StateImpact Oklahoma, the collaborative reporting project of the state's public media and NPR, will preview the 2012 legislative session during a series of community forums in January. StateImpact broadcast reporter Logan Layden, digital reporter Joe Wertz and several legislative and academic panelists will lead community conversations in Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Stillwater about the fiscal challenges that await Oklahoma lawmakers.

Joe and Logan will also speak about the scope of the project, which encompasses issues related to the state budget and budgeting process. The first forum is in Tulsa on Monday, Jan. 23, followed by a forum at OETA in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, Jan. 25. The final forum will be in Stillwater on Tuesday, Jan. 31. Bring your questions, comments, thoughts and concerns about the state budget!

 

Imagine yourself traveling out of state, but still able to hear KGOU on a car audio system. It's no longer merely a dream for the future: NPR has become the first major news organization to integrate its content, along with audio streams of local stations, into an emerging fleet of Internet-enabled cars.

NPR has collaborated with Ford Motor Company on a new mobile application that will enable drivers to listen to public radio stations and programs via a voice-controlled mobile device in the dashboard of new Ford automobiles. NPR CEO Gary Knell and Ford executives made the announcement at the Consumer Electronics Show this week in Las Vegas. MotorTrend magazine has a write-up, as well as NPR.org's blog The Two-Way. See how it works in this video demonstration.

 

KGOU will broadcast NPR News coverage of the President's State of the Union speech to Congress and a national audience on Tuesday, Jan. 24, beginning at 8 p.m. CT. This will be President Obama's last State of the Union address of his first term as he heads into the election. His speech will be followed by the Republican response and then analysis from NPR's political correspondents covering the White House and Congress.

 

In 2008, Matthew Knight launched The Disposable Memory Project, in which a disposable camera is dropped off with basic instructions and sent wherever the finder takes it. Four hundred cameras later, the project has received photos from all over the world, including Greenland, Cambodia, and even the South Pole. See some of the photos at NPR's Picture Show blog.

 

All along the Mediterranean coastline, from Spain to northern Africa, flatbreads abound -- delicious, handmade yeasted doughs, pulled thin and grilled up with all sorts of savory toppings. Deena Prichep, writing for NPR's Kitchen Window, favors the Spanish Coca dough, and has favorite recipes to share at NPR.org.