David Brown

Texas Democrats flee state, break quorum over redistricting

More than 50 Democratic lawmakers have left the state so the Texas House would not have a quorum, trying to derail a redistricting plan that could add five more congressional seats for Republicans in the midterms.

Harvest season is arriving in South Texas, but many cotton farmers are still reeling from drought, inflation, and weakened demand. Some are cautiously optimistic as new federal funding becomes available. The Standard’s Felicity Guajardo reports.

And: One in four U.S. sports bettors say they’ve missed bills because of gambling losses, according to a new survey highlighting the risks of easy, app-based betting and its lack of oversight.

Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

Kerr County emergency officials were sleeping when flood hit July 4

Why weren’t Hill Country communities alerted as a deadly wall of water roared down the Guadalupe on the weekend of July 4th? In their first public testimony on the floods, top emergency officials in Kerr County said they were away or asleep.

Voting the old-fashioned way? A return to hand-marked ballots in Collin County is part of a change sweeping Texas and other parts of the country.

Red-crowned Amazons squawk through summer nights in Brownsville – and they’ve been the city’s official bird since 1992.

Plus: An update on a major scramble to defend Texas from a devastating invader, the New World Screwworm.

Food banks struggle to meet rising demand

What we’re now learning about what happened – and what didn’t – before the Hill Country floods. Investigative reporter Lauren McGaughy has the details.

Plus: Flood survivors are asking lawmakers meeting in special session right now to tap the state’s $24 billion rainy day fund to help them meet their immediate needs.

Even without a pandemic, Texas food banks are facing shortages and surging need. The CEO of Feeding Texas joins us to talk about what’s driving the crisis.

Funds for adult education were first put on hold, then released – but there’s a big asterisk. The Standard’s Sarah Asch on a policy change that could affect adult ed.

Plus: Texas Monthly barbecue editor Daniel Vaughn dishes on his latest list of the top BBQ 50 spots in the state.

Black farmers in East Texas feel the sting of DEI cuts

A peek into the week ahead for the Texas Legislature’s special session: We’ll hear the latest on a much-talked-about possible walkout by Democrats.

A plan to relieve congestion in Austin was approved by voters years ago – but so far, there’s not much to show for it. Is Project Connect off the rails?

The rollback of USDA diversity programs is impacting East Texas, which is home to more Black farmers than anywhere else in the U.S.

Plus: A big deadline for tariffs with Mexico on the table. If a deal can’t be reached by Aug. 1, what could that mean for Texas?

Ben Kweller on grief, music and ‘Cover the Mirrors’

As Texas lawmakers move to consider regulations on THC products, what’s legal, and what’s not? KUT News reporter Nathan Bernier joins us to break it down.

As many see the future of energy as cleaner renewables, why many in the city of Port Arthur are pinning their hopes for a comeback – on oil.

At the Austin YMCA, adults are conquering their fear of water and gaining life-saving skills through swim lessons designed just for them. Texas Standard producer Sarah Asch has the story.

Plus: Two years after the death of his teenage son, a father’s musical journey to find healing: Our conversation with Dripping Springs-based musician Ben Kweller.

The ADA turns 35: What true inclusion looks like

Texas lawmakers hear 12 hours of testimony as they take up what happened before during and after the devastating Hill Country floods.
Repeated plans to improve flood warning systems were repeatedly scuttled in the years leading up to the July 4th weekend. Neena Satija of the Houston Chronicle with what she’s learning about why.
As the Americans with Disabilities Act marks 35 years, advocates say we need to go beyond “accessibility” to build truly inclusive spaces – especially in disaster planning.
Will you soon be watching AI content on Netflix? Why it may not be a question of whether – but when?

You can support our work by becoming a sustaining member at supportthispodcast.org.

Texas lawmakers begin special session focused on floods, maps

Lawmakers recently ended a regular session of the Texas Legislature, but on this Monday, they’re back. They call it a special session: 30 days to complete a long list of action items including a response to the Hill Country flooding, the regulation of THC consumables, and a rare mid-decade push for redistricting that has some Democrats complaining the fix is in for next year’s midterms.
A hold on billions of education dollars sends Texas public school administrators scrambling.
Also, European sanctions against Russia’s oil industry – will there be ripple effects in Texas?
And this week in Texas music history.

Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

The rise of Maren Morris

As lawmakers return to Austin for a special session, who got the most accomplished in the regular? Why the numbers don’t tell the whole story.
With state legislators set to take up flood relief and related matters, we’ll hear how the region’s fairing two weeks after those deadly flash floods, and we’ll hear about efforts concentrated on the Spanish-speaking community in one of the hardest-hit counties.
A longstanding effort to provide healthcare services at the border, shut down over cutbacks.
Plus, Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Maren Morris is bucking industry expectations with a new album.

Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

Who really got things done at the Legislature?

As lawmakers get ready to return to the Capitol in a special session, a new report shows billions more are needed to address flooding.
Who are the most productive lawmakers in the Legislature? The Texas Newsroom’s Blaise Gainey takes a closer look.
Remember when there were growing concerns about a population explosion? In a new book, UT economist Dean Spears is sounding the alarm about quite the opposite.
Plus: Director Ari Aster on his new western, set in an era of pandemic and protest.

Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

Trucking industry faces new border bottleneck

More rain pummels the waterlogged Hill Country, putting a pause on search efforts and bringing a new wave of weather warnings to the region. We’ll talk with James Hartley of KERA, who’s been in Kerrville this weekend.
Stuffed animals are strewn across flood-ravaged Texas. People are trying to get them to their owners.
The Trump administration is enforcing an English-language requirement for commercial drivers, and some Mexican truckers are losing their licenses.
Plus: Why is it so tough to get disaster alerts right? Wall Street Journal reporter Drew FitzGerald has been digging into the systemic failures.

Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

In wake of Hill Country floods, how to talk to kids about tragedy

A week after the Hill Country floods, the president and first lady will visit Kerr County as the search for the missing continues and storms are in the forecast for the weekend.
Talking to kids about tragedy: A Dallas-based pediatric psychologist on how to deal with their questions and their anxieties.
Gov. Greg Abbott has added flood response to the call for the upcoming special session of the Legislature, along with another new item – mid-decade redistricting.
Plus: The week in Texas politics with The Texas Tribune.

Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

Processing the range of emotions surrounding Hill Country flood tragedy

The Texas Newsroom finds that responders to the Hill Country floods called for a public alert early Friday, a warning some say came hours too late.
The upcoming special session of the Legislature, which originally looked like it would focus on regulating THC, now includes several emergency preparedness topics.
And: Gillian Rodriguez with the Texas Counseling Association in the Hill Country has been pulling together resources to help fellow Texans process the range of emotions surrounding the devastating flooding.

Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

Officials in Kerrville begin to assess damage as floodwaters recede

In Kerr County, local officials say they have all the resources, equipment, food and personnel they need, but with constantly changing numbers of people still missing, search and rescue teams continue to slog thru the debris of what is almost certain to go down as one of the deadliest natural disasters in state history.

The Texas Newsroom’s Paul Flahive reports on the deep cultural imprint of Camp Mystic, a 99-year-old Christian girls camp that sits along the banks of the Guadalupe River – directly in the path of deadly flooding.

Contaminated water, mosquito-borne illnesses, and piles of debris are raising new concerns in flood-affected areas.

Also: How to save precious items damaged by floodwater.

Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

The latest on catastrophic flooding in the Hill Country

Rescue and recovery efforts continue following devastating Guadalupe River flooding that has killed at least 75 people. More than two dozen campers and counselors died at Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp, and 10 campers remain missing.

Flash flood warnings are in effect for many parts of Texas, and officials fear that the waterlogged soil may lead to more intense flash flooding ahead.

To the east, closer to Austin, rescue teams are trying to locate untold numbers of missing residents who received little warning as floodwaters ravaged communities on Saturday.

What happened, what could have prevented the tragedy, and where do we go from here?

Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

Adult education programs feel the squeeze as federal funds remain on hold

Federal education funding is put on hold, leaving administrators scrambling to evaluate what programs may be affected and what comes next – not just for young students, but Texans in adult education programs as well.
What could rural schools teach the rest of us about how to better get along? New research by the George W. Bush Institute offers insights.
And just in time for July 4th: the Brazilian BBQ smoker many Texas pitmasters are calling the bomb.

Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

Elon Musk’s lobbying machine finds wins in Texas

Elon Musk may be on the outs in D.C., but closer to home, his political influence appears to be on the rise: The state’s richest billionaire scored some quiet but rather significant victories in the last legislative session.
Legislative support for wind and solar may be on the wane, but Texas lawmakers appear to be warming up to geothermal energy.
Don’t like tariffs? Commentator W.F. Strong tells us how some earlier generations of Texans didn’t, either – and what they did to fight them.
And: Remembering Cass Wheeler, who helped transform the American Heart Association into a national force during his 30 years at the helm.

You can support our work by becoming a sustaining member at supportthispodcast.org.

A live broadcast from Waco

As we continue our yearlong 10th birthday celebration, today we’re broadcasting before a live studio audience at a place that’s been called the “Athens of Texas” – Waco, itself celebrating 25 years of public radio from our partners at KWBU.
We’ll be sampling some of the sights, sounds and tastes of this historic Central Texas city.
After all, when you’re the birthplace of Dr Pepper, home to a national monument marking an epic concentration of mammoths, and with a growing population and national profile, there’s a whole lotta Waco to explore.

SCOTUS rules against nationwide injunctions

In a 6-3 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court rules against nationwide injunctions, likely to be read as a major victory for the Trump administration. UT constitutional law professor Tara Grove helps us parse out today’s big news from the high court.
Texas underwater? After boom times in real estate, many Texas homeowners are upside down on their mortgages. What cities have been hardest hit by the rapid drop in home values?
Singer-songwriter Joshua Ray Walker, after a cancer diagnosis, makes a studio comeback with a much sunnier vibe.
Plus, the week in politics with the Texas Tribune and poetry from the Typewriter Rodeo.

Texas Standard is a listener-supported production of KUT & KUTX Studios in Austin, Texas.

You can support this podcast at supportthispodcast.org

Sugar Land acquires historic district tied to city’s roots in the sugar industry

A new Texas law requires posting the Ten Commandments in public school classrooms. We’ll look at the looming legal battle.
Where do Texans stand on how well state legislators are doing their jobs? What about how well the president is doing his job? A new poll by the Texas Politics Project offers a look.
The Mexican flag, long flown at restaurants and at cultural events, is more recently making a prominent appearance in protests. We’ll talk about perspectives on symbolism and cultural expression.
And: Once a company town built around sugar production, Sugar Land is now seeking to preserve its complex history with the city’s acquisition of the Imperial Historic District.

Gov. Greg Abbott vetoes THC ban, breaking with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick

A closely watched bill to ban THC products gets vetoed by Gov. Greg Abbott – but that’s far from the end of the story, with the governor calling for a special legislative session aimed at regulating THC.
After U.S. airstrikes targeted against Iranian nuclear facilities, what comes next? One of Texas’ top foreign policy experts suggests this war could be ending more quickly than many fear. And Texas energy prices may be a leading indicator.
Also: a conversation with Laredo-born Adrian Quesada on his highly anticipated new album, a follow-up to “Boleros Psicodélicos.”