The Wake Up Call with Benji Snead Podcast

James Arnold on May 5th, 2026

Benji Snead chats with James Arnold, who is the President of UMB Bank and an economic voice in the community, for this episode. James gets into what trends he's seeing in the Lubbock economy, how inflation is affecting banking, and what needs to be improving in the city.

Matt Ernst on May 5th, 2026

Benji Snead is joined by KCBD news director and meteorologist Matt Ernst. Matt shares his background and talks about how things have changed in the news industry, how recruiting has changed in the industry, and how KCBD handles their coverage on issues such as elections. Matt also discusses preparation for severe weather season, his thoughts on what's going on downtown, and how he's involved in the community.

Mark McBrayer and Brayden Rose on May 4th, 2026

Benji Snead had a chance to talk with Lubbock mayor Mark McBrayer and outgoing councilman Brayden Rose. Mayor McBrayer was just reelected for another two years, and Brayden is a city councilman from District 4. The mayor shares what it means to be reelected, what low turnout in the election means, what accomplishments he's proud of from his first term, and what issues and priorities he wants to face in his next term. Later in the podcast, councilman Rose shares why he is stepping down from his position.

Dr. Charles Addington on May 4th, 2026

Benji Snead had the opportunity to sit down and talk with Dr. Charles Addington. Charles is the mayor of Wolfforth and Lubbock County medical examiner. Benji asks Doc about how he balances life and his jobs, what the main source of growth in Wolfforth is, and what projects are in the works for the county. Charles also shares what has changed about the city over the years and talks about how he was involved in putting together a medical examiner facility in the county.

Jeremy Snead on May 1st, 2026

Benji Snead had the chance to sit down and talk to his brother and award-winning film director Jeremy Snead, who is also the founder of Mediajuice Studios. Jeremy promotes his feature film "Matter of Time" starring Sean Astin and breaks down what went into creating the film. He also talks about his background and what he's learned from filmmaking.

Taylor Peters on May 1st, 2026

For this episode, Benji Snead is joined by Taylor Peters, who is the Director of Video Storytelling for Texas Tech's Marketing and Communications department. She is also a former reporter for KCBD News Channel 11. Taylor talks about how she got into media and started her podcast Fearless Unscripted, where interviews different Tech personalities and alum. She also explains how the seasons change what she does, how producing content differs from reporting, and shares the best lesson she's learned in media.

Trey Strong on April 30th, 2026

Benji Snead is joined in the studio by Lubbock Cooper school board member and now candidate Trey Strong. Trey discusses how he got on the board a year ago, what challenges LCISD faces, what voters need to understand ahead of election day, how the school district is managing growth, and what his top priorities as a board member are.

Kurt Kiser on April 30th, 2026

In this episode, Benji Snead talks to local on-air personality Kurt Kiser. Benji and Kurt cover a variety of topics, like how Kurt got started in the media industry, what he does in media now, what he thinks about NIL, Lubbock election turnout, and what's changed about Lubbock over the years.

Roxzine Stinson on April 29th, 2026

Benji sits down and revisits with Roxzine Stinson, who is the Lubbock county elections administrator Roxzine Stinson. She talks about how the county did with turnout for early voting, what happened with the voting machines on the first day of early voting, and what voters should expect different from early voting to election day on Saturday. She also dives into how voters find results of each election and what dates voters need to know coming up.

Nick Atwood on April 29th, 2026

Benji is joined by Nick Atwood, who is the CEO of the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce. Benji and Nick break down Nick's vision for the chamber, what defines success for the chamber, and what it does for the community of Lubbock. Nick also informs listeners why someone should join the chamber and how the chamber advocates for the businesses and people of the city.