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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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