Our guest is Shane Bauer, a senior reporter for Mother Jones. He joins us to discuss a sobering new book that grew out of his outstanding reporting for that magazine. The book is "American Prison: A Reporter's Undercover Journey into the Business of Punishment." As per a critic writing for The New York Times Book Review: "[This book] reprises [Bauer's] page-turning narrative [as reported in Mother Jones], and adds not only the fascinating back story of CCA, the nation's first private prison

Recently, a University of Central Oklahoma professor drew much attention when he pointed out that our state could save $27 million in education spending if we consolidated our school districts. In a report called "Right-Sizing Oklahoma Districts: Examining District Size, Enrollment, and Superintendent Compensation in Oklahoma School Districts," Dr. James Machell points that the Sooner State has approximately 600 school districts -- yet in states with student populations similar to our own --

The Tulsa Symphony Orchestra will soon kick off its new season with an Opening Night Gala Concert at the Tulsa PAC. (It happens tomorrow night, Saturday the 6th, with more info posted here .) On the program, the lyrical and masterful cello concerto by Dvorák, which will feature a guest appearance by the world-renowned cellist, Lynn Harrell. Principal Guest Conductor Daniel Hege will lead the orchestra in a concert that will also boast exuberant selections by Leonard Bernstein (who would've

On this edition of ST Medical Monday, an interesting discussion with Dr. Ira Byock, one of the nation's leading palliative care physicians. Also known for his work as a writer and longtime public advocate for improving end-of-life care, Dr. Byock will soon (as in, tomorrow night, the 9th) give a free-to-the-public lecture at the Cascia Hall Auditorium here in Tulsa on "What Mortality Can Teach Us About Living." His book, "The Four Things That Matter Most," is now out in a Tenth Anniversary

On this installment of ST, we learn about a remarkable and newly launched exhibit at Gilcrease, "Americans All!" This show, which is ongoing, is (per the Gilcrease website ) the museum's "latest exhibition drawn from [its] permanent collection...[and it] showcases the many positive contributions immigrants have made, and continue to make, to American life and culture. Regardless of origin, once in the United States, these newest Americans have consistently contributed indispensable ingredients

Our guest is Wendy Sherman, a Senior Counselor at Albright Stonebridge Group and a former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs. Ambassador Sherman is also a Senior Fellow at Harvard's Belfer Center and is a member of both the Council on Foreign Relations and the Aspen Strategy Group. She was also a Chief Negotiator for the Iran Nuclear Deal; her newly published memoir is called "Not for the Faint of Heart: Lessons in Courage, Power, and Persistence." She was a guest recently of the

On this edition of our show, we chat with Emily Zilber. A former curator at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and currently the editor of Metalsmith magazine, Zilber is now in Tulsa to serve as the curator for VisionMakers 2018 at 108 Contemporary. This show, which is the gallery's juried biennial exhibition, features the work of contemporary craft-based artists from a multi-state region, all of whom combine cutting-edge concepts with traditional skills in order to push the boundaries of art,

On this edition of ST Medical Monday, our guest is Randi Hutter Epstein, M.D., M.P.H., who is an adjunct professor at Columbia University and a lecturer at Yale University. She joins us to discuss her new book, "Aroused: The History of Hormones and How They Control Just About Everything." Per a critic writing for Publishers Weekly: "Science writer Epstein gives readers a lucid and entertaining look at the social and scientific history of endocrinology. Epstein roots her history in people, such

On this edition of ST, we learn about the first-annual Wine, Jazz & World Fete, which will happen soon in downtown Tulsa -- from Thursday the 4th through Saturday the 6th -- at both the Guthrie Green and Duet (i.e., Tulsa's brand-new jazz club). This festival, to be hosted by Public Radio Tulsa's Scott Gregory on both Friday and Saturday, will boast outstanding jazz and world-music artists, fine wines, delicious culinary offerings, performance art, kids' activities, and more. Our two guests

On this edition of ST, we learn abou the City of Tulsa's just-announced plan to "build a resilient and welcoming city that embraces immigrants and fosters opportunity for all." Our guest is Christina da Silva, the City's Director of Community Development & Policy, who just last week unveiled (alongside Tulsa Mayor G.T. Bynum) the so-called New Tulsans Initiative. Per the online write-up for the conference at which this Initiative was launched , the main idea is to identify and then execute