The Rick Robinson Show

Rick Robinson

Rick Robison is the Programming Director of KLRNRadio and the host of several podcasts: America off The Rails, The Jenn and Rick Show, Rick and Ordy, and Juxtaposition, Rick has been a host on WNJC 1360 AM on CRN Digital Talk Radio and can even be heard occasionally on KOKC 95.3 FM and 1520 AM in Oklahoma City. This long-format show will air weekdays, Monday through Friday, from 2pm to 4 pm Central time. The show will focus on national politics and events that matter to Oklahomans.

  1. Sep 26

    Who Watches the Watchers? Data, Surveillance and the Systems Beneath Us

    Modern institutions collect more information than ever—but who controls that information, who protects it, and what happens when the systems underneath everything begin to fail? Rick Robinson examines a federal judge’s temporary order restoring White House access to CNN, MSNBC, and Politico. The ruling does not establish a permanent right to a press credential, but it raises important due process questions when the government revokes access it previously granted. The discussion then turns to the FBI’s investigation of a claimed breach involving its employment portal. Although the full scope remains unconfirmed, reportedly authentic personnel information creates risks extending far beyond ordinary identity theft—especially when names, addresses, family contacts, and job assignments could become a targeting map for hostile actors. Rick also separates the evidence from the slogans surrounding Arctic Frost, Jack Smith’s investigation, congressional phone metadata, nondisclosure orders, and the constitutional protections afforded to legislative activity. The technology debate moves from Washington to America’s roads as Rick examines Flock license-plate cameras, wrongful conclusions drawn from accurate data, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and the danger of letting automated tools replace real investigation. Finally, Oklahoma’s widespread 911 routing failure exposes the contradiction beneath modern government: institutions can build sophisticated surveillance networks while still depending upon fragile, aging infrastructure to route an emergency telephone call. Different agencies, different controversies, and different technologies—but the same essential question: Who watches the watchers?

    Who Watches the Watchers? Data, Surveillance and the Systems Beneath Us
  2. Sep 24

    The Price of Power

    Who controls the information — and who ultimately pays when power changes hands? Rick starts with the escalating fight over White House press access, the traditional presidential media pool, and whether modern political journalism is gathering information or manufacturing confrontation. Then a breaking Oklahoma human-trafficking case brings the conversation much closer to home, as Rick looks at the allegations, the months-long investigation that began with Purcell police, and why recognizing trafficking often starts with somebody simply refusing to look away. Hour two turns to the price of economic and national power. Stronger-than-expected economic data sends Treasury yields surging, Wall Street tumbling, and investors wondering whether inflation and higher interest rates are sticking around longer than expected. From there, Rick connects the dots between Xi Jinping's U.S. visit, rare-earth processing, Taiwan, America's relationship with China, and the new Greenland defense agreement — including what actually changed and what was already permitted under agreements dating back to 1951. Back in Oklahoma, the same argument becomes intensely practical: AI, data centers, electricity demand, groundwater, drought, and who should pay for the infrastructure needed to support the next generation of economic development. Finally, new Census numbers collide with the affordability debate as Sen. Ted Cruz warns about what he calls "socialism lite" emerging inside the populist right. Different stories. Same underlying reality: Power has a price — and eventually somebody pays it

    The Price of Power
  3. Sep 22

    Who Controls the Machine?

    Artificial intelligence may exist as software, but the infrastructure that supports it is very real—and whoever controls that infrastructure may eventually control far more than the technology itself. Rick Robinson revisits warnings about artificial intelligence, separating documented problems from unproven predictions. He examines whether federal regulation would protect the public or merely give Washington and the largest technology companies greater control over smaller competitors. The discussion then moves from software into the physical world. Data centers require land, electricity, transformers, transmission lines, cooling systems, capital, and government approval. Rick examines rising electricity demand, legislation over who should pay for new grid infrastructure, and the Federal Reserve’s acknowledgment that enormous technology companies are competing for staggering amounts of capital. The episode also launches Countdown to Midterms with President Donald Trump’s proposed $5,000 dividend and the controversy surrounding a Texas political-organizing program that paid participants $25. Rick distinguishes legitimate campaign work from illegal vote buying while asking where political persuasion ends and financial inducement begins. The program closes in Oklahoma with questions surrounding Oklahoma County’s finances, the proposed Enola aluminum smelter and local referendum, and the withdrawal of Lance Shroyer’s nomination to lead ICE. Different stories keep producing the same question: Who receives the authority—and what happens after they have it?

    Who Controls the Machine?

About

Rick Robison is the Programming Director of KLRNRadio and the host of several podcasts: America off The Rails, The Jenn and Rick Show, Rick and Ordy, and Juxtaposition, Rick has been a host on WNJC 1360 AM on CRN Digital Talk Radio and can even be heard occasionally on KOKC 95.3 FM and 1520 AM in Oklahoma City. This long-format show will air weekdays, Monday through Friday, from 2pm to 4 pm Central time. The show will focus on national politics and events that matter to Oklahomans.