On the Line

This year's special Halloween double episode features spooks both real and imagined.

First, Karl talked with Brett Morris, general manager of Baton Rouge, Louisiana-based practical special effects company Composite Effects.

Morris spoke about his lifelong fascination with monsters and how he turned it into a career designing high-end, ultra-realistic masks for Halloween enthusiasts, cosplayers, haunted house attractions, and TV and movie productions.

Then, the InSpecters Paranormal Team visit the studio to share their spookiest stories of investigating spirit activity" in the Texarkana region and beyond.

LINKS

Composite Effects

The InSpecters on Facebook

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In this episode, Karl talks with Rep. Nathaniel Moran.

Moran is serving his first term after voters elected him to represent Texas' 1st Congressional District — which encompasses Texarkana — in 2022. He serves on the House Judiciary, Foreign Affairs, and Education and the Workforce committees.

The interview took place in August 2023, when Moran visited Texarkana as part of a campaign tour announcing his bid for re-election.

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This episode is sponsored by Hostetler Roofing. Visit their website or call 870-557-4797 to schedule a free inspection of your roof.

This episode was first published in November 2022.

April Matthis has earned a place on the list of most acclaimed artists from Texarkana.

Born and raised on the Texas side, she has honed her craft as an actor for more than two decades. It paid off with two Obie Awards for her off-Broadway work, and now she is making her Broadway debut.

Matthis plays Grace in “The Piano Lesson,” August Wilson’s 1987 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama. She is part of an A-list cast that includes Danielle Brooks, John David Washington and Samuel L. Jackson.

She and Karl talked about her memories of Texarkana, her path to success, her part in the play and more.

Related story: Texarkana native April Matthis debuts on Broadway

In the Land of Opportunity, opportunity isn’t equally available to everyone.

That’s the problem Communities Unlimited was founded to address.

Dawn Parker recently began work for the nonprofit, whose goal is to solve problems and open new possibilities for residents of rural areas.

She and Karl talked about how Communities Unlimited operates, her role in the organization and what you can do to help.

LINKS

Communities Unlimited website

Communities Unlimited on Facebook

Call Dawn Parker at 479-684-8537.

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This episode is sponsored by Hostetler Roofing. Visit their website or call 870-557-4797 to schedule a free inspection of your roof.

Hospice of Texarkana will soon hold its 23rd annual Good Grief Day, an event especially for children experiencing grief because of the death or absence of a loved one.

Karl spoke with director of psychosocial services Amy Mohon about the differences between adult and child grief and how best to help a child who’s suffered a loss.

They also talked about hospice care in general and why she chooses to work in the field.

INFO / LINKS

Call Rick at 903-794-4263 to register for Good Grief Day on July 14, 2023

Info about Good Grief Day and Hospice of Texarkana's other grief support services

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This episode is sponsored by Hostetler Roofing. Visit their website or call 870-557-4797 to schedule a free inspection of your roof.

Introducing True Crime Texarkana, the new Starbear Studio podcast that looks in depth at the Texarkana area's most infamous, baffling crimes.

Season One examines the unsolved 1981 murders of teenage siblings Karen and Gordon Alexander. Through multiple interviews and thorough reporting, the Texarkana Gazette's Mallory Wyatt tells the story of the horrifying crime and ongoing efforts to solve it.

Subscribe free with your favorite podcast app to get the first two episodes delivered straight to your feed.

Subscribe to the Texarkana Gazette for exclusive early access to each of the season's remaining episodes — a month before everyone else.

Anyone with information about the murders is urged to contact retired police detective Calvin Seward at 903-826-4702 or [email protected].

Tom Higgenson co-founded the band Plain White T’s in 1997, and the group soon found success with hits like “1 2 3 4,” “Rhythm of Love” and blockbuster No. 1 “Hey There Delilah."

Ahead of Plain White T’s coming concert in Hope, Arkansas, Karl and guest co-host Mallory Wyatt talked with Higgenson about the band’s busy schedule, their return to the style that made them famous, his side projects and a lot more.

LINKS

Plain White T's website

Hempstead Hall: Tickets for June 17, 2023, concert

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This episode is sponsored by Hostetler Roofing. Visit their website or call 870-557-4797 to schedule a free inspection of your roof.

Dr. Drew Morton has made an academic career out of studying popular culture: film and TV, video games, comics and more.

The associate professor of mass communications at A&M-Texarkana edited the recent essay collection “After Midnight: Watchmen After Watchmen.”

The book’s contributors together take a deep dive into the HBO series “Watchmen,” a sequel to the classic graphic novel of the same name.

He and I talked about how “Watchmen” became a cultural watershed, his other work and a lot more.

LINKS

"After Midnight"

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This episode is sponsored by Hostetler Roofing. Visit their website or call 870-557-4797 to schedule a free inspection of your roof.

Dr. W. Dale Weeks has quite a story to tell about the Texarkana region during the Civil War.

It involves a Confederate regiment formed in Bowie County, the Cherokee Nation’s dilemma during the war and the first Black Union regiment to see combat.

It’s all in his book “Cherokee Civil Warrior: Chief John Ross and the Struggle for Tribal Sovereignty,” available now from the University of Oklahoma Press.

He and Karl talked about his research process, the region’s rich Civil War history and why it’s been largely forgotten.

LINKS

Dr. Weeks' website

"Cherokee Civil Warrior," University of Oklahoma Press

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This episode is sponsored by Hostetler Roofing. Visit their website or call 870-557-4797 to schedule a free inspection of your roof.

This episode features two interviews rather different from each other.

First, you’ll hear Karl's talk with A&M-Texarkana counselor Bri Taylor. April is Stress Awareness Month, and Bri shared her best advice on how to cope with stressors large and small.

Then you’ll hear a conversation with Billy Webb, a survivor of the 1937 New London, Texas, school explosion.

Click here to subscribe with your favorite podcast app, and make On the Line a part of your weekend routine.

This episode is sponsored by Hostetler Roofing. Visit their website or call 870-557-4797 to schedule a free inspection of your roof.