David Brown

What a banking slowdown in Texas means for the economy

The relationship between U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and Dallas billionaire Harlan Crow is under scrutiny after a ProPublica investigation reporting that Thomas accepted lavish vacations and more from the GOP donor.

The Texas House has passed a sweeping budget that reveals a lot about support for some key issues including school vouchers, gun-related crimes and more.

And the Texas Standard’s Sean Saldana with what a new survey of bankers tells us about the state of Texas’ economy.

How the Farm Bill is about a lot more than farming

Another election day looming, another deadline to register to vote. We’ll look at what Texans need to know.

A court decision that could change rules involving gun laws and domestic violence.

They call it a farm bill, but it affects issues ranging from SNAP benefits to environmental regulations. A closer look at one of the most consequential items on Congress’ agenda.

That little blue badge on Twitter: what does it mean nowadays? Omar Gallaga with a reality check.

And as Texas lawmakers move to help with water issues for colonias, communities struggle with other mounting issues.

Will Texas ban the death penalty for people with severe mental illness?

Thirty million people now call Texas home, but new numbers tell a story of uneven growth across the Lone Star State. Which areas are gaining and which are slipping as the Texas population continues to grow?

The Texas Standard’s Sean Saldana has details on a push to outlaw the death penalty for those with severe mental illness

The rising cost of living in Texas is hitting tacos, too. But what’s with a $5 difference just five blocks away? Likely more than meets the mouth, says taco journalist Mando Rayo.

Plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and the Typewriter Rodeo.

‘The Long Game’ highlights the drive behind Mexican American golf trailblazers

Senate Bill 8 would provide education savings accounts of $8,000 that some Texas students could access to switch from public to private school. We’ll have the latest on the bill moving through the Legislature.

Also at the Legislature: Lawmakers might be messing with Austin once again, this time on a particularly touchy subject in the capital city – its land code.

Plus, the new film “The Long Game” highlights the 1950s story of four Mexican American teens in Del Rio who fought discrimination to become state golf champions.

Is prosecuting librarians the next front in Texas’ book wars?

You’ve heard about library book bans in Texas, but behind the scenes there is a campaign underway to prosecute librarians for putting certain books on the shelves of school and public libraries.

After four decades, Texas politician Ben Barnes comes clean about his role, and that of former Texas Gov. John Connally, to delay the release of 52 American hostages held in Iran in order to ensure the election of Ronald Regan. Peter Baker of the New York Times joins us.

Also Texas gets a new professional sports franchise – not football or basketball, but Major League Cricket.

Indigenous chefs take center stage at Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion

Almost a year after the Uvalde school shooting, a new investigation by the Texas Tribune reveals it was the type of weapon used, an AR-15, that prompted officers to back off from the room where the shooter was holed up. Reporter Zach Despart joins us to explain.

A closer look at bills in the Legislature focused on hot-button social issues, including what’s being taught in public schools.

And at Willie Nelson’s annual food fun and music shindig in Luck, Texas, there’s something extra special on the menu: The Standard’s Kristen Cabrera has more on the Indigenous food on the table.

What’s next as pandemic-era housing assistance winds down

Several bills are aimed at building more homes, but what about Texas renters, many reeling from the end of assistance programs? State lawmakers are being urged to take action on housing affordability, or more precisely, the lack thereof.

What’s an education savings program? Critics say it’s just another spin on school vouchers. Sergio Martínez-Beltrán of the Texas Newsroom previews Senate committee hearings on the measure.

Is there really such a thing as “too low” when it comes to unemployment rates? The Standard’s Sean Saldana explains.

And remembering El Rey de la Cumbia, Fito Olivares.

How to testify at the Texas Legislature

After the Texas Education Agency’s announcement that it will take over the Houston Independent School district, we’re taking a look at what previous state takeovers could signal for this one.

“Stand up and be heard” – that’s what we’re often told to do when the Legislature’s in session. But how does one do that, exactly? We’ll hear a step-by-step primer.

Our go-to tech expert Omar Gallaga shares some key takeaways from the tech side of South by Southwest.

Plus, the creators of “The Lady Bird Diaries” join us to talk about the new film.

Breaking down the saga at the Dallas Zoo

School vouchers, now styled as school choice, are back before state lawmakers. They have been rejected in the past, but will this year be different? Senate Bill 8 would provide Texas parents with an education account, taxpayer money that could be used to send students to private school. And the bill has special features designed to win over traditionally reluctant rural Republicans.

The Houston Independent School district braces for the implications of a state takeover.

Jamie Landers of the Dallas Morning News has put together a fuller picture of what happened with a string of crimes at the Dallas Zoo.

And seven Texas teams are spicing up March Madness on the men’s side.

NASA’s new head scientist on the future of space exploration

Two lawsuits in Texas, one in Galveston and one in Amarillo, have potential impacts on a post-Roe v. Wade world. SMU legal scholar Seema Mohapatra on the implications for people seeking abortions in Texas and beyond.

U.S. Sen. John Cornyn says he plans to block a Biden administration proposal that would allow thousands of migrants to live in the U.S. while their asylum cases are being considered.

We talk to Dr. Nicola Fox, who has been named NASA’s new head of science – a dream gig that comes with a $7.8 billion budget and responsibility for more than 100 missions.

And a new book, “The People’s Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine,” claims a hospital in Houston could serve as a model for improving health care access nationwide.

Documentary highlights competitive high school mariachi

There’s a push in the Texas Senate to raise the penalty for illegal voting despite a widely reported absence of evidence that it’s a major problem. Sergio Martínez-Beltrán of the Texas Newsroom shares his weekly lookahead at what’s happening at the Legislature.

A bill filed last week would abolish the Texas Juvenile Justice Department and close down the state’s youth prisons.

There was chaos Sunday on the pedestrian bridge connecting El Paso with Juárez, Mexico. Lauren Villagran of the El Paso Times joins us to discuss what happened.

By many measures Texas is at the top of the pack for renewable energy, yet gas and oil likely remain big in the state for some time to come.

Plus we’ll hear from the directors and a student star of a new documentary that had its Texas debut at South by Southwest, “Going Varsity in Mariachi.”

Ideas for combatting the trucking shortage

Five men are handed over in Mexico along with a letter purportedly from the Gulf Cartel apologizing for the “senseless crime” of violently kidnapping four Americans, leaving two of them and one Mexican dead. U.S. officials say the apology seems authentic, though perhaps not sincere.

What’s being done to combat the nation’s shortage of truck drivers.

A sneak peek at the start of SXSW Film as the festival kicks off in Austin.

And the week in politics with the Texas Tribune.

Pumped: Food, fuel and the future of Texas – A Texas Standard special

We don’t think of gas stations much, yet they are fixtures across Texas, and tell us a lot about who we are and where we’re going. There are more than 11,000 of them scattered across the state – along major highways and tiny backroads alike, they fuel up long haul trucks, hungry commuters and sometimes whole communities.

In some ways, the gas station is the backbone of our economy and the center of conversation and community. In other ways, they’re a blight on the landscape and, many feel, a soon-to-be anachronism. “Pumped: Food, fuel and the future of Texas” is an exploration of an often-overlooked staple of our life.

This Texas folk trio was lost to time – and that’s mostly OK with them

In an apparent first since the Dobbs decision, five women have filed suit against the State of Texas challenging the state’s abortion ban.

There’s frustration among immigration advocates amid reports that the Biden administration is considering reviving the practice of detaining migrant families who cross the border illegally, a policy initially shut down by the president shortly after taking office.

Tech expert Omar Gallaga on employer surveillance of workers and why it’s growing.

And the award-winning documentary “Nobody Famous” shines a light on the Pozo-Seco Singers, a Corpus Christi folk trio you’ve likely never heard of.

Texas outlawed red-light cameras years ago – but this town still has them

As a deadline approaches for bills to be filed in the Texas Legislature, proposals on guns and secession are making headlines. There is rare bipartisan support building around a proposal that proponents say would boost the effectiveness of background checks for buying a firearm, a move prompted by the school shooting in Uvalde.

When it comes to property tax relief, are Texas Republicans a house divided? There is a possible battle looming between the Texas House and Senate.

And the last red-light cameras still giving out tickets in Texas – and the push to switch them off for good.

Do plans for a Texas business court work?

This week at the Texas Legislature: Laws aimed at making it easier to have a baby in Texas.

Under the big dome in Austin, a hearing on a proposal to ban Chinese non-citizens from buying land in Texas.

The state Republican Party censures one of its own, U.S. Rep. Tony Gonzales, after a vote supporting a new gun law.

Is a two-tier court system coming to Texas? We’ll have more on a push for businesses to have their own legal system.

And: A gift to a major Texas museum is aimed at diversity for public art and and greater visibility for Latino artists.

Texas Republican says banning college polling places is about safety. Students don’t buy it.

The Supreme Court hears oral arguments in two challenges to student loan forgiveness. With Texas having the second highest number of student loans in the nation, a University of Houston legal scholar offers analysis and what comes next.

There’s a push in the Texas Legislature to ban polling places on college campuses – but some students see it as voter suppression.

Once upon a time in the not-so-distant past there was a planned mega-merger in the publishing biz. Today: the postscript.

Is Houston still affordable?

An orange haze, a vicious wind, in some places visibility cut close to zero – is an exiting dust storm a warning of more? With high winds expected to return later this week, what the layers of dust across Texas may tell us about changes to our climate.

A recent survey from the U.S. Census Bureau revealed roughly four out of five Houstonians are stressed out about recent price increases – raising the question of whether Houston still deserves its long-held reputation as one of the most affordable large cities in the country.

Tens of thousands protest against the president in Mexico amid concerns about threats to elections there.

A bill set to raise the penalties for illegal voting in Texas gets the green light from a Senate committee.

On Rare Disease Day 2023, we’ll hear how advocates for people with such diseases are pushing for change.

And an online hack targeting Asian Texans.

The Gulf of Mexico is getting warmer

Sergio Martínez-Beltrán of the Texas Newsroom shares a look ahead at the Texas Legislature as bills make their way to committees this week. Plus, what could be a relatively rare bipartisan agreement: clearing the way for fentanyl testing strips as a harm-reduction measure.

How some Texas schools are dealing with teenagers caught with THC vape pens. Even though those vapes may be technically legal, some young people face felony arrests that can stick to their records.

And the Gulf of Mexico is warming at twice the rate of the world’s oceans.

Fans turn out in Frisco as U.S. wins SheBelieves Cup

On the one-year anniversary of Russia’s war with Ukraine, Valerie Hudson, international affairs expert at Texas A&M, shares a Texas perspective on where the conflict stands today.

Author and commentator David Frum on concerns about moves being made by Mexico’s president that could turn back the clock on democratic change there – and the implications for Texas and beyond.

The Texas Standard’s Sarah Asch reports from the SheBelieves Cup soccer tournament in Frisco, where the U.S. Women’s National Team
took home the title.

Plus the week in politics with the Texas Tribune.