Texas Standard
David Brown, Angela Kocherga & Laura Rice
March 16, 2026
Would could the Prairieland decision mean for future federal prosecutions?
Fire warnings, scary high winds, dust storms out west, temps plummeting 30 and 40 degrees in some places… We’ll get the latest on a wild weather weekend.Guilty verdicts in a trial involving the shooting of a police officer outside a North Texas immigration detention center. Could the Prairieland decision be a possible template for future […]
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March 13, 2026
Waymo expansion sparks safety concerns in Texas cities
A recent change to Texas law now requires local law enforcement to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.Driverless cabs are making headlines in Austin for all the wrong reasons. What this might mean for Waymo’s plans to expand statewide.Politics v.s. pragmatism in West Texas, long known for its oil, now making a sometimes-begrudging shift to solar […]
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March 12, 2026
Historic Baptist ledger sheds light on early Texas faith
As gas prices nationwide skyrocket, President Trump announces a massive new Texas-based refinery in Brownsville he claims could spur thousands of new jobs.Plus, Exxon’s move may signal a tipping point for Texas as a center for business.Also, a cultural change in the U.S. military leads to growing concerns about reporting of sexual assault and harassment.And […]
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March 11, 2026
Texas ban on smokable cannabis products looms
Texas lawmakers did not get through a ban on THC sales this past legislative session, but new rules restricting them are about to go into effect.There’s been some confusing back and forth from the Trump administration on what exactly a border wall might look like in Big Bend.Another Texas university is making changes to race […]
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March 10, 2026
How Corpus Christi could be on the brink of a water disaster
Corpus Christi, a major Texas port city, could run out of water as early as next year. What’s behind the looming crisis?We’ll track how the war in Iran is affecting prices at the pump and what to expect next.Will the national Democratic Party spend more money in Texas after James Talarico and other candidate’s strong […]
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March 9, 2026
Texas A&M alumni raise concerns over ‘politicization’ of school
Gasoline prices on the rise, a looming crisis in Corpus Christi, and more fallout from a Texas congressman’s decision to end his reelection bid.We’ll have the latest on Republican Congressman Tony Gonzales’ abrupt decision to end his reelection efforts amid a House ethics investigation on sexual misconduct allegations.Also, a deep-pocketed Aggie alunmus weighs in on […]
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March 7, 2026
Texas Extra: Extended ‘Riverbend’ film interview
Director Sam Firstenberg and film restoration pioneer Michael J. Dennis stopped by the Texas Standard studio this week to talk about the movie “Riverbend.” This is an extended version of the interview that aired on Texas Standard.
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March 6, 2026
‘Riverbend’ returns to audiences after decades of obscurity
After winning a spot in a runoff, Congressman Tony Gonzales drops his bid for reelection amid growing pressure over an affair scandal. We’ll dig into the latest today.Also, confusion at some polling places on primary day: What really happened and what’s the fallout?And a film of Black resistance shot in Texas — but largely lost […]
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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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