Heartbreaking is an essential skill as a professional writer. Novelists have to create characters, relationships, and worlds we love only to break them apart in the course of the narrative and subsequently break readers' hearts. Join my conversation with Mel Odom, an OU assistant professor and novelists who has written and published over 200 wo ...…

There's an education crisis in Oklahoma. Teachers are moving out of state to earn more livable wages and people are being emergency certified to fill empty positions at schools. Despite this, educators and leaders are focusing on solutions. This week, we have Dean Gregg Garn on the show from the college of education. He shares some of his innov ...…

Making healthy food options accessible to everyone despite their economic status is an issue in Oklahoma and around the world. What do we do when supermarkets don’t settle down in communities that need them most? The future of food intersects with architecture and urban planning with solutions that range from community gardens to towering skysc ...…

Starting your own business seems like the dream. Being your own boss, creating something from scratch, turning a good idea into something real-something profitable. Today, we’re diving into what makes a successful entrepreneur, discovering why Oklahoma may be the best place to start a business, and talking about how you can be a part of it. Joi ...…

Why are we willing to spend millions of dollars and untold man-hours consuming stories about people who don’t exist? This week on Just Sow, we explore why humans love fiction, and how imaginary worlds have meaningful impacts on our everyday lives.By The University of Oklahoma.

Are you team Yanny or team Laurel? We asked an OU professor who researches auditory neuroscience to explain why the internet is divided.By The University of Oklahoma.

Today we talk to Kathy Fahl, Director of the Gender + Equality Center, to see how campuses are working to prevent gender-based violence. With the #metoo movement and allegations against high-profile men in the entertainment industry, sexual assault and harassment became a national conversation this year. There was a seismic shift in what behavi ...…

Today on the show, we unlock the mysteries of bitcoin with Dr. Greg Burge. We explore the technology, the value, and the volatility of cryptocurrencies. What will happen if the feds create state backed cryptocurrency? What ways can we harness blockchain technology for good? And most importantly, how long until we can use bitcoin to buy pizza? F ...…

Today on the show, we went to the office of Ranya Forgotson O’Connor, an OU alumna, who started a non-profit to help end homelessness in OKC when she was just a sophomore at OU. Now, her organization has helped 20 people transition into housing just this year. She tells us the story of how she started the business and how you can help it thrive ...…

Today on the show, we explore the social psychology of popularity with OU professor, Dr. Lara Mayeux. Together, we dive into the minds and behaviors of high schoolers asking what it means to be cool and what happens to kids once they get there. Turns out, there's an unexpected dark side to being popular. Special Guest: Dr. Lara Mayeux.…

This week, we're talking to Dr. Jonathan Stalling about a ground-breaking new app that could revolutionize the way 350 million Chinese speakers learn English. Through the course of our discussion, Dr. Stalling shows how he, a poet and a linguist became an entrepreneur, after the surprising effects of a Chinese Opera. Special Guest: Dr. Jonathan ...…

On October 1st, Catalonia took the world by surprise by conducting an illegal vote on the question of independence from Spain. In response, Spanish police raided polling stations, fired rubber bullets, and injured more than 800 people. To understand this surprising new chapter in a long and historic conflict between Catalonia and Spain, we invi ...…

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s an inherited narrative with problematic implications! On today’s episode, we’re talking about the myth of the hero. From Batman and Superman to Indiana Jones and Moana, we sat down with Dr. Liz Locke to discuss what happens when our culture fails to think critically about our heroes. And in Just Sow first, we too ...…

Learn why eating chicken could be leading to the next global pandemic. We caught up with an OU anthropologist to talk about some of the most lethal infectious diseases in history, what pathogens are evolving in ways that could cause trouble for mankind, and the surprising factors that are paving the way for the next global outbreak. Indulge you ...…

Hear the story behind the movement to change Columbus Day. We’re lucky to have Dr. Heather Shotton with us to discuss the native students’ experience in higher education, the reclaiming of native research methodologies, and the movement to reimagine Columbus Day as Indigenous Peoples Day. October 9th, a day that was formerly Columbus Day is now ...…

A historian and a literary scholar discuss the subversive themes and historical influences in Game of Thrones, the show that has captivated audiences and shattered viewership records. Learn how the narrative adds complex dimensions to familiar stereotypes, challenges the audience's sense of morality, and uses exaggeration to critique the mythic ...…

How do we engage with media without internalizing negative messages? And what does the representation of women in film say about our culture? In honor of Women's Equality Day, we're talking to Dr. Lisa Funnell, who studies women and gender in pop culture. She wants the female narrative in Hollywood to reflect the real and diverse roles women pl ...…

We haven’t seen a Solar Eclipse cost to coast in the continental US since 1918. Aside from being a visual spectacle, how else can we enjoy the eclipse? And what more can we learn about this astrological event that has historically helped us better understand our universe? We caught up with Evan Rich, an astrophysics grad student and asked him t ...…

Who’s responsible for the incredible photos on OU’s social media, websites, articles, and flickr album? Today on the show, we’re bringing you the man behind the lenses, Mason Drumm. See how his international travel, an affinity for travel bags, and his philosophy on photography allowed him to carve a career out of his passion and become an infl ...…