Shows / Listen Frontier
Listen Frontier
Listen Frontier is a podcast exploring the investigative journalism of The Frontier and featuring conversations with those on the frontlines of Oklahoma's most important stories. At The Frontier, our mission is to hold public officials accountable, give a voice to the powerless and tell the stories that others are afraid to tell, or that illuminate the lives of people in our community. We will shine a light on hypocrisy, fraud, abuse and wrongdoing at all levels in our community and state. We…
Episodes
Listen FrontierListen Frontier: Oklahoma lawmakers want to improve reading scores. A bipartisan group hopes to keep them on track.
Oklahoma has spent years trying to figure out how to get more kids reading at grade level. And while lawmakers have passed a number of reforms over the years…
Listen FrontierListen Frontier: Oklahoma stayed red. But something changed.
Hey everybody, I'm Dylan Goforth, executive editor of The Frontier, and welcome to Listen Frontier. It's Thursday, November 5, and we've now had a couple of…
Listen Frontier'They really were hoping that it was going to work': Inside The Frontier's California rehab investigation
Imagine struggling with drug addiction and being offered a chance to start over. Free treatment in Southern California, a place to stay, and people promising…
Listen FrontierJena Nelson on Trump, Stephanie Bice and her plan to win Oklahoma's 5th District
Frontier Executive Editor Dylan Goforth spoke with Jena Nelson, a Democrat running to unseat Republican Rep. Stephanie Bice in Oklahoma’s 5th Congressional…
Listen Frontier‘David against an army of Goliaths’: The fight over a proposed Google data center near Sand Springs
Dylan Goforth: Before anyone was talking about Google or a data center, what exactly did the family — and tell us a little bit about the family there who…
Listen Frontier‘It’s time we do something big and bold’: Sen. Rosino pushes child welfare overhaul
The Oklahoma City Republican wants to move child welfare out of DHS and combine several state programs under a new agency focused on children.
Listen Frontier‘He needed all of it’: How Mike Mazzei’s millions helped deliver a narrow victory
The Frontier spoke with pollster Pat McFerron about Mike Mazzei’s slim win over Gentner Drummond to secure the Republican nomination for governor. McFerron is…
Listen FrontierWhy Tulsa is hitting pause on data centers
Data centers are coming to Tulsa. Eventually. But that momentum has hit a pause. City leaders have unanimously approved a temporary moratorium on new data…
Listen FrontierWhy Trump picked Markwayne Mullin for Homeland Security
Today on the Listen Frontier podcast, we’re talking about one of the more surprising political shakeups in Washington — the firing of Kristi Noem and the…
Listen FrontierSalty, oily drinking water left sores in their mouths. Oklahoma refused to find out why.
In our latest investigation, reporter Nick Bowlin digs into a troubling question: What happens when families report salty, oily drinking water that leaves…
- Listen Frontier
‘The risk is moving too slow’: How Oklahoma's government wants AI to reshape the state's economy
Frontier: Hey everyone. Welcome to another episode of listen frontier today. I am joined by Hart Brown, the president of artificial intelligence and…
- Listen Frontier
Inside the legal fight over immigration detention in Oklahoma
Immigration detention usually happens out of public view — inside private prisons, through sealed court filings, and far from scrutiny. But in Oklahoma, those…
- Listen Frontier
Listen Frontier: Clifton Adcock on the Real Impact of Oklahoma’s Data-Center Explosion
For the past several months, Frontier reporter Clifton Adcock has been digging into one of the fastest-moving — and least transparent — developments in…
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Listen Frontier: Are Oklahoma classrooms too wired for learning?
Frontier: We spoke back in the spring about the cellphone bill you ran that would remove cell phones from classrooms. Catch our listeners up on where that…
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Numbers Game: Drummond, McCall, and the road to the 2026 Oklahoma Governor election
klahoma voters won’t choose their next governor for another year, but the Republican primary is already heating up. Recent polling from former Oklahoma House…
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Stitt defends Tulsa homeless crackdown as local shelter calls for empathy
This week on Listen Frontier, we’re looking at Operation SAFE, Governor Kevin Stitt’s effort to clear homeless encampments in Tulsa with the help of the…
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Power, water, and secrecy: Data centers are in Oklahoma. What now?
Oklahoma is racing to attract data centers, facilities that store and process the information powering everything from streaming services to artificial…
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Tulsa’s panhandling debate: Two councilors, two perspectives
On Wednesday, Tulsa’s City Council is set to vote on an ordinance that would limit what Tulsans can do on sidewalks and medians. The proposed ordinance comes…
- Listen Frontier
Beyond McGirt: How local governments keep testing tribal rights
Five years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark McGirt v. Oklahoma decision affirmed much of eastern Oklahoma as Indian Country, some towns are still…
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‘We’ve lost five years’: Cherokee Chief says new governor must rebuild tribal relations
Chuck Hoskin Jr. has served as Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation since 2019, leading the tribe through a period of historic legal shifts, economic…
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Listen Frontier: Oklahoma’s Social Studies rewrite sparks backlash
Oklahoma has officially adopted new social studies standards that require public school students to be taught about "discrepancies" in the 2020 presidential…
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🏀 Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt on the Thunder’s historic championship
In this episode of Listen Frontier, we sit down with Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt just days after the Thunder captured their first NBA championship — a…
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Polling shows Gentner Drummond with a large lead over fellow Republicans in the 2026 race for governor
Gentner Drummond. Ryan Walters. Matt Pinnell. A year out from the 2026 primary elections, those three names have emerged as leaders to be Oklahoma’s next…
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Cyndi Munson talks education, abortion and why she thinks a Democrat can be Oklahoma’s next governor.
House Minority Leader Cyndi Munson has entered a growing contest to replace Kevin Stitt as Oklahoma’s next governor. The odds are stacked against Munson - when…
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‘Bell to bell’ cellphone ban could be coming to Oklahoma schools. How would it work?
Sen. Ally Seifried, R-Claremore, told The Frontier she hopes her bill will help Oklahoma schools limit cellphone use and increase learning outcomes. This is…
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Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton "cautious" but supportive of income tax cut
Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton is “100 percent on board” with Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt’s proposed half-percent income tax cut – but it’s a…
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Death row inmate Richard Glossip's murder conviction is vacated
The United States Supreme Court on Tuesday directed Oklahoma to vacate the murder conviction of Richard Glossip, the state’s most famous death row inmate…
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Oklahoma is still trying to use a recanted confession to retry Innocent Man case
Federal courts have found a man’s videotaped confession in the 1984 death of an Ada convenience store clerk to be almost entirely false but the state of…
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'We can't afford it:' Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt wants to cut the state's income tax
During his penultimate State of the State address earlier this month, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt called for "half and a path" - his term for a half-percent…
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Gentner Drummond is running for Oklahoma Governor. Who else might join him?
The race is on. Oklahoma Attorney General Genter Drummond has thrown his hat into the ring, seeking to replace term-limited Kevin Stitt as Oklahoma's Governor…
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Listen Frontier: One group thinks open primary elections in Oklahoma could boost voter turnout
A group is seeking to boost voter participation in Oklahoma by opening primary elections to all voters, regardless of political party. State-level races are…
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'Game of inches:’ Tulsa’s mayoral primary came down to the wire, but now the race changes
Tulsa voters this week effectively locked Republicans out of the city’s mayoral election in November. Two Democrats - state representative Monroe Nichols and…
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Turn Key Health Clinics promised to improve health care in jails. Dozens of its patients have died.
As local jails have morphed into some of the largest mental health treatment facilities in the U.S., many counties have outsourced medical care to private…
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Fields of Green: A Frontier investigation into Oklahoma’s medical marijuana black market
Thousands of Chinese immigrant laborers suffer abuse and exploitation in a U.S. marijuana underworld dominated by Chinese mafias. A human rights advocate says…
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Mindy Cummings statement read by Drummond
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said at a press conference after the execution that Layla Cumming’s family finally has justice after 40 years…
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Richard Rojem is scheduled to be executed in Oklahoma on Thursday
On this episode of Listen Frontier, Frontier executive editor Dylan Goforth speaks with reporter Ashlynd Huffman about her coverage of the Richard Rojem case…
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A judge says ‘suck it up’ after executions put strain Oklahoma prison staff
Judge Gary Lumpkin made the remarks during a hearing Tuesday on the state’s request to further delay the time between executions from 60 days to 90 days to…
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Listen Frontier: Oklahoma Senate leader says he’ll consider a tax cut, just not yet
A special legislative session called by Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt will begin on Monday. Stitt hopes lawmakers will pass a quarter-cent income tax cut, though…
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Listen Frontier: Reporter Ashlynd Huffman talks about her story on Oklahoma's anti-red flag law
Firearms have been the leading cause of domestic violence homicides in Oklahoma since 1998. The state’s anti-red flag law bans any efforts to seize weapons by…
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Listen Frontier: Multiple investigations launched into alleged abuse at Oklahoma facility for people with developmental disabilities
The Oklahoma Department of Human Services continued to refer clients to a troubled center for people with developmental disabilities for months after reports…
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Listen Frontier: A conversation with Interim TPS Superintendent Dr. Ebony Johnson
Ebony Johnson replaced former superintendent Deborah Gist in September. It was a chaotic start - TPS, the state's largest school district with more than 30,000…
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Karen Keith enters the Tulsa mayoral race
Karen Keith worked as a television reporter before moving to the local chamber of commerce and later a post in the mayor's office. She now serves as one of…
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Monroe Nichols wants to be Tulsa's next mayor
Rep. Monroe Nichols, D-Tulsa, is one of the more outspoken members of Oklahoma's Legislature. Now he wants to take his talents to Tulsa's City Hall where he…
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Sen. James Lankford talks to The Frontier about abortion, immigration and more
Sen. James Lankford, now Oklahoma’s Senior Senator following the retirement of Jim Inhofe, took time this week to speak with The Frontier about immigration…
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New Oklahoma County jail CEO talks about her plan to turn around troubled facility
When Brandi Garner took over as Interim CEO of the Oklahoma County Detention Center in January, she inherited an aging facility with chronic staffing shortages…
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Listen Frontier: AG Gentner Drummond talks about the scandals his office is now investigating
Following his inauguration last month, new Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond has wasted no time in making his mark on the state. Drummond was elected…
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Gov. Stitt discusses his plans for his second term
Despite facing an opponent many believed would give him a challenge in his bid for re-election, Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitt coasted to victory on election…
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Talking about the key races being decided tonight in Oklahoma
The state is deeply red, but the two most high-profile races this cycle are seemingly up for grabs. Depending on who you believe, incumbent Gov. Kevin Stitt is…
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Listen Frontier: As election nears, Stitt, Hofmeister, hit the campaign trail
Gov. Kevin Stitt is traveling to rural Oklahoma, defending his record and hitting up the state's metro areas, stumping with national figures like Ted Cruz and…
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Election night recap with Clifton Adcock, Kayla Branch and Reese Gorman
Oklahoma’s primary election day led to a few surprises, a number of runoffs and some big wins that set up a number of fascinating storylines leading into the…
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The fallout from the Supreme Court's ruling on the Oklahoma v. Castro-Huerta case
The United States Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed a lower court ruling from 2021, instead deciding that Oklahoma can prosecute non-Native Oklahomans who…
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Listen Frontier: Jim Inhofe is resigning. How is the race to replace him shaping up?
United States Senator Jim Inhofe has been a fixture in Oklahoma politics since the 1960s. But in February the 87-year-old announced he would be resigning less…
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Listen Frontier: Clifton Adcock discusses his stories about Oklahoma lawmakers' curriculum restriction bills
"Critical Race Theory" has become, for some, a blanket term that can encapsulate any number of things. On this edition of the Listen Frontier podcast, Clifton…
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'Aggressively moderate Democrat:' Joy Hofmeister talks about her politics as she gears up for gubernatorial run
When Joy Hofmeister announced last year she would run for governor in 2022, it wasn’t a surprise. Her name had been tossed around for the last couple years as…
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Discussing Gov. Kevin Stitt's State of the State Address
Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on Monday gave a wide-ranging 45 minute State of the State Address, touching on a number of topics including education, criminal…
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Oklahoma Secretary of Education Ryan Walters and the Guest Educator Program
In 2020, former McAlester Public Schools teacher Ryan Walters was appointed as the youngest Secretary of Education in Oklahoma’s history. Earlier this month…
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As Oklahoma’s medical marijuana industry booms, regulators struggle to keep up
Loopholes in state residency requirements have led to an influx of out-of-state investment through ‘ghost owners.’
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Listen Frontier: David Holt on conservative politics, his American Indian heritage, the Oklahoma City Thunder and more
On this edition of Listen Frontier, Oklahoma City Mayor David Holt sits down with me to talk about, among other things: Oklahoma City’s voter base, how he…