KGOU Sunday Radio Matinee

Hunger and food insecurity are practically interchangeable terms used to describe the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. According to figures released by the United States Department of Agriculture, the prevalence of food insecurity in Oklahoma between 2014 and 2015, though declining… was nevertheless higher than the national average. 

As the Trump administration begins ironing out its strategy in the Middle East, America Abroad examines what my lie ahead in regards to Israel, Syria, Iran, and the fight against ISIS. America Abroad: Trump's Approach to the Middle East offers broad analysis of the current situation in these areas and the choices the new president faces. This episode also examines the current state of the US State Department and how t impacts the dynamics in the region. 

Imagine getting a check from the government every month: $600 guaranteed. It’s happening in Finland, where a pilot program is being launched to test what’s known as a “universal basic income.” As technology transforms the workplace, jobs and income will become less reliable. The idea is that a universal basic income could serve as a tool to combat poverty and uncertainty in a changing society, and provide a cushion that empowers workers, giving them latitude to take risks in the job market.

In the 25 years since Minnesota passed the first charter school law, these publicly funded but privately operated schools have become a highly sought-after alternative to traditional public education. Many charter schools boast of high test scores, strict academic expectations, and high graduation rates. Opponents argue that charters, which are subject to fewer regulations and less oversight, lack accountability, and take much-needed resources from public schools.

What do we really know about other people’s lives? This week’s Sunday Radio Matinee feature from Re:sound explores the double lives and secret lies of imposters. Join Third Coast International Audio Festival’s Gwen Macsai for bundle of stories that prove, “What you see is not always what you get!” 

From the dunes of the Sahara to a slumber party in Manhattan, from the dancehalls of Jamaica to a racetrack in Ramallah, host Tina Fey takes us around the world into the secret life of girls and the women they become.

The Hidden World Of Girls is a two-part program we're bringing back to commemorate Women's History Month.  Sound-rich, evocative, funny, and powerful–stories of coming of age, rituals and rites of passage, secret identities of women who crossed a line, blazed a trail, and changed the tide.

The View from Room 205 is a one-hour documentary that takes an unflinching look at the intersection of poverty and education in this country. It tells the story of a fourth grade classroom at William Penn Elementary, a public school in one of the nation’s poorest neighborhoods, North Lawndale on Chicago’s West Side. The documentary weaves together human stories in the school, from the children to their teacher to the principal, and pulls back to explain the big picture.

Over 70 years ago, in 1945, U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt and King Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia met onboard the USS Quincy. A close relationship between the two countries has been maintained ever since, with oil and military and intelligence cooperation at its foundation. But the 9/11 attacks, the U.S. shale revolution, human rights concerns, and diverging interests in the Middle East, have all put strains on this relationship. And with the election of Donald Trump, it faces even more uncertainty.

In 2014, the shooting of Michael Brown by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, set off a wave of protests and sparked a movement targeting racial disparities in criminal justice. Since then, there have been other controversial deaths of African Americans at the hands of law enforcement that have captured the public’s attention, from Tamir Rice, to Philando Castile.

"If only the Capitol Steps had some funny material to work with in 2016" is something that will never cross your mind when listening to their Year In Review New Year's special. All your election favorites will be there: President Elect Trump, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Vladimir Putin...wait, what?!? Let's not let the election divide us any further. Listen and unite in laughter! And for goodness's sake, can someone give Merrick Garland a hug?

It is alleged that the practice of gerrymandering - dividing election districts into units to favor a particular group - subverts democracy by making congressional districts “safe” for one party or the other. As a result, only those voting in primaries are in effect choosing our representatives.  Are primary voters more extreme in their views, and therefore pulling democrats to the left and republicans to the right?

There are an estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants in the United States, and the question of what to do with them has sparked years of fierce debate, but no significant action.  

In 2013, the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” managed to pass a comprehensive immigration reform bill in the Senate, only to get it dropped by the House.  And in 2016, a deadlocked Supreme Court decision stalled President Obama’s executive actions, DACA and DAPA, which were designed to prevent the deportation of some 5 million people.  

Two days after Nora McInerny's husband Aaron died, she celebrated Thanksgiving with her family. Well...maybe not "celebrated". Actually, why would you do that? Try to be normal when clearly everything isn't? But every year, millions of people do the same thing during the holidays. This new special, Terrible, Thanks For Asking will feature conversations with Lucy Kalinithi and Amber Tozer, and some of the women of the Hot Young Widows Club on the challenges of dealing with trauma and loss during this sensitive season.

What are you grateful for? It's a more important question than you might think.

Showing and feeling grateful may be the true key to health and happiness.

All wars are the same, it is said; only the scenery changes. And the repercussions are pretty much the same too.

State Questions 780 and 781 propose making significant changes to Oklahoma’s criminal justice system in an effort to lower the state’s incarceration rates. SQ 780 proposes to change the classification of certain drug possession and property crimes from felony to misdemeanor offenses. SQ 781 would create the County Community Safety Investment Fund to hold and redistribute any savings achieved by incarcerating fewer people for drug possession or nonviolent crimes — the intent of

Health care costs in the U.S. are some 18 percent of GNP, nearly double what other rich countries spend. We read of drug therapies that cost $100,000 a year or more, and of drug price increases that are six times the rate of inflation, on average, and often much more when mergers reduce competition in the industry. Is this a major driver of excessive health care costs? Or is it a by-product of the huge costs of getting new drugs approved? Has big pharma delivered drugs that reduce the need for costly surgeries, which extend life and improve its quality?