OK PolicyCast Oklahoma Policy Institute

Hello and welcome to episode 50 of the OK PolicyCast. This is also my last episode as a host of this podcast, 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, how this organization has made a difference in the state, and what we see for the future of OK Policy and Oklahoma. You'll also hear more about what I'm doing next.
After this episode, the OK PolicyCast will go on hiatus for a while. But I hope you'll keep it in your feeds, because there's so much more that the brilliant staff here at OK Policy will have to say. Five years and fifty episodes later, thank you all for listening.
This episode of the OKPolicyCast was hosted and produced by Gene Perry. You can subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, or RSS. The podcast theme music is by Zébre. If you have any questions for the OKPolicyCast, topics you’d like us to cover, or people you want us to interview, you can reach us at policycast@okpolicy.org.

In this episode I spoke to Nehemiah Frank. Nehemiah 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. If that wasn't enough, he's also a teacher at Sankofa Middle School of the Performing Arts in downtown Tulsa.
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. We also talked about education and continuing inequities for black Oklahomans, and how optimistic we should be, or not be, about addressing those inequities.
This was for me one of the most interesting conversations we've had on this show, and I hope you feel the same. You can visit The Black Wall Street Times at theblackwallstreettimes.com.
This episode of the OKPolicyCast was hosted and produced by Gene Perry. You can subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, or RSS. The podcast theme music is by Zébre. If you have any questions for the OKPolicyCast, topics you’d like us to cover, or people you want us to interview, you can reach us at policycast@okpolicy.org.

A state budget deal for fiscal year 2020 was revealed last Wednesday, and it's likely to receive final passage in the Legislature today. In most years, the budget is the single most important thing done by our lawmakers, and in the year to come, this budget will decide what Oklahoma invests to operate our schools, provide basic health care, maintain our roads, and so much more.
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.
This episode of the OKPolicyCast was hosted and produced by Gene Perry. You can subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, or RSS. The podcast theme music is by Zébre. If you have any questions for the OKPolicyCast, topics you’d like us to cover, or people you want us to interview, you can reach us at policycast@okpolicy.org.

Our guest on this episode is Tyler Parette, the director of a unique homelessness outreach program in Tulsa with the City Lights Foundation. I wanted to talk with Tyler because he's got a really interesting perspective on dealing with 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 dealing 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.
To learn more about the City Lights Foundation and to get involved, you can go to citylightsok.org or to Night Light Tulsa on Facebook.
This episode of the OKPolicyCast was hosted and produced by Gene Perry. You can subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, or RSS. The podcast theme music is by Zébre. If you have any questions for the OKPolicyCast, topics you’d like us to cover, or people you want us to interview, you can reach us at policycast@okpolicy.org.

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.
To learn more about the New Sanctuary Network or to get involved, you can go to https://www.newsanctuarytulsa.org.
This episode of the OKPolicyCast was hosted and produced by Gene Perry. You can subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, or RSS. The podcast theme music is by Zébre. If you have any questions for the OKPolicyCast, topics you’d like us to cover, or people you want us to interview, you can reach us at policycast@okpolicy.org.

In this episode, I spoke with Angela Monson about the campaign to expand health coverage in Oklahoma. Angela has a lot of experience as an advocate and policymaker in Oklahoma. She served in the Legislature for 15 years, and during that time she was the first black woman to become president of the National Conference of State Legislatures. 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.
We spoke about what's happening with this campaign, and what it means that we're leaving so many Oklahomans without access to insurance - including in our own families.
After you listen, you can go to coverok.org to learn more about the coalition to expand coverage and upcoming events in the campaign, including a rally at the state capitol.
This episode of OKPolicyCast was hosted and produced by Gene Perry. You can subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, or RSS. The podcast theme music is by Zébre. If you have any questions for the OKPolicyCast, topics you’d like us to cover, or people you want us to interview, you can reach us at policycast@okpolicy.org.