Chocolate isn't for everyone (we're looking at you, dogs), but it sure is for us! Oklahoma's chocolate lovers will find the most creative and culinary cacao creations at this year's Chocolate Decadence event Thursday, February 6, at Leadership Square in Oklahoma City. The annual event benefiting the Automobile Alley district and Lights on Broadway will feature unique chocolate dishes from beloved local restaurants like Paseo Grill, Tellers, and even Highball Sushi. The night will also honor Oklahoma's favorite chocolate brand, Bedré Fine Chocolate, which is celebrating its twenty-fifth anniversary with the Chickasaw Nation. Downtown OKC's Kristen Vails stops by the studio to tell us more.

A summer trip to the Oklahoma Arts Institute at Quartz Mountain State Park in southwestern Oklahoma is a time of creative enchantment for many high-school-aged artists around the state. Applications are now open for teenage creatives who'd like to make the trek this year. Wren Pfal, communications and outreach officer for OSAI, joins the show this week to talk about the amazing opportunity for students to develop as creatives and professionals, and the magic that can only be found at Quartz Mountain.

Also on this week's show, the editors discuss their favorite types of soup, and podvents reveals a killer in our midst. You won't want to miss it!

Whether you first heard about them on America's Got Talent, on the popular FX television series Reservation Dogs, or pushing their CDs and merch around the Oklahoma City metro area, no one can deny the brotherly hip-hop and entertainment duo Lil Mike & Funny Bone (known collectively as MikeBone) were destined for stardom. The local legends and authors of the popular song "Rain Dance" joined us in the studio to reflect on their career journey, including their self-sabotaged AGT experience, how they scored a role on Reservation Dogs, and the duo's undeniable aura which has been said to ward away nefarious spirit energy. As a staff full of MikeBone fans, we're super excited about this one!

Bread. Meat. Cheese. Bread again. There are variations to the formula but this is generally the food structure known as the sandwich. In Oklahoma Today's new January-February issue (out on newsstands now!) our Sandwich Quest feature profiles ten fantastic handheld meals from across the state impressive enough to have convinced the Earl of Sandwich to put down his silly card game. The Sandwich Quest was completed for the magazine by The Martin Duprass: an Oklahoma City-based, husband-wife comedy duo consisting of Jeremy Martin and Lauren Thomas-Martin. They stopped by the show to recount their epic sandwich adventure and propose a new food concept that could change the culinary world forever. Unless we stop them. 

New year, new look, same us! This is the launch of our exciting new sixth season of the Oklahoma Today Podcast, and we’re kicking it all off with a very special in-depth interview with James Beard semifinalist chef Tabb Singleton. Tabb is known as the resident pitt genius at Idabel’s Phat Tabb’s BBQ, where the lines are long and the barbecue is the stuff of legends. He will be the chef in residence at The Feast at Stuart Ranch, a now sold-out March 1 dinner event co-hosted by Oklahoma Today in Waurika. Editor-in-chief Nathan Gunter sat down with Tabb to talk about his amazing career that has included run-ins with Emeril Lagase and the Food Network, as well as his plans for the Stuart Ranch beef in March.

Also on this week’s show, the editors discuss the Oklahoma travel destinations they plan on visiting in 2025, and podvents is . . . on a boat! You won’t want to miss it. 

There is a long, long heritage of great songwriters hailing from the Tulsa area and from Oklahoma in general. To close 2024, we're adding Sierra Spirit to that impressive list. Spirit—the Otoe-Missouria and Keetoowah Cherokee recording artist had a fantastic launch to her career the past year, releasing well-crafted singles and a stellar debut EP titled coin toss. For the final show of our fifth season, we caught up with Spirit to talk about her vault into the recording industry, taking inspiration from her family and Indigenous cultural heritage in her music, and why the craft of songwriting is experiencing a resurgence in popular appreciation. 

Merry Christmas and happy holidays everyone! We have a very merry episode of the Oklahoma Today Podcast in store for this week. We're bringing Torie Thompson from Oklahoma State Parks into the studio to talk about the popular First Day Hike program that will get us all moving in the New Year. That plus plenty more holiday merriment is in store. The editors share their baking plans for the holidays (or lack thereof in Ben's case), and podvents presents music fans with a lot of options. You won't want to miss it!

You might know him from television of for his family's place those responsible for popularizing Thai food in the United States, but for fans who head to Pocola's Choctaw Casino & Resort on December 28 and 29, Jet Tila is the chef behind their next great meal. Tila's visit is the latest installment in a series of celebrity takeover events at the casino—others have included Alex Guarnaschelli and Roco Dispirito. We caught up with Chef Tila recently to talk about his stellar one-off menu planned for Pocola and his experiences as perhaps the most visible ambassador for Thai food in America today. 

His epic mustache alone remains iconic in Oklahoma City, and his Blazers hockey team rocked the old Myriad in an era before the capital city turned major league. Coach Doug Sauter is a sports legend in the state, but what is the Saskatchewan native up to these days? Well, wonder no more. We caught up with him recently—and yes, he's still in Oklahoma. Sauter shows off his prized clydesdales and percherons at the Express Clydesdales Barn in Yukon, then we sit down to catch up with the coach on his own land a few miles away. What's harder, coaching hockey players or coaching horses? And what does he think of the old Myriad site being used for the new Oklahoma City arena? He answers all—and then some.

Also on this week's show, the editors share their favorite breakfast destinations in the state, and podvents gets a visit from Jimmy Stewart (sort of). You won't want to miss it!

We can't fully explain it, but there's something about trains that just goes really well with the Christmas season. The people of Muskogee realize this, which is why those who head to the town's Depot Green Christmas celebration throughout this month can enjoy a ride on the festive Christmas train, taking a tour of the beautiful Garden of Lights set up in Honor Heights Park. Rick Ewing from Muskogee Parks joins this week's show to talk about all the fun to be had in Muskogee this season, plus a few other recent developments in the town.