David Brown

Why bird watchers are flocking to Texas cemeteries

Early voting is now underway in Texas – but what’s on the ballot? We’ll get caught up on the 14 constitutional amendments Texans are being asked to weigh in on, ranging from property taxes to education, infrastructure and more.

First it’s Exxon mobil scooping up Pioneer, now Chevron acquiring Hess. Is it a new era of mergers and acquisitions in the oil field – and if so, why?

Final resting places are also surprisingly active sites for a certain group of hobbyists. The Standard’s Raul Alonzo has more with “Cemetery Birding” author Jennifer Bristol.

And the Texas Rangers are off to the World Series after defeating the Houston Astros in Game 7 of the ALCS.

What are the most haunted places in Texas?

With the U.S. House of Representatives still without a leader, two Texans drop out of the race for the speakership. What happens next?

The White House is launching a new program for Ecuadorians who are trying to migrate to the U.S. We’ll have details on the change is and why it’s happening.

Miles and miles of Texas are usually traversed by car – but one writer says the train is the ultimate way to go.

Also, with Halloween on the horizon, we have the backstory on some of the spookiest places to visit in Texas.

The national security concerns over Chinese crypto mining in Texas

With first ballots soon to be cast in the race to replace the term-limited mayor of Houston, the candidates debate with the top two contenders neck and neck in the polls. Houston Public Media’s Andrew Schneider shares more more.

Texas leads in the nation in Bitcoin mining, but new concerns are growing in other states that some Chinese-owned operations may compromise national security.

On some East Texas construction sites, concrete and steel are being replaced in favor of a new kind of wood product, mass timber, which is strong and flexible enough to be used in the construction of commercial buildings.

Plus, we’ll check in on the week in politics with the Texas Tribune.

Legislature takes up ban on vaccine mandates at private businesses

Years after peak COVID, Texas lawmakers are taking steps to ban vaccine mandates by private businesses.

Amid a nursing shortage in Texas and beyond, the journey of a new nurse trying to make a difference.

An award-winning novel set near the border takes the western genre to a whole new place. We’ll talk with ‘Valley of Shadows’ author Rudy Ruiz.

Also: As a new NBA season approaches, there are big expectations building for the San Antonio Spurs’ 19-year old Victor Wembanyama.

How a Texas constitutional amendment would aid childcare centers

With the House of Representatives on hold in the absence of a speaker, a possible vote today could be a turning point.

Texas voters are about to face a big decision: a constitutional amendment aimed at boosting the availability of child care options. Lina Ruiz of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram tells us more.

Two games in for the Astros and Rangers, what’s Major League Baseball’s first All-Texas league championship looking like?

More than 100 homes and businesses are on the fast track to demolition as the state moves to expand a portion Interstate 35.

Public school teachers in Texas are protesting vouchers. They’ve enlisted plumbers to help.

A federal judge strikes down a redistricting map in Galveston County, saying it violated the rights of Black and Latino voters, and gives the county until Oct. 20 to fix its maps.

Public school teachers plan to travel to Austin to fight a plan to use taxpayer money to pay for private tuition. Who’ll teach the students when the teachers are gone? You might be surprised.

As Texas’ population swells, so does empty office space. We’ll dig into what that signals.

And: We continue our month of Tracking Texas Cryptids with the spooky story of La Lechuza.

The science on why it’s fun to be scared

Recriminations over donations and demands for a high-level resignation: What’s behind the latest political fight between Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dade Phelan?

The Senate green-lights a voucher-like plan to provide public money for private school tuition. Matthew Watkins of the Texas Tribune joins us with more on the week in politics.

How to safely view Saturday’s annular eclipse over Texas.

Ken Burns returns with a new PBS series on the American Buffalo.

And: On Friday the 13th in this spookiest month, why so many folks love to get scared.

Celebrating a century of Texas state parks

Dozens of Texas school districts have sued to stop changes in the A-F grading system used to evaluate schools.

The manager of the state’s power grid is out with a new forecast for winter. How prepared is Texas for another statewide freeze like 2021?

Israel, Hamas and disinformation on social media: Tech expert Omar Gallaga joins us with more.

New numbers in the race for mayor of Texas’ biggest city.

And a new book written by longtime Texas conservationist George Bristol, “Texas State Parks: The First 100 Years,” tells the story of how the state’s parks began.

The long push for using public dollars to pay for private schools

What the battle over charter schools in Texas 30 years ago reveals about the fight that’s currently underway at the state Capitol over changes in education policy.

Serious questions abound about the reliability of a highly in-demand fighter jet built in Fort Worth.

The legend of La Llorona – the crying woman – no doubt arrived in Texas with the earliest Mexican settlers and has haunted our rivers, lakes and streams ever since. Commentator W.F. Strong shares one version of the story.

Plus, a political crisis in Guatemala and the implications for migration.

Dallas pastor stuck in Israel shares what he’s seen amid renewed conflict with Hamas

A third special session of the Texas Legislature gets underway and it’s not just education that’s on the agenda. Although the governor’s push for a so-called education savings accounts is getting the lion’s share of attention as the session starts, border security is rising fast as a top issue. Julián Aguilar of the Texas Newsroom joins us with more.

As Texas lawmakers offer support for Israel, some Texans are feeling the effects of war firsthand. We’ll talk with the head of a Dallas interfaith group caught in Israel at the outbreak of fighting, now trying to get himself and his colleagues back home safely.

Lawmakers discuss school savings accounts

After unprecedented attacks over the weekend, Israel is at war with Hamas. Jeremi Suri of UT’s LBJ school with more on what to expect as fighting intensifies.

A big day at the state capitol as lawmakers are called back into session by the governor. On the table: school savings accounts, what critics call vouchers, that some fear will upend public school funding.

Texas mega ranches hitting the market at what appears to be a quickening pace.

Plus the would be restaurant rivals who formed what they call the Taco Mafia.

Ken Paxton whistleblower says his fight is not over

He was one of the whistleblowers against Attorney General Ken Paxton, and he says his fight is not over.

What appears to be a 180° turn by the Biden Administration as it waves environmental laws and resumes construction work on a border wall in South Texas.

Hundreds of thousands of Texans dropped from Medicaid rolls post-‘peak COVID’ – some wrongly so, whistleblowers say – due to errors at the state health department.

What could be an epic football battle this weekend: the Red River Rivalry. Are the Longhorns back, for real?

Also, the week in Texas politics with the Texas Tribune.

‘Good Night, Irene’ follows a courageous woman’s story in the WWII Red Cross

It was the second hottest summer on record for Texas, but is it safe to ask if it’s over? What to expect as a cold front pushes into Texas. Matt Lanza of Space City Weather with a look at whether today marks a turning point.

Gun violence numbers are changing how many feel about safety in a North Texas suburb. KERA’s Caroline Love with more from Allen.

Google launches an effort to combat spam, but will it work? Tech expert Omar Gallaga with more.

A border bottleneck raises red flags as Texas ramps up truck inspections.
And a Texas Book Festival preview with the author of ‘Good Night, Irene’.

A&M researchers are working to bring ocelots back

After a swift and historic vote in the U.S. House of Representatives to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy, we’ll hear more about the role of the Texas delegation and what comes next on Capitol Hill.

Will climate change alter Texas’ coastal community landscape? It already appears to be doing just that, says Erin Douglas of the Texas Tribune.

Texan Simone Biles has pulled off a gymnastics move so remarkable that it now carries her name.

After overhunting and creeping development, the number of breeding ocelots in the wild has tumbled to under 100 – with very few in South Texas, where they used to be plentiful. Now, researchers are working on a plan to bring the cats back.

Plus, a conversation with James C. Watkins, the 3D state artist of the year.

Fall is finally here. What does that mean for Texas’ drought?

Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan has faced increasing pressure to resign since Ken Paxton’s impeachment trial – and a special session of the Legislature starts next week.

El Paso, a city with a reputation as welcoming to migrants, is now at a breaking point, according to its mayor. Angela Kocherga of KTEP El Paso has details.

About 24 million Texans are living through some level of drought right now, according to data from the U.S. Drought Monitor. What’s on the horizon as fall weather moves in?

The former Texas Memorial Museum on UT Austin’s campus, shuttered in March due to COVID and cutbacks, returns in grand style with a new name and focus.

We’re tracking Texas cryptids all October

From guns to religion, free speech and more, a very loaded docket awaits the Supreme Court as it begins a new term.

Why a race for Houston’s top financial officer is getting so much attention.

A plan to consolidate schools in San Antonio could leave behind almost 20 empty buildings – and the district needs to figure out what to do with them.

As the dollar strengthens, other currencies weaken. But there’s a notable outlier: We’ll look at why the Mexican peso seems to be doing so well.

Also, as the spookiest month of the year gets started, a look at why Texas is so full of mysterious creatures unconfirmed by science.

Why homeschooling is on the rise across the ideological spectrum

Sean Theriault of UT-Austin with a look at why government shutdowns have become so common, and what needs to happen to avoid another come Sunday.

The summer of 2023 was the second hottest on record in Texas. But for renters, air conditioning isn’t legally required — at least not everywhere in the state.

Over the past couple of years, there’s been a shift in the way that many Texans school their kids, with more folks opting for homeschooling – for reasons that span the political spectrum, or lie completely outside it.

Writer Andrew Leland on losing his vision and the struggle to understand the changes, as told in his new memoir, “The Country of the Blind.”

How a UT professor is helping the CDC plan for the next pandemic

The Texas Education Agency is moving forward with plans to monitor problems with Austin ISD’s special education services.

What did we learn from COVID-19? We’ll talk to UT’s Lauren Ancel Meyers, who has been tapped to help the U.S. develop a plan to better tackle the next pandemic.

Texas tops the nation in oil industry deaths – but there’s more to the story once you get into the numbers.

Also: Remembering a pioneer of Tejano music, Lydia Mendoza, who earned the title of “Meadowlark of the Border.”

State law banning public drag performances found unconstitutional

Texas foster kids are sleeping in motels and offices, and Child Protective Service workers are leaving their jobs in droves. Sneha Dey of the Texas Tribune joins us with more.

A ban on drag performances in the presence of minors has been ruled unconstitutional. We’ll hear why and what comes next.

Why Mexico has replaced China as the United States’ top trading partner.

And KUT’s Mose Buschele takes us into the Hill Country’s Bracken Cave Preserve alongside millions of bats.

What you need to know about viewing the upcoming solar eclipses from Texas

Though Attorney General Ken Paxton has been acquitted on all impeachment charges, whistleblowers say they’re not giving up. Sergio Martínez-Beltrán of the Texas Newsroom shares more.

It’s rare for an eclipse to be visible at the same location within several years, much less a few months – but the skies over a portion of Texas will be ground zero for observing both an annular and a total solar eclipse.

At the Rescue Mission of El Paso, plenty of food is coming in – but it’s not to feed people experiencing homelessness. Instead, those people are feeding others. Texas monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn shares the mission of Hallelujah! BBQ.