Welcome back, dear followers of the Oklahoma Today Podcast! Happy Thanksgiving Week for those watching on the week this episode debuts. We like to think of Oklahoma Today as a family, so for this special holiday episode we are giving you a tour of our "home" at the Oklahoma State Tourism and Recreation Department offices in downtown Oklahoma City. See all the familiar and behind-the-scenes faces behind the magazine and get a sense of our day-to-day activities while the staff shares what they're thankful for. 

Experience the thrill of A Christmas Carol without all the paranormal encounters with a visit to Dickens on the Boulevard, November 22-23 in downtown Claremore. Charles Dickens penned the holiday classic in 1843, years before the modern town of Claremore was even founded. That doesn't stop the downtown from transforming into a wintertime Victorian wonderland for a celebration that will includes street dancing, nineteenth century wardrobe and food, historic tours, carriage rides, and more. Ben investigates this unique Oklahoma tradition this week on the show.

Woolaroc Museum & Wildlife Preserve near Bartlesville is an Oklahoma institution. Once the private ranch and retreat of legendary oilman Frank Phillips, the 3,700-acre property now houses a world-class museum of Western and international art with a wild-life preserve including bison, elk, ostriches, and more. This year marks 100 years since the ranch's founding, and Woolaroc is celebrating with an amazing art exhibition and sale featuring some of the world's most high-profile contemporary artists, including Thomas Blackshear II, Bob Kuhn, William Alther, Mian Situ, William Acheff, and many more. Frank Phillips Foundation CEO and Woolaroc operating officer Kevin Hoch joins the show this week to talk about the incredible exhibition on display through December 31.

Also on this week's episode, the editors ponder how they'd celebrate their hundredth birthdays, and podvents points us to one of the biggest Veterans Day parades in the state. You won't want to miss it!

We needed to give our inaugural Okie Awards winners something special to take home, and we think Yukon Trophy & Awards did the trick! On this week's episode of the Oklahoma Today Podcast we visit with Bea Johnson, who leads the business which has been family owned and operated since 1971. Yukon Trophy & Awards has gone from a garage business to a trophy maker that has touched the lives of thousands in its history, we get an inside look at this local treasure.

Also on this week's show, WE'VE GOT AN ALL-NEW SET! See it for yourself on video on the Oklahoma Today Magazine YouTube channel. The editors also share some of their own personal favorite keepsakes. Plus podvents gives us the best place to find baklava this week. You won't want to miss it!

Congratulations to the Curbside Enterprises organization in Oklahoma City for winning our inaugural Clayton I. Bennett Oklahoma Standard Award! They are one of many Okie Awards winners listed in Oklahoma Today's new November-December issue. Curbside Enterprises includes the Curbside Chronicle publication (you might see their vendors in green vests at various OKC intersections), the Curbside Flowers floral shop, and other initiatives that provide vocational support for people experiencing homelessness. On this episode of the Oklahoma Today Podcast, we speak with Ranya Forgotson, chief programs officer for the Homeless Alliance, and Nathan Poppe, the Curbside Chronicle's editor-in-chief. 

OKC Thunder fans might still be coming down from all the popped champagne after the team's NBA championship win in June, but a new season of basketball is already upon us! For part two of our Thunder preview spectacular, we ventured out to Thunder Media Day to talk with reigning NBA and Finals MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander alongside teammates Luguentz Dort and Aaron Wiggins. The three players can be found featured on Oklahoma Today's new November-December magazine cover. The Thunder are arguably the most fashionable team in basketball, so while they were with us it felt right to have them break down the fashion of some other well-dressed Okies . . . and some of their fellow teammates.

Also on this week's episode, the editors share their own Oklahoma fashion icons, and podvents breaks down Oklahoma sorghum facts. You won't want to miss it!

You may or may not know the name Thundor, but if you have seen any Oklahoma City Thunder game on national television you have certainly seen him. He's the big shirtless guy in a luchador mask trying his hardest to get the opposing team to take their mind of their free throws and onto the man with the megaphone. Thundor (a.k.a. Garrett Haviland) is a celebrity in his own right, but how did he come to be the Thunder's most iconic fan? What was his reaction to the team's landmark championship win? And what does he say into that megaphone anyway? We'll get all our questions answered in the first part of our two part Thunder basketball special, plus maybe we will convince Alex Caruso to finally give Thundor his kegger.

Tulsa-based, Emmy-winning puppeteer David Bizzaro has impressive show credits that include Sesame Street, The Muppets, Waffles + Mochi, and much more. And now, you have the chance to learn from a master! David is our featured guest on this week's Oklahoma Today Podcast. He talks all about his unique career and how you can sign up for one of his in-person classes, where you too can learn the secrets behind this captivating art form. 

What is fringe theater? A better question might be what isn't it. The annual Theatre Crude festival is returning to Oklahoma City this week, bringing dozens of small-scale, non-traditional productions to the community. Want to hear from a misanthropic goldfish? Or maybe a MacBeth musical with lightsabers is more your speed. Theatre Crude co-founder Jenny Brand joins the podcast from The 4801, one of the festival's three venues, to talk about what fans can expect. 

Journalism has never seen anything like it. There are tough interviews to get and then there are interviews that are darn near impossible. Today host Ben Luschen did something no one has ever done before: interview the elusive raccoon—and not just one of them either. Scout and Little Bit are the names of the raccoon animal ambassadors at the Bernice Nature Center in the Bernice Area of Grand Lake State Park, and they agreed to go on the record for the first time from their spacious enclosure under the condition of copious provided snacks. Though Ben was able to get some good answers out of them, Scout and Little Bit aren't much for jabbering, so luckily nature center manager Amanda Markey was on hand to fill in the blanks. Learn everything you could ever want to know about raccoons, and then some, in this week's interview.