Curious Cousins OK Podcast

HAPPY NEW YEAR! WOHOO! 2026

Jess will be starting this new year out right…with a spooky tale from the Oklahoma Panhandle!

Before Robbers Roost became legendary, the Oklahoma Panhandle—once called the Public Land Strip or "No Man's Land"—had a complex history shaped by 19th-century territorial politics and frontier life. After the Compromise of 1850 and boundary adjustments in 1854, a roughly 34-by-168-mile rectangle rem...

Tiff wraps up the fascinating and enormous history of the Cherokee Nation’s FIRST female Principal Chief; Wilma Mankiller. 

Wilma Mankiller rose from community development work to become a transformational leader of the Cherokee Nation. In 1983 she joined Ross Swimmer as Deputy Chief and, despite severe gender-based hostility—including threats and vandalism—won election and later became the first woman Principal Chief in 1985 when S...

This week, Tiff talks about a true Oklahoma warrior woman…Wilma Mankiller. 

Wilma Pearl Mankiller (born November 18, 1945) was a Native American activist and community developer who became the first woman elected Principal Chief of the Cherokee Nation. She revitalized the Nation’s government, improved healthcare and education, and advanced a Nation‑to‑Nation model of self‑government with the United States. Raised as one of eleven ch...

Thanks for sticking with us while we took care of some home stuff! We appreciate you all!

This week’s drop is in with cahoots with one of our favorite cousins, Raven Rollins, host of The Sirens Podcast AKA Sirens | A Southern True Crime Podcast. 

Remember when Jess covered the Roger Wheeler Case (Season 3: Episodes 128, 129, 130, 131)? Jess and Tiff got the privilege of sitting down with the lead detective, thanks to Raven’s ...

This week Jess wraps up the devastating and horrific case of Heather Rich. Hang on tight cousins, this is going to be a bumpy ride to justice…

Last week’s discussion covered the investigation into the atrocities that befell Heather Rich, and the interrogations of Josh Bagwell, Curtis Gambill, and Randy Wood. All three were tried as adults in Texas because the murder occurred there. Curtis Gambill’s trial began first after a change o...

Last week, Jess introduced us to the tragic story of Heather Rich of Waurika. 

Sixteen-year-old Heather Rich went missing after sneaking out the night of October 2, 1996, and her body was later found in Belknap Creek with severe, fatal wounds; so bad that she could only be identified by a ring. Local law enforcement initially treated her disappearance as a runaway case, so Heather’s parents, Duane and Gail Rich, conducted their own ...

Listener request this week! Join us as Jess walks us through part 1 of the death of Heather Rich. 

Heather Rose Rich, a vivacious Waurika, Oklahoma high‑school sophomore and cheerleader’s body was found in Belknap Creek on October 10, 1996. Heather, known for her beauty, bubbly personality, and popularity, had been struggling with personal issues: family stress after her father’s severe workplace injury, self‑harm, eating‑disorder b...

Happy Halloween! What better way to wrap up Spooky Season 2025 than with some haunting tales from Oklahoma’s most haunted town? And with Tiff at the reins, you know the spooks and kooks will keep your spine chill!

Guthrie, Oklahoma, was established almost overnight during the Land Run of 1889, transforming from a railroad station into a bustling city as tens of thousands of settlers staked claims. Designated as the capital of the Ok...

Jess wraps up her look at Oklahoma during World War I in this week’s episode. It’s a treat (not a trick) because it includes a brief history of your favorite cousins’ ties to the Great War. 

The University of Oklahoma experienced a significant transformation during World War I, with strong patriotic sentiments leading many students to consider joining the military. As a result, classrooms emptied, and the university formed a volunte...

Oklahoma became a state in 1907…less than 10 short years later our nation was thrown into the very first World War. Where did that leave OK? What part did we play? This week Jess takes us through those beginning stages…or Part 1 of World War I Oklahoma. 

Oklahoma's involvement in WWI evolved from initial aversion to enthusiastic participation due to economic pressures. The state experienced significant agricultural decline as Eu...

Tiff concludes her 2-parter this on one of OK’s worst bank robberies of all time…

On December 14, 1984, the Geronimo bank robbery and murder shocked the small town of Geronimo, Oklahoma, when 19-year-old Jay Wesley Neill, along with his boyfriend Robert Grady Johnson, committed heinous acts that resulted in the deaths of several bank employees and customers. Armed with a handgun and knife, Neill stabbed three female tellers, includi...

This week, Tiff tackles a truly savage and senseless case. A case that is still known as the deadliest bank robbery in recent Oklahoma history.

In part 1 of this two-parter, Tiff details the brutal Geronimo Bank Robbery on December 14, 1984, in Geronimo, Oklahoma, which resulted in the murders of four people and severe injuries to three others. The primary suspects were local men, Jay Wesley Neill (age 19) and Robert Grady Johnson (...

Do you feel that tiny nip in the air? It must mean one thing…the start of SPOOKY SEASON! Jess will kick our favorite season off with a part 2 of the Spooks found at the University of Oklahoma.

The Donald W. Reynolds Performing Arts Center was originally built as The Auditorium in 1918. It is a historic building at the University of Oklahoma, but was later renamed Holmberg Hall in 1938 after Fredrick Holmberg, a key figure in the uni...

This week Tiff dives in and discusses Oklahoma’s very own prima ballerina…Maria Tallchief.

Born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief on January 24, 1925, on the Osage Indian Reservation in Oklahoma, Maria became not only Oklahoma’s, but also America's first major prima ballerina. She is celebrated for her dedication and pride in her heritage. 

Rising from humble beginnings, she navigated dual cultural worlds, being trained rigorously by he...

This week, Jess wraps up her second installment of Women on Death Row: Marilyn Kay Plantz. This story really feels like a textbook case, with all the betrayal, twists, turns, affairs, greed, and manipulation!

Marilyn Kay Plantz became discontent in her marriage to Jim Plantz, leading her to engage in an extramarital affair with 18-year-old William Bryson. Instead of seeking a divorce, she conspired with Bryson to murder her husb...

We’re baaaaaaccckkkk!!

Welcome cousins to Season 4! We are so excited that you all are with us again this season! 

We’re kicking off Season 4 with Jess’ second installment of “Women on Death Row”. This episode, part 1 of 2, covers Marilyn K Plantz. 

Marilyn Kay Plantz, originally Marilyn Kay Sellers, was executed by lethal injection after spending 12 years on Oklahoma's Death Row. Born in 1960 into a modest, working-cl...

Tiff is going to wrap Season 3 up with a banger of a creepy place…St. Vincent’s Home in Oklahoma City. 

The property, often mistaken for an abandoned church, was once a hospital established in 1944 by the Catholic Brothers of Mercy. Initially intended to care for mentally and physically ill men and boys, the facility expanded over the years, adding more rooms and amenities. Its history includes a tragic incident in 1962 when a form...

This week, Jess tackles one of Oklahoma’ s many instances of the US Government going back on a treaty made with Native Tribes…

Chitto Harjo, also known as Crazy Snake, was born in 1846 into the Muscogee Creek Nation, which held onto important ceremonial roles even as other Native tribes faced significant changes due to U.S. policies. The Muscogee people, descendants of a rich culture that once thrived across the Southeastern United ...

When picturing the stomping grounds of serial killers Oklahoma doesn’t quite come to mind…right? Well, Tiff is going to trample right over that belief in this week’s episode!

The Oklahoma City Butcher is an unidentified serial killer responsible for the brutal murders of three young, unhoused Native American women—Cathy Lyn Shakelford, Arley Bell Killian, and Tina Marcia Sanders—between 1976 and 1986. All victims were subjected ...