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Free Nights And Weekends

Scott

GenX stories from the 1980's Oklahoma suburbs.

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S5 · E13
Friday · 38 min
1980's Satanic Panic: The Devil Figures Out His Marketing Problem
Send us Fan Mail 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 with Tom Hanks. Likely because he had made a previous good point in the episode and he likes to pace himself. Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S5 · E12
October 6 · 28 min
Bonus Episode! A Brady Mop Up
Send us Fan Mail 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 Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S5 · E11
October 2 · 45 min
Nine Squares, One Indelible Mark on Gen X | The Brady Bunch Episode
Send us Fan Mail 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 decide to call the actors by their Brady names and we run with it. Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S5 · E10
September 25 · 42 min
Free Nights and Fairgrounds: The Great State Fair of Oklahoma One More Time!
Send us Fan Mail 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 80s fairgrounds, where powdered sugar coated everything — and nobody wore sunscreen. Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S5 · E9
September 18 · 47 min
Pave Paradise, Put Up A Storage Facility: A Gun Wielding Grandma, Rope Swings and No Rules
Send us Fan Mail 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 to a string. To us, it was as vast as the a big ranch. Decades later, I went looking for it. I found the land on Google Earth, drew a line around what I remembered as our wilderness. The adult me found some surprises and connected some dots. It wasn't Christopher Robin's 100 Acre Wood. But it was a big piece of undeveloped land sitting right in the middle of our neighborhood. Then I found something I never expected. I found the man who owned it. Mr. Phillips lived across the street when I was growing up. I called him and got to tell him just how much that piece of land meant to me and a whole generation of neighborhood kids. He had stories of his own. His kids played back there. He remembered the forts. He remembered the rope swing. He remembered the creek. He even confirmed that “Granny Grunt,” the mysterious old woman we were told owned the property before him, was a real person. And I got to tell him something I've carried with me for decades: I remember those woods. This week on Free Nights and Weekends, we're going back to the places where Gen X kids disappeared for the day, built their own little worlds and somehow managed to survive them. Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S5 · E8
September 11 · 39 min
Update: Parole Denied! A Plastic Steer, the Crime, and Growing Up Gen X: The Sirloin Stockade Murders
Send us Fan Mail 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 Stafford. We knew what had happened at Sirloin Stockade. We saw the news footage. And we remember that giant steer out front. 48 years later, the story is back in the news. Verna Stafford, who was convicted for her role in the crimes, appeared before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board this week. The board voted 3-2 to recommend parole on one of her two life sentences. But this isn't a true-crime episode. Scott and Jason talk about the Stafford murders, the victims, the restaurant, and the terrible story that became part of growing up in Oklahoma. More importantly, they talk about how Gen X learned about horrible things before the internet, social media, smartphones and the modern true-crime machine. We heard about bad things. We processed them the best way kids knew how. And then we went outside. Oh, and there's a 15 foot steer involved. 🐄 Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S5 · E7
August 28 · 35 min
We Can Come Out From Hiding! Columbia House Is Tits Up!
Send us Fan Mail 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 came from, why the deal was so irresistible, and what it was like getting music in the mail back before the internet made everything instantaneous. Plus, there’s a little Gen X nostalgia, a couple of questionable decisions, and one very important question: How did my genius plan fail? Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S5 · E6
August 14 · 39 min
A Plastic Steer, the Crime, and Growing Up Gen X: The Sirloin Stockade Murders
Send us Fan Mail 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 years later, the story is back in the news. Verna Stafford, who was convicted for her role in the crimes, appeared before the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board this week. The board voted 3-2 to recommend parole on one of her two life sentences. But this isn't a true-crime episode. Scott and Jason talk about the Stafford murders, the victims, the restaurant, and the terrible story that became part of growing up in Oklahoma. More importantly, they talk about how Gen X learned about horrible things before the internet, social media, smartphones and the modern true-crime machine. We heard about bad things. We processed them the best way kids knew how. And then we went outside. Oh, and there's a 15 foot steer involved. 🐄 Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S5 · E5
August 7 · 38 min
Back to School: Hostage Negotiations In The Store Aisle
Send us Fan Mail 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 made heading back to school unforgettable, from school supply shopping and first-day disasters to cafeteria lunches, bus rides, locker combinations, and the little traditions every kid remembers. Grab your No. 2 pencils and join us for another trip back to the decade when school pictures had feathered hair, book covers were mandatory, and everyone secretly hoped their best friend was in the same homeroom. Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S5 · E4
July 31 · 39 min
1984: The Year the '80s Peaked
Send us Fan Mail 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 Jones and the Temple of Doom, and The Terminator, it seemed like every weekend brought another instant classic. Along the way, we revisit Reagan's landslide re-election, the 1984 Summer Olympics, the Soviet boycott, McDonald's legendary "When the U.S. Wins, You Win!" promotion, the Apple Macintosh, MTV's explosion in popularity, and dozens of memories that made 1984 feel like the year the decade truly hit its stride. So grab your Walkman, hop on your BMX, and spend an hour reliving one of the greatest years of the greatest decade. What do YOU remember most about 1984? Let us know on Facebook or in the comments! If you're enjoying the show, please subscribe, leave us a five-star review, and tell someone about Free Nights and Weekends! Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S5 · E3
July 24 · 42 min
Another Crummy Rerun: My 1985 LinkedIn Profile Would Have Said "Media Distribution Manager"
Send us Fan Mail 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 Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S5 · E2
July 17 · 46 min
Campfire Confessions: Church Camp in the '80s
Send us Fan Mail 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 camp where the rules were...let's just say...a little different. From bunk beds, bug spray, campfires, and Kool-Aid to chapel services, camp crushes, counselors, and the unwritten rules every kid somehow understood, this episode covers it. Whether church camp changed your life or you were just counting the days until your parents picked you up, this one will bring back memories. What do you remember most about church camp? We'd love to hear your stories! Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S5 · E1
July 10 · 40 min
Poof. It Was Gone. | Restaurants and Menu Items We Still Miss
Send us Fan Mail 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's, ShowBiz Pizza, Shoney's, and Furr's Cafeteria, they revisit the places where birthdays were celebrated, first dates happened, and unlimited breadsticks seemed like a basic human right. They also pay tribute to the discontinued menu items we still mourn, including fried McDonald's apple pies, Taco Bell favorites, Wendy's SuperBar, and other culinary casualties of corporate decision-making. Turns out we don't just miss the food. We miss where we were when we ate it. Pull up a chair, raise the little flag one more time, and join us for a nostalgic trip through the restaurants and menu items we still wish were around. Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S4 · E18
June 12 · 31 min
Remembering Ferris Bueller’s Day Off On The 40th Anniversary Of This Glorious Piece Of Cinema!
Send us Fan Mail 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” performance ever committed to film Why Cameron Frye is the main character The Ferrari heard ’round the world (and why we all knew it was doomed) Principal Rooney’s slow, beautiful unraveling And why this movie still hits decades later Whether you wanted to be Ferris, needed a friend like Ferris, or were more of a Cameron watching it all go off the rails… this one’s for you. Because life moves pretty fast. And apparently, if you believe in yourself enough… you can skip school, hijack a parade, destroy a luxury vehicle, and still make it home before your parents notice. Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S4 · E17
June 5 · 49 min
I Am The Batman, Again
Send us Fan Mail 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. Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S4 · E16
May 22 · 21 min
Please Allow 6–8 Weeks For Delivery | The Infomercial Episode!
Send us Fan Mail 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 roll of tape, or a knife capable of cutting through a cinder block and a tomato without bruising either one. We’re talking: The hypnotic power of the Ginsu Knife guy 🔪 The Clapper and every lazy person’s dream 👏 Ron Popeil becoming the king of late night television Questionable products nobody needed but everybody wanted “But wait… there’s more!” becoming part of the American vocabulary Why infomercials always looked like they were filmed inside a casino conference room The weird confidence of ordering products through the mail and waiting 6–8 weeks like it was normal human behavior Plus plenty of Gen X memories about falling asleep with the TV on and waking up at 3:17AM to discover a man in suspenders screaming about nonstick cookware like civilization depended on it. CALL NOW! Operators are standing by! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S4 · E15
May 15 · 44 min
Tornados, Tigers & Backyard Meteorologists (The Other Tornado Episode)
Send us Fan Mail 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 F5 memories, local weather legends, tornado chasers with a death wish, sirens at 2AM, hiding in bathtubs, and that absolutely unhinged Norman storm where floods, wild animals, and total confusion turned Oklahoma into a real-life disaster movie. Support the show! Get your FNAW gear! (Link) Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S4 · E14
May 1 · 29 min
When Sitcoms Got All Preachy (Part II)
Send us Fan Mail 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 bike shop owner, or learning a hard lesson about peer pressure while the studio audience sits in stunned silence. From Diff'rent Strokes to Family Ties, sitcoms of the 1980s would occasionally slam on the brakes and deliver a moral message with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer wrapped in a hug. We’re diving into: The sudden tonal whiplash that turned comedy into cautionary tales The episodes that definitely went too far The actors who went from punchlines to Emmy bait overnight And why these episodes stuck with an entire generation like emotional gum under a school desk And you'll probably learn a Very Important Lesson™. So grab your after-shower snack, sit a little closer to the TV with the family, and prepare yourself… This is a very special episode… about very special episodes. Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S4 · E13
May 1 · 22 min
When Sitcoms Got All Preachy
Send us Fan Mail 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 audience sits in stunned silence. From Diff'rent Strokes to Family Ties, sitcoms of the 1980s would occasionally slam on the brakes and deliver a moral message with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer wrapped in a hug. We’re diving into: The sudden tonal whiplash that turned comedy into cautionary tales The episodes that definitely went too far The actors who went from punchlines to Emmy bait overnight And why these episodes stuck with an entire generation like emotional gum under a school desk And you'll probably learn a Very Important Lesson™. So grab your after-shower snack, sit a little closer to the TV with the family, and prepare yourself… This is a very special episode… about very special episodes. Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame
S4 · E12
April 24 · 30 min
Life Moves Pretty Fast: Remembering Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
Send us Fan Mail 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 Cameron Frye is the main character The Ferrari heard ’round the world (and why we all knew it was doomed) Principal Rooney’s slow, beautiful unraveling And why this movie still hits decades later Whether you wanted to be Ferris, needed a friend like Ferris, or were more of a Cameron watching it all go off the rails… this one’s for you. Because life moves pretty fast. And apparently, if you believe in yourself enough… you can skip school, hijack a parade, destroy a luxury vehicle, and still make it home before your parents notice. Show Sponsor Don't Just Let Memories Live On FNAW Digitize them with The Digitize Center Angry that you don't have the latest Free Nights and Weekends Podcast gear? Fix that here! Support the show Free Nights and Weekends on Facebook Our Website Original music provided by a few of the gentlemen of Supernal Endgame

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