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Why longtime listeners Jeff and Laura support KWGS

jeff-and-laura-hocketts
Longtime public radio listeners Jeff and Laura Hockett.

For longtime listeners Laura and Jeff Hockett, mornings start with KWGS. Morning Edition plays in the background of their kitchen as they prepare for the new day, sometimes following them to their car on the drive to work.

The Hocketts have been listening to Public Radio Tulsa since 1987 when they moved to Tulsa.

Before then, they were always public radio listeners. “I have very distinct memories of my dad listening to particular shows like A Prairie Home Companion in the evenings and Car Talk,” Laura recounts.

Now, Laura and Jeff have their own public radio routines. Jeffrey spends his mornings and afternoons with KWGS listening to Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Laura has her own favorites — Wait, Wait...Don’t Tell Me, Radiolab and This American Life, among others.

Since 1996, the Hocketts have been supporters of Public Radio Tulsa.

Laura values the depth to which NPR stories go. “There [would be] something that I'd just heard about and then, [I would hear] a five-minute piece on it. It's the depth of the stories, particularly shows in the morning and afternoon, that I enjoy.”

“And then a lot of the other shows are just a lot of fun. That's the other thing. It's nice to have interesting diversions,” Laura adds.

Jeff appreciates the interviews that air on KWGS, particularly from Fresh Air. “[Terry Gross] is excellent. She not only has interesting guests, but she's just a superb interviewer,” Jeffrey emphasizes. “She can ask uncomfortable questions in a manner that elicits honest answers from guests.”

In their 35 years of living in Tulsa, KWGS has been both a source of in-depth information and diversion for Jeff and Laura. Laura has spent many moments in grocery store parking lots listening to stories as they finish airing.

“I sit in the parking lot listening to the story because I don't have any kind of contraption to continue listening to it when I leave my car to go into the grocery store,” Laura describes. “[A story on Radiolab] really tends to suck me in more than almost anything.”

And it’s moments like these, and many more like them, that keep the Hocketts tuning in to 89.5 FM and supporting Public Radio Tulsa as contributing members.

Spend your day with KWGS. Tune in at 89.5 FM or listen online at publicradiotulsa.org. To support in-depth reporting and intriguing storytelling, donate here.

Julianne joined Public Radio Tulsa in June 2022 as Development Associate. She wear many hats at the station — connecting with listeners, writing PRT's newsletters, planning events and doing digital behind-the-scenes.