OK PolicyCast

This is episode 50 and also my last episode as a host of the OK PolicyCast, because my last day at OK Policy was July 5th. With OK Policy's founder and long-time executive director David Blatt also passing the torch later this year, we decided to do something special for this episode. David and I sat down with former OK PolicyCast co-host, now Tulsa City Councilor, Kara Joy McKee, to talk about our memories from the last decade with OK Policy.

Nehemiah Frank is the founder and executive editor of The Black Wall Street Times, an online newspaper that covers news relevant to the black community in Tulsa and social justice issues affecting all Tulsans and Oklahomans. We talked about the history of Black Wall Street, including some of the aspects of that history that haven't gotten as much attention, even amid renewed focus on the 1921 race massacre.

A state budget deal for fiscal year 2020 was revealed last Wednesday, and it's likely to receive final passage in the Legislature today. To get more insight into the budget deal, I spoke with OK Policy's Executive Director David Blatt, as well as our new senior policy analyst covering budget and tax issues, Paul Shinn.

Tyler Parette works on some of the hardest problems in society of homelessness, addiction, and mental illness, not from the remove of a news article or policy paper, but making relationships directly with the people affected. Tyler shares with us how powerful it is not just for people they are helping, but how it can be a life-changing experience for the volunteers too.

Our guest today is Linda Allegro, the Project Director of New Sanctuary Network Tulsa. This project was started as a collaboration between Tulsa religious leaders of different faiths and denominations, and it's goal is protect Tulsa residents and families threatened by wholesale deportation. Linda speaks eloquently about how current approaches to immigration enforcement are breaking apart families, hurting public safety, and wasting tax dollars.

In this episode, I spoke with Angela Monson about the campaign to expand health coverage in Oklahoma. Monson has been involved with health care advocacy going back to the 1980s, and today, she is helping to bring together a coalition to push for bringing our federal tax dollars home to help more than 100,000 uninsured Oklahomans gain coverage.

In our last episode, we heard from David Blatt and Carly Putnam about the big issues and bills we're following this year related to the state budget and health care. This episode brings you part 2 of that bill watch series, with criminal justice analyst Damion Shade, education analyst Rebecca Fine, and economic opportunity analyst Courtney Cullison.

OK PolicyCast 43: 2019 BIll Watch, Part 1

OKPolicyCast 42: The 2018 OK Policy Holiday Gift Guide

OKPolicyCast 41: Fair Wages and Overtime for State Workers (with Sterling Zearley)

OKPolicyCast 40: In prison for what's now a misdemeanor (with Damion Shade and Colleen McCarty)

OKPolicyCast 39: Bad Voter, Good Voter (with David Glover)

OKPolicyCast 38: All The State Questions (with David Blatt and Carly Putnam)

OKPolicyCast 37: Together Oklahoma (with Sabine Brown)

OKPolicyCast 36: Back to School (with Rob Miller)