It’s the season finale, and we go out big!

Tim Skubick, Michigan’s Senior Capitol Correspondent and host of public television’s “Off the Record,” is our last guest of season four. Tim has more than 50 years in covering Michigan’s political beat.

Andy Arena has a nearly 25-year career as one of this country’s top FBI agents, with assignments in LA after the riots of ’92, organized crime, counterterrorism following 9/11, and public corruption in Youngstown, OH and Detroit.

He’s retired from the Bureau now and leads the Detroit Crime Commission, a non-profit founded to support the work of local law enforcement organizations. Naturally, he had time to come to Lansing to talk to us.

Never underestimate the power of a podcast because today we make dreams come true. Peter Ruddell has long dreamt – quite publicly really – of being on the Cold Oatmeal Podcast. Today, we make it happen.

Zach Gorchow is Executive Editor and Publisher of Gongwer News Service and a Cold Oatmeal Podcast Hall of Famer.

Zach was the last guest to visit the studio before the 2020 lockdown. Now, as we emerge from behind our masks, Zach is back!

That’s where we’re headed. To the moon… October Moon.

Aura Ozborn is a small business owner, retailer, instinctive marketer, and amazingly fun person. She owns and operates October Moon, a gift boutique in Old Town Lansing, MI.

Today on the podcast, we hear Aura’s story and the story of her one-of-a-kind shop.

So, we kinda stumbled into this one. We set out to get to know Alethia Kasben a bit better and discovered we were talking to a reporter who covers Michigan’s marijuana industry on - wait for it - April 20. No way!

40 years ago, a former famous movie and TV star, Jenny Maxwell, was executed in front of her Hollywood condo. 40 years later, a distant relative and former newspaper man here in Michigan solved the mystery around the murder, brought closure to his family, and wrote a book about the entire affair. Today, he’s on the Cold Oatmeal Podcast.

Today, we go back to school for “Open Government: 101” with professor Craig Mauger.

Craig isn’t actually a professor (although we learn he is a Hoosier), but he is pretty expert at wielding the old Freedom of Information Act request. He covers Michigan state government and politics for the Detroit News and has broken some pretty big news of late.

When the pop-up book is written about the story of Resch Strategies, Kevin McKinney will get his own chapter. Kevin was our first landlord.

Today, we bring back “Four Questions,” and we talk to a friend, colleague, and destination for solid advice.

Damon Rensing has been living MSU college sports for nearly 25 years. First as an all-Big Ten soccer player, then as assistant men’s soccer coach, and now 11-plus years as the head coach of the Spartan men’s team.

A couple years ago, he led the Spartans to the college soccer Final Four, the College Cup. Today, he’s on the Cold Oatmeal Podcast.