Okie Geek

About Okie Geek

Okie Geek is a podcast from KOSU, featuring interviews with Oklahomans about events and places with a geeky twist. The geek/nerd fandom is strong in Oklahoma, and host Matthew Viriyahpah hopes to make people aware of all the fun stuff going on in the Sooner State.

Publisher

KOSU

Category

leisure · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

3 Aug 2015

Latest episode

24 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

297 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   24 Jul 2026

   Mythopoeic Society's Phillip Fitzsimmons and Mythcon 54

   Mythopoeic. The word means myth-making and it is the name of the fantasy society that is coming to Weatherford. Part fan club and part literary academics, the Mythopoeic Society (https://www.mythsoc.org/) was formed in the late 1960s after the group’s founder threw a birthday party for Bilbo and Frodo Baggins in Los Angeles, California. This year they’re hosting their biannual conference in the town where an Oklahoma librarian has made Southwest Oklahoma State University the home for the society’s fantastical archive (https://dc.swosu.edu/mythsoc/). Since 2017, archivist and librarian Phillip Fitzsimmons has digitized about five thousand items belonging to the society that have been downloaded more than 1.5 million times around the world. Members have come from across the US and the world to attend the conference and discuss fantasy. “It's not just a matter of hiding from the real world,” Fitzsimmons said. “Sometimes reading these books gives the reader answers as to how it is that they can survive and prosper in the real world.” Fitzsimmons first read Tolkien in middle school and is now 63, and he says The Lord of the Rings still provides guidance for him. “I would say that in many ways, The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's work feeds me emotionally, psychologically in a way that, you know, I have lots of books that interest me that I read and like, but they're not doing anything other than satisfying my curiosity or entertaining me." This year’s theme is “Get Your Fantasy Kicks on Route 66.” The keynote speakers are fantasy author David R. Slayton and Mythopoeic scholar Dr. Joe R. Christopher. You can find out more about Mythcon 54 here (https://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-54.htm).

2. 

   2 Jul 2026

   Matthew Price - Team America Racing

   Matt Price remembers reading Team America Racing and seeing the toys as a kid. And now, he’s bringing the team back.His new comic book follows a team of young competitive motocross racers as they compete across the U.S. Originally published by Marvel and owned by Ideal Toys, the brand ended up in the hands of the owner of Comic Shop News, a news publication that Matt Price also writes and edits for. Despite the new publisher not owning the rights to the Marvel comics, Price considers the book a spiritual sequel that is updated for a new generation of readers. “I kind of took the tactic of what is different in 2025,2026 about being a young person competing at a high level. What does representing your country mean in 2026.”

3. 

   27 Mar 2026

   Symponicon and Literati Co-op

   Literati Press founder Charles Martin talks about the turning ownership of the Paseo bookstore to a writer's co-op. Later he is joined by OU E-sports director Mike Aguilar to talk about Symphonicon where the Oklahoma City Philharmonic will be playing music from from Cowboy Bebop, Interstellar, to Mario and the Legend of Zelda.

Who has been a guest on Okie Geek

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Hezekiah Hamlin
• Bryan Leaverton
• artists
• designers
• Mike Dattolo

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

14 ratings

Contact Okie Geek

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.

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