Intersections - Oklahoma

Episode 60 – To have spent decades working both in front of the camera and behind it is what we talk about in this episode. Viewers in the Oklahoma Cit market have seen Dee’s name in credits here for many years now. Today, she is in her second decade of being a freelance producer of … Continue reading Dee Morales, Working both sides of the camera →

Episode 59 – Two aspects of Little Flower Church set the congregation and ministry apart from the rest of Catholic Churches in the Oklahoma City metro: First, they are and have been the key Catholic Parish in OKC that is focussed on the city’s Hispanic culture since their founding in 1922 at SW 10th Street … Continue reading Fr. Jorge Cabrera – Little Flower Catholic Church →

Episode 58 – Susan Moring sees the potential in working hard to build support for Oklahoma’s code developer boot camp called OK Coders. She doesn’t write code herself, but uses her organizational skills to put together a very popular and affordable boot camp in Oklahoma. The benefits to startups in Oklahoma are many. Rather than having … Continue reading Susan Moring on OK Coders boot camp →

Episode 57 – Aspasia Carlson is in her seventh year as principal of John Marshall High School in Oklahoma City Public Schools. Carlson explains some of her background and how that prepared her for leadership at John Marshall. She also talks about some of the deeper understandings of teachers and students that only long-term leadership … Continue reading Aspasia Carlson – Principal, trust-builder →

Bonus Episode 56 – From the same interview session as episode 55, Robert talks about the importance of Mariachi music in OKC for Hispanic children. He has been instrumental in getting Mariachi music taught in Oklahoma City Public Schools. In just the next year after three popular programs were started, two had to be eliminated … Continue reading Robert Ruiz – Mariachi band leader – music ed promoter →

Episode 55 – For the past several years Oklahoma City has had a Mexican Independence Day celebration held in various locations. Robert Ruiz, President of Scissortail Community Development Corporation, has been one of the key organizers. We talk about the development of the celebration and its meaning to local residents of Mexican descent who make up the … Continue reading Robert Ruiz – Strengthening Hispanic culture in OKC →

Episode 54 – Collin Walke was one of several urban Democratic Party candidates in this year’s election cycle to buck the statewide trend of the Republican Party gaining an even bigger super majority in the Oklahoma Legislature. Running and losing the race to represent House District 87 in 2014, he persisted and won this time. … Continue reading Collin Walke – New Democratic Party representative in a Republican state →

Episode 53 – Luke Crouch and Carlos Moreno are involved on their own unpaid time developing new tech tools to help all of the people of Tulsa connect to Tulsa city services and government. They are leaders in Code for Tulsa, an affiliate of Code for America, which promotes civic work by web and mobile … Continue reading Civic Hacking, Tulsa-Style →

Episode 52 – These two interviews were conducted during day 2 of the Thunder Plains code developer conference that is in its fourth year. Jesse and Amanda Harlin have provided core leadership of the conference and its sponsoring organization Techlahoma Foundation from the beginning. I talk with Jesse and Amanda about how Thunder Plains has … Continue reading Jesse and Amanda Harlin at Thunder Plains 4! →

Episode 51 – We interviewed attorney Craig Johnston before the debate began and then interviewed Amanda McClain-Snipes afterward. Both had some interesting and thoughtful insights on the candidates and the process. Thanks to Cathy and Sean Cummings for hosting the event at their restaurant, Vito’s.

Episode 50 – Sandino was our guest in episode one and now is back to check in at episode 50! We discuss what has changed – or maybe not changed – in a year when it comes to Maps for Neighborhoods and neighborhood issues in OKC. He is deeply involved in two organizations that help … Continue reading Sandino Thompson – Guest on episode 1, now 50! What has changed? →

Episode 49 – We visit with Cyndi once again almost a year later than her appearance on Intersections the first time. Then, she was only the second guest we had and she had completed a successful campaign to win the seat for Oklahoma House District 85 after the unfortunate death of long-time legislator David Dank. … Continue reading Cyndi Munson – Back into the neighborhoods of HD85 →

Episode 48 – In April, Ziva and reporting partner Cary Aspinwall were named finalists for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Local Reporting for their coverage in the Tulsa World of Oklahoma’s botched execution of Clayton Lockett. The same day they heard that news, they joined with Dylan Goforth and Kevin Canfield to begin working on … Continue reading Ziva Branstetter – Editor, investigative reporter, muckraker →

Episode 47 – In her third year teaching Art at Martin Luther King, Jr. Elementary in Oklahoma City Public Schools, Paxton is starting to see the value of longevity and continuity in teaching. We talk about that and about the things students learn from art beyond the mechanics of pencil to paper.

Episode 46 – Computer code developers have volunteered their time and knowledge to bring greater transparency to city governments across the U.S. Code for OKC is a group of like-minded code developers who are working to make the budget of Oklahoma City much more useable for people who are not used to looking at massive … Continue reading Matt Chandler – Developer – Code for OKC →

Episode 45 – Most ordinary people might recognize the name “DC on Film Row” as that cool, intimate outdoor music and party venue on the east end of the Film Row district. But “DC” stands for Dunlop Codding, the law firm that lends that space to the community. The firm protects intellectual properties, a unique, … Continue reading Doug Sorocco – Unique lawyer in a unique law firm →

Episode 44 – Matt spent considerable time in the rarefied environment of the Los Angeles television and film industries. Now he has moved back to Oklahoma to pursue a new life with his wife after their recent marriage and to pursue his expanding travel writing career. Because of Matt’s experience he has started The Point, … Continue reading Matthew Payne – TV and travel writer, teacher →

Episode 43 – Nearly 40 episodes after Angela was our guest the first time, we talk about the progression of her public school advocacy into electoral politics. Leading up to the primaries in June, she formed a Facebook group that promotes candidates for the Oklahoma Legislature who openly and passionately support public schools. It got … Continue reading Angela Clark Little – Mom, public school advocate, political target →

Episode 42 – As the principle of his firm, Robot House Creative, Brian leads two other members of his firm in developing brands for the boutique firm’s clients. But also, he is the writer for a comic book series that is now available in bookstores and Amazon. We talk about all of that and compare … Continue reading Brian Winkeler – Brand and comic book creative →

Episode 41 – Dallas has been willing to engage in the regular push and pull of social media squabbles over education politics in Oklahoma. His blog “Blue Cereal Education” has often made the thick-skinned teacher a lightning rod of criticism. But the intensity of criticism of bloggers like him increased when a group of teachers … Continue reading Dallas Koehn – Public school teacher – lightning rod →

Episode 40 – This episode was recorded and first published between the end of the Oklahoma City 48 Hour Film Project and the showing of the finished products on the following Sunday. I talk with Dennis, one of the entrants, about that short-deadline, high-pressure process and what it takes to produce a good product in … Continue reading Dennis Spielman – Filmmaker →

Episode 39 – First was the Unconference which led to OKC CoCo co-working space. Then came the 404 co-working space. Now, Tommy is once again in on another ground floor development of a new co-working space. This one is called StarSpace46. We talk about the opportunities that these co-working spaces have offered especially to startups … Continue reading Tommy Yi – Champion of tech co-working spaces in Oklahoma City →

Episode 38 – “Oklaed” has become a rally hash tag for many different people and groups who support public and publicly funded education in Oklahoma. Starting out as a joke, “Fierce women of Oklaed” turned into a social gathering of like-minded teachers and administrators from around the state. These are a few interviews that I … Continue reading Bonus Episode – “The fierce women of OklaEd” →

Episode 37 – The solitary computer coder alone in a room is just not how code is developed any more. Instead, according to Chatherine, it is a collaborative, team effort that takes strong communication and social skills. She tells us about working for a company that values kindness and what it means to be a … Continue reading Catherine Lippert – Code Developer, collaborator →

Episode 36 – The Black Lives Matter Rally in Oklahoma City on Sunday, July 10 was a positive experience for all of Oklahoma City. People at the rally were peaceful and passionate. The police connected with the crowd in a positive way. Tamya Cox was one of the speakers whose words did much to make … Continue reading Tamya Cox – Civil rights activist →

Episode 35 – Some people know Jack Fowler as that guy who has a show on KOSU’s The Spy on Sunday evenings. Others admire his paintings and are getting excited about the huge octopus mural that he is preparing to put on the side of a building in Bricktown. Yet, others know him as one … Continue reading Jack Fowler – Visual artist, writer, radio talent →

Episode 34 He’s seen a shooting and had his car stolen. But Forrest Bennett is still knocking doors and getting to know people in Oklahoma House District 92 which cuts across almost 10 major neighborhoods on the south and near north sides of Oklahoma City. This is what he’s talking about.

Episode 33 Maybe Bumbershoot PR firm takes different paths because that’s what founder Tracey Zeeck does. Starting at a small desk in her bedroom at home, she has developed a firm with four full-time employees and a summer intern, each carrying out multiple tasks to help a unique assortment of people and organizations reach their … Continue reading Tracey Zeeck – Growing a PR firm from one →

Episode 32 The 16th deadCENTER Film Festival just wrapped up their 16th festival. While using hundreds of dedicated volunteers, the festival’s staff is made up of only 4 people. As Director of Programing and Education, Kim Haywood is one of those. I talk with her about how this year’s dC went and how they put … Continue reading Kim Haywood – How to make deadCENTER film festival happen →

Episode 31 Bonus episode from the deadCENTER Film Festival in Oklahoma City “Yes, we are open” is the title of the short film that was on the Okie Shorts program at this year’s deadCENTER Film Festival. This is Yousef’s first film, so his reaction to the Q&A and the comments film-goers made afterward are touching.