Oklahoma politics with the gears exposed.
This Week in Oklahoma Politics tracks the machinery of Oklahoma government with a newsroom tone and a practical sense of stakes. Its conversations move from the week’s headline into budgets, lawsuits, agencies, campaigns, and the procedural choices that shape daily life in the state.
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This Week in Oklahoma Politics is a weekly KOSU conversation about the institutions, personalities, and policy choices shaping Oklahoma. It does not treat state politics as background noise. The show follows budgets, lawsuits, elections, education rules, agency audits, tribal-state conflicts, and candidate drama with a steady eye on practical consequences. Its usual shape is simple and effective: start with the headline, ask what happened, then work through why it matters. The pace is brisk. The analysis is not flashy. Panelists tend to explain the process behind the story, from legislative negotiations and filing deadlines to court orders, ballot access, and agency oversight. That gives the show a useful texture for listeners who care about outcomes but may not follow every committee, board meeting, or legal filing. A budget agreement becomes more than a dollar figure. It becomes a question about savings, timing, legislative priorities, and the governor’s leverage. A social studies standards fight becomes a window into education governance and public pressure. A Department of Education audit becomes a discussion about data, accountability, and what state systems are able to detect. The show also has room for the odd, revealing campaign story. A candidate’s misdemeanor plea, a crowded legislative race, or a failed new-party effort is handled with dry amusement, but the conversation usually turns back toward political incentives and electoral consequences. Federal stories enter when they touch Oklahoma power, including Mark Wayne Mullen’s nomination and confirmation process for Homeland Security. Tribal sovereignty is handled as a continuing state issue rather than a one-off legal headline. The tone is measured, mildly skeptical, and civic-minded. It can be warm, but it is not cozy. The value is in the show’s willingness to stay with the boring parts long enough to show why they are not really boring.
Made for: For listeners who want Oklahoma state politics explained through consequences, not just headlines. It fits people who follow elections, schools, courts, budgets, tribal issues, and local accountability with a practical civic interest.
What sets it apart: The show’s strength is its panel rhythm: questions lead into process, tradeoffs, and likely fallout without turning the conversation into campaign theater. It makes statehouse mechanics legible while keeping the stakes close to Oklahoma voters.
A weekly look inside Oklahoma Politics with KOSU's Michael Cross, civic leader Andy Moore and more.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
A focused roundtable that connects Oklahoma's political headlines to legislative mechanics, institutional limits, and practical consequences.
This Week in Oklahoma Politics turns state government into a pointed roundtable, with Michael Cross putting specific policy questions to civic leader Andy Moore and either former Republican State Senator Rick Brinkley or legislative advisor Jennifer Moniz.
A former state senator reaches for radishes to explain tribal sovereignty, and somehow you follow.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A brisk Oklahoma briefing on environmental accountability, campaign trouble, and the state's duty to protect data.
Oklahoma's state institutions come under scrutiny as the panel examines a federal judge's rejection of proposed settlements between the state and several poultry companies. The ruling is the latest turn in a decades-long lawsuit over waste in the Illinois River watershed.
Oklahoma's early budget deal leads a grounded review of standards, child safety bills, and the political field.
Oklahoma politics gets a clear lead here in the unusually early budget agreement between legislative leaders and Governor Stitt, a $12.8 billion plan for the 2027 fiscal year that includes $200 million for the state's savings account.
A local political panel connects a Homeland Security confirmation with tribal sovereignty, treaties, and the limits of state power.
This Week in Oklahoma Politics frames Mark Wayne Mullen's confirmation as Homeland Security Secretary against a department already under strain, from unpaid TSA workers to crowded airports and problems involving immigration agents.
Oklahoma's education spending proposal and the unresolved oversight concerns behind a long-awaited audit.
Oklahoma's education budget is the focus as Michael Cross asks Jennifer Moniz how House leaders might respond to a Senate plan that would redirect more than half of projected teacher retirement contributions into a $254 million education spending proposal.
Mary Louise Kelly revisits the Pompeo interview as a test of reporting judgment.
Mary Louise Kelly's Oklahoma City conversation turns a tense foreign-policy interview into a study of editorial judgment. In discussion with KOSU Executive Director Rachel Hubbard, Kelly revisits her exchange with Pompeo on Iran and Ukraine, including the on-the-record map quiz…
A focused Oklahoma discussion of immigration, voter pressure, and the blurred edge of state and federal authority.
Immigration moves the episode into the tension between federal duty and state political pressure. Republican consultant Neva Hill argues that the Biden administration has not secured the border and that the effects now reach every state.
Politics, war, media, and no patience.
Policy signals before they become consequences.
This episode covers Ryan Walters' resignation as Oklahoma's top education official, Governor Stitt's Operation Guardian, and a water fluoridation study.
NPR host Mary Louise Kelly joins KOSU's Rachel Hubbard for a live conversation in Oklahoma City.
This episode of This Week in Oklahoma Politics covers a state audit revealing up to $100 million in questionable pandemic spending, leading to calls for Shelley Zumwalt's resignation.
This episode discusses the appointment of Lindell Fields as the new state superintendent, along with other Oklahoma political news.
Oklahoma political leaders discuss the upcoming 2026 legislative session, including record bill filings, tax reform, and other key issues.
Neva Hill steps down after 27 years as a political commentator on KOSU, reflecting on her career blending journalism and politics.
This Week in Oklahoma Politics with Michael Cross, Andy Moore, and Jennifer Moniz centers on a federal judge’s rejection of a proposed $31 million poultry settlement in the Illinois River watershed case.
This Week in Oklahoma Politics centers on a $12.8 billion Oklahoma budget agreement with Governor Stitt, including a $200 million savings-account investment and $230 million for the State Department of Education.
Markwayne Mullin’s confirmation as Homeland Security Secretary leads the conversation, with Andy Moore citing TSA funding gaps, crowded airports, and immigration-enforcement problems inside DHS.
This episode discusses Markwayne Mullin's confirmation hearing for DHS Secretary, State Question 836, and the Oklahoma County Jail Trust.
This episode discusses President Trump's nomination of Senator Markwayne Mullin to lead the Department of Homeland Security, along with other Oklahoma political news.
The DOJ is suing Oklahoma for voter data, including Social Security and driver's license numbers.
Senate leaders unveiled a $254 million education plan that caps teacher-retirement deposits at $200 million.
KOSU hosts a conversation with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly about her career and insights, recorded at Oklahoma City Community College.