Metropolitan Library System Podcast

When most of us think of witch killings we think of Salem in the 1600s, but did you know that the last witch killings in America were in Oklahoma? Historian John Truden talks with us about Solomon Hotema and the 1899 witch killings in Choctaw country.

If you think the podcast is interesting and you'd like to learn more Choctaw history, you can visit https://hinahanta.choctawnation.com

Sitting between two sundown towns in Oklahoma, the Threatt Filling Station was a safe haven for African American travelers on Route 66 during the time of Jim Crow. Cousins Charles and Ed Threatt talk about the filling station and its importance to our state's history.

Historian Erin Brown from the Oklahoma Territorial Museum discusses the lives of two women involved in early Oklahoma politics, writer of the state constitution May Peebles, and the first woman elected to state office, Kate Barnard.

Since Halloween is coming up, we decided to get a little creepy and look at some of the famous final resting places of Oklahomans, both in and out of Oklahoma. Historian Dale Ingram talks with us about the graves of Will Rogers, Woody Guthrie, and more.

Historian John Truden talks about the American Indian Movement and its history in Oklahoma. For more information you can read Mr. Truden's article on the topic here https://newprairiepress.org/ojrrp/vol15/iss3/1/

Freedom Oklahoma's Allie Shin and City Councilperson James Cooper talk about the history of the LGBTQ+ community in Oklahoma City and the city's Pride celebration.

In this month's podcast we hear the story of the arrest of Oklahoma City gay rights activist Paul Thompson and his fight in court.

For the third interview in our series about the history of the Oklahoma City National Memorial we talked with bombing survivor Richard Williams. Mr. Williams served many roles in the creation of the memorial over the years following the bombing. He spoke with us about what it was like working toward creating and eventually opening the memorial.

For the second in our series of interviews about the history of the Oklahoma City National Memorial we talked to attorney Bob Johnson. Mr. Johnson began working on the memorial only days after the bombing and helped lead the city with the creation of the memorial and museum.

As this month marks the 25th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing, we thought it might be interesting to look at the history of the Oklahoma City National Memorial, so we spoke with three people involved in the creation of the memorial. The first in this series is an interview with Ron Norick, mayor of Oklahoma City at the time of the bombing.