Rachel . . . . Hard at Work

https://www.kgou.org/show/how-curious/2023-05-23/okcs-american-pigeon-museum

Rachel Hopkins was born in the United Kingdom and moved to the United States in 2010.  After completing her doctorate at Ohio State University, she responded to a job ad seeking someone who liked “distinctive storytelling, solving mysteries, and meeting interesting people,” which resulted in her being hired by KGOU, as a reporter/producer of the station’s signature podcast—How Curious—which is dedicated to “the exploration of Oklahoman ‘legends, tall-tales, oddities, and conundrums,” as well as “little known but fascinating stories about Oklahoma’s past and present, people, places, and events.”  So far the subjects she has explored include: “Who are the Germans from Russia in Oklahoma?”, “How did Oklahoma help Create the Chicken Dance Craze?”, “Which Oklahoman Got a Hippopotamus for Christmas?”, “Why are a Pair of Pretty Red Panties so Significant to Oklahoma?” and “Is there an Oklahoma Octopus?”.

She is currently hard at work on a host of new episodes for 2024, one which looks at a groundbreaking social psychology experiment which took place decades ago in an Oklahoma state park (think Lord of the Flies but with a happier outcome), and another which examines the legacy of two pioneering African American property developers in Oklahoma City.  While she has plenty of potential subjects on the drawing board, she invites ideas for future podcasts which can be sent to curious@kgou.org.

A full list of almost 50 How Curious episodes which have aired to date can be found - at https://www.kgou.org/show/how-curious or where you get podcasts.