Rachel Hopkin
KGOU Host-ProducerRachel is a British-born and U.S.-based radio producer and folklorist. She began her career as a radio producer in various music departments at the BBC in the United Kingdom. She then moved to Argentina and continued to work on an independent basis for broadcasters around the world.
In 2010 she settled in the U.S. and in 2013 was awarded a rare “National Interest Waiver” Green Card in recognition of her work as a folklorist/radio producer with a special focus on U.S. traditional culture. She became a naturalized American citizen in 2019. Rachel has earned an M.A. in Folk Studies from Western Kentucky University, and a doctorate in English and Folklore from The Ohio State University.
Rachel is passionate about sound and storytelling and how one can be harnessed to enhance the power of the other. At KGOU, she brings her talents and passion to the How Curious podcast; she’s also responsible for initiating and overseeing various special projects.
Send Rachel your questions and curiosities about anything related to Oklahoma at curious@kgou.org.
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How Curious explores a momentous scientific breakthrough which took place in Oklahoma in the early 1920s and which continues to have worldwide consequences today
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This episode features an Oklahoma-based musical mega-impresario, some of country music’s biggest stars, and a tour of the former USSR.
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Exploring the fascinating history and lore of pigeons, plus the incredible variety of breeds
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While there used to be several hundred lesbian bars across the US just a few decades back, only 24 remain. New York and Oklahoma tie for the lead with three lesbian bars each, but those two states are very different places, so why do they have this in common?
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In the late 1920s, a young Oklahoman composer named Albert E. Brumley created a song that would go on to become one most popular pieces of gospel music of all time.
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The small town of Shattuck lies close to Oklahoma’s border with Texas, and at its center stands the Shattuck Windmill Museum. We learn about the vital role that windmills played across the high plains region, as well as about the role this Museum plays in Shattuck life.
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The Morgan Horse is the earliest surviving breed of American horse. But it's from Vermont. So why is it so important to Oklahoma?
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For years, CB radio users heard a male voice incessantly repeating these words: "I got my nightgown on, I got my pretty red panties on, and I’m ready to go to bed." Who was behind the message and why?
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Kendall’s Restaurant in downtown Noble, Okla., is famous for chicken-fried steaks, cinnamon rolls, and GHOSTS. Rachel Hopkin explores some strange goings-on under its roof.