Episode 70-SoonerCare budget cuts, Osage immersion school closure, & more

FBO’s Alana Mbanza is looking ahead at the future of health care in Oklahoma and what changes to Medicaid could mean for hundreds of thousands of Oklahomans who rely on SoonerCare for coverage. President Donald Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” includes significant changes to the federal Medicaid program, including new eligibility requirements and work-related provisions that could affect who qualifies for coverage.

In Oklahoma, where SoonerCare provides health insurance to children, families, pregnant women, seniors, and people with disabilities, the consequences could be significant. A difficult chapter is unfolding for Osage language preservation in Oklahoma.

The Osage language immersion school in Pawhuska, a program created to help a new generation learn and carry forward the language of the Osage people, is closing its doors. The decision has sparked questions about the future of language revitalization and the challenges of sustaining Indigenous education programs.

Here’s FBO’s Roma Carter with part two of her story. Oklahoma is one of a relatively small number of states that requires voters who return absentee ballots by mail to have their signatures notarized, or to follow other specific verification procedures depending on the type of absentee ballot.

The requirement is intended to help verify a voter’s identity and protect the integrity of elections—but it can also raise questions about access, convenience, and whether every voter has the same ability to navigate the process. Here’s FBO’s Nick Alexandrov with more.

We explore the remarkable story at the heart of Caleb Gayle’s newest book, Black Moses —the untold journey of Edward McCabe, a visionary Black leader who dreamed of creating an all-Black state within the United States. Oklahoma—land once deeded to Indigenous nations—became a landscape of both tension and possibility, ultimately home to more all-Black towns than anywhere else in the country.

Gayle sat down with FBO’s Executive Producer Quraysh Ali Lansana on a recent book tour visit. Every family has its own language.

Sometimes, it’s a favorite saying, an inside joke, or a nickname that has stuck around for generations. But where do these names come from?

What makes a nickname stick, and why can hearing one bring us right back to a particular person, place, or time in our lives? FBO’s Sondra Slade celebrates the special world of her family nicknames and explores how these small, sometimes silly names become a meaningful part of a family’s culture, identity, and connection across generations.

Focus: Black Oklahoma is produced in partnership with KOSU Radio & Tri-City Collective. Additional support is provided by the Commemoration Fund & Press Forward.

Our theme music is by Moffett Music. Focus: Black Oklahoma 's executive producers are Quraysh Ali Lansana & Bracken Klar.

Our associate producers are Jesse Ulrich, & Naomi Agnew. You can visit us online at or & on YouTube @TriCityCollectiveOK.

You can follow us on Instagram @FocusBlackOK & on Facebook at . You can hear Focus: Black Oklahoma on demand at , the NPR app, , or wherever you get your podcasts.