Free Nights And Weekends
GenX stories from the 1980's Oklahoma suburbs.
Episodes
A Halloween trip back to the 1980s, when heavy metal, Dungeons & Dragons, and suburban America became entangled in a nationwide fear of satanic ritual abuse. Jason Dean sits in and helps explore how legitimate concerns about trauma and child safety became an elaborate conspiracy, why some people profited from the panic, and what happens when fear outruns evidence.
*editor’s note: Jason confuses Tom Cruise w...
We got the comments! The Brady episode struck a nerve. But of course it did. It’s a Gen X podcast and that’s our wheelhouse. In this midweek, bonus episode, we welcome back Eddie to do a little mop up and address the objectivity great observations of our listeners.
We always appreciate the feedback and it’s gonna pay off this week. You’ve spoken and we listened. Mostly.
Show...
This week Free Nights and Weekends celebrates a TV show that just won’t go away. The Brady Bunch served as a chronicle of American family life in the 1970s and has been viewed by generations since. Eddie Wilson joins us to discuss the series, talk about our favorite and least favorite episodes and his brush with the real life Bradys. Well, the characters. This is confusing. But not as bad as when we just ...
Step right up! We're revisiting this one as we take a deep-fried dive into the Oklahoma State Fair — where childhood smelled like funnel cakes, diesel fumes, and bad decisions. Scott is joined by Garth and Ken from Fried Okla to swap stories about sketchy carnies, dunk tank jerks, and the glory of winning a live iguana you absolutely didn’t need. It’s a nostalgic, laugh-out-loud ride through 8...
When we were kids, there was a piece of undeveloped land tucked away in my neighborhood that might as well have been another county.
There was a creek, a hill, woods, a field, a rope swing and a clubhouse. We rode our bikes through it, built forts, explored, swung across the creek and spent entire summers back there.
My buddy Todd and I even figured out how to catch crawdads with nothing but a piece of raw bacon tied ...
Parole denied! Oklahoma governor declines parole for the remaining member of three spree killers that shocked OKC in 1978.
In 1978, something horrific happened inside an Oklahoma City Sirloin Stockade.
Six employees went to work that night. They never came home.
For those of us who grew up in Oklahoma in the late '70s and '80s, the story became part of our collective childhood memory. We knew the name Roger Dale Staffo...
Oh, and so is Dolly! RIP
Columbia House is finally calling it quits, so we’re taking a look back at the legendary mail-order music club that promised a dozen albums for a penny and somehow became a part of growing up in America.
Eddie and I both signed up. We both have stories. And apparently, we had very different interpretations of how this whole thing was supposed to work.
We talk about where Columbia House ca...
In 1978, something horrific happened inside an Oklahoma City Sirloin Stockade.
Six employees went to work that night. They never came home.
For those of us who grew up in Oklahoma in the late '70s and '80s, the story became part of our collective childhood memory. We knew the name Roger Dale Stafford. We knew what had happened at Sirloin Stockade. We saw the news footage.
And we remember that giant steer out front.
48 y...
Every August, Gen X kids hit the reset button.
The new school year meant fresh notebooks, sharpened pencils, new sneakers if you were lucky, and the annual gamble of whether your backpack would survive until Christmas. It was the smell of a brand-new Trapper Keeper, hunting for your locker, trying to figure out where your classes were, and hoping your teacher wasn't "the mean one."
This week, we relive everything that...
Was there ever a year that captured everything we loved about the 1980s better than 1984?
This week, Scott and Jason take a nostalgic trip back to a year packed with unforgettable music, blockbuster movies, Olympic drama, pop culture milestones, and the everyday moments that made growing up in the '80s unforgettable.
From Van Halen's 1984, Prince, and Cyndi Lauper, to Ghostbusters, The Karate Kid, Gremlins, Indiana Jo...
Throwback to our 10th episode.
First jobs are fun, right? Right? In this big 10th episode extravaganza, Scott tells the story of his first steps to the exciting world of business and high finances. Also, he (literally) stumbles upon on a mystery of architecture and city planning in front of a seemingly innocuous Central Oklahoma single-family home. Or is it?
From the episode! ToddDankerCarpentry
Sho...
Whether your church camp was all about service projects or strict rules, one thing is certain...you probably still remember it.
This week, Scott is joined by Jason Dean to compare two very different church camp experiences from the 1980s. Scott spent summers volunteering at Camp Aldersgate in Little Rock, helping maintain a camp that served children with disabilities. Jason grew up attending a Church of Christ ...
Remember Bennigan's?
A simple Facebook post about their legendary Monte Cristo sandwich unleashed a flood of memories, complaints, and unresolved emotional baggage from Gen Xers across America. This week, Scott and fellow Oklahoma fat guy Jason Dean take a trip through the restaurant graveyard, remembering the chains, buffets, and menu items that disappeared without warning.
From Bennigan's and Steak and Ale to Pancho...
On the 40th Anniversary of this classic, we relive the perfectly executed fake sick day to a citywide parade takeover, Ferris didn’t just skip school… he rewrote the rules. But beneath the sunglasses and smooth-talking confidence is the real story: Cameron, a borrowed Ferrari, and a day that was never going to end quietly.
We break down:
- The most elaborate “I’m sick” performanc...
We revisit our most downloaded episode yet! What a school year! The Mets won the Series. The Space Shuttle blew up in front of me and my classmates. Local OKC weather guy Paul Bouchereau unloads some F bombs during a graphics guy foul up (then they run that tape). Oh, then there was the basketball coach at my middle school. Stick around for that one! Chad Goucher sits in and we cover it best we can. &nbs...
Before YouTube ads stalked us across the internet… there was a magical time when television itself became a fever dream around midnight.
This week on the Free Nights and Weekends Podcast, Scott and Marc dive headfirst into the loud, sweaty, aggressively enthusiastic world of 1980s and early 1990s infomercials. The era where every problem in America apparently could be solved with a food dehydrator, a rol...
This week on the Free Nights & Weekends Podcast, Scott welcomes the guys from Fried Okla for a full-speed ride straight into Oklahoma tornado culture. 🌪️
From growing up terrified of Gary England’s “HOOK ECHO” warnings to standing outside like complete idiots watching green skies roll in, the gang revisits the chaos, adrenaline, and accidental comedy of living in Tornado Alley.
They talk Moore F...
Well, Scott calls Charlotte Rae "Martha" knowing full well that Martha Raye was Mel's mom on Alice.
But on part II of the Free Nights and Weekends Podcast, Scott and co-host, Jason power through it and dive deeper into… the “very special episode.”
You remember them. One week you’re watching jokes and laugh tracks… the next, someone’s getting hooked on pills, kidnapped by a b...
This week on the Free Nights and Weekends Podcast, Scott and co-host, Jason crack open one of the strangest traditions in television history… the “very special episode.”
You remember them. One week you’re watching jokes and laugh tracks… the next, someone’s getting hooked on pills, kidnapped by a bike shop owner, or learning a hard lesson about peer pressure while the studio audi...
From the perfectly executed fake sick day to a citywide parade takeover, Ferris didn’t just skip school… he rewrote the rules. But beneath the sunglasses and smooth-talking confidence is the real story: Cameron, a borrowed Ferrari, and a day that was never going to end quietly.
We break down:
- The most elaborate “I’m sick” performance ever committed to film
- Why Camero...
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