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David Brown, Angela Kocherga & Laura Rice

April 24, 2026

How a federal dispute briefly shut down El Paso airspace

Tens of thousands of DACA recipients are living in legal limbo in Texas under the threat of sudden deportation. We’ll look at the ripple effects in Texas and beyond.At a Baptist university well known for its conservative values, twin events at Baylor between Turning Point USA and a progressive event called All Our Neighbors is […]

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April 23, 2026

Dallasite David Lowery talks new film ‘Mother Mary’

Civil rights groups say the Houston City Council has caved to threats from Gov. Greg Abbott. We’ll hear more on the city’s decision to amend an ordinance limiting local law enforcement cooperation with ICE agents.The latest frontier in the politics of energy: Andy Uhler on rising electricity demand statewide and the challenge convincing some rural […]

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April 22, 2026

ERCOT forecast raises new questions about Texas power demand

A judge has ordered the release of a family held in a South Texas detention center for 10 months. We’ll have a look at the case and what’s next.Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick is leading a Religious Liberty Commission for President Trump. Patrick’s recent comments denying a separation between church and state could tell us […]

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April 21, 2026

Texas to launch its own clinical trials of psychedelic drug

The state of Texas is poised to spend millions on psychedelic drug research. We’ll have the details about the clinical trials set for ibogaine.Profits for Texas restaurants are plummeting as ICE conducts more immigration raids. We’ll hear what restaurant owners want the Trump administration to do.A deadline to ensure digital materials are accessible for people […]

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April 20, 2026

War with Iran hits Texas energy from two directions

The war in Iran and the big energy bottleneck presents implications for the Lone Star State. As we parse out the latest, we’ll have a closer look at the impact on oil and why one top analyst says despite record oil exports from Texas, we’re still not out of the woods.There has been a lot […]

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April 18, 2026

Texas Extra: Writer David Streitfeld on ‘Lonesome Dove’ and why Larry McMurtry loved and hated Texas

David Streitfeld wrote the new biography “Western Star” about his friend Larry McMurty. In this extended interview, you’ll hear more about “Lonesome Dove,” McMurtry’s reaction to the television miniseries and whether McMurtry himself was more of an Augustus McCrae or a Woodrow Call.

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April 17, 2026

Big Thief guitarist Buck Meek talks solo album ‘The Mirror’

As Corpus Christi and neighboring cities try to head off a water catastrophe, water demand exceeds supply across Texas and there are new staggering estimates for a statewide water plan. We’ll go over the numbers, what’s behind them, and what comes next.A runoff for lieutenant governor looms in Texas — but do Texans know either […]

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April 16, 2026

Camp Mystic ruling could shape flood accountability case

The biggest city in Texas faces intense pressure from Gov. Greg Abbott over cooperation with immigration enforcement. David Goodman of the New York Times joins us with more on a threat to cut funding for Houston police unless it changes a new policy on collaboration with ICE agents.What happens next to Camp Mystic? A hearing […]

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About

Texas Standard is grounded in the best traditions of American journalism: fact-based, independent, and politically neutral reporting. The program is a one-hour daily news magazine that airs weekdays on more than 30 public radio stations across the Lone Star State. Visit texasstandard.org/listen to find it on a radio station near you. Or listen anytime to this podcast. Texas Standard is produced in the state capital in collaboration with KUT Austin, KERA North Texas, Houston Public Media, and Texas Public Radio San Antonio, as well as news organizations across Texas, Mexico, and the United States.

David Brown

David Brown is host of the daily statewide public radio news hour, Texas Standard. He is former anchor of the Peabody award-winning public radio business program Marketplace, and a veteran public radio journalist for more than three decades. Brown has covered national and international affairs for NPR and PRI’s Monitor Radio from bases in Atlanta, Boston, London, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. He has received numerous Murrow awards, National Headliner Awards, AP Broadcast honors and two Grand Prizes from the International Radio Festivals. Brown earned his Ph.D. in Journalism from The University of Texas at Austin, his Juris Doctor from Washington and Lee University School of Law, and is an active member of the California and U.S. Supreme Court Bars.


Angela Kocherga

Angela Kocherga is KTEP news director and also reports in the field on border issues including migration, the border security buildup, binational health, the trade. Her recent work earned a national and several regional Edward R. Murrow Awards. She is a 2019 recipient of the Maria Moors Cabot prize awarded by Columbia University for courageous reporting in Latin America in recognition of her body of work on the border and across Mexico. Emmy winning multimedia journalist Angela Kocherga is news director with KTEP and Borderzine.


Laura Rice

Though Laura’s official title with Texas Standard is Managing Producer, she actually wears many hats. Listeners will sometimes hear Laura on-air as an occasional host or reporter. More often, her work is behind-the-scenes. She helps make editorial decisions about what’s on the program and gives a second set of ears to the audio that makes it over the airwaves. Laura is passionate about working with the next generation of journalists through Texas Standard’s internship program. She also loves leading special projects for the team — including the National Edward R. Murrow Award-winning documentary “Out Of The Blue: 50 Years After The UT Tower Shooting.” Before joining the Texas Standard team, Laura worked just a few cubicles over in the local KUT Newsroom where she served as the station’s Morning Edition producer and fill-in host. Laura found radio after a start in television news. She worked as an anchor, reporter, and producer at stations in Austin, Amarillo, and Toledo, Ohio. She graduated from journalism school at the University of Missouri-Columbia and earned an MA from the University of Texas at Austin’s department of Radio-Television-Film.

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