backlash they face from immigrant communities. Mentioned in this episode: So...
The end of pandemic-era federal dollars may mean the end for the school programs it funded
StateImpact Oklahoma - April 18, 2024 09:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsIn Tulsa, there are about 450 after-school programs at risk of shrinking to just 75 once ESSER funds are gone. One of those programs is an after-school gardening club at Tulsa Public Schools' Eugene Field Elementary. There, each participant gets a garden box to plan, decorate, plant and harvest...
First over-the-counter birth control pill offers family planning amid Oklahoma’s abortion ban
StateImpact Oklahoma - April 11, 2024 13:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsOpill, which was approved by the FDA last July, is the nation’s first over-the-counter birth control pill, and it’s hitting pharmacy shelves now. Mentioned in this episode: Social Media tags
Eclipse brings tourism and challenges as Oklahoma goes under the shadow of the Moon
StateImpact Oklahoma - April 03, 2024 13:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsAny point on the globe can expect to see a total solar eclipse about once every 400 years. This Monday, it’s far southeast Oklahoma’s turn. Mentioned in this episode: Social Media tags
What education measures are still alive at the 2024 legislative session’s halfway point?
StateImpact Oklahoma - March 28, 2024 10:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsLawmakers are at the halfway point in this year’s legislative session, and just a fraction of the education bills filed at the top of the session have survived big legislative deadlines. StateImpact’s Beth Wallis spoke with Oklahoma Voice education reporter Nuria Martinez-Keel about the bills th...
Oklahoma social workers face barriers in getting licensed, a bill could help them get to work faster
StateImpact Oklahoma - March 27, 2024 13:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsThis legislative session, lawmakers are working with faculty from OU’s School of Social Work and Oklahoma Healthy Minds Policy Initiative, advocating for Oklahoma’s requirements to be reduced to 3,000 hours. Mentioned in this episode: Social Media tags
Oklahoma paraprofessionals provide critical student services — but many are barely making ends meet
StateImpact Oklahoma - March 07, 2024 10:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsSchool support staff received a statewide pay raise after the 2018 Oklahoma Teacher Walkout, but while teacher pay remains a major legislative priority, support staff pay hasn’t. StateImpact’s Beth Wallis reports many paraprofessionals, who often provide critical support to students with disabil...
Watchdog agency failed to perform required inspections at elite Oklahoma high school plagued by culture of harassment
StateImpact Oklahoma - February 22, 2024 10:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsAn Oklahoma Watch investigation last year revealed a pervasive culture of harassment at an elite Oklahoma high school. StateImpact’s Beth Wallis spoke with Jennifer Palmer, the reporter behind the story, about a recent update: the agency responsible for addressing those issues failed to perform ...
What to expect from Oklahoma lawmakers on healthcare in 2024
StateImpact Oklahoma - February 14, 2024 13:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsAbortion restrictions, the ongoing opioid crisis and access to mental healthcare are in focus this legislative session. Jillian Taylor is StateImpact Oklahoma’s health reporter, and spoke with managing editor Logan Layden about what to expect from lawmakers in 2024.
What to expect from Oklahoma lawmakers on education in 2024
StateImpact Oklahoma - February 07, 2024 13:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsThe state legislature is back in session, and there’s no hotter topic than education policy. StateImpact education reporter Beth Wallis talked with StateImpact managing editor Logan Layden about what to expect from lawmakers in 2024.
Oklahoma’s Education Department awarded teachers life-changing bonuses — and created a nightmare for some by demanding them back
StateImpact Oklahoma - January 25, 2024 10:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsThe Department of Education overpaid at least $290,000 in teacher bonuses and is working to claw back the money mere months after it was distributed. Nine teachers have been issued demands for repayment, and five additional teachers are under review.
Shawnee enacts no sit, no lie ordinance as future for homeless residents is uncertain
StateImpact Oklahoma - January 18, 2024 03:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsAt least 150 of Shawnee's 30,000 residents are homeless. And because of an ordinance enacted this month, life might be getting a little more difficult for some of the community’s most vulnerable residents.
The road ahead for Tulsa Public Schools: five months into Walters’ mandated improvement plan
StateImpact Oklahoma - January 04, 2024 09:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsNo district in Oklahoma is under the State Board of Education’s microscope quite like Tulsa Public Schools. StateImpact’s Beth Wallis and OPMX’s Max Bryan have this update on how TPS’ state-mandated improvement plan is going so far and the work that lies ahead.
StateImpact Oklahoma on the year that was and what's next
StateImpact Oklahoma - December 21, 2023 13:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratings2023 is coming to a close, and it’s been an eventful year for StateImpact Oklahoma’s reporters. Managing editor Logan Layden talks with the team about highlights of this year and what to expect in 2024.
How Oklahomans are navigating the ‘chaos’ of SoonerCare unwinding
StateImpact Oklahoma - December 13, 2023 13:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsOver 300-thousand Oklahomans have lost SoonerCare coverage as state agencies remove ineligible people after a pandemic pause. StateImpact’s Jillian Taylor has more on how confusion around the Medicaid unwinding process is affecting members.
Tulsans regrow urban tree canopy after summer’s severe weather
StateImpact Oklahoma - December 07, 2023 13:00 - 3 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsSevere weather damaged thousands of trees in the Tulsa area earlier this year. A million cubic yards of green waste was collected, and many trees were bent or broken. StateImpact’s Britny Cordera reports on how the community is coming together to regow the city’s uban tree canopy.
'This is their story': Why a teacher in Osage County wants to teach Killers of the Flower Moon
StateImpact Oklahoma - November 30, 2023 09:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsThe new Killers of the Flower Moon movie is sparking a conversation about Oklahoma’s difficult history. But those conversations in schools are complicated by Oklahoma’s law limiting lessons that make students feel uncomfortable about their race or sex.
Oklahoma schools turning to the new, old way of teaching students to read
StateImpact Oklahoma - November 16, 2023 10:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsThe science of reading is returning to the limelight, and Oklahoma schools and universities are using those techniques to teach literacy to the next generation.
Oklahoma doesn’t mandate sex ed, some churches are trying to fill the gaps
StateImpact Oklahoma - November 02, 2023 13:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsSome Oklahoma churches are providing comprehensive sex ed to fill gaps in a state that doesn’t require it in schools.
An Oklahoma non-profit uses Hip-Hop to increase mental health awareness
StateImpact Oklahoma - October 26, 2023 13:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsA local non-profit is hosting rap battles and other events to advocate for mental health awareness in Oklahoma. The organization called SoulBody Cyphers is working to destigmatize conversations around mental health and cultivate a community of MC’s.
What Oklahomans need to know about student loan repayment
StateImpact Oklahoma - October 19, 2023 09:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsThis month, millions of Americans will have to make student loan payments after a three-year pandemic era pause. But since 2020, there have been some big changes made to the repayment system, and StateImpact’s Beth Wallis is here to break it down.
How is the first commercial rollout of COVID-19 vaccines going in Oklahoma?
StateImpact Oklahoma - October 12, 2023 13:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsAfter its recent FDA approval, the CDC recommended everyone six months and older get an updated COVID vaccine. But getting it hasn’t been easy for some Oklahomans, with appointments canceled day of due to insurance snags and issues finding a place that carries it.
Butterflies are on the move, and Oklahomans are keeping track of them in monarch conservation effort
StateImpact Oklahoma - October 05, 2023 13:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsMonarch butterflies, like many insects and birds, migrate twice a year, in the spring and in the fall. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, before the weather gets cold, monarchs travel over two thousand miles from North America to central Mexico to hibernate.
What does it mean for Oklahoma to partner with PragerU?
StateImpact Oklahoma - September 28, 2023 09:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsEarlier this month, State Superintendent Ryan Walters announced a partnership with conservative nonprofit media group, PragerU. Existing PragerU Kids content now populates the state’s social studies website, and Walters says PragerU and the State Department of Education are collaborating on an...
Oklahoma trans youth, providers face uncertainty in gender-affirming care access
StateImpact Oklahoma - September 21, 2023 12:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsA bill in Oklahoma banning all forms of gender-affirming care for trans youth was paused by Oklahoma’s attorney general amid litigation from the ACLU of Oklahoma. Now, trans youth and providers are coping with all the uncertainty.
OKC community comes together to collect data on impact of urban heat islands
StateImpact Oklahoma - September 13, 2023 13:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsMore than 250 volunteers collected temperature and air quality data around Oklahoma City through a community science project in August to study urban heat islands. StateImpact’s Britny Cordera reports the NOAA funded project could help the city prepare for extreme heat.
Oklahoma schools adapt recreational activities to sweltering summer heat
StateImpact Oklahoma - September 07, 2023 09:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsFaced with the dangers of excessive heat, educators around the state are getting creative to keep kids safe and cool while still providing recreational opportunities.
StateImpact Oklahoma welcomes health reporter Jillian Taylor
StateImpact Oklahoma - August 30, 2023 13:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsStateImpact Oklahoma’s health coverage informed listeners through the COVID-19 pandemic, the state’s voter-mandated expansion of Medicaid, and the opioid epidemic. StateImpact managing editor Logan Layden introduces us to Jillian Taylor, the new reporter continuing the work to tell health storie...
'I’m talking about what’s best for the Greenwood area': What the removal of a highway could do for Black Wall Street
StateImpact Oklahoma - August 24, 2023 13:00 - 4 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsTulsa’s North Peoria Church of Christ used to call Greenwood home. That was before I-244 displaced it and cut through historic Black Wall Street. StateImpact’s Britny Cordera talked with State Rep. Regina Goodwin, who represents the area and attends the church, about its legacy and a planning ...
What you need to know as Oklahoma’s state board of education weighs Tulsa Public Schools’ accreditation
StateImpact Oklahoma - August 17, 2023 09:00 - 5 minutes ★★★★★ - 12 ratingsNext Thursday, the State Board of Education will consider changing the accreditation status of the state’s largest school district, Tulsa Public Schools. This comes after over a year of remarks from State Superintendent Ryan Walters targeting the district. StateImpact’s Beth Wallis and Public Ra...
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