OKPolicyCast 40: In prison for what's now a misdemeanor (with Damion Shade and Colleen McCarty)
Release Date: 10/30/2018
OK PolicyCast 50: The past and the future of OK Policy (with David Blatt and Kara Joy McKee)
OK PolicyCast
This is episode 50 and also my last episode as a host of the OK PolicyCast, because my last day at OK Policy was July 5th. With OK Policy's founder and long-time executive director David Blatt also passing the torch later this year, we decided to do something special for this episode. David and I sat down with former OK PolicyCast co-host, now Tulsa City Councilor, Kara Joy McKee, to talk about our memories from the last decade with OK Policy.
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OKPolicyCast 49: Black Wall Street Times (with Nehemiah Frank)
OK PolicyCast
Nehemiah Frank is the founder and executive editor of The Black Wall Street Times, an online newspaper that covers news relevant to the black community in Tulsa and social justice issues affecting all Tulsans and Oklahomans. We talked about the history of Black Wall Street, including some of the aspects of that history that haven't gotten as much attention, even amid renewed focus on the 1921 race massacre.
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OKPolicyCast 48: Quick takes on the budget (with David Blatt and Paul Shinn)
OK PolicyCast
A state budget deal for fiscal year 2020 was revealed last Wednesday, and it's likely to receive final passage in the Legislature today. To get more insight into the budget deal, I spoke with OK Policy's Executive Director David Blatt, as well as our new senior policy analyst covering budget and tax issues, Paul Shinn.
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OKPolicyCast 47: Homeless and a friend (with Tyler Parette)
OK PolicyCast
Tyler Parette works on some of the hardest problems in society of homelessness, addiction, and mental illness, not from the remove of a news article or policy paper, but making relationships directly with the people affected. Tyler shares with us how powerful it is not just for people they are helping, but how it can be a life-changing experience for the volunteers too.
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OK PolicyCast 46: A sanctuary for immigrants and their families (with Linda Allegro)
OK PolicyCast
Our guest today is Linda Allegro, the Project Director of New Sanctuary Network Tulsa. This project was started as a collaboration between Tulsa religious leaders of different faiths and denominations, and it's goal is protect Tulsa residents and families threatened by wholesale deportation. Linda speaks eloquently about how current approaches to immigration enforcement are breaking apart families, hurting public safety, and wasting tax dollars.
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OK PolicyCast 45: The Campaign to Expand Health Coverage (with Angela Monson)
OK PolicyCast
In this episode, I spoke with Angela Monson about the campaign to expand health coverage in Oklahoma. Monson has been involved with health care advocacy going back to the 1980s, and today, she is helping to bring together a coalition to push for bringing our federal tax dollars home to help more than 100,000 uninsured Oklahomans gain coverage.
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OK PolicyCast 44: 2019 BIll Watch, Part 2
OK PolicyCast
In our last episode, we heard from David Blatt and Carly Putnam about the big issues and bills we're following this year related to the state budget and health care. This episode brings you part 2 of that bill watch series, with criminal justice analyst Damion Shade, education analyst Rebecca Fine, and economic opportunity analyst Courtney Cullison.
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OK PolicyCast 43: 2019 BIll Watch, Part 1
OK PolicyCast
It's a new year, a new Legislature, a new governor, and many new bills that could have a big impact on Oklahomans' lives. In this episode, Gene Perry talks to OK Policy's Executive Director David Blatt and Policy Director Carly Putnam about the big issues we're keeping an eye on this year related to the state budget, taxes, and health. In a future episode, we'll talk about other bills we're tracking related to education, criminal justice, and economic opportunity. The OKPolicyCast is hosted by Gene Perry and produced by Gene Perry and Jessica Vazquez. You can subscribe to our...
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OKPolicyCast 42: The 2018 OK Policy Holiday Gift Guide
OK PolicyCast
There are a lot of reasons why winter is our favorite time of year (Fewer tornadoes! Legislative session starts soon!). However, one big reason is that it's when we're most likely to give and be given books — always dear to a policy nerd's heart. It's also the time when we get to share them with you! In the latest episode of the OK PolicyCast, we discuss some of the books we've read and loved over the last year that we hope you'll consider picking up, whether it's to give them away or keep them for yourself (Or to buy with every intention of giving and then never getting around to it, and...
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OKPolicyCast 41: Fair Wages and Overtime for State Workers (with Sterling Zearley)
OK PolicyCast
Today our guest is Sterling Zearley, who leads the Oklahoma Public Employees Association. OPEA represents thousands of state workers, including everyone from child welfare caseworkers to transportation engineers, corrections officers, mental health counselors, and more. In recent years in Oklahoma, teachers have gotten the most attention to their stagnant or falling pay and rising class sizes. Many state workers have faced very similar issues, as they try to do jobs that may be less visible than teachers but are still very important. Now as Oklahoma approaches next year's legislative session...
info_outlineIn 2016, Oklahomans voted to approve State Question 780 which changed simple drug possession crimes and low-level, non-violent property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. That law went into effect on July 1, 2017 and is already reshaping Oklahoma's justice system, with many fewer Oklahomans being charged with a felony and sent to prison for drug possession.
Yet there are still thousands of Oklahomans serving long prison sentences or living with a felony record and all the serious consequences that come with it for a crime that would now be a misdemeanor. This raises a serious moral and practical question: Is it just to keep imprisoning those people when Oklahomans have clearly said that their crime should not lead to prison?
To get at this question and what might be done about it, I spoke with OK Policy's criminal justice analyst Damion Shade, as well as Colleen McCarty, a law student and intern with Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform's commutation campaign, which is advocating to commute the sentences of some of those Oklahomans most dramatically affected by felony possession charges before SQ 780.
The OKPolicyCast is hosted by Gene Perry and produced by Gene Perry and Jessica Vazquez. You can subscribe to our podcast on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher, or RSS. The podcast theme music is by Zébre. If you have any questions for the OKPolicyCast, topics you’d like us to cover, or people you want us to interview, you can reach us at [email protected].