Texas Standard
David Brown, Angela Kocherga & Laura Rice
October 16, 2025
Uneven ICE notifications raise concerns
Some local law enforcement offices in Texas get a heads-up when ICE is coming to town, but others don’t. We’ll dig into why.There’s new evidence that, no surprise, the online world isn’t always so great for today’s teens. Advice from tech expert Omar Gallaga on making it safer.Gov. Greg Abbott has a new challenger for […]
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October 15, 2025
Where Texas birders can spot sandhill and whooping cranes this winter
After years of tightening restrictions on water use, a South Texas town issues an ominous declaration of emergency. Beeville, Texas, is fast running out of water and they’re asking for help from the state. We’ll talk to the interim city manager about what can be done.It’s a new law requiring parental permission for public school […]
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October 14, 2025
What layoffs at special education office could mean for Texas schools
The Trump administration has reportedly slashed jobs at a federal office responsible for overseeing special education. What might that mean here in Texas?A new school in Uvalde offers a place for learning apart from the building desecrated by a mass shooting – but remembrance is built into the design.The craft brewing bubble has burst. A […]
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October 13, 2025
Why a Texas appeals court halted Robert Roberson’s execution
The leading Democratic candidate for Texas’ U.S. Senate seat isn’t even in the race yet – and it might not be who you think. Plus, where things stand on the Republican side as U.S. Rep. Wesley Hunt joins the field against incumbent Sen. John Cornyn and Attorney General Ken Paxton.Another delay in the Robert Roberson […]
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October 10, 2025
New exhibit captures the meaning of ‘The Selena Effect’
A new report from the Wall Street Journal raises questions about how a prominent Texas Republican got rich as a politician. The report puts the personal finances of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in the spotlight, though his supporters are calling it a hit piece. We’ll talk with one of the reporters behind the story.A […]
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October 9, 2025
Texas school closures raise tough questions
Public schools across Texas are being put to the test. From Fort Worth to Grapevine, Austin to San Antonio, we’ll look at how communities are reacting – and in some cases, pushing back – on plans to shutter schools and shuffle the map for many students.Also, a big fight over redistricting with huge consequences – […]
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October 8, 2025
Texas taps vendor for school voucher rollout
A billion-dollar school voucher program is coming to Texas, but the company running it is based in New York. What that means for families.A Texas father convicted of killing his daughter faces execution in less than two weeks, but new evidence is raising serious doubts in the case of Robert Roberson.New World screwworms: The parasite […]
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October 7, 2025
Legal battle brews as Texas National Guard is sent beyond state lines
The Texas National Guard is being sent beyond state lines. We’ll unpack what’s driving the deployment and the legal battle brewing around it.The ICEBlock app, designed to alert users about ICE agents nearby, has been pulled from app stores. Critics are calling it a violation of free speech.Years after the pandemic lockdowns, what do we […]
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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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