What does it actually take to run for office while working two jobs, standing in a food assistance line, and still showing up every day to teach? In this candid episode of The Public Foundry, host Erik Terwey sits down with part-time teacher, paraprofessional, and Oklahoma House District 4 candidate Christopher Wier for an unflinching conversation about what it means to be working class in rural Oklahoma right now.

From food bank lines in Tahlequah to the true cost of a bag of apples, Christopher and Erik dig into what "affordability" actually looks like when rent, groceries, and insurance premiums are eating away at families who are doing everything right. They trace the throughline connecting stagnant wages, crumbling school infrastructure, and the data centers reshaping rural land and water use, and challenge some of the easy talking points used to defend all three.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Who Counts as Working Class: Why Christopher rejects the blue-collar/working class divide and argues the real dividing line is between people who trade labor for wages and people who don't.
• The Livable Wage Gap: Why Tahlequah's real cost of living sits well above $21 an hour, and the research showing higher wages help small businesses instead of hurting them.
• A Tale of Two Towns: What a side-by-side comparison of two small Kansas towns reveals about what happens to a locally-owned grocery store once a Dollar General moves in.
• The Chromebook Problem: How a pandemic-era tech fix became a daily obstacle to learning, and why Chris calls Oklahoma's education crisis a twelve-year fix, not a one-year one.
• The Data Center Reckoning: A hard look at the land, water, and job numbers behind Oklahoma's AI data center boom, and why Chris argues the math doesn't add up for the communities hosting them.

Whether you're a teacher, a small business owner, or a neighbor watching your grocery bill climb every week, this conversation offers a grounded, firsthand look at what's actually breaking in rural Oklahoma, and what one candidate believes it will take to fix it.

When the bell rings and the classroom door closes, what really happens between teachers and students? In this eye-opening episode of The Public Foundry, host Erik Terwey sits down with middle school teacher, adjunct professor, and Oklahoma House District 12 candidate Tiffany Prater to go far beyond the surface of modern public education.

From managing executive functioning skills in middle schoolers to teaching political science at the college level, Tiffany shares an unfiltered, behind-the-scenes look at the everyday realities educators face. Together, Erik and Tiffany dismantle persistent myths—from "summer vacations" and standardized testing metrics to the systemic funding disparities shaping Oklahoma's schools based on zip code.

• What Non-Educators Miss: Why running a middle school classroom is like leading seven high-stakes business meetings a day while navigating complex emotions.
• Testing vs. Growth: Why judging schools on one-day state tests misses the mark, and how focusing on student growth and executive functioning builds true adult preparedness.
• Systemic Disparities: The stark contrasts between well-funded district resources and underfunded classrooms—and why all students deserve equal investment regardless of zip code.
• Trauma-Informed Teaching: How home environments impact learning and why empathy and grace are a teacher’s most powerful tools.
• A Vision for Reform: Practical, realistic policy priorities that support public education, retain passionate educators, and prioritize student wellbeing.

Whether you are a parent, an educator, or a community member invested in the future of public schools, this conversation delivers a powerful, compassionate, and practical look at what it takes to forge meaningful educational change.

Welcome to The Public Foundry.

Why another podcast? In this brief introduction, I explain what this show is all about and what you can expect from future conversations with candidates, experts, and everyday people about the issues that shape our communities.