How Curious

In 1909, two Oklahoma brothers aged just five and nine set off on horseback from near Frederick to Santa Fe—and back—alone. How Curious explores the extraordinary adventures of Bud and Temple Abernathy, and asks what their story reveals about childhood, independence and the American West of a very different era.

In 1975, as Saigon fell and tens of thousands of Vietnamese fled, a family in the small western Oklahoma town of Clinton opened their doors - and their community - to help resettle around 250 refugees.In this episode of How Curious, Rachel Hopkin visits the store still run by one of those original arrivals and hears firsthand accounts of the extraordinary welcome, the culture shocks, and the hard work of starting over, in what's been described as one of the most successful group resettlement efforts in the United States.

What happens when an Oklahoma picnic basket flies across a car floor on Route 66? You get Chicken in the Rough — Oklahoma’s original franchised menu item.

Discover the remarkable Kate Barnard — the fiery “Good Angel of Oklahoma.” Before women could vote, she became the state’s first woman elected to statewide office, fiercely battling child labor, prison cruelty, mistreatment of the mentally ill, and corruption involving Native American lands.Small in stature but unstoppable in spirit, this trailblazing reformer’s passionate fight for the vulnerable made her a national sensation.A story of courage and conviction from Oklahoma’s Progressive Era. Don’t miss this episode of How Curious.Connie Cronley's biography of Kate Barnard is titled "A Life on Fire: Oklahoma's Kate Barnard" and is published by the University of Oklahoma Press.

In 1945, the U.S. government chose Searcy Field in Stillwater, Oklahoma, for a unique experiment: selling 475 surplus World War II combat aircraft in one giant field sale rather than scrapping them.This episode of How Curious tells the remarkable story of how a Hollywood stunt pilot became the winning bidder — and what he did with the planes afterward!

This year, the Medieval Fair of Norman celebrated its 50th iteration. What began as a small event of the University of Oklahoma's Norman campus has carved a niche into the city's life over the past five decades. Now located at Reaves Park south of the campus, it features a blend of education, entertainment, and commerce, with scores of vendors present for the event. How Curious host Rachel Hopkin visits the Fair to find out what goes on there and what makes it so popular.

This month’s How Curious episode covers the dazzling history of Miami, Oklahoma’s Coleman Theatre Beautiful — from its whirlwind 1929 construction to its vaudeville heyday, near‑loss, and remarkable community-led restoration. Join Rachel Hopkin as she explores the people, performances, and passions that kept this beloved Route 66 treasure alive.

WildCare Oklahoma in Noble is one of the nation’s largest wildlife rehabilitation centers. In this month’s How Curious, host Rachel Hopkin visits WildCare to find out how it got started, how it operates and how it manages to do the work it does, rehabbing thousands of injured or orphaned animals every year so that they can get back to their wild lives.

In this episode, How Curious host Rachel Hopkin visits the Moore-Lindsay Historical House Museum in Norman, Oklahoma. The first glimmerings of Norman as a named place began with a government survey team, then grew as it became a stop on the railroad. Then came the 1889 land run which turned Norman into a city virtually overnight. Ten years later, the Moore-Lindsay House was built. Rachel explores what the house - plus what is known about its early residents - tell us about life in the young city well over a century ago.

This month's How Curious dives into the story of what happened when Oklahoma City became the location of a bold experiment concerning sonic booms — a moment when science collided with everyday life. Through historical detail and voices from those who lived it, this episode looks at why the city became a testing ground, the surprising ripple effects on homes and businesses, and the larger questions it raised about progress and public trust.