The Oklahoma Observercast

If legislatures were to compete on Dancing With The Stars, Oklahoma’s would have an excellent shot at winning, given lawmakers’ exquisite tap dancing when it comes to oversight of state Superintendent Ryan Walters. Privately, supermajority Republicans – at least the sanest ones – are choreographing impeachment; publicly, they make like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, pirouetting […]

Three gun incidents – one resulting in the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old Midwest City High School student – marred the opening week of Oklahoma’s high school football season. For the latest Observercast –Frightful Night Lights – four-term Tulsa state representative and former Tulsa University football standout Monroe Nichols joins us to discuss gun violence, what […]

Tulsa Public Schools kept its accreditation, but don’t think for a minute that state Superintendent Ryan Walters is done wreaking havoc at the state’s largest school district – or sowing chaos in Oklahoma public education. For this week’s Observercast – The Hit Job On TPS – Tulsa Rep. Melissa Provenzano, herself a former principal and educator, […]

Oklahoma’s students returned to class this month amidst arguably the most toxic environment ever, courtesy of state Superintendent Ryan Walters. For this week’s Back-To-School Observercast, teacher-turned-Rep. Jacob Rosecrants, veteran teacher Sandra Valentine and Mid-Del Superintendent Rick Cobb help explain the challenges – and landmines – facing the state’s 500-plus districts, 700,000-plus students, their parents, teachers […]

After the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 anti-abortion ruling, Republicans pivoted quickly to new front in the Culture Wars: launching an all-out assault on the rights of transgender Americans. Oklahoma’s GOP supermajority played its part, following up restrictions it imposed on bathroom use and athletic participation with legislation that banned gender affirming care. For this week’s […]