Oklahoma, told by its people.
This is Oklahoma is a long-running interview show built around local memory and state pride. Episodes move from rodeos, museums, foundations, casinos, golf trails, and public service into wider stories about why Oklahoma matters to the people living it.
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This is Oklahoma is a sprawling local interview archive built around the people, institutions, events, and personal histories that give Oklahoma its shape. It is not slick documentary storytelling. It is closer to sitting in a room while someone explains how a rodeo survives, how a museum exhibit gets built, why a foundation matters, or how a Route 66 golf idea turns into something much bigger than expected. The show’s strength is patience. Mike Hearn gives guests room to talk, and the conversation often finds its point gradually rather than forcing one early. Recent episodes move across a wide map. Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo brings in Panhandle tradition. Colonel Kelly Hines brings military service and Oklahoma Senate life into view. Chairman Jake Keyes and Joe Scibetta connect tribal leadership, casino operations, and Oklahoma business. Neil and Alex return to explain Okie School of Adventure after years away. Blaire Atkinson’s Stillwater conversation leans into foundation work and personal connection. Kristina Mills brings a reality television thread through Survivor 49. David Davis opens up museum work, Route 66 material, security, exhibits, libraries, and the practical labor of making history visible. Sticks on 66 turns public golf courses, tourism, and Route 66 into a surprisingly expansive Oklahoma story. The episodes can spend real time on greetings, sponsors, locations, and familiar names. That looseness is part of the texture. It makes the show feel embedded in the same community it describes. This is a good fit for listeners who care about Oklahoma beyond headlines: its rodeos, museums, campuses, tribal communities, tourism projects, local businesses, and returning guests. The show works best when a guest begins with one concrete detail and the conversation slowly widens into a sense of place.
Made for: For listeners who care about Oklahoma communities, local history, civic life, tourism, schools, sports-adjacent culture, and the personal stories behind familiar state institutions. It suits anyone who enjoys relaxed interviews more than tightly edited narrative shows.
What sets it apart: The show’s edge is its unusually deep Oklahoma focus and its comfort with letting local guests define what matters. Rather than chasing national angles, it builds meaning from rodeos, museums, campuses, tribal leadership, Route 66 ideas, and everyday state pride.
Mike Hearne interviews Oklahomans and those who have made Oklahoma home. Talking about their businesses, why they love this state and more.
Medieval books meet Route 66 golf, and your Oklahoma curiosity gets the introductions.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
The work behind a display, from collections access to the pressure of making people stop and look.
The piece stays strongest when it follows museum and collection work into the ordinary pressure of making an object visible without letting a busy room become a gallery.
A Route 66 golf idea grows from a local plan into a cross-country trail.
This episode tracks the making of the Route 66 golf trail with a steady, practical eye. It starts with a search limited to public 18-hole regulation courses and the question of how far off Route 66 a course can sit before it no longer counts.
A frack-innovation story turns on basketball, divorce, loss, and the hard work of starting over.
A seven-year run in frack innovation gives the episode its spine, but the human route in is more grounded than technical. The guest's past as a basketball rebounder and literal trash man sets up a story about work, stamina, and reinvention before the conversation turns to…
A family makes room for adventure by shaping travel around comfort, curiosity, and familiar food.
Family travel here becomes a practical lesson in making space for each other. Cruising gives the guest's wife a more comfortable way to travel, while Alex, whose autism shapes the foods he eats, gets a familiar base from which to explore new places.
Ira Glass frames weekly theme-driven segments spanning family secrets to Portland's protest conflict.
Shankar Vedantam unpacks the psychology behind relationships, careers, and money through researcher interviews.
David McRaney interviews researchers on cognitive bias, motivated reasoning, and why minds change.
Ryan Holiday pairs daily Stoic lessons with long-form guest conversations at his Texas bookstore.
NHPR's Jason Moon investigates the Bear Brook barrel murders and a New Hampshire wrongful-conviction case.
Mike Hearn interviews Iowa Tribe Chairman Jake Keyes and Caesars SVP/GM Joe Scibetta about the new Harrah's Casino Oklahoma opening April 9th in Chandler.
This episode of This is Oklahoma features an interview with the Buffalo Man, celebrating 10 years of Zonly, recorded at Z Studio in Edmond.
This episode features an interview with philanthropist Anne Morris Greenwood, exploring her story and contributions in Oklahoma, recorded at the Steelwoods building named after her and her husband.
Mike Hearn interviews Neil and Alex from the Okie School of Adventure, revisiting them four years after their first appearance.
This is Oklahoma host Mike Hearn interviews historian Bob Blackburn and Oklahoma Historical Society leader Trey Thompson about Blackburn’s career, storytelling, and institutional legacy.
This episode features Ken Stonecipher and Brooke Kidding from the Guymon Pioneer Days Rodeo, discussing the history and traditions of this Oklahoma rodeo event that has been running since 1933.
This episode features an interview with Jake Heese, chairman of the Iowa Tribe, and Joe Scibetta, discussing Harrah's Casino Oklahoma and tribal business operations.
This episode features Neil and Alex from the Okie School of Adventure discussing their work and experiences after nearly four years away from the podcast.
This episode features an interview with Blaire Atkinson, President of the OSU Foundation, discussing her role in fundraising and her connection to Oklahoma State University.
This episode features an interview with Kristina Mills, a contestant from Survivor 49, discussing her experiences and connection to Oklahoma.
The guest talks through a museum-and-library exhibit with a practical collections eye.
The episode traces the making of a Route 66 golf trail.
This episode features Michelle Cramer discussing her organization, Angels' Wings, sharing stories from Oklahoma and connections made at Photocon.
A guest starts with a sports memory.
Mike Hearn interviews Linda Vater about moving from Indiana to Oklahoma and building a public life around gardening, design, and lifestyle content.
This episode features an interview with Hunter Reilley, a hunting guide and storm chaser, discussing his experiences and content creation in Oklahoma.